Cars
Leasing is a rental with a mileage cap. Buying costs more monthly if you finance, but you keep the residual. Compare cash-out minus leftover equity, not the payment on the window sticker.
Updated 2026-09-08 · 8 min read
Buying: you pay depreciation, interest, tax, insurance, maintenance. You keep whatever the car is worth when you stop. Leasing: you pay predicted depreciation plus a finance charge, with a mileage and wear box around it.
If you drive 15k+ miles, have kids and cargo, or keep cars until the wheels complain, leasing's caps will tax you.
Write down five years of cash: down + payments − leftover equity (buy) versus drive-off + payments × how many lease cycles fit in five years. Ignore 'we can get you into this for $399.'
Used cars still beat both options for a lot of households. Depreciation's steepest year is someone else's problem.
Run the numbers: buy vs lease calculator (All Access).
Often, if you keep cars 6–10 years. Leasing can be cheaper if you truly turn cars every 3 years, stay under the mileage cap, and would otherwise take a high-rate loan on a rapidly depreciating model.
You are financing depreciation plus a rent charge, not the whole car. You also own none of the residual. A low payment is not a discount.
Drive-off fees, first month, acquisition, and taxes still exist. Read the money factor, residual percent, and excess-mile rate.
Educational only. Verify IRS limits and loan quotes before acting.