Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the interest rate implied by your lease and what you do with the money you didn’t use to buy the car. If you invest it in something that returns more than the lease rate than yes.

Right, so if I lease for the next three years, while interest rates are high and invest the savings on my car payment, and then in three years when I purchased the residual car, I can finance at a lower rate since rates are dropping aggregate costs, maybe lower

I guess but you pay taxes whenever you buy or lease. With cars costing upwards of $80-$90k the Amare tax is not insignificant.

It rarely makes financial sense but it can make sense in terms of life choices and priorities. When I got pregnant I was driving a 12 yo car that didn’t have current safety features or room for a car seat. I could afford something safer by leasing.

When you’re older and need the most recent car safety features.

No. Absolutely not.

Only corporations should be leasing cars.

I was also a big believer in buying, and have had my current car for 18 years, the previous car for 10 years.

But... Now I want to drive an EV. But I'm convinced that the technology is going to be much, much better in 2 or 3 years (battery life longer, etc). So for the first time, I'm considering leasing an EV for 3 years, and then purchasing a newer car after that, when the technology is better.

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is never better (financially) than buying

this

The only time leasing is better is if you own a business, lease payments are an expense.

Leasing works if you drive 10-12,000 miles per year. It's also a lifestyle choice. I know someone who leases inexpensive cars because he hates being out of warranty and dealing with repairs. Plus depreciation is so high, who wants to deal with that?

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the interest rate implied by your lease and what you do with the money you didn’t use to buy the car. If you invest it in something that returns more than the lease rate than yes.

Right, so if I lease for the next three years, while interest rates are high and invest the savings on my car payment, and then in three years when I purchased the residual car, I can finance at a lower rate since rates are dropping aggregate costs, maybe lower

Depends on the interest rate implied by your lease and what you do with the money you didn’t use to buy the car. If you invest it in something that returns more than the lease rate than yes.

Anonymous wrote:If you keep a car 7-10 years, is leasing ever the lower cost method?

No, it would be idiotic to lease a car for 7 years.

Leasing is never better (financially) than buying

Absolutely not.

Anonymous wrote:If you keep a car 7-10 years, is leasing ever the lower cost method?

No.

You lease when you a) have money to burn and/or b) feel that you must have a new car every two to three years.

If you keep a car 7-10 years, is leasing ever the lower cost method?