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So a few other things to throw in the fire, because I may be thinking about this too.

In the example of leasing vs. purchasing, it's for a new vehicle on both sides. On the purchase side, one can opt to purchase something a few years old so that someone else has eaten the worst of the depreciation, so even for the "own for 3-4 years" crowd doesn't this tip the balance towards buying?

Alternately can you do this for leasing? I now you can take over a lease, is there any similar advantage to doing that? I.e. can you make the deal even better for me as a buyer by assuming a lease?

And finally, what about cases were you can majorly reduce the cost of the car, i.e. purchasing from the US. For some models you can save a huge chunk of change, so while the negatives of buying still apply, you have a reduced price up front and eventually will sell in the Canadian market so you've improved the depreciation situation. Not as effective as it was a few years ago, but I still see big differences for some models.

Heck I wonder if you choose the right models and years if you could work it so you import the car, drive it for a year or two, then sell it pretty much for what you paid for it.