The time has finally come: I’m in the market for a new car. Right now, I drive a late-90’s Toyota Camry that I bought in 2005. It’s been a good little car, but it’s beginning to need parts replaced and extra maintenance, and so I’ve decided to find it a new owner and find myself something else.
In the past, I’ve always bought used cars; my Dad is a bodyman, and it’s always been less expensive to buy used and let him tinker than to buy new. However, having had a few incidents in the past – like having an engine explode on a busy Interstate highway at 5:30 on Friday – I’ve decided to go with a new car.
The question I’m left with is: Do I buy or lease?
I personally favor leasing, because I can give it back after two years, when all the problems are starting to happen and the warranty is running out. Because I run my own business, and I spend much of my time in the car, I can deduct about 75% of the cost of the lease from my taxes. However, I’ve never leased before, and neither have any of my friends, though I know several of my clients lease vehicles through their businesses.
The idea of buying worries me, as vehicles are terrible investments. I know that as soon as I drive it off the lot I’ll start losing money, and I worry that as the warranty gets close to expiring I’ll either have to take a loss on what I still owe to get rid of it, or keep it past the expiration and risk having something fail catastrophically, forcing me to spend more to fix it.
So, readers, I’m putting the question to you: What do you think? Should I buy or should I lease? Share your thoughts in the comments.