A lot of this discussion depends on how much of a unicorn you get each lease flip and how much you do/don’t enjoy the kill. And enjoy the shopping. And enjoy reading the LH posts 
I love this stuff so leasing for me is worth the “effort” and I love the reward of getting new cars every two years. This community just makes it all that much more fun
I think the point here is that if you can do your own maintenance/basic repairs and are comfortable with long term ownership and all that comes with it, buying used is more cost effective.
If not, it’s at best break even and at worst potentially far more expensive than leasing. I highly recommend leasing to people who only have one vehicle and can’t self diagnose simple issues. Otherwise it can be roulette.
FWIW, the $0.67 number is a shocker to me and likely more expensive than a couple hackr leases would’ve been. I’ve been well under $0.25/mile total cost on every used vehicle I’ve ever owned from basic Civics to $50k Acuras. I actually made money on an S2000 that I drove for 30k miles including clutch and top replacement 
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Totally agree but also working on an over engineered bmw with a twin turbo engine is going to be more difficult. Keep in mind that .67 per mile includes gas.
Correct which is the roulette part of the equation (can get crazy expensive crazy fast), but that maintenance list is pretty routine/basic.
I think there are 2 schools of thought. One is the long term ownership where the vehicle becomes a personal attachment and is looked upon in an asset like manner. This mind set often involves the owner doing own maintenance and usually a sense of achievement in being prudent and not wasteful or not careful about finances. These are the owners who usually do not like debt, credit and usually save up amd pay with cash for what they an afford.
2nd school of thought is where a car is a liability and a resource for moving around in as much an enjoyable matter as one can afford. There can be plenty of frugality here as LH demonstrates, and in no way does this side demonstrate wastefulness. Owners here put a priority on being able to always be in the latest tech, do not want to deal with ownership problems, and treat the expense as many others in one’s budget.
I have been in the former roup when younger and now will remain stronger in the latter. The whole economy is build on easy money, other peoples money and a constant cycle of debt creation and destruction. I see no reason to treasure a piece of metal or waste my time on upkeep when time is the only important asset in life. I d rather spent the extra time on producing the money to pay for the lease but depends on one’s expectation of what their time is worth.
Just sold my 7 yr old MDX today and my calcs over the 25k mile or so ownership with financing at <3% are at 400ish per month on the conservative side without gas and insurance. This was a problem free car without significant issues. MDX leases are <500 on LH all day long.
Unless you are putting your $ differential into extra payments on your mortgage the ownership experience has no benefits in the free money economy.
Forgive the long winded post
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No need to apologize…your post is right on the money!
Surprised that 7 years ownership of an MDX cost 400/m
Did you really own the car for 7 years and only drive 25k miles? I’m am a low mileage driver (average about 6k-8k per car) but that’s more like 3.5k per year. Unless that’s a lot of really slow urban driving where you average a few miles an hour I’d be looking for cheapest comparable size lease since you are barely ever in the car.
Now, I fully agree with you that in this era of cheap money leasing is usually going to be a better decision financially. Even if on average you come out a little behind (you don’t but for arguments sake) it just takes one used car ownership maintenance diaster to cancel out the lifetime cost benefit of used
car buying versuss new car leasing.
Of course, I own one of my two cars since the crazy tax policies in VA render your calculations irrelevant in my jurisdiction😥
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Sorry wasnt clear. That is over the 25k miles of ownership on a preowned vehicle bought for ~$25k+ financed about 2 years back.
I would suppose the numbers would start looking better after 5+ years, but driving an 11 year old vehicle at 120k miles is not my idea of happiness. I bet if I ask the “ownership” team to show me their phones, not many will have one that matches their car in age.
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Was just reminded from another post that lease companies that allow debit card payments can be considered in the ownership vs lease formula. A 1% cash back on a $350/mo payment is $42/yr ($420/10 yrs) in additional savings over purchase costs, assuming you didn’t use a CC or debit card when you purchased the car up front.
Of course, if you financed the purchase, the potential 1% savings would be there too so there’s that.
Interesting but I would not base a decision on one anecdotal experience. Between 50k-75k I spent $2k per year and then closer to 3k per year until I sold my 12 yr old 330i. BMWs are fun to drive but they spring fluid leaks everywhere not to mention random malfunctions like door actuators etc. I would never buy and hold a BMW again unless I was planning on low annual mileage (6-7.5k per year). Too expensive to maintain.
Final Update
I got a few more months out of the car with luckily no more repairs and got to skip the registration and the smog test. The market for this car in the after market is nowhere near KBB (it’a a lot lower). Final price per month was $382 per month and .34 cents per mile to own (not including gas).
Thank you for all the reporting on this, I found it very helpful!
Have you ever noticed that no one who sells used cars tries to convince you that paying KBB is a great deal?
Somehow every used car is priced at $X UNDER KBB!!!
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Yep, I haven’t sold a car in a while. I guess there are too many cars out there for older 10+ year old cars to sell well.
Money’s still relatively cheap to borrow. Until that changes and your average new car loans or lease MF’s rise up to the 10%/.0042 range the older used market will remain more or less depressed for the most part.
Cash for clunkers a decade ago decimated the cash car market and shifted it more or less to the purview of BHPH lots from what ive seen.