Where Rubber and Road meet...

So the time has come for us to look into a new vehicle. So the question is...what to buy? or Lease? My feelings about this have certainly changed. I have come to realise that the 'opportunity cost' of a new car is very high. That is, what one has to give up to have the new car. As an example, there is a 2007 Pontiac Torrent that has a monthly payment of $510 (incl. taxes) and the term is 48 months. So, over the course of the lease the driver pays just less than $24, 500, and they have....nothing!!! If you want to buy the vehicle after the lease, the cost is another $12,000, bringing the cost of this vehicle to $36,500.00 That same 4 year old vehicle used can be picked up for about $10,000. WOW...that lease sure is expensive!