FINANCING TOTAL

Lowest monthly payment is not the lowest project cost.

A long term can reduce the payment while increasing the total paid. Compare the cash price with the complete financed obligation before deciding whether equipment or scope differences justify the premium.

Calculate financing true cost →Send one project brief

Decision checkpoints

Make every important field explicit.

These checks measure written proposal completeness. They do not rate contractor honesty, workmanship, licensing or project suitability.

Cash baseline

Record the cash project total for the same equipment and written scope.

Credit terms

Capture financed price, APR, term, monthly payment, total of payments and any disclosed dealer or finance fee.

Contract details

Check prepayment terms, deferred-interest conditions, promotional expiration and when payments begin.

Same scope

Do not attribute a financing premium to credit if the financed proposal also changes equipment, warranty or included work.

Side-by-side basis

Replace vague wording with comparable evidence.

Field	Unclear proposal	Comparable basis
Headline	Low monthly payment	Complete total paid over the term
Rate	APR not stated	APR and all required disclosures visible
Project	Different scope	Same equipment and included work
Exit	Prepayment unclear	Written prepayment and promotional terms

Before signing

Questions that protect the decision.

What will I pay if every scheduled payment is made?+

Use the disclosed total of payments and reconcile it with payment multiplied by term.

Is there a separate financed price?+

Ask for both cash and financed project totals; do not infer the difference from APR alone.

Can I pay early?+

Read the written agreement for prepayment, deferred-interest and promotional conditions before signing.

Official references

Verify efficiency, installation and financing claims.

Reviewed 15 August 2026. Official sources define consumer and technical verification routes; they do not approve a contractor or price.

Planning boundary

CoolCompare normalizes written scope and payment terms. It does not certify equipment pairings, verify contractor quality, provide legal advice or promise a local price.