Question 1

Is leasing or financing a car cheaper?

Accepted Answer

It depends entirely on your inputs — down payment, APR, lease payment, mileage, and how long you keep the car. This planner computes a net cost for each path (cash paid minus what you'd get back, if anything, at your horizon) so you can compare them for your own numbers, not a generic rule of thumb.

Question 2

How are repeated leases modeled beyond one lease term?

Accepted Answer

If your comparison horizon is longer than one lease term, the calculator assumes you return the car and sign a new comparable lease, repeating until the horizon is reached, with each cycle's payment and fees increased by an editable escalation rate. A partial final cycle counts the due-at-signing and months actually paid, but not the disposition fee or excess-mileage charge, since the car hasn't been turned in yet.

Question 3

Where does the Tesla Model 3 depreciation curve come from?

Accepted Answer

The default depreciation curve is sourced from CarEdge's published Tesla Model 3 retained-value data (baseline: $51,380 new, 13,500 miles/year), reviewed August 2026. The percentages are applied to whatever purchase price you enter as an estimate, not a guaranteed resale value, and can be fully customized in the Depreciation Curve section.

Question 4

Is my data private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. All calculations run locally in your browser and inputs are saved only to your browser's local storage. Nothing is sent to a server.