<prompt> Human: I know there is a consensus that if you arent in a position where a new car is very important to you that leasing is a bad idea. I am fully on board with this, except that I cant seem to find a deal where buying a car puts me ahead. Here is my situation. Relocating for work, currently own no cars. Will need 2 cars, one for me to get to work public transport is not an option and one for my wife to work and get the kids to school non-car transport is again, not an option that will work. My monthly budget for cars is about 500, including gasetc. which leaves about 250 for car payments. A standard 337; auto loan ends up costing me about 30month per 1000 financed, giving me buying power equal to about 6-7000, no where near enough to get 2 reliable cars that arent likely to need major work in the near term. A lease deal on a budget family car like a Honda Fit 149m 2300 down, 36m costs a total of about 7600, with a buy out price on the 2018 Fit Sport listed as about 11,500. A 2015 Fit which I am using as a proxy for why my 2018 Fit will be worth in 3 years time actually costs about 13,000, often more. Based on this, I think it makes more sense for me to try to find some good lease deals or at least 1 lease, and maybe one older car that I can drive off with for 4k and then plan to buy the car at the end of the lease. I feel like I am missing something. Here is the lease deal from Honda that I referenced above. 2018 Fit Continuously Variable Transmission Sport Featured Special Lease149.00 per month for 36 months. 2,299.00 total due at signing.Includes down payment with no security deposit. Excludes taxes, title and either dealer fees or documentary service fee. For well-qualified lessees.All trims except LX Closed end lease for 2018 Fit Continuously Variable Transmission Sport GK5H6JEW available from May 1, 2018 through July 5, 2018, to well-qualified lessees approved by Honda Financial Services. Not all lessees will qualify. Higher lease rates apply for lessees with lower credit ratings. MSRP 19,195.00 includes destination, excludes tax, license, title, registration, documentation fees, options, insurance and the like. Actual net capitalized cost 15,999.21. Net capitalized cost includes 595 acquisition fee. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect actual lease payment. Total monthly payments 5,364.00. Option to purchase at lease end 11,517.00. Must take new retail delivery on vehicle from dealer stock by July 5, 2018. Lessee responsible for maintenance, excessive weartear and 15mile over 12,000 milesyear for vehicles with MSRP less than 30,000, and 20mile over 12,000 milesyear for vehicles with MSRP of 30,000 or more. See your Honda dealer for complete details.  <response>: To put in simply -when leasing a car you pay for the depreciation that car will have whilst you used it. Its mainly done on brand new cars to create the newer used car market So if you plan on buying a brand newcar its a good option. If however you are not fussed if the car is 5 years old then it may not be the best optionAs you only pay for the depreciation of the car its a good way to keep the newest car and see it as a fixed cost per month as opposed to owning a car. It comes down to personal preference and budget at the end of the day 