A quiet place to think it through

Should you lease or buy your next car?

This won't give you a one-size-fits-all answer. Lease vs buy almost always depends on how long you'd actually keep the car, and what you'd do with the money you save each month. The calculator runs both, and shows you where the answer flips.

Part 1

The frame — how long, and what about the savings?

Two variables drive almost everything else.

Holding period 5 years

How long would you realistically keep the car? Not how long you'd hope to — how long, given your past behavior. Most people overestimate this.

1 yr15 yrs

Annual investment return 7%

Used only for the "what if you invest the monthly savings" scenario. 7% is the historical S&P average before inflation.

0%12%

Part 2

If you buy — the numbers

The negotiated price, the loan, and what you'd realistically sell the car for at the end.

Buy price $35,000

The price you'd actually negotiate, not MSRP.

$5k$150k

Down payment $5,000

Cash at signing. This money has opportunity cost — could have been invested instead.

$0$30k

Loan interest rate 6.5%

Your actual rate, not the dealer's "as low as" advertising.

0%12%

Loan term (years)

How long the loan runs. Most are 5-6 years; 7+ years usually means the car costs more than the budget allows.

Expected resale value $15,750

What the car would sell for at the end of your holding period. Default uses a typical depreciation curve; adjust if you know your model holds value unusually well or poorly.

$0$150k

Annual insurance $1,400

Full coverage estimate. Buyers can sometimes drop comprehensive on older cars; this is the typical first-3-years figure.

$500$3,000

Part 3

If you lease — the numbers

The actual lease offer in front of you, plus what you'd do at the end of each lease.

Lease price $35,000

The negotiated price on the lease offer. Often higher than the car you'd buy — leasing lets people drive nicer cars. Enter both honestly.

$5k$150k

Drive-off cost $2,000

First month + fees + any cap reduction. The cash at signing.

$0$10k

Monthly lease payment $450

The actual payment on the offer.

$200$1,500

Lease term (years)

How long each lease runs before you'd start a new one.

Annual mileage allowance 12,000 mi

The lease's mileage cap. Standard is 12,000-15,000.

7,50020,000

Annual mileage you actually drive 12,000 mi

Be honest. Overage charges are typically $0.20/mile and add up fast.

5,00025,000

Annual insurance $1,700

Leases require higher coverage and gap insurance.

$500$3,500

Wealth at year if you buy Resale value at end of holding period, minus what you paid in down payment, interest, insurance, and maintenance

Wealth at year if you lease and invest the savings The compounded value of investing the monthly difference between lease and loan payments at the rate you set

Wealth at year if you lease and spend the savings What you'd have at the end if the monthly difference went into normal spending rather than investments

Crossover year The year when buying first catches up to leasing+investing — below this year leasing wins; above, buying wins

Show the 15-year projection

Each cell shows your net wealth position at the end of that year — what you own (car resale value or investment pool) minus what you've spent (payments, insurance, maintenance, fees). Negative numbers mean you've spent more than you've built up. The highest number wins.

Year	Buyer wealth	Lease + invest wealth	Difference	Ahead

Why it landed here

What this is not: a recommendation. The math reflects honest assumptions about resale values, maintenance costs, insurance, and investment returns — but every one of those is an estimate, not a forecast. Real used-car markets shift. Real maintenance varies by model and luck. Real investment returns are nothing like steady. The numbers here are a useful starting point for thinking, not an answer you can act on without checking the assumptions against your actual situation. Defaults reviewed: June 2026.

Going deeper

The full guide to leasing vs buying — how the math works, what's included, what's left out, why
After you decide — the gap between Scenario A and Scenario B, and which person you actually are

This tool does real arithmetic on the lease and buy scenarios you describe. It is not financial advice, and the assumptions about resale value, maintenance, and investment returns are honest defaults that may not match your specific car or circumstances. The decision is yours; the math is here to help you see it clearly.