Buying or leasing a car?

[Alex Phillips]

A little bit about myself, my name is Alex, I’m a 22 year old aspiring property investor originally from the UK. For the last 3 years I have been working overseas soon to return home, now like most people who have made the decision to chase the idea of real estate investment, I can’t wait to dive in and get started and this is where my question comes from. 
I will be returning home with a nice amount of money saved with the intention of investing it, however I will also need to get myself a car for obvious reasons. 
now my big dilemma is which route I should take to allow me the best start to my investing career, the way I see it these are my options.

The numbers I will use are purely an example.

Option A: I buy an older car outright for £5000 with no ongoing costs 

Option B: I pay a small deposit of £2000 on a new car and finance the rest at £300 a month for 48 months, owning the asset at the end.

Option C: Lease a car for £350 a month with no upfront payment, and give the car back after 48 months and repeat. 

I’ve given each option some thought and each have there pros and cons, I wondered if somebody with more investment experience could shed some light on the situation. 

Many Thanks in advance,

Alex

[Ujwal Velagapudi]

Buy a used car. You'd rather avoid any debt on your financial statements when you look to borrow from a lender or other payments. Also, what is your priority right now? Can you be super frugal, buy something very inexpensive/older today, and invest as much into fueling your real estate goals? I've been down this same road multiple times, and honestly have been the happiest with my 2004 $4k Toyota Camry that's been a beast in reliability and even better on the wallet :)