Lexus Newbie- need your help

[Capstain411]

Hello all,

we are expecting our second child in 4 months time. I currently own Audi A3 I want to upgrade to SUV type vehicle. I was looking at Volvo XC60. But with threats to diesel veichles with extra tax due to link to particulate pollution, I am considering Lexus RX450h. So looking for forum members advise which normally dads, uncles, elder brothers would offer, we haven't been lucky to be in that position.

i have budget of £20k, might be able to stretch to 23k. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Few questions for a starter.

1) Undecided on upping budget to £25k and look for Nx or stick to Rx. I have never driven Lexus before.

2) Is approved used worth it. I paid deposit on Volvo Selekt, only to find major problems in car and walked away. Lost deposit. Peace of mind -what peace of mind. Should have looked at private instead.

3) anything in particular I should be checking while test driving Rx450h. Like Volvo XC60 Diesel engines had engine valve problem. Not recall, but needed to be rectified by Volvo. Anything similar, I need to look for.

4) we are young family, both under 35 and worked very very hard to earn our money. Any haggling tips.

thanks in advance.

[royoftherovers]

Welcome to the Forum Capstain. Your circumstances are not unlike many of us have experienced and it is so important to try and make the right decision.

I believe that you are spot on by deciding to avoid diesels and concentrating on Lexus.

I have a GS which is not suitable for your circumstances ,but I am sure that others will be along soon to share their knowledge and experience with you.

Might I suggest that you have a look at the Toyota C-HR which is now out and which will be out in Lexus form in due course ?

 

Regards

John

[AmbroseJohn]

I've got a GS450h so I'm not really qualified to answer but I will say, insist on a full main dealer service history, which will include the hybrid health check. Not that there's any real problems anyway. If the car you choose is out of warranty, you can still buy an extended 2 year warranty from Lexus for about £1000, perhaps you could work this into your negotiations.

[IanA2]

I'm interested in this too and await responses with interest.

Some years ago we had an Rx300. It compared very favourably to two MB M classes we owned, a 320 and a 500. Only thing about the Rx was that we felt it lacked just a wee bit of poke. That  said we do have a history of big V8's (!).

From what I understand about the new Lexus SUV's they are a bit more powerful and because of this we are thinking of maybe getting one, which is why I'm interested in hearing about recent experiences. 

PS: The Lexus build quality is better than that of early 2000's Mercs.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jamesf1]

On 05/02/2017 at 0:11 PM, Capstain411 said:

Hello all,

we are expecting our second child in 4 months time. I currently own Audi A3 I want to upgrade to SUV type vehicle. I was looking at Volvo XC60. But with threats to diesel veichles with extra tax due to link to particulate pollution, I am considering Lexus RX450h. So looking for forum members advise which normally dads, uncles, elder brothers would offer, we haven't been lucky to be in that position.

i have budget of £20k, might be able to stretch to 23k. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Few questions for a starter.

1) Undecided on upping budget to £25k and look for Nx or stick to Rx. I have never driven Lexus before.

2) Is approved used worth it. I paid deposit on Volvo Selekt, only to find major problems in car and walked away. Lost deposit. Peace of mind -what peace of mind. Should have looked at private instead.

3) anything in particular I should be checking while test driving Rx450h. Like Volvo XC60 Diesel engines had engine valve problem. Not recall, but needed to be rectified by Volvo. Anything similar, I need to look for.

4) we are young family, both under 35 and worked very very hard to earn our money. Any haggling tips.

thanks in advance.

Hi,

I also have a GS so cant comment on RX> In fact just noticed this is posted in the GS forum not RX or NX. Anyway, what I can comment on is:

2. Ive had 2 different models on Lexus approved used, both 100% spot on totlally fault free One had not had a last service they said it had when i checked the handbook at the test drive. The serviced it (£400)  before I picked it up and apologised for the mistake

3. Quite a few Japanese makes\models subject to an airbag recall due to a faulty part used by a 3rd party supplier. You can check a specific vehicle here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/your-lexus/#RecallInformation

4. If buying approved used haggle over the APR if you taking finance. I got mine dropped from 5.5 to 2.9 just by asking.

[Lexus GS450H 2007]

If you can afford a Lexus the go for it, but I have to 2 kids and so I will warn you. I will not buy another! My car has done £41k miles and here's my latest price at the stealers Lincoln.

£1137 for an indicator Relay!

£4531 for Aircon compressor and controller.

£726 for auto level light sensor

£352 for O2 sensor

£595 service

I would not buy another hybrid as there is so much can and does go wrong that I can't sleep at night.

The general manager also had the cheek to advise that I would need to spend another £10k to keep my car trouble free and advised trading it in!!!

 

 

 

 

[tayaste]

41 minutes ago, Lexus GS450H 2007 said:

If you can afford a Lexus the go for it, but I have to 2 kids and so I will warn you. I will not buy another! My car has done £41k miles and here's my latest price at the stealers Lincoln.

