Alaric, my concern was more with how unwelcome your reply was to a first-time poster on this message board, not with whether or not leasing a car is a good idea.

Anyway, I have an necdotal "exception to the rule" rebuttal: I have a coworker who leases his A4. His commute is very short (i.e. he'll come in well under the maximum mileage at the end of the lease and therefore avoid any penalty) and the car will be worth well above the price he would have to pay to keep the car at the end of the lease (whatever the term is for that payment). His ducks are in a row.