Is It Better to Buy or Lease a Ferrari? 

You’ve had your eye on a Ferrari 296 GTB for quite a while. Finally, you’ve decided that you want to add this Italian-made treasure to your car collection. Should you buy or lease it, though?

Before you fulfill your vision of tearing around a race track or just impressing people as you tool around your city or town, you should give the question of ownership or leasing a lot of thought. Acting impulsively could wind up being quite costly for you and leave you with a lot of regret.

There are a lot of pros and cons for each side. Let’s walk through the options so that you can make an informed decision about whether you should just get the car immediately or if you should pay to use it for the next three years or so. Both of them have sound reasons – you just need to find the best ones for you.

Leasing Pro: It’s More Affordable

When you lease a Ferrari, you will be paying a monthly sales tax on the car instead of a full payment upfront when you buy the car. That can be substantial savings if you are in a state like California, and you could be paying around $11,000 overall instead of an extra $20,000 at once- which you won’t get back if you resell the car. You could take the money that you save when you lease and invest it in stocks and possibly make a much better return than if you spent it on the sales tax when you made the purchase.

The cost is usually quite affordable, and you will be paying each month to use the car as opposed to one larger sum at the time of purchase – though you could look into financing one . As you can see, this can be a great way to have this car and not be paying a lot at one given time. You can still show off your Ferrari with pride.

Leasing Pro: You Usually Get Free Maintenance When Leasing

Like many other car dealers, you can bring in your Ferrari for regular check-ups and maintenance. They also have specialists there who know all about nearly every model out there and can fix them much more efficiently than if you were to take them to a regular auto repair shop.

When you buy the Ferrari, unless you manage to work a deal where you can get free service at the dealership for a period of time, you’re on the hook for everything. You’ll be paying full price for a wide range of things, and that will add up over time, no matter how careful you are. Ferraris are excellent cars, but even they are not invincible from the effects of usage and the march of time, and maintaining them is not cheap.

Buying Pro: It’s All Yours

There’s something amazing about being able to say that you outright own a Ferrari. You can look with pride at the Prancing Horse and know that you own it. That is a major purchase, and having this beautiful car should be a source of pride that you should be glad to show off to others around you.

Another reason people like buying Ferraris is that the cars retain their value for a lot longer than other cars. There are some cars that start depreciating the second they leave the dealership. That’s not the case with a Ferrari, and if you take really good care of your car, then you could wind up making some good money down the road.

Buying Con: You Can Lose a Lot of Money in an Accident

This is a big one when it comes to making your decision regarding buying or leasing. If you have an accident with your purchased Ferrari, you can pretty much kiss any chances of getting anywhere near the original value of the car back. Also, the repair bill alone can be staggering and, depending on your financial status, could cause weakness in your knees.

So, when you buy a Ferrari, you are going to have to be extra careful while you are out on the road. Take extra precautions if you are driving in bad weather, especially if the roads are slick. Are you ready to deal with that extra stress instead of enjoying your time behind the wheel?

Last Words

You might be tempted to get a used Ferrari. That might cost you less money when you first pay, but chances are good that you will be paying a lot more for maintenance than if you got a new one that should perform well for a while before needing any work done on it. Of course, if you trust the person selling the used one, then you can use your best judgment.

Another thing that you’re going to have to think about is how much you are going to be paying for gas, whether you are buying or leasing. Let’s look at that Ferrari 296 GTB: You can expect to get roughly 47 MPGe. That will vary when you look at other models.

There are options where you could wind up purchasing your Ferrar 296 GTB or other models when your lease ends. Talk with the leasing company about building any depreciation, if there was any, into the cost. This is where it helps to be very mindful about any dealerships or brokers – they may have specials that will wind up saving you money.

You can weigh the pros and cons between buying or leasing. The best thing about making a decision, though? Either way, you’ll be behind the wheel of a Ferrari, and that will make it all worth it to have gone through the whole process before you made your decision.

Ultimately, you will be able to fulfill your vision of getting behind the wheel of your own Ferrari. It’ll be a reality, not a dream. Then you can enjoy your status as someone who has a gorgeous supercar.