Over your comparison period — based on your inputs
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Total out-of-pocket cost as it piles up year by year for each path. Buying starts higher with the down payment, then flattens once the loan is paid off; leasing climbs at a steadier pace and jumps each time a new lease is signed. Where the lines cross is where the car you bought becomes the cheaper choice.
Each ring breaks that path’s running total into its parts — payments, scheduled maintenance, wear items, repair reserve, excise/property tax, and upfront cash & fees. Hover the cumulative chart above to pick a year: the donuts show each path’s costs accumulated through that year, with the total in the center. Move your cursor off the chart to return to the full comparison period.
Real used-car depreciation: roughly a fifth of value gone in year one, then about 15% of the remaining value each year. The green area is the car’s estimated resale value; the dashed line is your remaining loan balance. The gap between them is the equity you would keep if you sold — the figure shown in “Value you own at end” above. A leaser keeps none of it.
This schedule is a representative estimate for a mainstream gasoline vehicle. Actual maintenance depends on the manufacturer, model, mileage, driving conditions, climate, labor rates, and service provider. Wear items and the repair reserve are estimates, not manufacturer-required services.
Year-by-year totals — the vehicle you buy and keep.
| Year | Ending miles | Scheduled | Wear | Reserve | Total | Major services |
|---|
Every scheduled service and wear item, in the month it happens.
| Year | Month | Odometer | Category | Service / item | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled + wear total | - | ||||
The unscheduled repair reserve is shown in the year-by-year table above. A leased car’s routine maintenance restarts with each new vehicle and is included in the lease totals.
- Scheduled maintenance
- Routine service recommended by time or mileage — oil, filters, and fluids.
- Wear items
- Parts such as tires, brakes, and batteries that are replaced based on condition and use.
- Repair reserve
- An estimate for unscheduled repairs that becomes more likely as the vehicle ages.
| Line item | Buy | Lease | Difference |
|---|
Why this calculator is different
Most buy‑versus‑lease tools try to analyze the specific deal in front of you at the dealership — this month’s advertised lease payment against this month’s finance offer — and reduce it to a single “net present value.” This calculator does something different: it helps you understand the total cost of driving over a relatively long stretch of time, a horizon you choose rather than the term a salesperson is selling. Over the years you compare, you either keep one car or cycle through several leases, and this tool models exactly that — reporting the numbers you actually experience, a monthly payment and a cost per mile, instead of an abstract score. The money matters, but so does how the car fits your life. For the full detail behind these numbers — the tax rules, maintenance assumptions, and depreciation — see how the model works.
Cost per mile
Cost per mile is the total you pay out of pocket divided by the miles you drive. It is the fairest single yardstick because it folds payments, fees, and upkeep into one everyday number. A lease keeps you in a newer car but resets its signing costs every three years, so its cost per mile tends to stay flat. A purchase costs more per mile early — then drops sharply once the loan is paid and you are only buying gas, oil, and the occasional repair.
Depreciation and the used-car market
Depreciation is the value a car loses as it ages. The used market is fairly consistent about it: a new vehicle sheds roughly 20% in its first year and then about 15% of its remaining value each year after. That is the curve this tool uses. It means a $40,000 SUV is often worth only a fifth of its price after nine years — a real cost either way, but the buyer at least keeps whatever is left.
The equity you keep
Equity is what the car is worth once you owe nothing on it. A nine‑year buyer owns the SUV outright, so its resale value is money in hand — toward the next car or straight into the bank. A leaser hands every car back and starts over, so their equity is always zero. That gap is one of the clearest differences between the two paths.
Free scheduled maintenance
Many new cars include scheduled maintenance for the first 36 months. Because a leaser is always in a newish car, that perk can quietly cover the entire comparison period — a genuine leasing advantage. A buyer gets it only on the first car and then pays for oil changes, and eventually tires and brakes, as the miles add up.
What the numbers can’t tell you
Leasing means always driving something new, under warranty, with predictable costs — but a payment that never ends and strict mileage limits. Buying and keeping means years with no payment and total freedom to drive and modify the car — but you own the repairs and the slow decline of an aging vehicle. The right answer depends as much on what you value as on the dollars. Use these numbers as one input, not the verdict.
Key takeaway
Over a long enough period, buying and keeping one car usually wins on cost per mile and leaves you a car worth real money, while leasing keeps you in newer cars for a steady, never‑ending payment. Shorten the comparison and leasing looks better; lengthen it and buying pulls ahead. Let the cost per mile and the equity guide the money side — then weigh how you actually drive and what you enjoy.