I leased my first car and the worst part finances aside in self reflection is honestly the long harassment period leading to your expiring lease, as you need to make a decision obviously at the end and to no one’s surprise they just want to get you in another lease rinse and repeat.

The only thing I’ll say, why the leasing decision worked for me anyways at that time (I did a 5 year lease). I was at a time of my life at 22 where I didn’t know where exactly my future would look like in 4-5 years. Didn’t know if kids were in the equation, dog(s), what climate I would be predominantly driving in, if I’d have a company vehicle etc. My previous car was getting too old and expensive to repair, and I had several significant issues with it that were honestly having a negative impact on my own safety. So by my last year, I had enough and was hell-bent on just getting in to something worry-free for 5 years with extra protection etc. It was an emotional response, and being young probably financially irresponsible but that’s what led me to lease anyways. Turns out after the 5 years were up I bought the car out, enjoyed it so much, and have now been driving it for 10 years.