Your credit score decides which rate tier the lender approves you at. At 730 or higher, you get the best lease rate almost everywhere. Below that, the brand decides what your score costs: at 690, a $40,000 lease costs nothing extra at Honda and about $150 a month more at Mitsubishi.
We priced every lease and loan program we track that ties its rate to credit score ranges in October 2026: 2,107 lease trims across 24 brands, and 2,458 loan programs. Here is what each score adds to the payment, in dollars, and what to do before the dealer runs your credit.
The short version
- • With a 730 score you get the same lease rate as someone at 800. That held on 98% of the leases we price by credit score.
- • Below 720, it depends on the brand. At 690, most Honda leases cost nothing extra. A Ford Explorer ST-Line costs $123 a month more.
- • Across all brands, a 650 score adds a median of about $81 a month to a $40,000 lease. At 610, a third of special leases are not offered at all.
- • Loans follow the same pattern: on $35,000 over 60 months, a 690 adds about $20 a month and a 610 about $147.
- • The dealer can add a markup on top of your tier's rate. Ask which tier you were approved at, and get the rate in writing.
How a Credit Score Becomes a Rate
Lenders do not price every score separately. They sort applicants into tiers, and each tier has its own rate. When the dealer sends your application, the lender approves you into one tier, and that tier's rate is the lender's price for your lease. Dealers call it the buy rate.
On a lease, the rate is written as a money factor, a small decimal. Multiply it by 2,400 to read it as an annual rate. On a loan, it is the APR.
Each lender draws its tier lines at its own scores. That is why the same score can cost nothing at one dealership and real money at the next.
Most new leases go to strong credit. In the second quarter of 2026, the average new lease went to a 751 score, and 85% went to scores of 661 or higher (Experian, State of the Automotive Finance Market, VantageScore 4.0).
Your tier is not the whole rate
The tier sets the lender's rate. The dealer can add a markup on top and keep the difference. So a high rate on your quote can come from your tier, from a markup, or from both.
Key Takeaway
Two things set your lease rate: the tier your score lands in, and any markup the dealer adds. Ask for both in writing: the tier the lender approved, and the money factor on your contract.
What Each Score Adds to a Lease
With a 730 score you get the same lease rate as someone at 800. That held on 98% of the leases we price by credit score. Below that line, lenders split. At 710, 40% of those leases already cost more. At 690, 84% do.
Below 720, it depends on the brand. At 690, most Honda leases cost nothing extra. A Ford Explorer ST-Line costs $123 a month more. That is the Explorer at its $45,155 starting price; Ford's median on a $40,000 lease is $44.
| Brand | 710 | 690 | 670 | 650 | 630 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acura | $0 | $16 | $16 | $16 | $16 |
| Audi | $0 | $26 | $42 | $51 | $69 |
| Buick | $0 | $40 | $68 | $130 | $130 |
| Cadillac | $0 | $13 | $13 | $13 | $13 |
| Chevrolet | $0 | $40 | $69 | $132 | $132 |
| Ford | $0 | $44 | $44 | $84 | $156 |
| Genesis | $13 | $23 | $31 | $42 | N/A |
| GMC | $0 | $41 | $70 | $133 | $133 |
| Honda | $0 | $0 | $0 | $16 | $16 |
| Hyundai | $13 | $25 | $34 | $48 | $57 |
| INFINITI | $0 | $0 | $0 | $99 | $99 |
| Kia | $23 | $43 | $59 | $72 | $85 |
| Land Rover | $0 | $15 | $24 | $92 | $92 |
| Lexus | $7 | $7 | $36 | $95 | $138 |
| Lincoln | $0 | $0 | $0 | $89 | $156 |
| Mazda | $6 | $6 | $35 | $92 | $133 |
| Mercedes-Benz | $0 | $0 | $0 | $56 | $56 |
| Mitsubishi | $24 | $151 | $151 | $200 | $260 |
| Nissan | $0 | $0 | $0 | $106 | $106 |
| Porsche | $0 | $37 | $37 | $37 | $96 |
| Toyota | $7 | $7 | $37 | $97 | N/A |
| Volkswagen | $0 | $25 | $50 | $75 | $112 |
Median extra per month over the brand's best tier for a $40,000 car (MSRP) on a 36-month lease at 12,000 miles a year, priced at each trim's own residual in the brand's most common region. N/A: not offered at that score, because most of the brand's special leases stop above it. Each column prices one score, because lenders draw their tier lines at different scores. Not shown: brands whose lease programs carry no score ranges (Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, INEOS, Jaguar, Jeep, MINI, Polestar, Ram, Subaru, Volvo), and Maserati and VinFast, with five trims or fewer. October 2026 lender programs.
