Lease vs Buy

[Mary]

I am trying to help Mom decide what to do and I go back and forth. She just retired and NEEDS a new car. She won’t be putting a lot of miles on the car, so I lean toward leasing, although, I have zero experience with leasing. My FJ is 10 (I just realized that!) years old. I might need the advice for myself as well!!!

What are the pros and cons for leasing from her perspective?

[Traildust]

Buy slightly used.

If she's going to get a new car every year or two then lease

[Mayhem]

I’m a buy guy, but I also drive way too many miles to lease anything.

I am not a fan of leasing anything, unless absolutely necessary.


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[Casey]

Buy lightly used.

Leases were created by dealers so it is doubtful they're designed to benefit consumers.

[ByronB]

A nice used vehicle could save her plenty of money and if it were to be resold the return may not be bad depending on the vehicle. If she likes “new” then a lease may not be bad because she would not be putting many miles on the vehicle. I could never lease because I drive too many miles.

[dfkoon]

Did a lease once for my wife. I'm in the buy category. A good used wouldn't be bad.

[Artos]

Michelle found her 15 Tahoe certified used with 10k miles...the warranty is great on these certified, although we haven't had to use it. I would look into that angle as well.


Now paid for and up to about 45k miles...get'n close to needing tires.

[Fishndude]

Some of the lease deals(Lexus, Toyota, Honda, cars with high residual) out now are greatness. If you know she won’t drive the miles and if you know she wants a new car every 36 months (for example), and if you know she doesn’t mind always having a payment, then leasing may be a great option. Research and pencil to paper required of course, but certainly a possible option based on her future needs.

[dustoffer]

Go to the CARMAX website and do a bit of checking---lots of 2-3 y.o. vehicles with low miles for reasonable prices there--and in my experience their trade-in price on your vehicle is good as well.

Since you've driven your FJ 10 years you are obviously not one that has to have the latest and greatest, so a lease is a losing proposition for sure. No way I would lease a car/truck as it is all in the dealer's favor and you have zero residual value, even though you don't directly eat the depreciation.

[Rick]

Since you say she needs a new car, I will assume that she is not one to want a new one every couple of years. If she likes to keep them, I would say buy vs lease. And I would buy a low mileage used vehicle. It will still have factory warranty remaining if that makes her feel better. She can also buy an extended warranty with the money saved from buying brand new if she wants to. I am not a fan of extended warranties, most cars these days will go 150K miles with just basic maintenance....brakes, alternator, etc. And it sounds like it would be paid off way before she hits 100K, so a repair bill every once in awhile should not be a big deal.

To me, leasing only makes sense if you are someone that trades for a new car every couple of years and will never pay one off (assuming you can stay in the mileage boundries).

[Shane]

If she doesn't drive many miles, then she probably won't need to buy another car for several years. Buy slightly used (less than 20K miles) to get a good discount off of brand new, and then keep it forever.