Same car, two ways to pay for it. Enter the price and how long you plan to keep driving it, then the buy deal (down payment, loan, maintenance, what the car will be worth at the end) and the lease deal (monthly payment, due at signing, end-of-lease fees). Leases repeat back-to-back to cover the whole horizon. Insurance is assumed the same on both sides, so it is left out of both totals. Everything runs in your browser.
| Over the horizon | Buy | Lease |
|---|---|---|
| Paid up front (down / due at signing) | — | — |
| Monthly payments in total | — | — |
| Maintenance + repairs | — | — |
| Disposition + wear fees | — | — |
| Resale value at horizon | — | — |
| Loan balance still owed at horizon | — | — |
| Your equity credited back (resale − balance owed) | — | — |
| Total cost | — | — |
| Cost per month | — | — |
| Cost per year | — | — |
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How the lease side is counted: leases repeat back-to-back until the horizon is covered — the number of leases is the horizon in months divided by the lease term, rounded up. Every lease you start charges its due-at-signing amount in full. If the horizon cuts the last lease short, you pay only the months you actually use, and no disposition or wear fee is charged on that unfinished lease, because it has not ended. Fees are charged only on leases that run to their end inside the horizon.
How the buy side is counted: down payment, plus the loan payments for the months the loan actually runs inside the horizon, plus maintenance for every horizon year, minus what the car returns you at the end. If the loan is paid off, that is the full resale value; if the loan is still running, you would have to settle it from the sale, so the credit is your equity — resale minus the balance still owed. Insurance is assumed equal on both sides and excluded from both totals; tax, registration and fuel are likewise outside the model.
Lease or buy the same car — total cost, cost per month and the winner over your horizon.
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Cost leasing and buying the same car over exactly the same horizon: the buy side adds the down payment, every loan payment inside the horizon and maintenance, then credits back what the car returns you at the end; the lease side repeats leases back-to-back, charging each signing amount, the monthly payments actually used and end-of-lease fees only on leases that finish. The result is a total cost, a cost per month and a plain winner for each side.
A $35,000 car kept for 6 years. Buying: $5,000 down leaves a $30,000 loan at 6% APR over 60 months, which is $579.98 a month; 60 payments come to $34,798.80, maintenance at $600 a year adds $3,600, and the car resells at 40% of its price — $14,000 — with the loan long finished, so the full amount is credited back. Buy total: $5,000 + $34,798.80 + $3,600 − $14,000 = about $29,399, or $408 a month. Leasing: $429 a month, $1,999 due at signing and a $395 disposition fee on a 36-month term means two leases in six years: 2 × ($1,999 + $429 × 36 + $395) = $35,676 exactly, or $495.50 a month. Leasing costs about $6,277 more over the six years — and at the end the buyer still owns the car whose value was already credited.
Buy side: the loan payment is the standard amortising payment on price minus down payment at APR ÷ 12 over the loan term (a 0% APR divides straight). Only payments falling inside the horizon are counted. The balance still owed at the horizon is the standard amortisation balance; because that balance would have to be settled from the sale, the end credit is equity — resale minus balance owed — which equals the full resale once the loan is finished. Buy total = down + payments counted + maintenance × horizon years − equity. Lease side: leases start back-to-back and the number started is the horizon months divided by the lease term, rounded up. Every started lease charges its due-at-signing in full plus the monthly payment for the months actually used; disposition and wear charges apply only to leases that run to their end inside the horizon — a final lease cut short by the horizon charges signing plus months used and no end fees. Insurance is assumed equal on both sides and excluded from both totals.
On most like-for-like numbers, buying — if you keep the car past the loan term, because the payments stop while the car keeps its value. Leasing tends to win only over short horizons, with a low money factor, a high guaranteed residual, or when the buyer would otherwise face big out-of-warranty repair bills. This calculator settles it for your figures instead of the general rule: whichever total is lower over your horizon is your cheaper route.
Because if the loan is still running when you sell, the lender gets paid first. Sell a car for $17,500 with $13,086 still owed and you pocket $4,414 — that pocketed amount, your equity, is the honest credit. Once the loan is finished the balance is zero, so the credit becomes the full resale value automatically.
Leases repeat back-to-back and every lease you start counts: its due-at-signing is charged in full, plus the monthly payment for the months you actually use. If the horizon cuts the last lease short, no disposition or wear fee is charged on it, because the lease has not ended. A 4-year horizon on 36-month leases is therefore one full lease plus a second lease costed at 12 months with no end fees.
Everything you hand over before driving away, as one figure: the first monthly payment if it is collected up front, any down payment or capitalised-cost reduction, the acquisition fee and dealer fees. Lease adverts often headline a low monthly payment propped up by a large signing amount — putting the real total here is what makes the comparison honest.
The same driver insuring the same car usually pays a similar premium either way, so including an identical guess on both sides would change nothing but the size of both totals. One real exception: some leases require higher liability limits or gap cover than you would choose as an owner. If that applies to you, add the yearly difference to the lease side by raising the wear-charge estimate accordingly.
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