[Dr G13]

So I'm planning the purchase of my next car and have always in the past payed cash for my cars purely because i'v modified them to quite an extent and didn't want to bother with the hassle of putting back to stock.

Now thats fine as all my previous cars have been under the 40k mark however my next car hopefully will be list of at least 2 and half times that.

I have the cash saved up but have been told by a lot of people that leasing would make much more sense rather than putting down so much cash. I am not really too clued up on anything to do with finance of any sort especially on cars.

It is likely i will not be modding my next car so that reason for paying cash is out the window.

Can someone care to explain to me the real cost in terms of cash vs lease. I mean If i keep the car for 2 years and sell it, i will loose x amount if i buy with cash. Surely leasing I will loose x amount plus x amount of interest? Hence in real terms ownership of the car costing me a lot more for those two years?

Does that sound correct? The reasoning for leasing being you can invest that cash elsewhere? My problem is I don't think it would be invested anywhere anyway as I do not know enough about investments where I live.

Pretty confused right about now, I know I should know all this

[Freakazoid]

Unless you're able to get a lease rate significantly better than the prevailing rate you can get in a savings/cd/etc account, always pay with cash.

You've got the right concept, it's easier to simplify like this. If you're leasing, you're losing EVERY dollar that you're paying in interest.
The other piece you need to find out is what the buyout for the car is after the end of the lease. If it's more than the anticipated value of the car when its that old...then you're losing even MORE money (whatever the difference is). If the purchase price at the end of the lease is LESS than the anticipated value of the car, then you're effectively recouping some of that money.
Generally speaking where you're really losing the money is the interest. and for a 100k car, at a low 3-4% interest, that's obviously several thousand a year.

And don't forget with a lease, you're also assuming other associated costs. Different fees, and you're also locked into the car as well.