re: Own vs Lease

I'm a big fan of leasing in the right situations. There's a few "prerequisites" to make leasing worthwhile. However, if you fit into these requirements, leasing can actually be more advantageous than buying. The requirements are that you want to own a new car often (desirable lease term, usually 2-4 years), can drive under the allotted mileage (10k-15k/year), do not want to modify or alter the car, and take generally good care of the vehicle. You want to make sure you fully understand the calculations involved in leasing so as to not get confused during negotiations. In general, leasing to buying the same vehicle is not better than buying outright from the beginning.

As far as using the dealer incentives, every dealer/manufacturer I've worked with has been able to apply the incentive money factor (lease "interest rate") and residual, regardless of which trim or options I choose (Toyota does calculate residual value different from most manufacturers).

I've made a simple spreadsheet to compare the total amount "invested" over the lease term in comparison to buying over the same term (assumption is you trade/sell vehicle at same time either option). From the vehicles I've compared, the lease option with manufacturer incentives can often be advantageous to buying.

Screenshot from actual Acura negotiations:


I've used this before, and it makes sense to me. It's possible that something may be missed, so I'm open to any comments.