# Leasing a Car

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** civic, honda\
**Created:** [March 31, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200 "2011-03-31T01:17:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bcalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bcalhoun](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcalhoun)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200/1 "2011-03-31T01:17:17Z")

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My husband and I need a new car (old one was stolen and cannibalized) for about 3 years only. What experience have people had or what advice can they offer about leasing a new car?

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200/2 "2011-03-31T01:27:13Z")

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```
Leasing makes economic sense for some business situations. It seldom is a good economic tool for obtaining a car. Usually a conventional loan will cost you a lot less in the long run. Of course cash is the cheapest method.
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**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200/3 "2011-03-31T01:27:26Z")

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If you can write off some of the lease expenses as business expenses a lease can make financial sense. If you are a salesperson without reimbursed sales expenses a lease can work for you.

Otherwise, not a good option. A lease is a lessor monthly payment, but you’ll end up spending more the car in the long run. Still, to get a reliable car with the lowest monthly hit on your budget is the “lure” of a lease. Look carefully at the allowed miles on the lease contract. If you exceed these miles then you a pay an expensive penalty. A lot of folks feel 12K miles a year isn’t a problem, but if you commute and use the car daily you will burn through 12K miles a year in a big hurry.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200/4 "2011-03-31T01:31:39Z")

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If you know exactly how long you’ll need the car, you can avoid some of the risk associated with buying, but only if the time is exactly known. It’ll cost you a little extra money compared to buying new and selling. However, leasing will cost a LOT more than buying a 2-year old car and selling it when you’re done.

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**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/leasing-a-car/63200/5 "2011-03-31T05:32:04Z")

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Leasing or buying is not the only choice. Buying a used car is better than both. Leasing can be a big waste of money.