To Lease（租赁） or Not to Lease
Planning to lease a car because you don't think you can afford to buy? Think again. Leasing can end up being just as expensive as buying.
Most people think about leasing because they believe it will cost them less money. They're right-it is cheaper, but only in the short term. For example, if you were to lease anew Subaru Forester, you might pay $300 per month for the car. If you were to buy the same car, you would pay about $400 per month. Over a three-year, you would save $3600-a big savings. But after your lease is over, you have to give the car back.
Many people want to lease because they can drive a more expensive car than they might otherwise be able to afford. For example, if you spend $300 monthly on a car, you might be able to lease a new Ford Explorer. For the same price, you might have to buy a used Explorer, or buy a new but much less expensive model. A lease， therefore， allows you to drive the latest models of more expensive cars. However, whatever car you can afford to buy you get to keep it, and it will always have a resell or trade-in（以新旧换）value if you want to upgrade to a new car later.
Furthermore, people who lease cars are often shocked by how much they must pay when the lease is over . Most leases limit you to a certain number of miles. If you go over that, you must pay for each mile. As a result, you may end up paying thousands of dollars in mileage（里程） fees. In addition, when you lease ,you have to pay for regular maintenance and repairs to the vehicle. Since you must return the car finally, you are paying to repair someone else's car.
By now, the benefits of buying over leasing should be clear. Remember: whatever model you can afford to buy, it is yours after you make the payments. There's no giving back, and that makes all the difference.
10.The author advises people to buy an affordable car.