Tesla Model 3 — is a 10.33% comparison rate normal, or am I getting done on fees?
Hoping some of the novated lease veterans here can sanity-check this before I sign.
Getting a novated lease through my employer's salary packaging provider (locked to one provider, can't shop around to other novated companies).
Details:
Car: Tesla Model 3 RWD (base), ~$62.7k drive-away
Term: 4 years
Interest rate: 7.4% (lowest that they have and its with metro)
Comparison rate: 10.33%
Residual: 37.5% (ATO minimum for 4yr)
Income: ~$240k, so top marginal rate, FBT-exempt EV
The gap between the 7.4% base rate and the 10.33% comparison rate is almost entirely a $3,811 brokerage fee (plus ~$767 in establishment/origination/PPSR fees).
Provider says the brokerage fee is already discounted because I'm at a long-standing corporate client, and there's "no further room to move."
I checked a third-party broker (Driva) out of curiosity and they quote the same financier (Metro) at 8.4%, plus two others, Angle at 8.6% and Liberty as low as 6.5% — with basically no brokerage fee. But I can't actually use them because my employer only works with the one provider.
My questions:
Is a $3,811 brokerage fee normal, or high? What have others actually paid?
Is 10.33% comparison rate reasonable for an EV novated lease right now, or should I be pushing harder?
If I'm genuinely locked to one provider, what leverage do I actually have?
Anything else I should be checking before I sign that I might be missing?
Not asking whether novated leasing is worth it (I've done that math, the tax saving stacks up) — specifically trying to figure out if this fee/rate is fair or if I'm being taken for a ride on the brokerage side.
Thanks in advance.