Yeah, I dunno.... I used to be the kind of person who was always initially thinking I bought a vehicle I'd keep and drive until it fell apart -- but a few years later? I changed my mind. Sometimes it was just a matter of discovering the car (or truck) wasn't made so well and was developing too many little problems. Other times, my life situation just changed and I had to switch vehicle types to something that made the most sense for my needs.
Whatever the case? I started really questioning if leasing was the smarter choice for me. But in the end, I could never justify it. For one thing, I tend to put enough miles on my vehicles to exceed the allowable limits on the leases. And for another? I agree with the mindset that paying all that money for a lease and then opting not to buy is like throwing all that money away.
At least if I finance? Even if I only keep the car a few years and still owe on the loan, I have the freedom to trade it in as part of a negotiation where the dealer will pay that loan off in full (improving my credit score and history, since it has the record of that car loan paid off). And presuming I'm making a wise enough buying choice with the replacement vehicle -- I might not even wind up "upside down" by much.
I totally agree that leases make a lot of sense for high dollar luxury cars. But you're getting close to 6 figure purchases at that point. That's outside the range of what I've ever spent on a vehicle. (Most I ever spent, to date, was on a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon that set me back something like $44K. But then, it also is one of the cheapest vehicles on the road to insure and it's one that I really DO see myself keeping and driving for many years. Had it 3 years so far and have had zero thoughts of getting rid of it.)
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