Buy or lease your car: the real calculation

The real question is not "how much per month", but "how much does it cost me over the year, everything included".

When you buy, you pay for the vehicle once and get part of it back when you sell: your real cost is the depreciation plus the servicing. When you lease, you pay a rent that often includes servicing and warranty, but you own nothing and kilometres beyond the contract are charged.

I bring everything back to the same scale: the cost per year, kilometres included. That is the only comparable figure.

The calculation

Enter the price of the vehicle, how long you plan to keep it, your kilometres per year and the rent on offer: you get the yearly cost of buying and the yearly cost of leasing, side by side.

What it costs you

Buying

€18,737

in total over 48 months

That is €390 per month

Including €2,837 of loan interest

Leasing (LOA/LLD)

€19,800

in total over 48 months

That is €413 per month

Buying costs you €1,063 less over the period.

Shall I email you the PDF report?

I put your simulation, the detailed maths and the assumptions into a PDF. It lands in your inbox, free of charge — and your result stays right here whatever happens.

What I count, and what I leave out

On the buying side I count neither servicing nor insurance. A lease often includes them in the rent: when the gap is narrow, leasing is therefore a little better than it looks.
The resale value is an estimate, and it is the least certain figure of the whole calculation. Change it and watch what moves.
Kilometres beyond the contract are charged €0.10 per kilometre, a common rate in both LOA and LLD contracts.
No business taxation here (VAT, depreciation): this is the calculation for your wallet, not for your balance sheet.

Indicative estimate — the real figures are in your contract.

Frequently asked questions about this tool

Which costs should you count?

Everything that leaves your account because of the vehicle: the price or the rent, the insurance, the servicing, the tyres, the fuel or charging, and the depreciation if you buy. One forgotten cost skews the whole comparison.

Is leasing really more expensive?

Not always. It often costs a little more overall, but it spreads the spending, includes servicing and spares you the bad surprise at resale. If you change car every three years, the gap narrows a lot.

Why do my kilometres change the answer?

Because they wear the vehicle out, and because leases cap them. Lots of kilometres means steeper depreciation when you buy and excess-mileage charges when you lease: that is often what tips the balance.