Ok, the thread title is probably a bit misleading. My ex-wife (yes, ex-wife, we are on good terms and very good friends), asked me the other day what I thought about leasing a car. She has a 2007 Mazda 3 (that was bought brand new) that she is planning on giving to our daughter, who turns 16 later this year. It's been a great car for her, going over 10 years now. She has a good career (Phsychologist), owns a home, and is seemingly doing well. I think her reasoning on a possible lease is a smaller monthly payment and having something new, under warranty, so you do not have to worry about repairs. She also does a decent amount of driving as she periodically has to go out of town for work.
My initial response was that the best approach from a purely financial standpoint is to buy something used that she can pay off in 2-3 years max, and then keep for awhile until repairs become prohibitive. Like I said, we are on very good terms, but still, I have to tread carefully on things like this as to not seem overbearing or coming across like I know best and just do what I say. Mostly, I am wondering if anyone has any good articles that talk about leasing vs. buying (buying used and keeping) that I could pass along. She's not overly spendy, although when financial stuff comes up, I try to approach it from the MMM mindset. I'm more moderate when it comes to this stuff, but I try to pass along other ideas and approaches that she might not be aware of, just to help if I can.
