Buy vs Lease Calculator

I created a spreadsheet to compare the total cost of buying a car versus leasing one.  I will put up another post shortly with my findings, but let me explain the fields and methodology behind the calculator.

The calculator is actually an Excel spreadsheet saved as html with interactivity.  So, you can alter the cells to do your own calculations.  This is the first time I'm doing this, so I hope it works well.

Here's how you use it.

1. This must be viewed in Internet Explorer.
2. Enter only in the unshaded areas.  The gray cells have formulas.
3. The calculator does not assume you will keep the car for the same amount of time whether you buy or lease as most similar calculators do.  Enter realistic lengths of time, both for the loan/lease term and the years to own.
4. The total cost numbers at the bottom are for the period described.  If you plan to buy a car and finance for five years or lease it for four years, leasing will appear cheaper.  But you have to figure out what you will do at the end of the fourth year if you lease.  I cannot create a calculator for that, as the options at that point are infinite.

Please let me know if you are able to use the calculator and if it makes sense or needs adjustments.  Also, if you know a better way to convert spreadsheets into html, I would love some feedback.  Either make comments here or send me an email.  Thanks.

Comments

[sdfsd]

it doesnt work

[Rah]

It works in Internet Explorer only. I don't really get how it works, I'm not a big fan of leases anyway....some of the rows should line up better with their counterparts in the buy/lease lines.

[lamoneyguy]

Thanks for the comments Rah. I know I should have spent a little bit more time formatting for clarity.

There are a lot of fields to enter, but I wanted it to be comprehensive. For example, it doesn't assume that you are looking at the same car. Many people look at more expensive cars when they are considering a lease because of the lower monthly payment they think they can "afford" more. Truth is, it costs them considerably.

I also included a field for the after tax opportunity cost if the down payment or the differential in the monthly payments were invested instead of used for a car.

Also, many who encourage leases (mostly car salesmen) talk of tax benefits if you use the car for business purposes. This spreadsheet does not assume that you are a small business owner, but an employee who drives to meet clients and such. There is some potential tax benefit, but it is minimal.

Does anyone know how to format spreadsheets to html in a better way?

[mbt shoes clearance]

nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easi