My friend has 2 reasons to lease:
1. I don't know anything about cars and want one that's 100% covered by warranty etc.
2. I'm afraid to drive an older car in case it breaks down someplace and I'm stuck.
So my math says that the cost of ignorance and fear is maybe $5000/year more than getting a good used car and learning a wee bit about it.
A little bit of learning and attitude shifting could save a lot of dough.
I'm guessing your $5k is pretty far inflated, unless your friend is leasing some pretty high-end iron, which, while potentially wasteful, is buying a different sort of benefit. $5k a year suggests a payment of $416, which would have to be ABOVE what he'd pay as a baseline for alternative transport (amortize a car, maintenance and repairs, etc).
Frankly, to me if you want to drive a newer car inexpensively, a lease is a fantastic way to do it. You pay, say, $200-250 a month for an Accord, which will always be in warranty, you'll never have significant repairs or maintenance (shouldn't need tires, brakes, etc). Your costs are regular, repeatable, predictable, and never come with a surprise. Sure, it will never be as absolutely cheap as the "$500 beater with barely any insurance" crowd, but it's probably not that much more, especially if you need regular reliable transportation.