leasing or financing.. which one is better??

[autumnrain]

besides the interest rate.. what else are factors..

[Mitsu3000gt]

IMO, financing is always better than leasing, unless your in the position where you can say "Ok, I want to spend X amount of dollars every month, only on my car, to have a new car every 3 years, always have warranty, BUT never actually own anything". It is good if you only ever want to deal with warrantied cars and get a new one every now and then but only works if your OK with pissing away alot of money. To lease nice cars all the time is very expensive.

Finance it unless you can deal with/easily afford having nothing at the end of your lease in turn for always having a newer/different car.

[SilverBoost]

Leasing allows you to claim a portion of the lease if you own your own business as well.

The biggest benefit is a lower monthly payment, allowing people to drive a vehicle they could never think of affording on a finance plan.

[Lexxan]

I lease as I use my truck for my company.. and yeah I like to always be on warranty and drive a new vehicle lol

[Redlyne_mr2]

The average amount of time a person keeps a vehicle is 3 years. Many people think that financing is superior because you "own" the vehicle however for the first 3-5 years your asset is a depreciating one so whats so great about owning it? People buy these vehicles, finance them, then get sick of them, mile them out etc and trade them in taking a big hit in the process.
With a lease the manufacturer swallows the depreciation so the risk is all on the manufacturer's shoulders.
With a lease you have options and a lower risk. At the end of the lease you are faced with the residual (buyout price). If the vehicle is worth more than the buyout price then you're laughing. You can sell it for a possible profit and pay out the residual. keep the vehicle and either payout or finance the residual (usually for a very low interest rate). Or if the vehicle is worth less than the residual then you can say thankyou very much, return the unit and start fresh all over again. Another plus is that you're always in a new vehicle, you can write off the payments as mentioned and there will always be warranty. I used to think leases were bunk until i actually saw it broken down on a cash flow analysis then thought about how much sense it makes.

I do not recomend leases however if: You plan to mile it out
or you plan to beat the shit out of it.

[djayz]

the thing with a lease car is you have to return it the way you got it. Its pretty much like a rental without getting the insurance.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by djayz
the thing with a lease car is you have to return it the way you got it. Its pretty much like a rental without getting the insurance.
Another good point, do not lease if you plan to do some serious modding, racing etc. Race city wont/shouldnt let you on the track with a leased vehicle however Ive seen some there before. ;)

[topmade]

If you have a business you can write it off or always want to drive a new car then Lease. If you plan on pimping your ride with engine mods like super charging or turbo charging or want to keep the car 5 + years then finance.

Don't forget about the km's you plan on doing as this might make a difference as well.

And one more thing, if you lease, don't upgrade anything, there's no point in doing that as you will be giving it back anyways.

[snade831]

If you have the money, finance.

[Altezza]

If you can write off the lease payments, lease it. Otherwise, leasing a car is rarely monetarily beneficial for the typical individual.

I personally enjoy the feeling of owning my vehicle.

[googe]

leasing is either the best deal or the worst deal, depending why youre doing it. if youre doing it to afford a better car, its probably a worse deal. if you can afford to pay cash outright for your car, its still often better to lease it. one, because you can write off lease payments, and two, because the big chunk of cash that you would have spent on your vehicle can be invested instead, and if the return on that investment is greater than the interest rate on your lease, you come out ahead.

in addition to all that, if you have the option of buying it out or giving it back at the end of the term, then you have the advantage of making your decision and knowing the market value and what itll cost you to buy it out.

though, some people just lease because they can get a fancy car they cant afford and then give it back at the end and are left with nothing, didnt invest any money, didnt write off any payments, and paid more for it.

[GoChris]

I am leasing my car, which I plan to buy. The reason I am leasing is two fold, first, I can write it off as a business expense. Second, the total final price of the car, after buyout, was actually cheaper than financing at the time due to cash back incentives.

The all said and done price is what's important.

[CCM Pro]

OK...everyone has their own opinions...but its not as if you cannot write off a financed vehicle...I have my own company and write off my financed vehicle...its not JUST for leasing

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by snade831
If you have the money, finance.
You wont have money for too much longer if you have that mindset.

