Well said. Buying new is a bad financial move period, leasing or buying. If I am going to suffer alot of depreciation, it is better for me from a tax perspective to lease.
If I buy a new $60,000 car that I use 100% for work, I am at the IRS fixed depreciation schedule which for 2014 is $3460 for the year (and only $1975 in the 4th year).
However, assume a lease payment is $800, then you get to deduct the entire ($800*12) = $9600 as a business deduction. That is an extra $6140 in deduction over a buy, which means you don't have to pay tax on that money because now it is a business expense. Assuming someone wealthy is in the 35% tax bracket that means they get the car and pay $2150 less in tax as compared to if they bought that car. That is $180 less per month, so the lease is now only $620 per month. The depreciation for a purchase is fixed, but if the lease payment for the car is $1200, the benefit is even better.
At lease end, after enjoying 3 years of tax benefit, I have the OPTION to buy at about market value, and then I jump into the depreciation schedule, is still not great, but because the value of the car is lower, it is not so bad.
Again, IMO buying or leasing NEW is not a optimal use of money, but there are some times where leasing is at least as good as buying, if not better.
Now if I could just find a car to lease that I like and can afford !!