Half of a novated lease payment is not finance at all, it is a budget for running the car. Those numbers are estimates set by the provider, and they are the easiest part of a quote to get wrong in either direction. Here is what belongs in there and how to sanity-check it.
What the budget covers
The running-cost side of the package usually bundles:
- Fuel or charging. For an EV, home charging is costed at the ATO rate of 5.47 cents per kilometre, which is almost always plenty.
- Servicing and maintenance, ideally based on the manufacturer capped-price servicing schedule for that exact model.
- Tyres, a set or two over the term depending on the car and your distance.
- Insurance, comprehensive cover priced for the car and driver.
- Registration and CTP.
Why the numbers are often wrong
These are estimates, so providers have room to move. A budget set too high inflates your payments and ties up your money (you usually get unused amounts back at the end, but you have been out of pocket in the meantime). A budget set too low makes the quote look cheaper than the car really is to run, and you top it up out of your own pocket during the lease.
Fuel is the classic one. A quote that assumes a thirsty car sips 6 litres per 100km, when it really drinks 10, has quietly understated your real cost.
How to sanity-check it
Compare each line to reality. Look up the capped-price servicing for the exact model. Check the real fuel consumption figure for that variant, not the optimistic brochure number. See whether the insurance looks sensible for the car and your age. If charging is in there for an EV, 5.47 cents per kilometre is the benchmark and should comfortably cover it.
This is exactly what we do automatically when you upload a quote. We pull the real servicing, tyre, fuel and insurance costs for your specific car and flag any line that looks padded or too low, so the budget you are being charged for matches the car you are actually getting.