Tips on Buying Cars: Lease Takeover, land rover lr3, ford motor credit

Question
We have the option to take over someone's lease. The car is a 2006 Land Rover LR3 SE with ALL the options available. The monthly payment is $608.00. However, the seller is willing to give us the first 3 months free. The sticker price was about $57,000.00. The current condition of the car is excellent and it has 7700 miles. Initially, we were in the market to purchase a car. However, this appeared to be a good deal. Would it be to our financal advantage to lease this car until May 2009 (when the lease is up) and then purchase it at the end of the lease? Or should we just buy a pre-owned car and begin ownership now instead of in 2009? Or should we assume the lease but begin the option to purchase right away? Please take the availablity of factory warranties into consideration. Thanks.  

Answer
Are there any fees you have to pay upfront to take over the lease?  How does insurance work, and are you SURE the lease company allows this?  Almost all Land Rover leases are through Ford Motor Credit; regardless, I'd check with the lease company first before you go any further.  If they'll allow it and you want to proceed, then we'll talk further as to whether or not this is a good deal for you.  Land Rover LR3s have been rather troublesome, so I'm a little leery about this deal.  If you do have to pay money upfront to make the transfer go through, there may be better lease deals out there on brand-new SUVs.