[Steve Carlton]

One advantage to a lease is that if the car is damaged and repaired properly, there's no diminished value that she has to suffer. Another consideration is what is the money factor on her current lease and how does the APR for that compare to the APR she'd get if she needs to finance it. She might be offered a special APR if she buys out the lease at the end, especially if she makes it a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Lexus. She might be offered a "pull ahead," the waiver of some payments if she leases or finances a new Lexus.

I suspect the payoff right now is less than the residual + the remaining payments. Depending how her state handled sales tax affects how much tax she'd have to pay on the buyout. There's probably a lease termination fee whether she buys it out now or later, unless there's a pull ahead promo.