In my experience if you plan to keep the car, leasing is a horrible option financially at least. My girlfriend recently bought out a 2006 Honda CRV after a thr

In my experience if you plan to keep the car, leasing is a horrible option financially at least. My girlfriend recently bought out a 2006 Honda CRV after a three years lease, and she ended up paying more than $10k above the nominal price. [To add insult to injury, in CA when Honda gives you the buyout quote, it doesn't include the sales tax and (I think) the registration fee. Once the transaction is finalized you may realize you have to pay a few more k to the DMV.] If you want to drive a new car every three years, then I'm guessing leasing could be better or similar than buying if you finance close to 100%. Whether you should change cars every three years if you can't afford the downpayment is another question.