What are the pros and cons of leasing vs buying a work vehicle?

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What are the practical, financial, and tax trade-offs between leasing a vehicle and buying one when you use it primarily for work (self-employed contractor, salesperson, or frequent client visits)?

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Madison Hayes 12 Aug 2025

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Think about mileage and end-of-lease fines. If you're burning a lot of miles visiting clients, lease contracts usually have strict caps and pricey per-mile penalties, so they can get expensive fast. Leased cars usually stay under warranty so unexpected repairs are rarer, but you still pay for excess wear. Buying exposes you to depreciation and resale risk, yet you can use accelerated tax write-offs for qualifying business vehicles in some jurisdictions, or reclaim VAT if applicable. Loans affect cash flow and ties up capital, while leases preserve balance sheet flexibility and might be better for image management. Either way keep a meticulous mileage log. If you exceed 20k miles a year, owning usually wins financially.
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Asher Brown 15 Aug 2025

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Watch the pitch, they want you on a never-ending subscription so they can own your data and your cash flow. Leasing will often forbid heavy customizaton, so if you need racks, wraps, or tool installations you may pay fines or lose flexibility...many lease contracts now include telematics, which feeds driving habits to insurers and manufacturers, and that can raise rates later.
Buying gives you a tangible asset to use as collateral and to modify freely, and if you keep a reliable vehicle beyond loan payoff your real monthly cost can plunge
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Juliet Nelson 13 Aug 2025

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Leasing often feels cheaper monthly and lets you swap cars to impress clients but you can still deduct lease costs as business expenses even if partly personal. Buying builds equity and can be claimed as a capital asset with no depreciation drama. I am probably missing rules though.
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