Three ways to hold a car, one honest table
Most comparisons stop at the monthly payment, which is the one line where a subscription looks expensive. Carry insurance, tyres, registration, fees and end-of-term value across and the picture changes. So does the answer, depending on how long you keep it.
- Worked exampleMazda CX-5
- Term36 months
- Mileage10,000 / year
- Subscription$726 / mo
The comparison table
Subscribe, lease or finance the same car
A 2026 Mazda CX-5 2.5 S Preferred, thirty six months, ten thousand miles a year, one driver with a clean record in Fulton County. Most comparisons stop at the monthly payment. This one carries insurance, tyres, tag work and what you get back at the end, because those are the lines that decide it.
Scroll the table sideways on a small screen.
| Line item | Leasey subscription | Conventional lease | Finance and sell at 36 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment | $726 all in | $478 vehicle only | $556 vehicle only |
| Paid at the start | $795 start fee | $695 acquisition fee | $5,253 deposit and Georgia TAVT |
| Insurance over 36 months | Included | $6,696 | $6,696 |
| Maintenance and wear items | Included | $1,476 | $1,476 |
| Tyres | Included | $860 | $860 |
| Roadside and towing | Included | $396 | $396 |
| Registration, tag and emissions | Included | $324 | $324 |
| Paid at the end | Nothing | $395 disposition fee | Selling or trading the car |
| Value you get back | None | None | $5,637 equity at month 36 |
| 36 month total | $26,946 | $28,056 | $29,381 |
| Cost per month | $748 | $779 | $816 |
What this says. Over thirty six months the subscription lands about $1,100 under the conventional lease once insurance and running costs are counted, and about $2,400 under financing, because the financed car carries Georgia TAVT of $2,163 and a deposit on day one.
When financing wins. Past about month forty eight the loan runs out and the equity keeps building, so buying overtakes both of the other columns. If you know you will keep a car for six years, finance it. The subscription is for the years when you do not know.
Which one is right depends on one question
How long are you actually going to keep this car? That is the whole decision, and nobody selling you any of the three will ask it first.
Subscribe when the next three years are unclear
A contract role, a city you might leave, a household about to gain or lose a driver, a build slot that keeps moving. You are paying a premium for the option to stop, and that option has real value when you actually need it.
Lease when you want a new car every three years and you insure well
If your own insurance quote is materially under the fleet rate, a conventional lease with your own policy can land close to a subscription. You take on the tyres, the service bookings, the tag renewal and the disposition fee.
Finance when you will keep the car past the loan
Around month forty eight the loan payment ends and the equity keeps building. If you genuinely keep cars for six or seven years, buying is the cheapest of the three by a wide margin and nothing on this page changes that.
Everything the table assumes
Comparison tables are only useful when the assumptions are visible. These are ours, and every one of them is a sample figure chosen to be realistic for a single driver with a clean record in Fulton County.
- 2026 Mazda CX-5 2.5 S Preferred, MSRP $32,150, cap cost $30,900.
- Lease and subscription both at 36 months and 10,000 miles, residual 58%.
- Money factor 0.00215, which is 5.16% APR.
- Loan at 7.40% APR over 60 months with 10% down, sold privately at month 36.
- Georgia TAVT at 7% of fair market value on the purchase, tax on payments for the other two.
- Full-coverage insurance at $186 a month, service and wear at $41, roadside at $11, tag at $9.
- One set of tyres at $860 fitted inside the 36 months.
- Trade value at 56% of MSRP at month 36, below the lease residual because private sale values run under residual forecasts.
Change any one of these and the answer can change. That is the point of showing them.
Three things that break the comparison
- A very cheap insurance quote. If you insure a car for well under $186 a month, the subscription loses most of its advantage. Run your own renewal number rather than ours.
- Driving far more than 10,000 miles. Over-mileage is real money on both a lease and a subscription. A 20,000 mile a year driver should usually buy.
- Keeping the car for years. Everything about a subscription is priced for flexibility. If you know you will keep a car until it is paid off and then keep it longer, finance it and ignore all of this.
Ask us to talk you out of it
If your mileage is high, your insurance is cheap and you keep cars for years, a subscription is the wrong product and the desk will say so. That conversation takes five minutes and costs nothing.
- Answered in about 40 seconds, Mon to Fri 8:00 am to 7:00 pm
- No hold music queue, no transfer to a sales team
- Nothing is run against your credit file on a phone call
Call the desk
(404) 555-0180Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Email desk@leaseyatl.example any time and you will hear back the next business day.