Should you buy a car, lease, or take public transit?

Buy: lowest cost over 8+ years. Lease: lowest monthly + always-new car, highest cost long-term. Transit: cheapest by far where it works. Three paths, very different math.

How the math works

Three paths over the same time horizon.

  • Buy: purchase + financing interest + insurance + fuel + maintenance + registration − resale value at exit. Lowest total cost over 8+ year horizons.
  • Lease: monthly payments × 36 months + acquisition fee + disposition fee + excess-mileage fees, then start over. Lowest monthly payment, highest cumulative cost long-term.
  • Public transit + occasional rideshare: annual transit pass + rideshare for trips transit doesn't cover + occasional rentals. Cheapest by far where it's viable; not viable in much of suburban/rural US.

The lease trap: "$300/month" sounds cheap, but $300 × 12 × 30 years = $108K of payments with no equity built. Plus mileage limits and end-of-lease fees. Lease only wins financially in narrow cases (business write-offs, frequent car-swappers, rapidly depreciating models).

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10-Year Cost: $63K Buy vs $84K Lease vs $24K Transit
Same person, same city, same 10-year horizon. Buy: $63K total. Lease: $84K (highest because you never stop paying). Transit: $24K where it works. The path matters more than the brand.
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