Buying vs Leasing a Mitsubishi San Antonio TX

Driving off a San Antonio lot in a brand new Mitsubishi is an exciting experience, with that brand new vehicle feel and smell that is easy to treasure for a while! Affording a new vehicle can seem like an intimidating process; fortunately, there are different payment methods that expert financing departments, such as ours here at West Loop Mitsubishi, that work with you to help fit your budget. One important decision is whether you are going to lease or purchase with a dealership; both have various advantages and are better based on what you are looking for. Here's what you should know about each option to help you decide.

When you drive off a lot after buying a vehicle, you will have made a down-payment and set up a loan with the dealership. This loan is an agreement to pay off the total cost of the car over time, and then afterward, you completely own the vehicle and are free to do as you will with it. If you instead lease a car, you are borrowing the vehicle without ever holding ownership; then after an agreed-on period of time, you drop the leased vehicle back off at the lot and walk away. Leasing is great if you are looking to have an easy way to part the vehicle and look to move on to the next one. Purchasing the car instead allows you to sell the car off later yourself, and invest more into the longevity of the vehicle.

Whether you are purchasing the car and setting up a loan, or decide to instead borrow the car and establish a lease, you will be making monthly payments and signing a good amount of paperwork with the dealership. The most standard form of financing a motor vehicle is by paying a monthly charge to the dealership until either the vehicle is paid in full or the lease time-period expires. Leases charge less per month at base value (sometimes up to nearly half as much) and are established with a security deposit, very similar to that of an apartment. If you keep the car in good shape and stick within the lease agreement (max number of miles, return on agreed date, etc.) then there will not be any additional charges. Owning a car usually has a higher initial cost with interest that accrues over time as you pay for the vehicle. Sticking with the loan and finishing paying it off allows you to sell the vehicle in the future, oftentimes more than paying back the different lost in monthly payments compared to leasing. 

When you borrow a car through signing a lease, you end up having the vehicle for a shorter duration of time (usually up to 2-3 years) that you agree on with the financing department you work with; this allows you to be able to drive a new type and model of a vehicle every turn of a couple of years if you continue to lease future vehicles. If you are looking to stick with the same vehicle for a longer period of time, purchasing the car through a loan is the way to go. You gain a lot of flexibility through a loan with the option to resell the vehicle back to the dealership before the loan is finished, being able to drive any number of miles without extra costs, customize the vehicle with various upgrades and tunings, and can bring lower insurance costs overall. The extra hassle with handling selling a vehicle after many years can be worth it, even with the longer payment period and more money invested originally into a loan.

Forward-thinking and having a dealer you trust helps to transform your desire of having a new vehicle into a reality with a brand new Mitsubishi you deserve! Our friendly dealers and expert specialists here at West Loop Mitsubishi are ready to help strategize with you to work out the best payment plan and navigate the options with ease. You can check out our full line-up of all-new Mitsubishi vehicles by clicking here and find out more information straight from our financing department here. Give us a call and ask about our payback plans and schedule a test drive of one of our vehicles!