Leasing Vs. Buying A Car
Leasing Vs. Buying A Car
Getting a new vehicle is a big decision. Not only do you have to figure out what type of car is best for you and your household and if you are going to buy used or new, but you have to decide how you are going to pay for it.
When it comes to vehicles, you really have two options: buying or leasing. Your decision will come down to what you want from the car. If you are looking short term, leasing might be for you. However, if you are in this vehicle for the long term, it might be time to buy a car. Let’s take a look at each option and break down the pros and cons.
Leasing
When you lease a car, you are essentially involved in a long-term renting situation. There are definite pros to leasing. One of the biggest attractions of leasing is that the monthly payment is usually significantly lower than purchasing a car. Not only that, but you get the excitement of getting a brand new vehicle every two or three years. When you get ready to trade in your car, you won’t have the worry or hassle of having to sell your old one. Another benefit of leasing is that your car is always protected under a warranty, so you don’t have to worry about unexpected costs if something happens to your car.
As with most things in life, there are cons to leasing a vehicle as well. First of all, you will always have a car payment. There will never be a time when your car will be “paid off”. You will need a stable income to know that you can make the payment every month. Another issue some people have with leases is that you can only drive a certain number of miles while you have the car. Anytime you go over a certain mileage rule they have set, you will have to pay fees. Also, there are fees if you don’t properly maintain your car while you have it. You must consistently take care of everything in a timely manner to avoid those fees. If for some reason you have to get out of your contract, it is extremely hard–much harder than having to sell a car if you owned it.
Buying
Probably the biggest pro to buying a car would be that it is yours. You own it, so you can essentially do whatever you like to it. Customize it, drive as many miles in it as you wish and maintain it however you like because it is yours! Another good thing about buying a car is that you can keep it however long you like, so you can get more for your money. Also, with car financing plans, you will eventually pay the vehicle off, which means you will get to a point where you are no longer making monthly payments unlike leasing. Then there is the perk of being able to resell it or trade it in if you ever needed to. It’s all up to you because you own it!
There are some negatives to buying when comparing it to leasing though. One being that your monthly payments in a financing plan can be significantly higher than if you were to lease a car. Another con would be that your warranty will run out eventually and when it does, if your vehicle breaks the cost is on you completely. Also, it can be hard to sell a used car in some markets, so if you needed to sell it and couldn’t, you would be stuck.
As you can see, buying or leasing a car completely depends upon your lifestyle. What do you want from the car? How long do you want to keep it? Those are some questions you need to ask yourself before you get a new car. Weigh out the pros and cons of buying vs. leasing first, and then make the decision that seems best for your situation.
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