Rx300 Advice

holly1 · May 18, 2009

Hi all, we are in need of some advice.......

Earlier this year we looked at purchasing an Rx300/350, we visited our local Lexus dealer who was initially very helpful and told us of 2 vehicles which they had due in which would be in our price bracket. The salesman advised us that they would be available for viewing the following weekend. He contatced us during the week and we arranged a time to view............ we went at the time agreed to be told that neither of the vehicles had arrived, no apology no real reason BUT they did have a new vehicle we could test drive!!!!!! As we were there and so it was not a complete waste of time we agreed to go. Loved the car RX400h, WAAAYYY out of our price bracket though.

The salesman then said he did have an ex demonstrator which was coming up, again way past our budget, which he knew as he knew the vehicles we had originally wanted to see. When we explained this to him he seemed to lose ALL interest and basically made us feel small and not worthy of his time.

Anyway to cut an even longer story short we ended up buying an Audi A4 Avant, 07 reg, nice car, we do like it but are missing the higher ride position which we had in our previous car VW Touran. We both are wondering about the RX's again!

We have seen locally an 04 plate RX300 SEL Navigator, 65000 miles and an 06 plate RX300 LE (ICE PACK) 18000 miles, obviously there is a money

difference but could any of you offer any advice on the best way to jump........ should 65000 miles on an 04 plate concern us as this vehicle would need to last us a few years, it is not from a main dealer but does have FSH from a Lexus dealer.

Are there any gremlins we should look out for?

Thanks in advance

Confused of Yorkshire!!

Neil Morphett · May 18, 2009

Sounds like an unusually (attempted) hard sell from a Lexus dealer originally - when I was looking for used Lexus I pretty much said 'I have £X, so show me anything you're prepared to sell me for £X'. Which dealer was it?

Can't advise on the choice I'm afraid - but having switched my Audi A4 for the Lexus I can barely even remember the Audi...

holly1 · May 19, 2009

Sounds like an unusually (attempted) hard sell from a Lexus dealer originally - when I was looking for used Lexus I pretty much said 'I have £X, so show me anything you're prepared to sell me for £X'. Which dealer was it?
Can't advise on the choice I'm afraid - but having switched my Audi A4 for the Lexus I can barely even remember the Audi...

Thanks Neil,

May be we caught him on a bad day, we all have them I suppose, in answer to your question it was Hull. We may be going to view the above vehicles at the weekend so will let you know how we get on.

holly1 · May 22, 2009

Hi,

Just to update you, we pick up our 04 plate RX300 SEL next weekend.

Went to view and test drive today, lovely car, really pleased and looking forward to the Lexus experience you all seem to enjoy.

We will no doubt be needing some of your guidance with "stuff" in the future.

Laura_Lexus · May 22, 2009

Congratulations on your anticipated arrival.

I purchased a 2003 RX300SE Nav with 52,000mls on the clock 4 months ago, it is without doubt the best car I have ever owned. Amazing comfort and being slightly higher than a conventional car gives excellent visibility, whilst still providing very good handling for a large car.

Have had no issues to-date and see this car as a long term friend, which has already been named "Lexie"

The one item I did change was the cabin air filter which is located behind the glove box, this was almost totally blocked, including a few leaves which had been sucked in. Thie air con system is now a 1000% more efficient and I also feel comfortable that all air is now being filtered cleanly and pollen free.

Best of luck with your purchase.

Normski · May 22, 2009

Excellent! Welcome to the club! I bought mine back in November and have loved it too! Things to watch out for:

1). Roof rails - have a tendency to corrode so go take a look before picking the car up as they are NOT covered under the warranty!

2). Wheels - Same problem as the roof rails and yep, you've guessed it, will NOT be replaced under the warranty.

Things to get (which i've found to be invaluable):

1). Rear bumper plastic guard.

2). Mud flaps all round..

3). GROM audio connection so that you can plug an iPhone/iPod in.

4). Service pack (saved a fortune on the annoying every 10k-ish miles services).

5). Extended warranty - IMO this is SO worth it. Plenty of discussion but i'm totally with the likes of 'ihpj' :)

ihpj · May 22, 2009

Thanks for the compliment Normski!

First thing is first (and pretty much as Normski has already highlighted) you MUST check the condition of the roof rails and alloy wheels to ensure they are corrosion free. Lexus will NOT change them [for corrosion] outside of the factory 3 year warranty; so when you collect the vehicle CHECK closely for ANY signs and either:

(1) have the fact there is corrosion noted on the invoice (if there is insufficient for it to be changed at that time).

(2) insist the items are changed PRIOR you agree to take ownership of the car.

...and one thing I would add is to make sure there is PLENTY of life left on each of the tyres as they will be expensive to change. Hopefully you will have a matching set of 4.

I am a huge believer in the Service Pack and as I have posted many times before - you have to ask for a Lexus UK Service Pack (so you can go to ANY Lexus dealership for servicing) and work the figures to see which services will work out best for you.

Don't forget to enjoy the vehicle - it is absolutely fantastic...