Looking to find a new vehicle? Are you not quite sure if you should be leasing a car or going all out and purchasing one? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. With the way the economy is changing everyday it is hard to keep up with prices on vehicles. Many of you may not know how much leasing a vehicle is compared to purchasing one. In this article I will be going over a few important things about leasing and buying cars that should help you decide which one is better for you.
Leasing
Lets take a look at what leasing a vehicle is all about. Leasing a vehicle gives you an opportunity to make sure you are always driving in a new car or truck. Leases usually last about two to three years, meaning when the times up you can just turn your car in for either a newer model of what you are already driving, or a completely different type, the choice is yours.
Another great feature about leasing a vehicle is you normally don’t have to worry about maintenance on your car. If anything goes wrong the car is fully covered by the dealership. Oil changes as well as tire rotation are offered for free as well. My favorite part about leasing a vehicle is that you can afford to drive a little bit nicer of a ride compared to if you are going to buy a new one. If you’re leasing a brand new Lexus you may be paying 300 dollars a month compared to over 400 if you buy the vehicle.
Now, if you use your vehicle for business or traveling a lot then leasing is definitely not the answer for you. If your driving anywhere around 13,000 miles or more a year then you should be buying a vehicle. Most leases allow you right around 10k to 15k miles per year and then start charging you a fee per mile driven after you hit that benchmark. As you can imagine, if you go over that and are still driving a lot that fee can get pretty high. If your going to be driving under 10,000 miles a year and want to stay up to date on the newest vehicles then leasing is the way to go.
Buying
Now the main thing with buying a vehicle is obvious. You own it. It is yours to keep. No going back now. If you can find a great deal on a new vehicle that you can afford payments on, great. The problem is that you normally need to put a hefty down payment on the vehicle before you even get to the high monthly payments.
Just remember if anything goes wrong with the vehicle, the warranty only covers certain areas of the car for so long. So make sure you realize if something goes wrong with the car or truck it is your obligation to fix it the majority of the time.
The good part about purchasing a vehicle is that when you finally pay it off it is all yours. You at least have some type of equity to show for all the hard earned money you have put into your car in the past few years. If you are going to be driving a good amount of miles then buying a vehicle is probably the way to go for you as you wont have to worry about paying the fines you do when leasing a vehicle for going over the set mileage.
Conclusion
Either way shopping for a vehicle shouldn’t be a rushed decision. Take your time and try and decide what is right for you. If you aren’t going to be driving over 10,000 miles and want to have a brand new car every three years then leasing is probably your best bet. If you’re driving an hour and a half to work each day, then finding a gas efficient car to buy is going to be the way to go for you. The choice is ultimately yours. Just make sure you have done all the research before you make the final decision. Good luck!
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This article was written by Colin Quinn. Colin is a care salesman by day and a blogger by night. He has been contributing content to CFL Insurance Agency for the past 8 months due to his expertise in the industry.