MarkS, thanks for the breakdown.
It seems everyone is comparing either getting a new car every 18 months or keeping it for 8 years. Id think most would fall in between, no?
I just did that to add the lease up to 35K. If you buy a new car every 3 years, leasing is a better idea than buying. (Because at this point, both buying and leasing are expensive).
Assuming you plan to drive the car 5 years or longer, buying is cheaper.
Think of buying a house vs renting. Everyone in the world will tell you that if you can afford a down-payment and plan to stay in one house for a bunch of years, buying is much better because you build equity. With a car it's not as drastic because cars depreciate, but at least you have some sort of equity in the car.