Is leasing better than buying?

I'm on the verge of buying a semi. I own an older dually and had a mishap in Georgia that almost cost me my business (rear end went out). I'm use to hotshotting but want to up my game to pull better loads other than just cars because that area is to saturated at the moment. Brokers are lowballing and guys/gals are taking loads for little or nothing. Yes I have a Class A and drove a Tractor with a six car set-up for a little over a year to get back on track . The guy who bought the tractor end up spending about 70k after warranty, taxes and all that good stuff. After a month we realized it needed kingpin, the exhaust was leaking, front brakes were bad, had an air leak, and couple other things. Kingpin by itself I was told could cost up to 10k (sheesh). At this point in my life I wouldn't be able to handle that, but I know the semi would bring better money and more options. For those who have leased and owned what is your opinion on this? BTW I do most of my maintenance.