Leases are terrible for ordinary people. Unless you need the newest car every 3 years or so, do NOT lease a car. Cars are terrible investments, but leasing a car is even worse yet. After you are done, you've paid like $10,000 and have nothing to show for it. You are locked into a cycle that costs a bundle to get out of. Look at it this way...if you buy a car (even with a loan), you will pay maybe $15,000 for a car. After it's paid off (let's say 4 years) you own that car. That car is yours. You can sell it or whatever. The car is worth $7,000 still and you have more assets. If you lease a car, you will pay about $8,000 (approx) and at the end, you are left with nothing. You are right back where you started. If you decide to keep the car you bought, you no longer have to pay anything. You will always have to pay the dealer if you go with the lease. You are also free to update a car that you buy w/o hesitation. If you put a new stereo/cd player/amp in it, that stuff is yours. If you lease a car, you will have to either give all that stuff to the dealer, or put the original stuff back (which can be a REAL pain). Also, you don't have to worry about miles on a car you own. With a lease, you are always looking at how many miles you are putting on it to make sure you aren't going over.
The people that I know who have leased a car have all regretted it. That's not to say that leasing is bad for everyone, but all the people I know have hated it. They wish they had just bought the car. Make sure this is what you want and you understand what you are getting into because leasing looks good on the outside, but it really burns lots of people.
