Trying to decide if leasing or buying your next vehicle is the right choice for you? The choice may become clearer once you’ve taken all the various pros and cons into consideration.
LEASING PROS
You’re driving a new car, which means you get it for its most hassle-free years, limiting the number of visits you’ll need to pay at the shop.
Your vehicle is usual under manufacturer’s warranty for the duration of your lease.
You don’t need to stress over financial details like trade-in value or resale price.
Leasing helps you to afford to drive a more expensive and better-equipped vehicle than if you were buying outright.
Ending your lease is simple and straight-forward: Just drop the vehicle back off at the dealership.
BUYING PROS
You don’t need to have stellar credit to purchase a vehicle outright, which can be a barrier for some when they attempt to lease.
You have no restrictions on your mileage; you’re free to take on the open road as you see fit!
There are no monthly payments once you pay off your loan. When you submit that final payment, you are the proud, paid-off owner of your very own vehicle.
You can customize your car any way you want, and you don’t need to worry about fees for excess wear and tear.
If you always lease, you always have a monthly payment without ownership at the end of the lease agreement.
Lease agreements have a maximum number of miles you can drive, and things can get costly if you go over that limit by the end of your lease. Always know what you’re signing up for when you sign a lease agreement.
As with the potential for going over in miles, leasees can exceed expected wear and tear. This ends up as another cost for the driver at the end of the lease term.
BUYING CONS
In the short term, buying a car is more expensive than leasing a car. You will usually need to put down a significant payment at the time of sale, and this can be a challenge for many prospective car buyers.
The value of your car depreciates rapidly after purchase.
