If you decide to buy it, make sure you work your leaser down on the residual value. They'll budge a little bit (typically) which will save you some money. Dealships don't want 3/4 year old cars on their lot -- they like to sell new ones with a great margin :O)

Well I actually purchased my car after the lease was up I thought that since I was way over my miles and I know how horrible the dealers are when trying to put the screws to you if you do turn it back in after the lease. I wouldn't recommend it but if you don't have money to put down to get another car you have to do what you have to do. I ending up paying around $40,000 for a car that I traded in 1 yr after paying off and getting only $5,500 on the trade in. Just something to think about.

It depends. If you love this car, you might want to keep it. Though, if you're hurting for something new and shiny, you might want to go for that. It depends on what your needs are. However, if you do decide to buy out the lease, you should probably check the market value of the car before you agree to buy. If the market value is more than the residual value (the estimated value of a car at the end of a lease), then it may make more financial sense to purchase it. Have you asked the car company what kind of package they would offer you?