The dealer fee is the single most important number in a GoodLeap solar loan and the one least often explained before you sign. Here is the math, what regulators found, and how to spot the fee in your paperwork.
A dealer fee is what the solar installer pays the lender for offering a particular loan, usually one with a low advertised rate. The installer does not absorb it. Instead, the fee is added to the price you finance. A system quoted at a $25,000 cash price becomes a $31,250 loan at a 25% dealer fee: you borrow the fee and pay interest on it for as long as the loan runs.
The fee appears under many names. The CFPB lists labels such as dealer fee, platform fee, program fee, lending fee, financing fee and original issue discount. Some installers simply raise the system price and never name the fee at all.
In its CFPB solar financing issue spotlight (August 2024), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that these markups can increase the loan principal by 30% or more above the cash price, that they typically range from 10% to 30%, and that lenders frequently build them into the principal without reflecting them in the stated APR. State attorneys general have pursued similar concerns; a 2024 Minnesota lawsuit against several solar lenders alleged hidden fees that raised borrowers’ costs by 15% to 30%.
GoodLeap does not publish a fee schedule. Third-party reviews and installer disclosures commonly put GoodLeap dealer fees at 15% to 30% of the system price. Two patterns hold across the industry:
Your installer can see the fee for every rate and term option on the lender’s platform. You can ask to see it too.
The table shows how much each fee level adds on a $25,000 system, holding the rate at 6.99% and the term at 25 years so that only the fee changes.
| Dealer fee | Amount financed | Monthly payment | Total repaid | Cost above the cash price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | $25,000 | $176.54 | $52,961 | $27,961 |
| 10% | $27,500 | $194.19 | $58,257 | $33,257 |
| 15% | $28,750 | $203.02 | $60,905 | $35,905 |
| 20% | $30,000 | $211.84 | $63,553 | $38,553 |
| 25% | $31,250 | $220.67 | $66,201 | $41,201 |
| 30% | $32,500 | $229.50 | $68,849 | $43,849 |
Each additional 5 points of dealer fee adds about $8.83 to the monthly payment and about $2,650 to the total repaid. A 30% fee costs roughly $15,900 more over 25 years than the same loan with no fee.
Here is a worked example: a $25,000 system, a 25% dealer fee, 6.99% APR and a 25-year term.
Over the life of the loan you pay 2.65 times the cash price of the system. Measured against the cash price rather than the amount financed, the effective rate on this loan is about 9.6%, not 6.99%.
The fee also follows you if you sell or refinance early. After seven years of payments on this loan, the remaining balance is still higher than it would have been on a $25,000 loan at the same rate, because part of every payment has been servicing the fee.
How to spot the dealer fee in paperwork
Ask the installer directly: “What is the cash price of this system if I pay without financing?” Then compare it with the amount financed on your Truth in Lending disclosure. If the installer will not give a cash price in writing, treat that as a warning sign.
The same model applies when a contractor offers GoodLeap financing for HVAC, roofing, windows or other upgrades. The fee may be smaller on short terms, but promotional loans add a second risk: deferred-interest offers can charge interest back to the start date if the balance is not paid in full by the deadline. Ask whether a promotion is “no interest” or “deferred interest”, and get the payoff deadline in writing.
Point-of-sale solar lenders generally do. GoodLeap, Sunlight Financial and Dividend Finance all work through installers using this model. Mosaic, which used the same model, stopped originating new loans after its 2025 bankruptcy. Home equity lenders, personal loan lenders and cash purchases do not involve a dealer fee, which is why they belong in any comparison.