Rx300 Purchase Advice Please

willydoit · June 19, 2015

Hi all,

having just purchased a 2006 SC430 I am finding that our 98 Mk4 LS400 with 55k miles is now getting less usage than it was previously so I am considering selling it and replacing it with a RX300 which should provide a wider range of usage options outside of those which are practical on the 430 and 400.

My concerns are that at first glance the RX forum seems to have more fault and issues posts than other model forums and a pre purchase search on the net seems to indicate a common and expensive problem with the transmission.

Can anyone advise if these failures are as common as it would seem and also whether it was an issue resolved by Lexus in a model update along the range? Where failures have occurred are there any warning signs to indicate a potential forthcoming failure or is it just out of the blue?

My daughter is also thinking of purchasing one due to the reliability we have had with our LS400 over the last 10 years and is due to look at a 2003 300 ES with 78,000 miles over the weekend, Lexus history up to 40k and same indy each service thereafter but these gearbox issues are concerning me so any advice owners can give regarding potential issues what to check etc would be appreciated. Should there be transmission servicing carried out within proper servicing to prevent or minimise the gearbox issue which I need to look for evidence of via invoices etc? The running costs of these vehicles are high enough without excessive repair bills on top.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

foxy-stoat · June 19, 2015

Buy a Gen2 SE, that will avoid the possible expensive air suspension issues and minimise the gearbox problems.

What sort of budget are you aiming for?

willydoit · June 19, 2015

Buy a Gen2 SE, that will avoid the possible expensive air suspension issues and minimise the gearbox problems.

What sort of budget are you aiming for?

Hi,

thanks for the response, the one my daughter is looking at is this one http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506013932822 and the budget is about right. What year were the Gen 2 introduced?

So far as our own budget is concerned a lot will depend upon what I can sell my 400 for, its almost showroom condition but nonetheless it is a 17 year old car. Having just spent 12k on the sc430 I dont want to spend a lot on replacing the 400 so the 5-6k budget is probably about right as it will be used mostly for situations where the 430 isnt practical. I can be a bit anal when it comes to looking after my cars so I was looking for a RX that is tidy but not something I would be too precious about which is the problem with the 400.

foxy-stoat · June 19, 2015

Gen 2's come out 2003, that one looks tip top, just not sure about the colour.

I bought a silver 53 reg Gen2 SEL with less than 47K full history, black leather for about the same price as that one a couple of months ago off a private seller.

I watched a few on the eBay for 2/3 months before I started to view them, they were for sale in January and still for sale now, you will get to know which ones are over priced and which ones have something up with them. The one I bought came up and on a Wednesday and I bought it on the Thursday.