I strongly feel that leasing is a sucker\'s deal. There\'s no point in going into all the details because there are tons of websites that describe all the ins and outs of leasing. Basically, I think there are rare circumstances where it can work to your advantage (and those are almost ALWAYS with domestic vehicles like the one you\'re considering), but it largely depends on how you negotiate your deal, and what terms the dealer sets.
Dealers have a much broader horizon of ways to screw you in lease deals than they do in simple purchase financing. You really have to know what you\'re talking about when making a lease deal, and it helps to have a pocket PC with you so you can analyze different scenarios in real time while you\'re sitting in the salesman\'s office. I\'ve known so many people who relied on what the salesman told them, and then found out later that the weasel snuck something in which resulted in the person paying thousands more than they should have.
For me, I simply don\'t want to be making car payments every year of my life. I always save a considerable amount before each purchase, and then finance the smallest amount possible for the shortest amount of time possible. I saves me money in interest, but the real advantage is that I can enjoy my life much more during those 3-4 years between paying off the loan and buying the next car. I don\'t like being owned by the finance companies, or feeling like a slave to my car payments.
