There is no blanket answer, each case is different.
I own, but I drive less than 6K miles per year and pay cash for my car and keep it an extremely long time (my current car is now 14 years old with 76K miles on it and I’ll probably drive at another 6 years,
Mrs. CTL prefers a lease. She drives about 15K miles per year, wants a new model every three years and 100% warranty with roadside assist and the dealer picking up and delivering the car for each/service. Everything but gas/insurance is included in her lease.
Our firm leases cars for our senior staff. It is a set monthly amount and deductible as business expenses.
My 21 year old wanted to buy a new car this year for commuting to work. She wanted a Nissan Altima. Due to the high residual value, the cost per month was much cheaper to lease than buy with the promotional low/no interest deals.
She won’t be keeping the car more than 3 years, by then she expects to need a larger family car. Her husband bought his car using a 0% loan from the manufacturer.
There is an adage that you don’t make capital investments into things that depreciate in value, and that is true of most cars. Sit down and do a financial analysis. How much can you afford to pay in total car expense each month and how much of a car can you buy or lease for that amount?
Then consider the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are under warranty and won’t have large surprise bills.
By the first half of 2016, 32% of all new cars delivered in the USA were leased not sold. If it didn’t make economic and/or emotional sense for many people the number would be much lower. I leased a car the first time back in 1977 and the market share of leases was less than 5%. Things have changed, as have car prices. Today an average new car costs more than I paid for our first 3 bedroom home in 1976.