New Rx300..

[javaboss]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are looking to replace her two year old Vauxhall Corsa. I've got a 3 month old IS200 SE auto. My wife would like a 4x4 and we have been to see the Landrover Freelander & Rav 4 at various dealerships.

I drove the new RX300 at the Lexus Open Road event last Friday and was so impressed with the car that my wife and I are considering sellng my IS200 and her Corsa and getting an RX300. We went to Lexus Hadleigh this afternoon and my wife had a chance to look around and drive the RX.

I go to work by train so we really only need one car. My thoughts are that we might as well have a luxury 4x4 rather than my IS and a Freelander. And also that it might work out cheaper as a Rav 4 retails at 18k+ for a GX spec. I should get £5700 for the Corsa in a private sale. Then it depends on what my IS is worth.

So, what does everyone think?

1) Is the RX worth it?

2) Should we go for the SE or the SE-L? Is the air suspension worth the extra?

3) How much would my 3 month old IS200 SE auto with 2700 miles on the clock be worth? (I know, I know, I'm kicking myself for not waiting 'till the RX came out! This will be the 4th car we've purchased from Hadleigh, so again, I'd be looking for a corker of a deal!)

4) Am I completely mad? Should I just stick with my IS and buy the wife a Landie or Rav?

Regards,

Neil.

[Claire G]

Difficult choice! I was impressed with the RX when we drove one at the Open Road event. Makes sense to get one if you only need the one car...

[Monster-Mat]

get the RX

[javaboss]

Difficult choice! I was impressed with the RX when we drove one at the Open Road event. Makes sense to get one if you only need the one car...

You're right - it's just not worth running two cars. I assume that it's a very bad idea to try to swap a 3 month old IS in at a main dealer?

The sales chap is going to ring me with a price on my IS tomorrow morning when he's had a chat with the dealership principal. I know he wants to sell me the RX and he must know that he's going to have to offer a good deal! :)

On another note, I was surprised to read on the WhatCar website that the 'aim to pay' price showed that I should be able to get a discount on the new RX already! :)

[GlynnB]

Wehave just swapped from an air suspension Range Rover to the new RX SE without air suspension as I found it a bit of a pain on the Range Rover and certainly very expensive to fix if it goes wrong. We took a couple of test drives in the Freelander and in our opinion there is no comparison for comfort but it depends if you want to load it full of hay bales or not I suppose. We tested the SE-L at the open day and felt nothing much different with the air suspension or the upgraded audio so were very happy we stuck with the SE.

[JohnRX400h]

Used to have a Freelander - not bad but nothing compared to the RX, being a bit biased here but go for the RX. I know you will have though ot this but 2 X Road tax, 2 X insurance, 2 X serviceing etc etc etc all adds up.

We thought the SE-L was worth it, flatter in the corners and less jumpy on the flat also I am a bit of a audiophile so the Mark Levinson was worth it for me, also also we wanted the wood steering wheel as we had it on our last RX and the SE-L had it.

You won't regret it, you know you want to, it is a palace on wheels!!

[javaboss]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I suspect that we will go for the RX. I'm still waiting for the sales chap to ring me back. He said he'd ring me on Monday with some trade in figures for my IS. He hasn't got back to me yet. Perhaps he had a few days off!

I've got some questions that you might be able to answer:

1) Will the RX fit in a garage? Is it too tall? Perhaps the air suspension on 'low' mode will fit it in!

2) What sort of fuel consumption are people getting?

3) What are the servicing costs like compared to an IS200?

4) I am 29 and pay £500 a year to insure my IS. What group is the RX in?

5) Are dealers likely to do a good deal? The whatcar.com website shows an 'aim to pay' price that's pretty good and states that if the dealer won't match it then to phone them and they will give you the name of a dealer that will.

Regards,

Neil.

[JohnRX400h]

1) Will the RX fit in a garage?  Is it too tall?  Perhaps the air suspension on 'low' mode will fit it in!

2) What sort of fuel consumption are people getting?

3) What are the servicing costs like compared to an IS200?

4) I am 29 and pay £500 a year to insure my IS.  What group is the RX in?

5) Are dealers likely to do a good deal?  The whatcar.com website shows an 'aim to pay' price that's pretty good and states that if the dealer won't match it then to phone them and they will give you the name of a dealer that will.

Regards,

Neil.

1. Fits most, air has 'kneeling' comfort mode when parked but not as you drive in.

2. 25 mph ish

3. ????? guess should have asked!!

4. group 15 Wife 39 me 32 full no claims E-Sure £400

5. they are selling like hot cakes my dealer had allocation of 15 and ended up selling 19 (lexus uk gave them a few more) All I managed was free mats, but I was trading in my old RX and with the new one at such a good price the Mk1 RXs are selling like cold and slightly scabby cakes

[javaboss]

I asked about service costs and was told that it was only £10-£20 more expensive than the IS. mmmmm.... not sure if I believe that!

As far as discounts are concerned whatcar.com quoted an 'aim to pay' price for the SE-L of £36,590 down from £37,700. It also says that if a dealer won't match it then phone the number and they will give the name of a dealer that will...

Ah well, I'm still waiting for the dealer to ring me back with a price on my IS. Perhaps they don't want another £18k out of me...

If I don't get a call by Saturday morning then the wife says that we are going to visit another dealer. This seems to be something I've noticed in many posts that dealers just can't be bothered to ring you back - even when they say they will - and - when there's a nice fat sale on the cards...

