Auto Financing 101 | Buying VS Leasing a New Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, or Ram Vehicle

To Lease or to Buy-That is the Question

Often times, the financing portion of new-car buying is the most confusing, and one of the questions we get asked here at Hillsboro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram often is, "Is it better to lease or buy?" Unfortunately, the answer to that question differs from person to person, but there's no hard-and-fast rule as to whether it's better to lease or buy a vehicle-it really depends on what you want out of your ownership experience! In the section below, we'll examine the advantages to both, and go over some reasons certain drivers may feel more inclined toward one path over the other.

Advantages to Buying:

Buying with a loan is perfect for those drivers who want to own their vehicle completely, because when you lease, you only take possession of the vehicle for an agreed-upon length of time; when you buy, you buy for good (or at least until you choose to sell), which means you can customize your vehicle all you want-something you're not able to do with leasing. When you buy with a loan, your monthly payments go toward equity, but when you lease, your monthly payments don't build any. This doesn't mean there aren't plenty of reasons folks like leasing, however!

Advantages to Leasing:

If you don't mind the fact that customizations are out of the question, leasing might be a great option for you. When you lease, you agree to take possession of a new vehicle for a certain amount of time, and your monthly payments are based on the cost of depreciation during that time, rather than the overall value of the vehicle, as with a loan payment. This usually means the monthly payment for a leased vehicle will be lower than if you'd purchased the same vehicle with a loan. Another advantage to leasing has to do with service and maintenance; when you lease, the duration of that lease will likely be somewhere from two to five years, which means the vehicle will usually remain under warranty for the duration of your lease. This means some or all the repairs it requires will be covered by the warranty, saving you some money in that respect, too. Another advantage to leasing is the ability to move on to something newer or better at the end of your lease; simply return your leased vehicle and get behind the wheel of something fresh!