I have an ‘in general’ question. Is there a rule of thumb where you are better off to lease a more expensive car (say 50k+) or a lesser cost car ?
I think the market has changed in the last decade or so, and some of the reasons you were better-off to leave have gone away, eg. the interest rates aren't as high so the leasing companies can't give you a better rate than your home-loan & make it worthwhile to keep money in your offset account, leasing companies don't get the big discounts they used to get (or at least that's my belief - could be wrong there), leasing companies don't still get $400/yr comprehensive insurance policies for 22yo's leasing things like Yaris GR4's or SSVR's so some people don't save $2k/yr on insurance by leasing any more, people who used to do really high yearly km's in their car don't get as big a reduction in FBT as they used to.
I don't think there is a rule-of-thumb to do with cost of the car --> if you have the money to buy, you're generally better off buying ... one could argue that if you don't have the money, don't go into debt for a toy you don't really need (eg. a $10k usedee will be just about as reliable & just about as safe as a $25k new car).
There are instances where you might be better leasing, but it's more to do with personal circumstance. If the car's purely for work, for example, you can reduce tax. There are also people for whom paying more money overall, but knowing exactly how much they will pay every single month to cover all expenses, is worthwhile to them.
