Leasing vs Buying: What's the Right Choice?

Leasing or Buying Your Next Vehicle: What's the Best Choice for Your Lifestyle?

Making the right choice for your budget, your lifestyle, and your family is important--once you sign a lease or a financing agreement, you're legally bound. We care about making sure that you can make an informed and confident decision before you buy or lease. Read our brief comparison below matching up the pros and cons of leasing and financing to learn a little more about the process.

If you're still unsure, our financing team would be happy to give you more details about leasing programs through our brands, or auto loan information.

Short-Term Costs: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Leasing. Since you only "pay for the car you use" when you lease, you're only paying for a portion of the vehicle; payments are based on a percentage of the value of the vehicle divided over the number of months you'll be leasing the car. This means that your monthly payments for a lease will be much lower than they would be for purchasing the same vehicle. Your down payment can also be much lower when leasing.

Long-Term Costs: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Buying. Buying has the clear advantage in long-term costs, because every payment you make on your loan is getting you toward a debt-free future. When you finish loan payments, you own the vehicle outright and have built equity. There is no equity-building in the lease, because you do not own the vehicle.

Peace of Mind and Coverage: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Leasing. In terms of coverage, leasing is a great option because drivers are usually covered by new-vehicle and powertrain warranties throughout the duration of their lease. A 36-month lease + a 36-month warranty = total peace of mind for you, if warranty coverage is an important factor in your decision.

Travel and Mileage: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Buying. Here again, buying has a clear advantage. While leasing programs do allow for a flexible mileage schedule (some range up to an allowed 20,000 miles per year), you're still locked into a set number of miles you can drive per year/over the course of your lease. Going over your allotted mileage comes with fees at lease-end. When you buy your vehicle, you can drive wherever, whenever, for as long as you want. There are no restrictions.

Features and Options: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Tie. The lower monthly payments of your lease do mean that you can afford to lease a more expensive trim, or choose that pricey package option, but this one really comes down to a tie. Buying your vehicle means that you can completely customize it from the beginning, and you can choose all sorts of accessories and parts to accessorize later on. With a lease, you're discouraged from adding aftermarket products.

Ease of Trade: Leasing vs Buying

Advantage: Leasing. When you lease, you're committing to keep the vehicle for a set period of time--typically 24 to 36 months. At the end of that time, you can choose to keep the vehicle and pay for the remainder of the cost, or you can bring it back to trade it for a new vehicle. Trading in your current lease to either lease again or buy is easy and quick. When you want to trade the vehicle you currently own, whether by private sale or at a dealership, it can be a little more complicated.

Get the Details at Junge Automotive Group

We're here to help create empowered, confident buyers and lessees. If you have any questions about the financing process, about specific brands' leasing programs, or about how your credit score may affect your ability to buy or lease a vehicle, please reach out to a financing team at your local Junge Automotive dealership.

We look forward to working with you.