Lower still, some special leases are not offered at all. At 630, 14% are not. At 610, a third are not, and the rest cost a median $156 a month more on a $40,000 car than the best tier.
These figures change by region
Lenders price by region, so your tier can cost more or less than the table shows. With a pass, Target Payment prices the lease at your own tier for your ZIP.
Key Takeaway
Find your brand's row before you shop. If your score sits just under a tier line, plan around the payment at your tier, not the advertised one.
What Each Score Adds to a Loan
Nine brands set their loan rates by score in the programs we price, and the pattern matches leasing. On $35,000 over 60 months, a 690 score adds a median of about $20 a month over the best tier, a 650 about $61, and a 610 about $147.
Some brands draw the top line higher on loans. Toyota, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo charge a 730 score a few dollars a month more than their best loan tier.
| Brand | 710 | 690 | 670 | 650 | 630 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acura | $0 | $20 | $33 | $61 | $90 |
| Honda | $0 | $20 | $33 | $61 | $91 |
| INFINITI | $0 | $0 | $0 | $47 | $47 |
| Land Rover | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Mercedes-Benz | $5 | $28 | $28 | $75 | $75 |
| Porsche | $0 | $33 | $33 | $33 | $120 |
| Toyota | $16 | $29 | $46 | N/A | N/A |
| Volvo | $12 | $43 | $43 | $43 | $82 |
Median extra per month over the brand's best loan tier on $35,000 over 60 months. N/A: the brand's programs list no rate at that score. Jaguar, with six programs, is not shown. October 2026 lender programs.
Shopping for the loan does not have to cost you points. The CFPB says auto loan inquiries made within 14 to 45 days of each other generally count as a single inquiry (CFPB).
Key Takeaway
If you finance, get a quote from your bank or credit union inside that window, then let the dealer try to beat it. Compare the APR on the contract with your tier's rate, not the advertised one.
Before the Dealer Runs Your Credit
A few minutes of prep decides which tier you walk in with, and whether you can tell a markup from a tier.
- Check your credit reports. They are free every week from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. They do not include a score (CFPB), so get that from your bank or card issuer. Fix errors before you apply.
- Find your brand's row in the tables above. If you are just under a tier line, it can pay to wait until your score moves.
- Ask which tier the lender approved, by name, and get the money factor in writing.
- Compare the money factor with your tier's rate. Upload your quote to QuoteDefender and it checks the rate against this month's program.
Key Takeaway
Walk in knowing your score, your brand's tier lines and your tier's payment. Then the only number left to check is whether the dealer added a markup.
If You Are Turned Down or Charged More
Federal rules give loan applicants a paper trail. If a lender turns down your loan, it must give you a notice within 30 days with the reasons, or with your right to ask for them (12 CFR 1002.9). If the decision rested on your credit report, it must also give you the credit score it used (CFPB).
If the lender approves the loan on worse terms because of your credit report, it owes you a risk-based pricing notice, unless it gave every applicant a notice with their credit score instead (12 CFR 1022.74).
Leases are different. The federal pricing notice rule does not apply to consumer leases (Federal Register, 2010). On a lease, ask the dealer to show you the tier the lender approved, in writing.
Key Takeaway
On a loan, the notice tells you why you paid more. On a lease, no federal notice is required, so ask for the approved tier before you sign.
Know before you sign.
Upload your dealer quote and get its score, plus the savings we found in it. Free to start.