[spyce]

Originally posted by googe
leasing is either the best deal or the worst deal, depending why youre doing it. if youre doing it to afford a better car, its probably a worse deal. if you can afford to pay cash outright for your car, its still often better to lease it. one, because you can write off lease payments, and two, because the big chunk of cash that you would have spent on your vehicle can be invested instead, and if the return on that investment is greater than the interest rate on your lease, you come out ahead.

in addition to all that, if you have the option of buying it out or giving it back at the end of the term, then you have the advantage of making your decision and knowing the market value and what itll cost you to buy it out.

though, some people just lease because they can get a fancy car they cant afford and then give it back at the end and are left with nothing, didnt invest any money, didnt write off any payments, and paid more for it.

:werd:
my thoughts on leasing exactly

[hussein]

If you don't have the cash to pay it off immediatly then... I think that leasing is the better option over financing, especially if you want to keep the vehicle for longer after the lease is over.

With the lease at the end of the term you have the option to buy the vehicle, which (3 years later) will be the depreciated value of the car, vs if you financed it, you would be paying the 3 years of depreciation. Some auto maker's have packages you can purchase with your lease such that you are allowed a few scratches and things and won't incur a penalty. Secondly you can buy extra milage, and if you don't use it you can get your $ back for it, vs going over milage and having to pay a penalty.

This was all basically said earlier but:
paying in cash>lease>finance

[rc2002]

Originally posted by hussein

This was all basically said earlier but:
paying in cash>lease>finance

Unless you can get a better rate of investment by leasing (like googe said). Then

Lease/Finance >> Paying in Cash

[Redlyne_mr2]

Yea paying cash is the worst thing you can do. You pay 30K for a vehicle, drive it off the lots, its worth 25K...you just lost 5K. If you have the cash invest it. If you're going to finance it go 0%

[max_boost]

Yah come to think about it, when my 330 goes back to BMW in March, I'll have made $30k in lease payments over the past 3 years and have nothing to show for it. To top it off, my buyout is going to be $39k and I can buy a used one with the same mileage for $35k haha

MItsu3000GT said it best, if you don't have a business to write it off and if youare OK with pissing away your money, then leasing is for you.

[max_boost]

Extending the term of your finance will also lower your monthly payments. Generally you'll still pay more vs. leasing but the extra $50-$100/month will put you in an equity position in 3-4 years allowing you to use the cash to be put towards your next vehicle purchase.

I use to be strictly a lease guy but now I've changed my ways. Finance FTW haha

[drox]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
IMO, financing is always better than leasing, unless your in the position where you can say "Ok, I want to spend X amount of dollars every month, only on my car, to have a new car every 3 years, always have warranty, BUT never actually own anything". It is good if you only ever want to deal with warrantied cars and get a new one every now and then but only works if your OK with pissing away alot of money. To lease nice cars all the time is very expensive.
Doing that pays my taxes kthx. I may as well just return it after 3 years and do it all over again. Its not like I can stop paying revenue canada.

[Zero102]

I am leasing my golf.
I was driving my 951 every day, putting ~600-675 miles a week on it (us car), and spending ~$650-$700/month in fuel alone, plus (on average) $100-$125/month in parts. To top it all off, my wife couldn't drive it and I only had space for 1 passenger.
One day I was up to my neck in mechanical problems with the 951 and started looking for something to drive around for the winter/while my 951 was broken. It didn't make much sense to buy another cheap car just to dump 10x what it's worth in parts into it to possibly cut my fuel bill down slightly. I went to a couple new car dealerships and decided to buy a diesel golf. My insurance company decided to crank my rates up to $6000/year on it so I switched to State Farm and saved a ton on insurance too.
Long story short, I went from spending $700/month in fuel, $125/month in parts and $205/month in insurance to:
$150/month in fuel, $380/month in lease payments and $130/month in insurance for a total savings of $370/month.
This is why I am leasing, because it is better than free and I now drive a car with a full warranty that gets amazing mileage and has enough room to drive a couple friends to work for lunch money :D
Plus, looking at 4 year old golf TDI's with similar equipment to mine, they are selling in the $18k-$20k range, and the buyout on my lease is $14.3k. I plan to lease to sell then pay off the end of my lease and pocket the rest of the money. The icing on the cake is that the lease ends on the golf 1 year before Honda is due to release their diesel engines to the north american market. So I can sell the golf, drive my (by then fixed) 951 for a year and buy a new honda diesel when everything is said and done.

