Is it strictly for financial reasons? I mean it's nice for people who can afford a monthly payment and more importantly want a new car every 3-4 years... especially the ones that are prone to repairs after warranty. I was thinking that's what I'd do next time. Kinda scary what kind of repairs I'd be looking at in years 4+. Another factor is the latest technology and engine upgrades that become standard.
Financially, the worst mistake that many people make is to buy a new car every few years. The second worst mistake is to lease a new car every few years. So, if your comparison is to repeatedly buy new cars or repeatedly lease, then you are correct that leasing is better. But, it is still the wrong choice to make.
Why? Many reasons. You pointed out two unknowingly.
1) People who lease are fooled into thinking that 4 year old cars have lots of repairs to make.
2) People who lease are fooled into thinking that they really need or even want the latest technology.
3) People who lease find it very difficult to get out of the leasing cycle. They never really get the chance to build up cash to buy (new or used) since they are paying high monthly lease payments for life. If you buy, after a couple years, your payments drop to $0. So you have the ability to pay nothing for a while and save cash to buy the next one (meaning no payments for that one either). You essentially can end car payments forever. But that is very difficult to start when you are locked into the lease cycle. Once your lease is up, you suddenly need to lease again since you don't have the cash to buy.
4) Leasing gets you accustomed to a high spending lifestyle - not a saving lifestyle. So the costs extend far beyond the lease price.
5) Just because you can pay a lease price, doesn't mean that you can afford it. Two different things (for example, you can stop putting money into savings in order to make the lease payment, but you can't really afford to do so in the long run). People in leases often get fooled by the dealer that those concepts are the same. And then are manipulated by the dealer to maximize what you can pay - completely ignoring the fact that you shouldn't pay what you can pay.
6) Lack of freedom. If I suddenly want to take a solo trip across country, I can. In a lease that'll tack on an additional $500 in over mileage costs. Essentially, I'm not fully free to do it. Same with any car modification, cleanliness choice, etc. Or even think about the lack of freedom in getting out of the deal. Suddenly lose your job? Sell your car and you can still pay for food and rent. That isn't easy (or cheap) with a lease.
7) Lack of clarity in the deal. It is far too easy for the unsuspecting to get a bad lease deal. When buying a car, you need to negotiate one number: price. When leasing a car, you need to negotiate price, rates, lengths of time, overages on things like miles, trade in value, monthly payments, final value at end of lease, etc. The chance of the typical person properly negotiating all of those without making any financial mistake is quite slim. Especially given the math skills of the typical buyer vs the experience of the dealer.
I could go on and on. There are some great lease deals out there. If you find one, you can make a wise decision to lease. But those deals are very few and far between. Be certain that when you take one, you pay far less than you can pay, so that you can make a separate double car payment into savings to break the lease cycle when the time is up.