Is it better to lease or own?

Question

I only need a car for two years, so I'm wondering if financially it would be smarter to just lease a car, or purchase one.

Answer 1

Well in terms of lease you have to put a bunch of money down. You have to put a couple thousand or so for security deposit etc. You can't just go in there and sign a contract, get a car, and go. Plus you would have to make sure that you have full coverage for insurance because you are leasing. You have to make sure you stay on all your mantience. If something is broke you have to fix it. Also you'll be making payments and at the end you are just throwing it away. It is like renting a house instead of buying one. You are putting money into something without anything to show for.

Personally you can take that two to three thousand dollars you would have had to put down for a down payment and get a decent car. Something that will get you around for the couple of years. This way you can just get liability insurance and don't have to worry about making monthly payments. At the end of the two years you can sell the car and get some cash back.

Answer 2

If you plan on only having for 2 years a lease might be a good way to go, Some Leases have milage restrictions. If you plan on putting a lot of miles on it thats not a good way to go. Some leases let you buy the car after the lease, sometimes you can buy it and sell it for more money than you paid. If you are looking at Luxury cars leases are a great idea, you can get alot more car for the dollar.

Answer 3

Lease for 2 yrs and then walk away. Just don't go over the mileage and keep the car in good shape. I have been leasing cars since the 70's.

Answer 4

You won't get any money back on a lease. If you buy one you will. When you try and get a new car the next time you won't have anything to put down. It will be less now to lease but it is money you're throwing away.

Answer 5

Depends on what kinda of car you're looking at. If its an expensive one then just lease, if its within the cheaper ranges then just purchase and you can sell it off later. Toyota has a good resale value so would be a good choice for the buying option.

Answer 6

If you are only going to have the car for 2 years, in the end youll be spending around the same amount.

If you want to buy a car worth 10k, and you dont have 10k to fork out, your going to be leasing in the end anyway. In the end it really depends on what car you are getting, price wise.

But i dont think it matters for just 2 years, but if i had to choose, i would pay in full, save the hassle of intereste charges.

Answer 7

there is usually a down pmt involved with a lease, if you take that down pmt and divide it by the length of the lease,and add that to the monthly pmt. your payments will probably be as much as purchasing. if not, lease. also the miles matter. at the end of 2 years you will have nothing ,,if you purchase you may not be able to sell it for what you owe.not only having nothing, but owing something

Answer 8

Read Dave Ramsey's book, "Total Money Makeover"

1) Always own, don't lease
2) Get the money and pay it off in cash. You'll get a better deal and you won't have a car payment. Even if this means driving a clunker, you'll be able to avoid car payments for the rest of your life.

Don't be the average American-you don't need things that you don't have money for to impress people you don't even like.

Answer 9

If you have a business of your own or are a contract employee you can write off lease payments for a vehicle on your taxes. Otherwise, you might as well buy.

Answer 10

i think in your case, you should lease. with gas at the prices it is now, spending all that money on a car and then having to buy loads of gas would be hell. if you lease, you get to use the car, and then you get to hand it back to the car dealer and let them deal with trying to sell a car that guzzles gas.