Ford Leasing Vs Ford Buying

Leasing vehicles is becoming more popular every day.  The reason for this is that manufacturers like Ford Motor Company are pushing incentives on leasing because they want the customer to return a few years later and lease another vehicle.  Many customers look at this like a downside because they do not actually own the vehicle and have to give it back, but, that really is not the way you should look at it.  Whether you purchase or lease, you are buying an asset that will depreciate and you are going to have to pay for that depreciation.  But, why take a risk of how much depreciation it will be, especially when you can let the manufacturer take that gamble?  

Here is why you want to let them take the risk.  They are going to take the best guess they can on what your vehicle is going to be worth when your term is over.  The odds are that value is going to be higher than what it will actually be worth, this value is called the residual.  If you purchased the car, even at a standard term and good rate, odds are the value will not be what you owe at the same point the lease would terminate, this is where you win.  You do not have to worry about a trade value and negative equity with your lease, you hand the car back, let them take the loss, and get into another lease.  Plus, Ford often offers incentives for you to lease another Ford so your payment may even be less on the same car, and you take delivery of another new vehicle under full factory warranty.   

Now, do not go off after reading this article telling everyone it is a horrible idea to purchase a vehicle rather than buy it.  If you are looking to keep your vehicle for longer than 3 years, buying can be perfect for you.  Drive the vehicle for an extended amount of time and as many miles as you want and your loan starts to mature, you will have equity in the vehicle and it will be a great time to trade it in.  The difference here is expense.  The lease buyer is willing to keep the payment every 2 or 3 years knowing that they would rather be in another new vehicle and under factory warrant.  Now on the purchase side, you could pay your loan off in 5 or 6 years depending on how long you financed it and have no payment at all.  Just remember, every vehicle is still a machine with thousands of moving parts.  After those years go by, there will be necessary maintenance and parts that may need to be replaced, so, that monthly expense may not be quite zero.  

There are many details that we have not covered in this article and any Lasco Ford representative would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding Ford leasing. You can view our New Ford inventory anytime on our website.