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There are times when leasing makes sense. As someone said, business is one of them.
However, there's another situation that bears examination. I bought a car three years ago, and since the interest rate was about 4%, I financed it over six years. Figured I could always pay it early if I wanted to.
It's now three years down the road, and my son wanted a different car. Upon reviewing the situation, even though I bought it for $18K used, I'm still underwater. An equivalent one at a dealer will sell for about what I owe, $9k or so. I'm likely to take a hit if I sell it.
My son, in the impatience of youth, leased a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX. I'll post pics one of these days. His lease payments are less than they would be if he bought the car.
The point I'm making is that after three years of payments, I basically don't own anything either. That's okay, because I keep cars forever, and I will eventually own something, although the value won't be much.
My son, on the other hand, will go through a lease period (I don't know how long it was for), and at the end of it, he won't own anything, but he will have been paying substantially less than I have.
It appears that if you aren't planning on keeping the car forever, a lease could work.
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