Keep or Replace?
Compare keeping your current vehicle with leasing or financing another one. See the real cost, your future ownership position, and the payment at which switching makes financial sense.
- 1Current vehicle
- 2Replacement deal
- 3Your comparison
Tell us about your current vehicle
The car you might keep. A few numbers from your loan statement and a trade or sale quote are enough.
Roughly what your car will be worth then. Not sure? Enter a low and a high estimate.
› Add running costs (optional)
Compare the position, not the payment
A replacement almost always changes your monthly payment — but the payment is only part of the story. What matters is where you stand at the end of the period: what you've paid in total, what you still owe, and what the vehicle is worth to you. This tool lines up keeping against leasing, financing, or buying on that full basis.
What it tells you
- ·The financially best option — keep or replace — over a matched period
- ·Separately: best for building wealth vs. best for lowering your monthly cost
- ·Your current equity, and how it's handled in the new deal
- ·The break-even payment at which replacing starts to make sense
- ·An honest read on “$0 down” — what's really due at signing
Where the numbers come from
Everything runs on the figures you enter — a trade or sale quote, your loan payoff and payments left, and the terms of the deal you're weighing. Nothing is pulled from your credit or sent anywhere; your payoff and equity stay on this page and are never placed in a link or shared with a dealer unless you choose to start an agreement.
How this is calculated
- ·True cost (keep) = remaining payments + running costs − your vehicle's net value at the end of the period.
- ·True cost (replace) = replacement payments + upfront + running + lease-end costs − proceeds from your current car − the replacement's net value at the end.
- ·Every payment, fee, and equity amount is counted exactly once, so nothing is double-counted.
- ·A returned lease is worth $0 to you at the end; a buyout, finance, or cash purchase leaves you owning market value minus any loan.
- ·“Financially similar” is used when the gap is under the lesser of 3% of the total cost or $1,000.
Limitations
- ·Estimates from your inputs — not financial, tax, lending, or appraisal advice.
- ·Resale and end-of-period values are your estimates; enter a low–high range when unsure and the result shows a range.
- ·When the two deals cover different periods, the uncovered months are flagged, not silently equated.
- ·Current-loan balance at the comparison date is approximated when you shorten the period below your remaining term.
Frequently asked
Should I keep my car or replace it?
Compare the true cost of each over the same period — not the monthly payment alone. Keeping usually wins on long-term wealth because you're near the end of payments and keep the resale value; replacing can win when your current car faces heavy repairs, has strong equity, or the new terms are genuinely cheaper all-in. This tool shows both the wealth answer and the lower-payment answer so you can decide with the full picture.
Is a lower monthly payment a good reason to replace my car?
It can be a valid reason, but a lower payment often means less ending equity — you pay less each month yet own less at the end. The tool separates "best for lowering monthly cost" from "best for building wealth" so you can choose with both in view. Neither answer is wrong; it depends on what you need right now.
What is positive and negative equity?
Positive equity is the amount your vehicle is worth above the loan payoff — value you already own, not free cash. Negative equity means you owe more than the offer; replacing usually rolls that shortfall into the new deal, which quietly raises its cost.
Why is a returned lease worth $0 at the end?
When a lease ends you hand the car back and walk away with no ownership value — so its end-of-period value to you is $0 unless you exercise a purchase option (a buyout). A financed or cash car, by contrast, leaves you owning an asset worth its market value minus any remaining loan.
What is the break-even payment?
It's the highest replacement payment at which switching ties with keeping your current car. If a real offer comes in below that number, replacing is financially competitive; above it, keeping wins. A dealer isn't obligated to meet the break-even terms.
Related guides & tools
Decided to replace? Do it on your terms.
Name the exact vehicle and the terms you'll accept, and let verified dealers accept, counter, or decline — before you share contact information.
Put your terms in writingBy the AsAgreed Editorial Team. Last reviewed July 2026. Estimates only — exact taxes, fees, values, and market conditions vary. Editorial standards.