Lease or Buy Sheet
Compare over the same period, and count the equity. Monthly payments are not the question.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/lease-vs-buy-car-calculator
The comparison
- LEASE COST
- deposit + payments + end fees
- BUY COST
- deposit + payments − equity at the end
- EQUITY
- resale value − loan balance remaining
- Period to use
- the lease length — both options exist there
- ⚠ Monthly payments
- are NOT the comparison
- ⚠ The whole answer
- hinges on a resale value nobody knows
- ⚠ Not modelled
- mileage limits and excess wear charges
- ⚠ Warranty
- repair risk sits on the BUYING side
- ⚠ Keeping it past the loan
- is buying's real advantage, unseen here
Options compared
| Option | Down | Monthly | Months | End position | Net cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This decision
- Car
- Date
- LEASE monthly
- Lease down
- Lease months
- End fees
- Mileage allowance
- My annual mileage
- Estimated excess charge
- LEASE TOTAL
- BUY price
- Buy down
- APR
- Loan months
- Buy monthly
- Resale guess
- PESSIMISTIC resale
- Equity at end
- BUY NET COST
- DIFFERENCE
- How long would I really keep it?
Before deciding
- Compared over the SAME period, not monthly payment against monthly payment
- Equity counted on the buying side
- Resale value tried at a pessimistic figure as well as a realistic one
- Mileage allowance checked against your actual annual mileage
- Excess mileage and wear charges estimated and added to the lease side
- Considered how long you would REALLY keep a bought car
- Warranty coverage weighed — repair risk falls on the buyer
- Insurance requirements checked on the lease agreement
- Anything this size discussed with a qualified adviser
One guess decides it
Every input here is contractual and knowable except the resale value, which is a guess about a used-car market years away — and moving it a few thousand flips the result. Treat this as a way of seeing how much your answer depends on that one assumption. If buying only wins on the optimistic figure, it does not really win.
The decisive factor is invisible here
The comparison runs over the lease period because that is the only span where both options exist. But buying's real advantage is keeping the car well past the loan — payments stop and the asset keeps working. Someone who leases repeatedly always has a payment. If that describes your habits, it matters more than any figure on this sheet.