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I am already leasing a car for my wife. $330/mo for 36-momnths. That keeps her happy and I have peace of mind since she drives our baby to the daycare apart from commute to her work (~10 Km one way).

As for me, I drive a 2002 Mazda Protege, commute to work (~27 Km one way). It's mechanically sound as of now, but It's approaching 160,000Km/100,000 Miles. It is rusting, and I need to buy winter tires this coming winter. I live in Toronto (where almost all cars rust).

I am thinking of selling my car NOW, so I can hopefully get $2,000 from it (if I use it for another winter, I expect it to only be $1,000), then lease a 2014 Hyundai Accent base model (manual transmission, no aircon) for $200/month 36-months.

Is this a good idea? Or should I just drive my current car for another year until it breaks down (I still would need to buy winter tires though)?

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  • Is there a reason you insist on leasing vs purchasing? I'd expect you could get more than $2,000 for that Protege, by the way. I traded in a 2002 Nissan Sentra with non-functional speakers, broken a/c, missing fuses, and 140,000 miles for $2,000...
    – Noah
    Jun 13, 2014 at 15:15
  • With $0 downpayment and only $200/mo (all-in), plus I get to keep the $2,000 I got from selling my current car. I'm open to other perspectives though..
    – Silver Dollar
    Jun 13, 2014 at 15:23
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    If you didn't lease your current car, why start leasing now?
    – Joe Strazzere
    Jun 13, 2014 at 15:28

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Looking purely at the numbers, it will cost you $200/month to lease a Hyundai Accent. That's a cost of $2400/year. If you hold on to your Mazda Protege for another year, it costs you $1000. Now, you say you need new winter tyres. So, your questions are twofold: 1. How much will winter tyres cost? 2. How much will these tyres add to the value of your Protege, when it comes to selling them? Assuming the answers are "less than $1400" and "$0", it makes more financial sense to hold on to your Protege for one more year.

Of course, there are other considerations. A new vehicle is likely to be more reliable, while your Protege may break down over the next year. And most people would recommend you buy rather than lease a vehicle. Or you may want to consider selling the Protege and picking up a second-hand vehicle rather than buying or leasing a new car.

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