The candy shop: Buy or Lease A Car.....That Is The Online Car Shopping Question!

Lease payments may look awfully low on TV ads, but leasing a car isn't for everyone.

In those new-car ads on TV, lease payments look awfully low. And they are, compared with loan payments for buying the car. But leasing is not for everyone.

Leasing is the easiest way to get a new car every few years while letting the dealer or leasing company worry about disposing of the old one. But leases have some major disadvantages.

One of the biggest drawbacks -- especially if you are not accustomed to leasing -- is that you are forced to make a major financial decision when your lease expires. You must either turn that car or truck back and buy or lease a new one, or decide to exercise your option to buy the vehicle at the lease-end price. (Typically, the value of your car or truck at the end of the lease is set in advance.)

On the other hand, if you buy a car or truck, you can postpone any decision about replacing it at least until mechanical trouble forces your hand. And some people just like knowing that they own the car once the final payment is made. If you don't mind driving an older car, the best decision on purely economic grounds is to buy a new car and keep on driving it long after your loan payments have stopped.

So which is right for you? If you typically trade for a new car every four years or less, want to avoid the loan down payment of 10 to 20 percent, drive close to but not more than the 15,000 miles a year allowed in most leases and typically keep your vehicle in good condition to avoid end-of-lease penalties, you might well be happy leasing.

Even so, before you opt for a lease keep in mind that there is a reason why those low payments look so attractive: Instead of paying for the entire car, you're only paying the estimated depreciation over the time you are leasing it. So to get a really good lease deal, you need to look further than just the payments. You need to understand how leasing works, do your homework and negotiate as hard as if you were buying the car. Check out the step-by-step guide at http://www.online-shopping-101.com/buy-lease-car-truck.htm.