Should you lease?

If you lease a vehicle, you’re not making a long-term commitment. When the lease period is up, you just bring the car back and walk away, or you can buy the vehicle by paying off the lease’s remaining balance.

Basically, when you lease a vehicle, you’re only renting it. Typically, your cash expenditure is much less. Your down payment will be less than if you buy the car outright. Usually, monthly lease payments are less than payments would be to buy the car truck out right. Because leasing doesn’t cost as much as buying does, you can usually afford to drive a more expensive car.

Another reason this might appeal to you is that the car you drive is usually new or almost new, so that major repairs and maintenance of aging cars don’t apply to you. Usually, the leased vehicle is under factory warranty for the time you have it. In addition, many lease contracts have provisions to cover routine maintenance, such as oil changes.

Should you buy a vehicle?

Buying a vehicle might be for you if you want the comfort of knowing that eventually, the car will be paid for and will provide transportation for you “free” of charge except for repairs and maintenance, until you decide to sell and buy another one.

In addition, if you own your vehicle, whatever value it has is yours. You can use it for trade in or sale. If you lease, you have to start over every time you sign a new lease.

In addition, if you buy your vehicle, you won’t have mileage restrictions as you often do with a lease. With a lease, you usually have to pay penalties if you exceed the mileage you’re allowed. You can also customize your car as you choose and not worry about minor damage or scratches, for example, as you would with the lease.

If you’re still undecided as to whether you should buy or lease, remember the following:

· If you buy a vehicle more than once every three years, lease. If you keep your cars longer than that, buy.

· Depreciation: Since cars depreciate so rapidly, you’ll lose money if you buy a new vehicle every two to three years. If you lease, you’ll save money. On the other hand, with proper maintenance, you can expect to be able to drive a new car for many years. So if you keep your car for several years, you can expect to put at least 100,000 miles on it with few worries, so that ultimately, it will pay for itself. Because of this, you’ll save money over the long term if you buy your car, as long as you keep it in good condition and drive it for several years.