thanks to both. i did not recall the meaning of money factor. i was introduced to this concept in this forum. in my country i believe there is no reference to that. just APR and stuff like that. but it will all come to the same.

yes, that's precisely my idea. cost of opportunity. i believe the rational thing to do on (high ticket) cars generally is to lease. not only is a depreciating asset but there is also the lost opportunity of having most of that money be invested and get more returns.
in any case, never go into debt. the worst case scenario should be one not be able to get more money from the disposable capital and pay an interest in the lease that will lead the car in the end to cost a bit more.

the opportunity thing is a relevant question however since i believe we are reaching a tipping point across the world. the last decade has been fueled by mass money injection that has risen almost every asset. probably the asset that will be more profitable in the next immediate years will be cash. and investing in this kind of environment can lead to losing money, the worst scenario of all. so again, the best course of action is to lease, and park the money for sometime and then wait for a good opportunity to invest. timing is very important now. be fearful when everyone is greedy.

another question to you guys in the US and other countries: the lease model implies that the car be in good shape for return upon the lease term?

in my country the car cannot be damaged or else one has to pay for its fix. so you just can't lease a car and by not being really yours you cannot go around hard riding and bumping the car and then in the end return the vehicle.

I doubt it's any different anywhere. When you lease a Mercedes, you are expected to take care of the car as though it was your car and if you damage the car, you are expected to fix it. At turn in, if there is damage larger than a credit card will cover, they'll charge you the cost of repairing the damage.

how hard is that enforced? i'm thinking on the usual door scratches and dents, or wheels scratches.

You're speaking of minor wear and tear, which is generally forgiven. They call it the Credit Card test. If you can cover the ding or scratch with a credit card, it's forgiven. If it's like a huge dent, you have to pay to have it fixed. But then that's what you have insurance for. You have to insure a leased car, just like you have to insure one you purchase.