[Xtrema]

Leasing

Pros:
- Writes off if you have a business
- New car every few year, trouble free
- Lower payment

Cons:
- You'll pay more interest because the principle was never paid down as fast as financing over the term.
- it may cost more than the depreciation of the car
- If you don't buy out, condition of car on return could be a hassle.


You can write off financing as well (as a business) but less.

[DepTrotter]

well with leasing you can refinance the residual value after your original lease term is up which will make for similar payments on a lower finance on the buyout.. (i think i said that right)

for example

you take out a lease for a 18k car, in 3 years youll pay about 12k

10k towards the car 2k for interest

so now the residual is 8k (obviously depending on its value in 3 years), you can refinance that and have similar monthly payments and pay it off in 3 more years

if you do that obviously itll take longer, and when you own the vehicle it won't be worth that much anymore, but if you need a car and don't have the extra coin then thats probably the best thing for you to do.. and if in 3 years you dont want it anymore, sell it privately, give the dealership the buyout and pocket whats left ;)

[HRD2PLZ]

My accountant is always telling me I should lease since its a better write-off for business. But I have always choosen to buy my vehicles outright. I don't think I would like the feeling of not owning my vehicle. Not to mention I like changing my vehicles every year or two. I hate the feeling of payments over my head.

That being said though, I will probably consider leasing my next vehicle. Especially if I go with the Range Rover Sport, I DEFINITELY wouldn't want to own something that depreciates like a Range Rover :rofl:

[bspot]

When I was car shopping I looked at either buying a one or two year old Cooper S, or leasing the Cobalt.

The reason is, I knew the Cooper S wouldn't have resale issues. My "new cavalier" however had a really good chance for shitty depreciation being American, and the cavalier replacement. My residual is $14K and its already looking like I'll be happy I didn't own it when I give them my car back in a couple years without taking an additional hit.

That said, my next car will be one or two years old and financed.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by max_boost
Yah come to think about it, when my 330 goes back to BMW in March, I'll have made $30k in lease payments over the past 3 years and have nothing to show for it. To top it off, my buyout is going to be $39k and I can buy a used one with the same mileage for $35k haha

MItsu3000GT said it best, if you don't have a business to write it off and if youare OK with pissing away your money, then leasing is for you.
Well you do have something to show for it, you have 3 years of driving a bmw to show for it. Looks like BMW screwed up a bit on estimating their residual unfortunately. Let's pretend you financed it....whats the cost of car? 63K? say another 6 grand in interest on top of that. So you make your finance payments for 3 years and you decide you want to sell only to find you owe more than its worth so to be honest your no better off. At least you can walk away and start fresh.

[WWJAI]

Originally posted by HRD2PLZ
My accountant is always telling me I should lease since its a better write-off for business. But I have always choosen to buy my vehicles outright. I don't think I would like the feeling of not owning my vehicle. Not to mention I like changing my vehicles every year or two. I hate the feeling of payments over my head.



Exactly the same reason why I would always buy the vehicle straight off with cash since I wouldn't like having to worry about making payments each month for it and knowing the fact that I truly own it. And I would have the intention for keeping it 5+ years anyways.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by HRD2PLZ
My accountant is always telling me I should lease since its a better write-off for business. But I have always choosen to buy my vehicles outright. I don't think I would like the feeling of not owning my vehicle. Not to mention I like changing my vehicles every year or two. I hate the feeling of payments over my head.

That being said though, I will probably consider leasing my next vehicle. Especially if I go with the Range Rover Sport, I DEFINITELY wouldn't want to own something that depreciates like a Range Rover :rofl:

Leasing is better..... the payment - write off < depreciation.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Well you do have something to show for it, you have 3 years of driving a bmw to show for it. Looks like BMW screwed up a bit on estimating their residual unfortunately. Let's pretend you financed it....whats the cost of car? 63K? say another 6 grand in interest on top of that. So you make your finance payments for 3 years and you decide you want to sell only to find you owe more than its worth so to be honest your no better off. At least you can walk away and start fresh.

BMW is still selling 2004 330's for $45k+GST but the black book value is only $35k. There's a 2004 330CI ZHP with only 29,000kms from BC going for $37k right now. The new E92 coupes have lowered the resale value of the E46 dramatically.

Like you said it wasn't so bad. I got a lease deal with a really low rate, a high residual, allowing me to pay very little for an expensive car and able to walk away it hassle free haha.

[benyl]

Finance an appreciating asset. Lease a depreciating asset.

