Leases & Leasing Information Information Research

Tell a Friend about this Site

Lease or Buy? That is Always the Question with Car Financing


Leasing is a perfectly viable and legitimate way to finance a new car. Although leasing offers attractive benefits, it is somewhat more complex than buying with a loan. This means there can be pitfalls if a decision to lease is made for the wrong reasons.

Therefore, a comparison of leasing versus buying is always a useful exercise when considering automobile financing. One option will generally be decidedly better than the other in any specific situation.

Let's first look at the financial side of the analysis.

Leasing always results in lower monthly payments than a conventional automobile loan, assuming the same vehicle, same down payment, same interest rate, and same term. Lease payments will be as much as 60% less than loan payments. Therefore, if monthly payments are your most important consideration, leasing is a good financial option (although there may be other reasons you shouldn't lease -- see below).

However, in the long term, leasing actually costs more than buying assuming that the buyer keeps his/her vehicle for a long time after the loan has been paid. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that leasing a new car every two or three years costs more than buying one car and keeping it until it falls apart. So if long-term cost is your highest priority, then leasing is not for you.

Even if leasing makes financial sense to you, there may be reasons that it won't work for you.

If you drive more than about 15,000 miles a year, leasing is not a good option for you. The reason is that leasing is designed for people who typically drive only average miles and don't want to pay for the entire value of a vehicle. They only pay for the relatively small part of the value of the vehicle that they actually use.

Leasing may not be a good option, too, if you don't typically maintain your vehicles well, carry only minimum insurance, like to modify your vehicles, or prefer the idea of ownership.

Furthermore, if you expect lifestyle changes (marriage, divorce, job change) that might cause you to want to end your lease before its normal end date, don't lease. Leases are designed in a way that makes it both troublesome and expensive to terminate early.

Al Hearn is owner and operator of LeaseGuide.com (http://www.LeaseGuide.com), a popular web site for automotive consumers interested in leasing. The web site has helped thousands of visitors since 1995.


MORE RESOURCES:

TV Call-in Program Looks at Natural Gas Rush in PA
PA Farm News, PA - May 16, 2008
By Chuck Gill, PSU Ag Science News UNIVERSITY PARK -- With residents across the state asking questions about the Marcellus shale formation, ...


AM briefing
Centre Daily Times, PA - May 16, 2008
WPSU will hold a one-hour, live call-in program on issues associated with natural gas exploration, mineral rights leasing and the Marcellus Shale formation ...


RTT News

Wachovia foresees charge as high as $1B
Bizjournals.com, NC - May 1, 2008
Wachovia Corp. expects to incur a second-quarter charge of $800 million to $1 billion stemming from a federal appeals court ruling related to the tax ...
BB&T Says Not Materially Affected By Court Decision CNNMoney.com
Wachovia May Take $1 Billion Charge Tied to Leases (Update3) Bloomberg
Wachovia to Record up to $1 Billion Charge TheStreet.com
BusinessWeek - Reuters
all 175 news articles


Lessors Network (press release)

Marlin Business Services Corp. Reports First Quarter 2008 Results .
Lessors Network (press release), GA - May 9, 2008
MOUNT LAUREL, NJ, May 8, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Marlin Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq:MRLN) today reported first quarter 2008 net income of $1.4 million ...


The scoop on gas leases
Free Press Courier, PA - May 8, 2008
by Gayle Morrow If the turnout at last week's meeting about natural gas exploration is any indication, there are a lot of property owners in Tioga County ...
Protecting assets is very important Towanda Daily Review
all 2 news articles


Taxpayers footing bill for luxury rides
OneNewsNow, MS - May 6, 2008
Members of Congress are coming under fire for leasing expensive luxury vehicles at taxpayers' expense. CBS 2 in New York reports that several congressmen ...


Wyo Range environmental study should start over
Casper Star-Tribune Online, WY - Apr 24, 2008
Gov. Dave Freudenthal was right to protest a Denver energy company's influence over proposed oil and gas leasing in the Wyoming Range. ...


Student Senate urges cities to move signing dates for leases to ...
Daily Illini, IL - Apr 21, 2008
By Paul Biasco and Meghan O'Kelly Students that would normally be scrambling to solidify their living situations for the following academic year in the ...


Genesis Lease: Picking Among the Rubble
Seeking Alpha, NY - Apr 17, 2008
I've focused the last 3 months writing about stocks that have been unfairly taken apart. First, I chose Apple (AAPL) in January. Next I supported DryShips ...


Trio in Congress battles Roan drilling
Denver Post, CO - Apr 18, 2008
WASHINGTON — The fight over drilling on the Roan Plateau accelerated Thursday as three members of Colorado's congressional delegation offered legislation ...
New Roan legislation strikes a better Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Colo. Dems sponsor bill to limit drilling on Roan Daily Camera
Dems push for limits on Roan drilling Grand Junction Sentinel
Rocky Mountain News - KREX News Channel 5
all 17 news articles

Leases-Leasing - Google News



MaineBannerExchange

home | site map
© 2006