We lease then buy. I think it's quite smart to be honest.
Starting with a lease means:
Get a nice, well equipped car with a very low down payment and low monthly payment.
After 3 years, you get a used vehicle in which you already know the price, and you know the maintenance on it and how well it was cared for because, well, it was yours. The last one we did, I literally purchased the vehicle over the phone through USAA. Never had to go to the dealer. Price is fixed so they just send a check to lease company.
So now you buy it as a 3 year old vehicle, so again you don't need a large down payment and monthly is still low because you're dealing with a car in a much lower price range than when you got it new.
Buy it with 36 month or less. Pay it off, drive for 2 more years, now it's 8 years old and still worth something, maybe $10k.
When you buy the lease, you don't have to worry about over mileage or condition. The dealer can't charge you for anything if you buy it. If you have really low miles and great condition, you can actually sometimes buy lease then sell right away and make money, since residual price is fixed and is based on average condition.
Repeat cycle and pocket some of trade in for future down payment for lease buyout.
We've done it twice. Works for us. We've gotten really low money factors. Equivalent to 2% or less.