Then you should buy

 

Well, it's already evident that going past 6 years will save more and more money, no need to actually do a 10 or 12 year projection!
I calculated 6 years because the OP wanted to keep it for 6. It's a personal choice really. I don't like to keep my cars for more than 3-4 years. The longest I've kept a car is 6 years and it was tenuous at the end of that 6 years. Then again, it was for a much more expensive car that wasn't reliable.

Your younger bro's buddy is not entirely wrong if you want to buy a new car every 3 or 6 years. You just have to do the math and gauge what you want to spend your money on. Almost everything we buy is depreciating. Life would be pretty boring if we only bought things that never depreciated. We can't always be 100% financially responsible, we gotta follow our hearts a little bit. Some people love cars as more than just a tool.

 

That's the key I think. We can't make blanket statements like "leasing is like throwing away money", which I hear so often.

 

Which we hear so often from this particular source too lol

 

We ate out 2X this past weekend. The first outing on Sat. went well. But on Sunday, my wife impulsively ordered a lemonade. I kicked her under the table but she ignored me and ordered it anyway. $2.99 for a drink that if she could wait until we got to the car, we had at least 3 Poland Springs in the cupholders. I'm poking fun but $2.99 when she doesn't even finish the drink, is throwing money away. At the same time, eating out 2X is doing the same. We could have stayed home and enjoyed the oatmeal and gruel, it's really not that bad with syrup.

I hear you guys, I think the key is to have a plan, stick to it, and know why you did it. And if you made a mistake, learn from it. I don't think anyone here can decide a lease vs. buy for someone else, but they can offer their experience and understanding of the terms and numbers...

 

You eat gruel with syrup!? Spendthrift.

 

One of my favorite snacks is to make fresh popcorn and put a little honey on it (not a lot) and mix it in...good source of grain/fiber and a healthy sweeter that is much better for you than white table sugar. .

 

I won't get involved in your marriage, but, personally, I don't think a $2.99 drink is worth a major argument.

 

You wild man you

 

I'll agree from that point of view. But, at the same time, what IS throwing money away (sometimes lots of it), is when people are so "sure" that they want a certain vehicle, and then, a year or two later, with the steep depreciation-curve, change their minds and take a major bath on the trade-in or early-lease termination. We've seen that, even right here on Car Chat. I don't remember the poster's name (and probably wouldn't use it if I did)...but one case involved an Audi S5 (which not a cheap car to begin with, by any means) that the guy bought and loved....until he test-drove a Mercedes AMG less than a year later. The AMG, of course, had more power (most AMG products do.....even the entry-level ones), and, despite advice from several of us to the contrary, he just HAD to have it, bath or no bath. What can you say in a case like that?

That's why it's important to KNOW what you want when you sign those papers...and be sure you aren't going to change your mind tomorrow.

 

Eh, its just money. If you've got it to spend, and its not hurting you to spend it, who are we to tell you you're "throwing money away".?

 

Oh, I agree it's not hurting me personally. But, IMO, it still makes little sense....particularly if one is going to need that money for other things. This person had also asked a number of us for advice....several times, and then clearly disregarded it. I see no ill or evil in mentioning that....hopefully others will not follow and make the same mistake.

 

It doesn't have to make sense to us, everybody has different priorities. I know people who take 5 figure losses on cars on a whim no problem. Lots of people out there with a lot of money to throw around.

 

I'd say so long as he knew he was taking a bath, that's his money to burn! I can't say that I'm innocent of such folly, however. The shortest I've ever owned a car is 3 months and it was a bloody bath indeed. Lets just leave it at that.

 

I can't say I'm totally innocent, either, but not in modern times. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, American cars were so poorly built (I'm not exaggerating), and warranties so short (only 1/12 on everything) that I wasted money several times before I finally said the hell with it and converted to Japanese makes.