Apologies if this stuff has been asked before, I did search (I know you are all thinking omg, newbie asking dumb questions..)

My friend has a Mazda3 just coming up to end of lease.

She's totally in love with the 2010 Mazda 3 so my first question is; any detail on the US release date (I've seen Spring 2009 quoted).

Second question is regarding the lease return; the car has a few sizeable dings, larger than normal wear and tear - the returning dealer estimated $1800 to fix (which is fairly competitive in my opinion) but he said he can absorb that cost if she buys her next car from him. I know there's no such thing as "absorb"; her payments will be higher than they would have been, the question is how much.

Anyone got any experience or opinions on this scenario?

Is she best to get the car fixed and then do the deal on the new 3 completely unconstrained by her lease return.

OR

Is there typically enough padding (final value versus market value) built in at lease end for the dealer to do this and still hit advertised lease payments (sub-$200/month for a 3)

Thanks in advance.