Why so many Californians lease
It is not fashion. It is the way several local realities line up.
Lease penetration is higher in California than in most of the country, and the reasons are structural rather than cultural.
Commutes here are long but predictable, which suits a mileage allowance. Someone who drives the same route daily can size an allowance accurately, where an unpredictable driver cannot.
The emissions and technology landscape moves quickly, and a three-year commitment is a cheaper way to be wrong than an eight-year one. Buyers who expect the drivetrain they want to change again soon rationally avoid owning through the change.
Sales tax in California is applied to the lease payments rather than to the full price of the car up front, which changes the cash flow in a way buyers notice, even when it does not change the total dramatically.
And the cars people want here are expensive. Leasing lowers the monthly cost of access to a given car, which is why it concentrates in the segments where the gap between want and budget is widest.
None of that makes leasing right for you. It explains why the person next to you at the lights is probably leasing, and why dealers in this market are set up to sell it.