Do you lease or buy?

[davidpizzica]

I bought my car ($500 left to pay on it!)
I was going to trade a few years ago for a Honda Element but the LEASE was going to be over $500 a month. And buying it was going to be like $450.

I chose to keep my Alero (thank God) at $306 a month!

In my case leasing - like renting didn't make sense.
when I was moving to this area back in 1999 - the cheapest (creepiest) apartment rent was $320 a month. I found a teeny tiny little house to buy and my house payment is
.
.
.
$200.00 a month!!!

I lease my 2006 chevy cobalt at $118 a month. That'd pretty cheap, and I have a sporty car that's easy on gas!

[Cataholic]

PCB and I were having this discussion a couple of weeks ago. Like Shaismom, I think leasing is alot like renting....and, I prefer to have equity (if one has equity in vehicles..he he he).

[Cookiebaker]

I work for a company that leases equipment to customers. So, I am very aware of the ins and outs of leasing, and exactly where the $$$ goes. I think it is safe to say that I personally will never lease anything. I WILL say that in certain situations, leasing is perfect. But, for the everyday customer, the company that you are leasing from is making a LOT of $$$$. (And from the selling perspective, I love leases!!)

[joycenalex]

a cars' purpose is to get you safely and efficiently from point a to point b. it does not/should not define your self, self esteem or value as a human. very talented advertising and advertisers try to convince millions of us otherwise. leasing a car is bad debt in that it brings you nothing of long term value, when you turn the car back into the dealer, you have nothing but memories. when you sell your bought for car, you only have memories too. leasing a car may let you get something fancier then you can ( realistically) afford. i'll never lease a car, i can buy, drive and own a car for many many years, and when that car is paid off, those monthly payments go nicely in to my 401K or something of value for my house.

[Cincy'sMom]

We bought (or are still buying) our van, however I am leasing my truck.

When I graduated from college in '99, I bought a '93 Ford Ranger. Two years later, we put a new engine in it. Then it was the water pump. Then it was.... you get the picture. I decided I didn't want to go through that again, that I would rather get brand new and have it under warranty. Leasing the truck was a good option for me at the time. The payment was better then buying, I am way under my limit on miles, and don't have to worry about expensive repairs.

I have 14 months lef ton my 36 month lease, and I am already trying to decide what to do. I love my truck, but I also love the idea of another brand new vechile. If I don't lease another, I will buy the truck I currently have. I know its history, I know it is low miles, and I can probablly afford used easier then buying new.

[Glacier]

I bought my truck. We looked at leasing but the mileage was fairly restrictive. The price if you were over the mileage at the end of the lease was insane. I have to drive alot. One trip to see my family is over 6000km. My weekly running to work and back is close to 400km.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I buy. Leasing is very popular here in SoCal.....explains all the Mercedes, MBW's, Lexus, Hummers, etc.

I spoke last week with a woman I worked with in Chicago. She leased (so she could drive a really hot car.... ) Her lease expired AND she lost her job. Now she has no wheels and no job to use on an application to either buy or lease.

My car is paid for. It will have 100,000 miles on it any day now. But at the end of my payments....I had something to show for it and something to get me around.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I work for a company that leases equipment to customers. So, I am very aware of the ins and outs of leasing, and exactly where the $$$ goes. I think it is safe to say that I personally will never lease anything. I WILL say that in certain situations, leasing is perfect. But, for the everyday customer, the company that you are leasing from is making a LOT of $$$$. (And from the selling perspective, I love leases!!)

I don't work for a leasing company, but what's stated above has been my feelings about leasing for a long time. In my opinion, for the normal average driver, leasing is NOT a good idea and I think I would have a hard time justifying leasing under ANY conditions.

Also, Terry and I ONLY buy used vehicles. The people who buy a new vehicle every two years are really throwing their money away because of the big depreciation hit cars take in the first few years. So what we do is let them pay the high new price - or better yet, we let them lease it - then two years later after they've either traded it in on a new one or their lease has ended, Terry and I come along and buy a perfectly good, practically brand new car for about 1/2 the price. Like Changharris, buying this way also makes it easier for us to pay cash, making the purchase even easier to swallow, and allowing us to spend the money which would have been spent on interest on something WE want......like a nice big motorhome.

In my opinion, cars are only an expense. They are a necessary evil, but are a depreciating asset so the least spent on them the better.