Buying vs. Leasing...

Sooner or later, we're going to have to go the minivan route. Well, maybe not a minivan, per se, but a larger car.

I'm holding out for a hybrid minivan...hey automakers, there are probably other cost-conscious family men out there, maybe there's a market? (I was glad to see that Hyundai put out a minivan, the Entourage, since I do love my Elantra and LOVE my dealer, Fitzgerald. How many people say that?)

Anyway, I've been thinking up until recently that I would either buy a new Entourage (since I plan on driving the car until it dies and love the 10 year/100k mile warranty) or a used one that was in decent shape. This would cost me somewhere from $10k to $30k. Obviously, I'd have to do the analysis.

But then I ran into my friend Greg, who is leasing a new Toyota Sienna for $400/month.

It had never occured to me to lease, but when you start running the numbers (assuming the mileage terms are reasonable), it could make a lot of sense.

Anyone have a thought on that one?