Leasing vs. Buying a Vehicle The great debate to lease or buy a car? Which one of the two options is the smarter or he better choice? The answer to this question is both and neither are the best options. Confusing one may think so, however, the best way to get to the answer is to ask yourself what is important to you. Every person is different with different values and priorities that determine for them whether leasing or buying is the answer.
There are people who desire to drive a new vehicle every few years with little or no maintenance costs. Some people have a strong desire to own the vehicle, as opposed to lower upfront costs with no ownership. One of the two of the biggest temptations for many people to lease verses buying are that the monthly costs to lease are cheaper than the monthly payments to buy a car. The other is that they are able to have a new car every 2-3 years, as opposed to the people who purchase. People who purchase generally hold on to the car for an additional 2 years after the last car payment. Let’s review the pros and cons of leasing. The advantages of leasing are it offers lower monthly payment and the ability to drive a new car with all the new bells and whistles every 2-3 years (ehow). There is a tax benefit of paying lower taxes since the individual is paying the taxes on the monthly payments verses the full value of the car.
From the two examples so far it appears that leasing is a great situation, and everyone should lease; once again maybe we will look at the comparison of Present Value of money for both scenarios.
There are some real disadvantages of leasing, one of which is the issue of mileage. The mileage on leases varies, but most hover around 12,000 per year. This means that at the end of the lease period, if there is excess mileage above the allowed amount, a per-mile fee will be charged which is usually