[ricky_is200]

They may give you a very good price to partx which would make up for lack of discount. If they gave you £1000 more than another dealer as your a good customer that could still be the best deal. The value of your partx often seems to be the best way to haggle.

[javaboss]

Just spoke to my local dealer.

I was quoted £18.5k trade in on a RX300 SE-L. My IS200 SE auto is 3 months old and has done 2700 miles. I have to say that I was shocked that it's lost a grand a month in value since I purchased it :o

I was also told that there would be no dealing as far as the price on the RX was concerned. List price and that is that.

Oh well, looks like I'm going to have to start hunting around and seeing what kind of deals I can get elsewhere...

[Matthew_McNally]

I have to say that I was shocked that it's lost a grand a month in value since I purchased it :o

I'd say that is pretty good - thats what - 5% depreciation?

there are cars out there that loose significantly more than that the second you drive it away from the dealers.

[javaboss]

I've just worked it out:

£18500 / £21395 = 0.8646

* 100 = 86.46

100 - 86.46 = 13.54%

So, it's lost almost 14% of it's value in 3 months! :o

I thought they lost 15% in the first year? Not 3 months! :o

Some good news though... My wife has a friend she works with whose husband is the manager of a Lexus dealership. She's going to talk to her tomorrow to see if we can go and visit him to see what he can come up with for us. :D

[Matthew_McNally]

I've just worked it out:

£18500 / £21395 = 0.8646

* 100 = 86.46

100 - 86.46 = 13.54%

So, it's lost almost 14% of it's value in 3 months! :o

I thought they lost 15% in the first year? Not 3 months! :o

Some good news though... My wife has a friend she works with whose husband is the manager of a Lexus dealership. She's going to talk to her tomorrow to see if we can go and visit him to see what he can come up with for us. :D

ah - I thought you said it lost a grand - so I was working it out on 19.5k.

although the figures quoted are normally in the format "Year 1, Year 2 etc" - in reality, the instant you take possesion and drive it away - it becomes a "used" car, and you take that depreciation hit.

kinda takes the gloss of that new car feeling eh?

[ColinBarber]

They are going to have to sell the car a £2,000 less than the price of a new vehicle otherwise knowbody would buy it. I wouldn't buy a secondhand car if I could get a new one for the same price.

I have a look on jamjar.co.uk and they quote a price around £36,600 of the SE-L so what-car seem correct. Using a quote from jamjar should make your dealer match it.

[javaboss]

Yep, I agree. I think £19.5k would be an excellent offer.

If they took £1000 off the RX price and match JamJar.com they would have had a deposit from me this afternoon.

I have purchased a number of cars from this dealership and it always seems to happen in the same way. They won't do a deal and wait for me to get a good price elsewhere and then they match it. They just sit and wait for me to do the donkey work and then go back to buy the car from them.

Am I really being that unrealistic to ask for £19 - £19.5k for my IS and £1k off a RX SE-L?

If my wife's avenue of research comes off then I will buy the car from that dealer and not go back to my local Lexus dealer to get a match. It's a shame as I don't really want to do it this way, as I have purchased 3 cars from my local agent and they're nice people - just hard work in getting a good deal!

[KYM]

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU EVER GOT YOUR RX330? I HAVE ONE ORDERED MYSELF FOR ABOUT 5 WEEKS!

[Rodders_UK]

IMO it's a lovely car - SOO much better than the first RX.

I reckon the SE-L is the only one to go for though - you get quite a lot of extras - the air suspension as you say, but also the SatNav, reversing camera, directional HIDs and a Levinson Stereo - and prolly loads of other stuff too.

[ColinBarber]

www.4car.co.uk have a review on the new RX. They recommend the SE. They say the air suspension is better at high speed but worse at low speed and not worth the extra. I guess you would need to test drive both to make your choice.

If you get the SE with the sat nav option then the only extras are the uprated stereo, air suspension and the moving highlights - which is not much for £2.5k.

[ColinBarber]

Here's the link for the 4car road test

http://www.channel4.com/apps26/4car/jsp/ma...=1&reviewid=801

[javaboss]

Yep, it certainly is a nice car. I was very surprised to find that it's quite a bit quieter than my IS at speed. That was what impressed me most as I mostly drive motorway miles. It sounds like the air suspension is the best option then if it's better at speed. I like the idea of the sat-nav as I have not had it on my last 3 IS200's.

All I've got to do now is find a dealer that will offer £19.5k for my IS and £36,590 for an RX300 SE-L..... perhaps harder said than done...

If there are any dealers out there reading this that want to do a deal for this price then let me know on:

Neil Liddicott

07815 191041

[ColinBarber]

Have you looked on the Lexus web site for used RXs? There are 4 SE-L models currently for sale, dealer demonstrators with up to 2,000 miles on the clock. The prices are all POA but I would guess you would get £2,000+ off list price.

[javaboss]

I have had a look around. I would want a new car though.

I never ever pay list price for new cars. I always find a dealer that will take something off list price - even if it's only 500 quid! There will be one out there somewhere! :D

It's always worth the effort to phone around and make a few dealer visits. If I get £19.5k for my IS I'll still be paying around another £17,000 in cash! There'll be someone out there that'll take my money... :D

[TonyGoose]

Motorpoint ?

Trade Sales ?

And don't overlook the mainland EU dealers too ...

[Steve]

go for it neil.. very exclusive! and a fantastic motor!

A head turner!