shikbas

Hello guys,you are always helpful here and I thank you for your input.I want to get my wife a Toyota highlander,do you think is better to lease or to buy now,,,,thank you

salimshah

For money issues, the best information would be from a tax guy.

For pricing you may get better info in Toyo-land.

If people respond here, they will only talk about their personal experience, which may or may not be applicable.


Salim

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

Just saw this article on lifehacker today...

http://lifehacker.com/5858640/should...or-lease-a-car

Hope it helps,
-Joe

shikbas

Thanks alot guys

Adamjeeps

To me, it comes down to this:

If you don't drive much and like a new car every 3-4 years - lease.
If you drive a lot or keep vehicles longer than 5 years - buy.

willyb0b

Always buy. Why rent something for it's use and be done after the lease is over? At least you can sale the vehicle whenever you want to because you own it. The acquisition of personal property is always superior, and empowering, over merely borrowing/renting/leasing.

tfischer

Look at it this way. Somebody has to buy the car from the dealer: either you or the leasing company. You will both pay the same price. Three years later, under the lease option, you surrender the car to the leasing company which sells it. The leasing company makes a profit from the combination of these three transactions (buying (cash out), lease payments (cash in) and selling (cash in)). But if you put yourself in the position of the leasing company, you pay the same thing for the car and don't have to make lease payments which generate a profit for the leasing company. This assumes that you, like the leasing company, pay cash for the car, but even adding in the adjustments for the present value of money over time and lost opportunity value of your cash, almost all calculations have shown that it is far less expensive in the long run to buy a car rather than lease one.
As the article referenced above concludes: "The reality: Buying a car is almost always cheaper in the long run, according to most calculations, such as this one from Cars.com. The longer you own the car, usually the more you save by buying."
Of course, don't buy any car that you can't afford, and don't go into debt for a car.

salimshah

The answer is not very simple.

Is the vehicle to be used for business? [you can claim business use for the vehicle you own as well]
Does the owner wants a new vehicle every 3 years?
What is the business model of the vehicle manufacturer [hint. imho bmw is keeping the residual value higher than free market value]?
What is the cash flow situation of the buyer?
What investment opportunities exist for the difference in payments?

If you eliminate all things and only compare lease vs buy, the answer will be buy.

Salim