Why buy or finance a new car?

Any car you buy loses value the second you drive it off the lot. It's not an investment and shouldn't be treated like one. If real estate didn't have tax advantages and depreciated in value, everyone would rent. If you can drive the car off the lot with little or nothing down on a lease, why buy it?

To clarify my situtation, I do not drive more than 12,000 miles per year and do not hold my cars for very long (3 to 4 yrs.). Also I do not have cash, so a straight up purchase is not what I'm questioning.
I totally understand that buying a USED car is sometimes good idea due to the fact that someone else has already dealt with the rapid depreciation rate.
However, when buying a NEW car, why finance and risk becoming upside down rather than leasing? There are inherent risks asscoiated with buying rather than leasing, while there are no risks associated with leasing since everything is negotiated in the beginning. Further leasing is cheaper and allows you to drive a nicer vehicle.

The problem with a lease is you pay almost as much money as buying, but you are left with nothing at the end of the lease. In fact you may even owe money if you go over the mileage limits.

While a car is not an investment it is an asset(that loses value). The best strategy in terms of quality and price is to buy an late model used car where someone else has taken the depreciation.

Although there are plenty of perfectly good cars that are 5 to 10 years old, these cars make the most sense financially.

Buying is always better than renting or leasing. At the end of the lease, you have no equity. At the end of a finance contract there is value in the car. I wouldn't pay cash. Financing it allows you to make payments with future money.

When you lease a car you are paying for the loss of value. After the lease is up you have nothing and must pay more to buy it. Save the money and buy a good used car.

As other people have already said, there is no good financial reason to buy a new car. Used cars, provided they are not in poor shape or extremely old, are the best financial option when buying a vehicle.

However, if you are going to buy a new car, it is better to buy than to lease, for the reasons other people have already mentioned.

The main reason to buy a new car, rather than a used car is simply because you want a new car. It is more of an emotional decision than a solid economic decision, to be honest.

Another reason for buying a new car would be if there is no used equivalent. For example, if you wanted to buy a hybrid car, you will probably have difficultly finding a used one, so buying new might be your only option.

You are trying to support your theory that leasing a car is better than buying by indicating that you want a new car every 3-4 years and that leasing allows you to "drive a nicer vehicle." Your "logic" is flawed because it makes no financial sense to get a new car every 3-4 years or to drive a "nicer" car (which I presume means excessively expensive).

If you really want to make the right financial decision (which you purport to do), then you should buy a two year old car for cash (don't spend more than $20,000), keep it well maintained, and drive it for 10 years. Then repeat the process.

Leasing does not make financial sense. It just allows people to throw their money down a hole because they want to impress people with their nice, new car. Not smart.