Six Ways to Minimize Leasing Costs Lease and Buy Finding the Cheapest Lease You expect to drive the car for at least five years or more. Once you pay off your auto loan, you'll have transportation without writing regular monthly checks. You think you might drive the car for more than 18,000 to 20,000 miles a year.
High mileage can be expensive on a lease.
You want to save money in the long run, and you are looking only at your cash costs. In theory, you could lease your car and invest the difference between the low lease payments and the higher payments you'd owe on an auto loan. In that case, leasing would be cheaper. But if you don't invest the difference, then buying is cheaper. You're in the market for a used car.