Lease vs Buy Car Calculator
Compare a returned lease with a financed purchase sold on the same date, including operating costs, resale and mileage charges.
Your inputs
Use consistent units and periods. Defaults are examples.
Your result
Check the assumptions below before relying on a result.
Formula and method
Buy net cost = cash down + loan payments through lease end + operating costs + outstanding loan payoff − entered sale proceeds. Lease net cost = additional signing cash + number of payments × quoted all-in payment + operating costs + disposition + wear + max(0, annual miles − allowance) × term/12 × excess-mile rate. A fully refunded deposit has zero net cost but increases signing cash. Positive buying advantage = lease cost − buy cost.
Worked example
With a 12,000 cash purchase sold for 6,000 after 24 months and no running costs, net buy cost is 6,000. A lease at 200 for 24 payments plus 500 additional signing cash costs 5,300 before any return charges. Buying advantage is −700: leasing costs 700 less under these exact inputs. A 1,000 fully refundable deposit changes cash tied up, not the net result.
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Open calculator ↗How to use this result
- Use the full lease term as the shared ownership horizon.
- Enter the purchase financing and a defensible sale-value scenario at that date.
- Split the lease signing quote into additional cash, first payment and refundable deposit to prevent double counting.
- Enter operating costs for each option and expected mileage/return charges.
- Review the cost reconciliation and test a lower purchase resale value.
Questions about this calculation
Does the buyer keep a valuable asset in this comparison?
The calculation sells the car at the selected lease-end date, repays its remaining loan and credits net sale equity. This makes the two exit positions comparable.
Why use a quoted lease payment?
Lease pricing and taxes vary. An all-in quote avoids treating a money factor as a statutory APR or assuming a universal tax formula.
Can I compare leaving the lease early?
No. The model ends at the full lease maturity and does not estimate early termination obligations.