@calmmoneycoach: Car math https://calmmoneycoach.kit.com/carcalc I ran the lease versus buy argument 6,916 times. Every one of the 133 vehicles in my calculator, all 13 provinces and territories, 4 hold lengths. Keep a car 3 years and buying used wins 99.7 percent of the runs. Keep it 15 and used wins 55 percent, new wins 32, lease then buy out wins 12. And at 15 years the top two paths land within 5 percent of each other 75 percent of the time. 3 quarters of the time it's a tie. A new car's worst depreciation happens in year 1, and the longer you hold it the more years that one bad year gets spread across. Running costs are in every total, and maintenance is priced apart for new and used. Across all 133 vehicles the median is $10,500 over 10 years bought new against $15,400 bought used, 46 percent more. Insurance, fuel or power, tires and registration are in there too. Insurance is a provincial average by segment and powertrain rather than a quote, because Canada has no published model by model rate book. The one that never won anything was leasing forever. Last place in 90 percent of runs, and at a 10 year hold the median run cost about $50,935 more than the cheapest path. On the business deduction, because it's the reason people reach for leasing. Lease payments are deductible if you actually use the car for work, capped at $1,100 a month before tax, $1,243 in Ontario with HST. But buying is deductible too, on a cost capped at $39,000 plus $350 a month of interest. Leasing isn't a loophole, and either way you only get the business-use share. One trap worth knowing: a leased electric doesn't get the $61,000 ceiling, because that ceiling needs you to own it. And if you lease because you never want to think about a transmission again, that's a real answer. Personal finance is personal. You're buying peace of mind, you can see the price, and if you've looked at it and you still want it, good. And the part I didn't expect when I ran my own. Nova Scotia, 10,000 km a year, 12 years. Impreza $5,843. Corolla Hybrid $5,852. $9 apart. I write about this for a living and the answer for my own household is a gas car, which is weird, but here we are. Decide how long you're keeping it first. The lease or buy argument mostly answers itself after that. Calculator's free, no email, link in bio. The Excel workbook and the guide are free for an email. The only thing I sell is the community. Educational, not advice. Run your own numbers and argue with mine.

Brian | Calm Money Coach

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Region: CA

Saturday 19 September 2026 16:12:28 GMT