Lease or Buy? A Guide to Getting Behind the Wheel of Your Dream Lexus

It’s exciting to find the Lexus car of your dreams—but when you do, you’re faced with a new question: Should you lease or buy your vehicle? The pros and cons for both scenarios depend largely on your unique circumstances. In this article, we’ll explore these scenarios and help you decide the best way to get behind the wheel of a Lexus car or SUV.

What is Vehicle Leasing?

You can think of a vehicle lease as a kind of long-term rental. You don’t really own the car, instead, you contract to pay for its use over a period—usually three years. Leases can be structured with:

• A downpayment, although this is less common in leases
• A regular monthly leasing payment that includes leasing charges, interest, taxes, and depreciation charges
• An end-of-lease buyout amount or “balloon” payment

You will pay monthly for the vehicle you’re driving, and at the end of the lease period you can choose to pay the buyout and purchase the car, or you can return it to the leasing company and get a new lease.

What is Vehicle Financing?

The most common way people buy new cars is with an auto loan. They are structured slightly differently compared to leases. A typical auto loan has:

• A downpayment, but a $0 downpayment is sometimes available
• A regular loan repayment which includes interest and the principal amount

With an auto loan, you’ll own the car at the end of the loan term.

Buying vs. Leasing: Key Differences

The key differences between buying and leasing are that a lease is like a long-term rental and buying the car means you own it, even if you’re paying it off.

A lease will often have a lower monthly cost than an auto loan because the auto loan includes the full value of the vehicle, not just the depreciated amount plus interest of the leasing term. A car loan repayment calculator can help you understand what your new vehicle will cost each month if you choose to finance it.

Leasing terms will often limit the amount of mileage you can put on the vehicle, whereas buying the car doesn’t. You’re also more limited in what you can do with your leased vehicle in terms of accessories or modifications.

Some leases include scheduled maintenance costs, making it easier to budget your vehicle costs over time.

Drivers can trade in a vehicle on loans and leases, and the value of your trade-in will come off the principal amount.

When You Should Buy Instead of Lease

You should look to buy your vehicle instead of leasing it if you drive a lot and expect to put on more mileage during the lease term than allowed. Buying is also better if you want to own your vehicle outright and if you like to modify or alter your vehicle.

Despite the higher monthly cost, buying is usually more cost-effective if you intend to own your vehicle or keep it for a long time.

When You Should Lease

Leasing is a good plan if you like to know exactly what your vehicle costs will be each month. It’s also great if you’re tempted by the newest Lexus cars for sale and like to change your ride up every few years. This way you’re always driving the latest Lexus models.

Lease of Buy from Lexus of Mobile

Whether you want to buy or lease, Lexus of Mobile can help you get the right deal. Our experienced team of finance experts can help you find out what you can afford, and get you behind the wheel of a stylish new Lexus SUV or sedan.

Ready to drive your dream Lexus? Explore your leasing and financing options at Lexus of Mobile now, and contact us for personalized assistance—our friendly team of knowledgeable staff is ready to answer all your questions!