Free car-buying tool
Lease vs buy calculator
A low payment is not a low cost. This adds up what each choice costs over the same number of months, and counts what the car is worth at the end.
Which costs less
Fill in the price, the lease payment and due at signing, the months, and what the car is worth then.
- Loan payment, per month
- Still owed on the loan then
- Buying: cash out
- Buying: cost after the car's value
- Leasing: cash out
- Leasing: cost
Dex: A cheap payment is not a cheap car. Compare the same number of months, and count what the car is worth at the end.
How it is counted
- Buying: your down payment, plus the loan payments for those months, plus what you still owe, minus what the car is worth. Tax and fees are added to the loan.
- Leasing: the amount due at signing, plus the other monthly payments, plus any fee at the end. At the end you hand the car back.
The loan payment uses the standard loan formula. It is checked against independent code in the numbers page.
What this leaves out
- Insurance, repairs and fuel.
- Mileage limits and wear charges on a lease.
- What your down payment could earn if you kept it.
- The years after the comparison. If you buy, you keep the car. If you lease, you start over.
The car's value at the end is your guess, and it moves the answer a lot. Try a lower number and a higher one.