[danno]

so i'm finacing a $38000, 5 years my car is worth $18000 or so. so i have $18000 in my pocket so basically i spent $20000. 3 years i lease i pay $20000, then i get nothing.

i'm confused, why would i want to lease??
other than it being a write off.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by danno
so i'm finacing a $38000, 5 years my car is worth $18000 or so. so i have $18000 in my pocket so basically i spent $20000. 3 years i lease i pay $20000, then i get nothing.

i'm confused, why would i want to lease??
other than it being a write off.
Click thread title, start on first post, continue reading on from there.

[rusich]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Click thread title, start on first post, continue reading on from there.

How many times do I have to re-read the tread till I make a conclusion?

[googe]

Originally posted by CCM Pro
OK...everyone has their own opinions...but its not as if you cannot write off a financed vehicle...I have my own company and write off my financed vehicle...its not JUST for leasing

not correct, well not entirely...in the case of leasing you can write off the ENTIRE payment. if youre financing, you can only write off a small amount per year. the tax benefits are far better because its treated like a rental, not a business asset.

[benyl]

Originally posted by CCM Pro
OK...everyone has their own opinions...but its not as if you cannot write off a financed vehicle...I have my own company and write off my financed vehicle...its not JUST for leasing

Yes, but the way it is done is much more complicated. You have to deal with the capital cost allowance (Tax Depreciation) for each year you own it. Also, the tax credit you receive is smaller and smaller each year.

If you sell the vehicle, you also have to charge the purchaser GST. You also have to pay tax on any amount that is greater than the depreciation you have deducted.

With a lease, you just write off the entire payment. Makes it really easy.

[bspot]

Originally posted by danno
so i'm finacing a $38000, 5 years my car is worth $18000 or so. so i have $18000 in my pocket so basically i spent $20000. 3 years i lease i pay $20000, then i get nothing.

i'm confused, why would i want to lease??
other than it being a write off.

Finance (example with no interest):
Purchase price:
-$38,000

Sell the car:
+$18,000

Net:

-$20,000


Lease:

Payments:
-$20,000


Both ways you end up -$20,000.

Your forgetting that with the finance even though you've only paid $20,000 in payments in your example, you still owe the bank $18,000.

[autumnrain]

Originally posted by googe


not correct, well not entirely...in the case of leasing you can write off the ENTIRE payment. if youre financing, you can only write off a small amount per year. the tax benefits are far better because its treated like a rental, not a business asset.

I was told you could only write off the TAX proportion of the LEASE VEHICLE??!!?!

so I am self-employed so I should should lease and if my lease payments are 700 bucks a month I can write off the whole amount and not just the 6% tax portion!! someone please clear this for me!!!

oh and is it in my interest to put a 10000 initial deposit if i am leasing??

[benyl]

Originally posted by autumnrain

oh and is it in my interest to put a 10000 initial deposit if i am leasing??

No.

You cannot write off the $10K downpayment. 0 down is the way to go.

By the way, you can only write off the lease if you keep a log of the miles driven. You can only write off the usage of the vehicle for business purpose. If you drive to Banff for fun, it becomes a taxable benefit for you personally.

[drox]

Originally posted by benyl


Yes, but the way it is done is much more complicated. You have to deal with the capital cost allowance (Tax Depreciation) for each year you own it. Also, the tax credit you receive is smaller and smaller each year.

If you sell the vehicle, you also have to charge the purchaser GST. You also have to pay tax on any amount that is greater than the depreciation you have deducted.

With a lease, you just write off the entire payment. Makes it really easy. Youll probably get in trouble eventually if its your only vehicle and you're writing off the full payments. Never put money on a leased vehicle. 0 down or whatever minimal amount of money that gets you into it.

[benyl]

read my post above yours.

[googe]

Originally posted by benyl


No.

You cannot write off the $10K downpayment. 0 down is the way to go.

By the way, you can only write off the lease if you keep a log of the miles driven. You can only write off the usage of the vehicle for business purpose. If you drive to Banff for fun, it becomes a taxable benefit for you personally.

not true...you dont need to keep a log if you have a personal vehicle besides. if its a dual purpose vehicle (business and personal) then you have to log. if you have, say, a $2000 beater honda in your driveway that never moves, that could in theory be your personal vehicle... ;)

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by googe


not true...you dont need to keep a log if you have a personal vehicle besides. if its a dual purpose vehicle (business and personal) then you have to log. if you have, say, a $2000 beater honda in your driveway that never moves, that could in theory be your personal vehicle... ;)
I think he was implying that. And yes the total lease payment can be written off as long as its all for business purposes.

