[Hedwig]

I buy either new or very low-mileage, preferably from someone I know.

Why? Because I drive 40-50K miles a year and I can't afford to buy a car I will start putting money in right away. I get something with a warranty that I can get repaired at little or no cost. I go to my mechanic for all service, and he keeps good records. Then I have reliable transportation until the wheels fall off.

When I was having my financial crisis, I bought some older cars. I missed work, almost lost a job because my car kept breaking down. Not to mention that the only way I could pay for the repairs was on cc that charged 30% or so interest.

Sometimes it's better to take the depreciation. As I've said many times, you have to look at the entire situation and it's all about building wealth. I may build more wealth making car payments at 5-6% with no repairs than the same amount as the car payment in repairs every month at some exorbitant interest rate.

I'm not ever going to sell the car anyway, so who cares. I'm better off with a less expensive new car than a used car that may cost almost as much and has to be maintained.

There is no one-size-fits-all, no one answer to lease or buy, new or used. If there were we'd be in a terrible shape.

I'll never lease because of the miles I put on the car.