★ COMPARISONS · BUY VS LEASE · CAR COST
Buying costs $20,523.61 over 3 years and leasing costs $17,259.00 — leasing wins by $3,264.61. Put in the price, down payment, APR and resale value against the lease terms, and the calculator works out which side costs less over 36 months, and by how much.
One car, two ways to pay for it, 36 months: the buy side is the down payment plus 36 loan payments plus the loan balance left after 3 years, minus what the car is worth then; the lease side is the amount due at signing plus 36 lease payments plus the disposition fee.
On the defaults — a $35,000 car, $3,500 down, 6.5% APR, $19,000 resale after 3 years, against a lease of $2,500 due at signing, $399 a month and a $395 disposition fee — buying costs $20,523.61 over 36 months and leasing costs $17,259.00, so leasing wins by $3,264.61. The buy side is the down payment plus 36 loan payments plus the loan balance still owed after 3 years, minus the resale value: $3,500.00 + $22,187.88 + $13,835.73 − $19,000.00 = $20,523.61. The lease side is the amount due at signing plus 36 monthly payments plus the disposition fee: $2,500.00 + $14,364.00 + $395.00 = $17,259.00. The loan payment is $616.33 a month on a 60-month term, and after 36 payments the remaining balance is $13,835.73 — the car is worth $19,000.00 then, so the buy side keeps $5,164.27 of equity, but that is not enough to beat the lease on these numbers.
Setup: price $35,000.00, down $3,500.00, APR 6.5%, resale $19,000.00; lease due $2,500.00, $399.00 a month, disposition fee $395.00; 36 months, 60-month loan.
Line 1 — the loan. $35,000.00 − $3,500.00 = $31,500.00 borrowed.
Line 2 — the loan payment. $31,500.00 at 6.5% over 60 months = $616.33 a month.
Line 3 — the remaining balance. After 36 payments the balance left is $13,835.73.
Line 4 — the buy cost. $3,500.00 + 36 × $616.33 + $13,835.73 − $19,000.00 = $20,523.61.
Line 5 — the lease cost. $2,500.00 + 36 × $399.00 + $395.00 = $17,259.00.
Line 6 — the winner. $20,523.61 − $17,259.00 = $3,264.61 — leasing wins. Rounding convention: totals are computed from rounded payment figures, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum.
Price $25,000: buy $9,087.56, lease $17,259.00, BUY wins by $8,171.44. A cheaper car is much cheaper to buy — the lease terms stay the same, so the buy side wins by a wide margin.
Price $45,000: buy $31,960.25, lease $17,259.00, LEASE wins by $14,701.25. A pricier car is much pricier to buy, and the same lease terms win by even more.
Lease $299/mo: buy $20,523.61, lease $13,659.00, LEASE wins by $6,864.61. A $100-a-month cheaper lease saves $3,600.00 over 36 months and nearly doubles the lease’s advantage.
Lease $549/mo: buy $20,523.61, lease $22,659.00, BUY wins by $2,135.39. A $150-a-month dearer lease costs $5,400.00 more over 36 months and flips the winner.
Resale $15,000: buy $24,523.61, lease $17,259.00, LEASE wins by $7,264.61. A car that holds its value badly costs the buyer $4,000.00 more — resale is the buy side’s biggest swing factor.
Resale $25,000: buy $14,523.61, lease $17,259.00, BUY wins by $2,735.39. A car that holds its value well hands the buyer $6,000.00 back and flips the winner.
Lease payment at which the lease costs as much as buying: $489.69 a month (exact $489.6836 a month) — at $489.69 the lease costs $20,523.84 and buying wins by $0.23; at $489.68 the lease costs $20,523.48 and leasing wins by $0.13. The star is DOLLARS/MONTH.
Resale value at which buying and leasing tie: $22,264.61 — at $22,264.61 both sides cost $17,259.00, a true tie; $1 less and buying costs $1.00 more. The star is DOLLARS (resale).
Price at which buying costs as much as leasing: $32,145.14 — at $32,145.14 buying costs $17,259.26 (payment $560.48 a month, remaining $12,581.98); at $32,145.13 the payment rounds down to $560.47, the remaining balance to $12,581.75, and buying costs $17,258.67. The star is DOLLARS (price).
Down payment at which buying costs as much as leasing: $26,234.61 — at $26,234.61 buying costs $17,258.54 (payment $171.50 a month, remaining $3,849.93); at $26,234.60 the payment rounds up to $171.51, the remaining balance to $3,850.16, and buying costs $17,259.12. The star is DOLLARS (down payment).
APR at which buying costs as much as leasing: 1.86% — at 1.86% buying costs $17,259.56 (payment $550.20 a month, remaining $12,952.36); at 1.85% buying costs $17,252.56 (payment $550.06, remaining $12,950.40). The star is a PERCENT.
Disposition fee at which buying and leasing tie: $3,659.61 — at $3,659.61 both sides cost $20,523.61, a true tie; $1 less and leasing costs $1.00 less. The star is DOLLARS (disposition fee).