[Altezza]

Originally posted by autumnrain


so I am self-employed so I should should lease and if my lease payments are 700 bucks a month I can write off the whole amount and not just the 6% tax portion!! someone please clear this for me!!!



Not sure if this applies to you...but be careful on the definition of self-employment. After discussing this matter at length with both a tax accountant and also a two CRA tax auditors, there is a very specific list of determining factors which you need to satisfy before you are declared self employed. Any *one* item that's not to CRA's satisfaction will, under their rules and definitions, declare you as an "employee." According to the auditors I spoke to, a significant portion of people do not satisfy all the conditions under the law to be qualified as self-employed. One of the examples discussed was people working as a contractor instead of an employee. Although you are a "self-employed contractor" by definition of both parties of the contract, CRA may not define you as such.

Lets say you are Bob. Bob works under contract for ABBC Oil Ltd. He has no source deductions and takes care of his own taxes/deductions. Bob decides to lease a car with the $800 lease allowance. Bob later gets auditted and they declare his lease expenses (and perhaps other expenses) are not eligiable deductions. Why? Cuz Bob used a computer/equipment supplied by the company and they specified what hours he had to be at at work. That there is already enough to define you as an employee in CRA's eyes. They also can say that a significant portion of your gross income came from a single source, which could again rule you as an "employee". Whether or not you get called out on these rules is another matter. They wouldn't be very specific with me on exactly what makes them decide to pick you out (other than the obvious cost/benefit of them persuing you). And, of couse, under most circumstances, the above would not apply if you billed under an LLC.

[2000impreza]

Originally posted by autumnrain


I was told you could only write off the TAX proportion of the LEASE VEHICLE??!!?!

so I am self-employed so I should should lease and if my lease payments are 700 bucks a month I can write off the whole amount and not just the 6% tax portion!! someone please clear this for me!!!

oh and is it in my interest to put a 10000 initial deposit if i am leasing??

Sounds like you are getting confused between two different issues.

1. "6% Tax Portion"
The 6% you pay on the lease payment is a GST ITC(Input tax credit). It can be claimed against the GST collected on sales if your "business" qualifies for it. This has nothing to do with the write off portion of the lease payment. I won't get into details how GST works as your accountant can educate you on this.

2. $700 Lease Payment
You can claim the full lease payment of $700 if you can justify the leased vehicle is 100% for business use. If this is your only vehicle, it probably won't hold much ground for 100% write off in a tax audit situation. If that was the case a portion would probably be disallowed.



Originally posted by benyl


Yes, but the way it is done is much more complicated. You have to deal with the capital cost allowance (Tax Depreciation) for each year you own it. Also, the tax credit you receive is smaller and smaller each year.

If you sell the vehicle, you also have to charge the purchaser GST. You also have to pay tax on any amount that is greater than the depreciation you have deducted.

With a lease, you just write off the entire payment. Makes it really easy.

This is true for the most part. CCA can be claimed but is a bit more complex compared to writing off a lease payment. This method leaves more room for error with inexperienced accountants.

Also I believe a motor vehicle falls under a 30% CCA class.

[Altezza]

Originally posted by 2000impreza


Also I believe a motor vehicle falls under a 30% CCA class.

Yup, class 10/10.1 at 30% per annum. Max of $30k plus GST. So if you bought a $40k car, you'd only be able to claim $30k plus taxes for CCA.

[IntegraG2]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
The average amount of time a person keeps a vehicle is 3 years. Many people think that financing is superior because you &quot;own&quot; the vehicle however for the first 3-5 years your asset is a depreciating one so whats so great about owning it? People buy these vehicles, finance them, then get sick of them, mile them out etc and trade them in taking a big hit in the process.
With a lease the manufacturer swallows the depreciation so the risk is all on the manufacturer's shoulders.
With a lease you have options and a lower risk. At the end of the lease you are faced with the residual (buyout price). If the vehicle is worth more than the buyout price then you're laughing. You can sell it for a possible profit and pay out the residual. keep the vehicle and either payout or finance the residual (usually for a very low interest rate). Or if the vehicle is worth less than the residual then you can say thankyou very much, return the unit and start fresh all over again. Another plus is that you're always in a new vehicle, you can write off the payments as mentioned and there will always be warranty. I used to think leases were bunk until i actually saw it broken down on a cash flow analysis then thought about how much sense it makes.