£1137 for an indicator Relay!

£4531 for Aircon compressor and controller.

£726 for auto level light sensor

£352 for O2 sensor

£595 service

I would not buy another hybrid as there is so much can and does go wrong that I can't sleep at night.

The general manager also had the cheek to advise that I would need to spend another £10k to keep my car trouble free and advised trading it in!!!

 

 

 

 

Nothing you have posted there has anything to do with the hybrid system. What makes you think the hybrid system has the faults that caused you the problems you mentioned?

[royoftherovers]

3 hours ago, Lexus GS450H 2007 said:

If you can afford a Lexus the go for it, but I have to 2 kids and so I will warn you. I will not buy another! My car has done £41k miles and here's my latest price at the stealers Lincoln.

£1137 for an indicator Relay!

£4531 for Aircon compressor and controller.

£726 for auto level light sensor

£352 for O2 sensor

£595 service

I would not buy another hybrid as there is so much can and does go wrong that I can't sleep at night.

The general manager also had the cheek to advise that I would need to spend another £10k to keep my car trouble free and advised trading it in!!!

 

 

 

 

That is not good news Jon.Had it been covered by a Lexus Warranty then all items bar the Service would have been covered. Did you buy from Lexus, another Dealer or Privately ?

 

Regards

John

[Spacewagon52]

£20K - £25K budget. My advice would be to buy a cheaper RX for around 10K. You can buy a lot of fuel and services/repairs for £10K - £15K you save!

 

Just my thoughts.

 

 

[Lexus GS450H 2007]

14 hours ago, tayaste said:

Nothing you have posted there has anything to do with the hybrid system. What makes you think the hybrid system has the faults that caused you the problems you mentioned?

I was giving him a real idea of how much he can expect in bills from Lexus as they are utterly ludicrous then it's up to him , that's why he has asked for advice.

Also the air con failure, I was told by Lexus that the Hybrid ECU has failed and taken out the aircon compressor so need to replace both. 

Also advised that it would cost 10k to keep the car safe and reliable due to its age!

[Lexus GS450H 2007]

13 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

That is not good news Jon.Had it been covered by a Lexus Warranty then all items bar the Service would have been covered. Did you buy from Lexus, another Dealer or Privately ?

 

Regards

John

Purchased privately no warranty only 41k miles. 

Live and learn.

[Spacewagon52]

I would want a second opinion.

[Jamesf1]

On 25/02/2017 at 10:27 PM, Spacewagon52 said:

I would want a second opinion.

Too right -  my first though as well. £10k to make a 2007 car with only 41k miles "Safe"??

 I know Lexus charge a lot but there is a 5 year plus scheme for cheaper rates\parts.

[GSLV6]

The sensible answer to the OP is to buy the newest and latest model that you can afford.  Most problems have been sorted by the Gen3 models post 2009 and you can pick one of those up withn budget.  Personally, I would look for an F-Sport as the ride quality alone (handling especially) is worth the extra plus you get LED headlights and head up display which I find very useful.  The car is roomy and as practical as anyone would want for a large family car.

Beware believing official running costs.  Lexus quote 44mpg for the 450h but my average now over my first 1200  miles of driving has been closer to 30mpg average.  Motorway driving is juicy if you don;t stick to speed limits, but a steady 70 sees 33 to 34mpg best on the flat.  Throw in a few hills and that soon drops.  Around town at slow speeds is very good with over 40mpg seen (this is where the hybrid system comes into its own) and mixed A/B road driving sees 35 to 36mpg.

Servicing is not too bad nor too complex and the hybrid systems are inherently reliable as they're properly specified.  The things most likely to happen after 10 years or so is one of the cells goes down but there are specialists who can replace these batteries fairly economically.  The inverters are pretty bomb-rpoof as are the motors.  The 3.5V6 Atkinson cycle engine is peachy smooth and very reliable.  Buy with confidence.  It'll work out cheaper than any XC60 or X3/X5 over 5 years of ownership!

Size is one of the main considerations. These are large vehicles and the width takes getting used to.  the NX I'd say is a bit on the compact side for a family and your average estate car betters it for load space, especially something like an Octavia or Mondeo.  the new V90 is also a stunning family car but so far, there's no petrol option that I can see...most for sale are diesel.

The RX is about as good an all rounder as you'll ever buy and about as reliable as it gets.  They do have foibles.  Poor lower door seals, sluggish take off in standard or Eco modes, choppy suspension on standard models (no side to side lateral dampers unless you pick the F-Sport), and economy is much the sameas for any 2-plus tonne load luggers.  Even with the foibles, I can't recommend them highly enough, and my past cars have included a Lexus GS, Volvo estates, saloons, BMW saloons and a passat estate. the RX450 betters them all.