WEDNESDAY, MARCH, 21,2007 Today I would like to dedicate to a new feature, BUYLINE. Buyline is a weekly feature that will be dedicated to those interested in buying a vehicle as opposed to leasing. Now there are pros and cons to both schools of thought and neither is the ultimate answer to acquiring a new vehicle. It has been said in nearly every auto buying guide that if you plan to keep a vehicle for a while, then purchasing the vehicle is the best choice. If you like to acquire a new vehicle on a more frequent basis and do not drive an excessive number of miles each year, then leasing is the best choice. The fact of the matter is that it is not always that easy. Many people simply can not afford the higher cost of purchasing as opposed to leasing, leasing is usually the more cost effective route for lowering the monthly payments, and often is more readily available by banks tom those with slow or poor credit. Others may need a vehicle, such as a minivan, that is too expensive ordinarily for their budget but is obtainable through leasing. Still others that simply want a stylish ride can use a multi -term lease followed by a multi -term purchase plan to spread out payments over several years, with a long-term final cost that is thousands above the original sticker price. As you can see the tried and true answers are not the only answers these days. Financing a purchase plan in my opinion is still the favorable answer. You may have to reduce your expectations but ultimately it saves you thousands of dollars ultimately and allows you to put one more monthly financial responsibility out of your mind. One old school approach that is often overlooked is to "flat out" buy the vehicle. There is a real joy to walking into a dealer without having to hand over all your personal information, including your social security number, only to wait with the fear that a late Visa payment two years ago will keep you from buying the vehicle you have grown attached to. It is a pleasure to hand over a bank check and walk out with the knowledge that you are not paying too high an interest rate or having the headache of yet another monthly bill hanging over your head. Achieving this is not as hard as you might think, although it does take patience. If you save ten dollars a day by giving up a few niceties in your daily routine over the course of ten years, the average lifespan of a new car, you would have saved a little over $36,000! By keeping your vehicle for a longer time period you also benefit from a reduced tax bill and a reduced insurance cost, not to shabby! If this approach is not for you you may find an interesting surprise associated with traditional financing. With favorable interest rates these days there may not be that big a difference between financing and leasing the vehicle your interested in, why not buy if it's a slight difference. To play with these numbers you simply need to go to the web site for the vehicle your interested in and click on the icon for "finance options" and then follow the instructions to find the different payment possibilities. Finally we come to the end. I apologize for the length of this listing, but I feel it is an important primer to understanding the difference in the various financial options opened to you. A.D. One last thing ------- The one remaining aspect of the purchase option that has not been addressed is that certain vehicles are more advantageous to buy and others are more advantageous to lease. This feature will only discuss the vehicles that make the best choice to buy either "flat out" or through financing. As the weeks go by I will explain the subtle reasons for this and how to best make it work for your pocket. Remember there is no pride that comes from over paying for a vehicle or driving a lesser vehicle simply because you didn't take the effort to read Automotive Declassified and inform yourself, sorry for the shameless plug. A.D.