I do not recomend leases however if: You plan to mile it out
or you plan to beat the shit out of it.


wow you sound like an accountant....or in finance or some sort....when i did cash flows analysis and worked with leases you save alot more money in the end thats if your residual is decent....i would definately lease a car but im worried about not being able to modify it....is this true that you are not allowed to modify leased cars???? there are tons of leased cars at the track...

[autumnrain]

dude super confused..
alright so my job is a realtor and the car really would be used 100% for business...
so i understand about that 6% tax thing

what about the $700 dollars a month, can i subtract that from my taxable income???


so should i lease??
sorry i really hate doing financials and such...

[googe]

as a realtor you would want to lease, but make sure you have a big mileage allowance if you plan to return the vehicle.

[CappyMcSlappy]

I saw on range rover's site that if you can qualify for around $15000 in tax benefits for the new 07s if you do the small business thing with them. that should be pretty nice for helping people upgrade to a quality SUV that couldn't afford one before.

[yellowsnow]

I've always been taught that financing was better... but now I'm not too sure.

Here's my situtaion. I will have around $20k cash to spend on a car.

I will probably buy a car that's worth around $28k after tax/freight/etc

Is it better for me to lease or finance?
I am not self-employed...but is driving to work considered a business expense? (i know dumb question)

Currently the interest rate for financing a 36 month term is 2.8%, 48 months 3.8%. Leasing rate for 24 months is 2.8%, 36 months 3.8%. (@subaru.ca)

If I were to finance for 36 months, I would put down the $20k deposit, and have a monthly payment of $212. And if I were to lease for 24 months, I would probably put down ~$6500 or so, so my monthly payment would be around $212 as well, and put the rest into an investment of some sort.

If leasing, the interest charges would be $965
If financing, the interest charges would be $321

Would I better off leasing or financing.. assuming my $13,500 investment would net me back around 8%

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by yellowsnow
I've always been taught that financing was better... but now I'm not too sure.

Here's my situtaion. I will have around $20k cash to spend on a car.

I will probably buy a car that's worth around $28k after tax/freight/etc

Is it better for me to lease or finance?
I am not self-employed...but is driving to work considered a business expense? (i know dumb question)

Currently the interest rate for financing a 36 month term is 2.8%, 48 months 3.8%. Leasing rate for 24 months is 2.8%, 36 months 3.8%. (@subaru.ca)

If I were to finance for 36 months, I would put down the $20k deposit, and have a monthly payment of $212. And if I were to lease for 24 months, I would probably put down ~$6500 or so, so my monthly payment would be around $212 as well, and put the rest into an investment of some sort.

If leasing, the interest charges would be $965
If financing, the interest charges would be $321

Would I better off leasing or financing.. assuming my $13,500 investment would net me back around 8%
Dont ever ever put money down on a lease, go with a 0 down lease if you can.
What are your longterm plans for the car? Do you plan to keep it for 5+ years? Do you want to deal with maintenance on it once it comes off warranty? Whats the buyout price at the end of the lease term? Will this buyout price be higher or lower than what the vehicle is worth once it reaches that point? As for rates, you seem to be getting a good rate with either option. You are almost better to keep the 20K cash and put it into an ING savings account that pays 3%apr or a Manulife savings account which is 3.5% apr. If youre even more ambitious you can even look at some other more lucrative investment options. I guess bottom line is don't waste all that cash by putting it into something thats depreciating like crazy.

[JordanLotoski]

Originally posted by GoChris
I am leasing my car, which I plan to buy. The reason I am leasing is two fold, first, I can write it off as a business expense. Second, the total final price of the car, after buyout, was actually cheaper than financing at the time due to cash back incentives.

The all said and done price is what's important.


I dissagree, I could care less about the all said and done price, what I care about is the monthly paymanet..I lease cause its a hugw write off for me. at the end of the term Ill gove it back and lease a newer one.

[yellowsnow]

if you can't write off a lease, is leasing still beneficial?

[benyl]

It is only beneficial if you don't want to deal with selling your car at the end of the term. The lower payment is also a benefit.