The comparison window is 36 months and the purchase loan is 60 months — after 3 years the buyer still owes $13,835.73 on the loan and owns a car worth $19,000.00, while the lessee owns nothing and walks away; the model does not include sales tax, registration, insurance, maintenance, mileage overage charges, wear-and-tear charges, or the value of the buyer’s equity after month 36; it does not model the next car — the buyer keeps driving a paid-off car after month 60, the lessee signs a new lease. With a $0 resale value buying costs $39,523.61 and leasing wins by $22,264.61. With the down payment equal to the price ($35,000) there is no loan — payment $0.00, remaining $0.00 — buying costs $16,000.00 and buying wins by $1,259.00. With a $0 lease payment the lease costs $2,895.00 and leasing wins by $17,628.61. At 0% APR the loan payment is $525.00, the remaining balance $12,600.00, buying costs $16,000.00 and buying wins by $1,259.00. With a $0 price and $0 down the buy cost is -$19,000.00 — a model-level outcome: no car was bought, but the $19,000.00 resale value is still counted, so the model reports a negative cost. Rounding convention: totals are computed from rounded payment figures, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum; the reverses are smallest-value solutions, and the exact figures ($489.6836 a month, $22,264.61, $32,145.14, $26,234.61, 1.86%, $3,659.61) are stated wherever the rounded figures appear.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Loan payment | loan × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)^−60), i = APR ÷ 12, loan = price − down | $616.33/mo. |
| Remaining balance after 36 months | payment × (1 − (1 + i)^−24) ÷ i | $13,835.73. |
| Buy cost | down + 36 × payment + remaining balance − resale | $20,523.61. |
| Lease cost | due at signing + 36 × monthly payment + disposition fee | $17,259.00. |
| Difference | buy cost − lease cost | $3,264.61. |
| Winner | lower total cost over 36 months | LEASE. |
| Lease payment where the lease costs as much as buying | exact $489.6836/mo | $489.69/mo → $489.69/mo. |
| Resale value where buying and leasing tie | $22,264.61 (exact tie) | $22,264.61 → $22,264.61. |
| Price where buying costs as much as leasing | $32,145.14 (smallest cent) | $32,145.14 → $32,145.14. |
| Down payment where buying costs as much as leasing | $26,234.61 (smallest cent) | $26,234.61 → $26,234.61. |
| APR where buying costs as much as leasing | 1.86% (smallest 0.01% step) | 1.86% → 1.86%. |
| Disposition fee where buying and leasing tie | $3,659.61 (exact tie) | $3,659.61 → $3,659.61. |
| Price $25,000 | same model | Buy $9,087.56 (payment $420.67/mo, remaining $9,443.44) | Lease $17,259.00 | BUY wins by $8,171.44. |
| Price $45,000 | same model | Buy $31,960.25 (payment $812.00/mo, remaining $18,228.25) | Lease $17,259.00 | LEASE wins by $14,701.25. |
| Lease $299/mo | same model | Buy $20,523.61 (payment $616.33/mo, remaining $13,835.73) | Lease $13,659.00 | LEASE wins by $6,864.61. |
| Lease $549/mo | same model | Buy $20,523.61 (payment $616.33/mo, remaining $13,835.73) | Lease $22,659.00 | BUY wins by $2,135.39. |
| Resale $15,000 | same model | Buy $24,523.61 (payment $616.33/mo, remaining $13,835.73) | Lease $17,259.00 | LEASE wins by $7,264.61. |
| Resale $25,000 | same model | Buy $14,523.61 (payment $616.33/mo, remaining $13,835.73) | Lease $17,259.00 | BUY wins by $2,735.39. |
The math is first-principles: the loan payment is the standard amortization formula on a 60-month loan, the remaining balance is the present value of the 24 payments left after month 36, the buy cost is the down payment plus 36 payments plus the remaining balance minus the resale value, and the lease cost is the amount due at signing plus 36 payments plus the disposition fee — every figure is rounded to cents half-up, and the reverses are smallest-value solutions with the exact figures ($489.6836 a month) stated wherever the rounded figures appear. What the model cannot do is price YOUR deal: it does not include sales tax, registration, insurance, maintenance, mileage overage or wear-and-tear charges, and it does not count the buyer’s equity after month 36 or the value of keeping the car after the loan is paid off. The resale value is a guess about the future — and the branches show it is the swing factor, moving the answer by $6,000.00 between $15,000 and $25,000. Use it to compare the payment structures, then price the extras before you sign.
Bright Side Kit. "Buy vs Lease a Car: Total Cost Compared Over 3 Years" https://brightoolbox.com/buy-vs-lease-car/ Accessed October 26, 2026.Leasing, by $3,264.61. On the defaults — $3,500 down, 6.5% APR, $19,000 resale, $2,500 due at signing, $399 a month, $395 fee — buying costs $20,523.61 and leasing costs $17,259.00 over 36 months.
$489.69 a month. At $489.69 a month the lease costs $20,523.84, just above the $20,523.61 buy cost (exact break-even $489.6836 a month). At $489.68 the lease costs $20,523.48 and still wins.
$22,264.61. At that resale value both sides cost $17,259.00. A $1 lower resale makes buying cost $1.00 more than leasing.
Yes — a $25,000 car makes buying win by $8,171.44. Buying costs $9,087.56 against the same $17,259.00 lease, because the lease terms do not change with the price.
A $25,000 resale makes buying win by $2,735.39. Buying costs $14,523.61 against the $17,259.00 lease. Resale is the buy side’s biggest swing factor.
Buying wins by $1,259.00. With the down payment equal to the $35,000 price there is no loan — payment $0.00, remaining $0.00 — and buying costs $16,000.00 against the $17,259.00 lease.
Sales tax, registration, insurance, maintenance, mileage overage, wear-and-tear charges, and the buyer’s equity after month 36. The buyer still owns a car worth $19,000.00 after 3 years and keeps driving it after the loan is paid off; the lessee walks away and signs a new lease.
Buy cost = down + 36 × loan payment + remaining balance − resale; lease cost = due at signing + 36 × monthly payment + disposition fee. On the defaults: $3,500.00 + $22,187.88 + $13,835.73 − $19,000.00 = $20,523.61 to buy, $2,500.00 + $14,364.00 + $395.00 = $17,259.00 to lease.