Buying A High Mileage Rx400

[Stokewalker]

Hi All,

I get the impression that the rx400h can carry high mileage if we'll maintained. I've got my eye on a couple of cars at Lexus dealers with 80-90k miles on clock...anything I should be worried about?

Richard

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[NEV72]

Aye the Inverter, check it's had it's recall, other than that, pretty much bombproof.

[ColinBarber]

cambelt will need changing at 100k miles. That is a £700+ service at a Lexus dealer.

[Stokewalker]

Thanks guys, I understand from threads on here that I can escape a big bill for cambelt by entering a service contract?

Richard

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[NEV72]

You often find that when it comes to changing the timing belt the water pump bearings need doing too, I had to have a new pump fitted also while everything was off,Lexus wanted nearly £1000 to do both, the nearest Autocare to me did both for £700.

[ColinBarber]

Thanks guys, I understand from threads on here that I can escape a big bill for cambelt by entering a service contract?

Richard

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No because the service contracts don't normally cover the 'additional' items such as cambelts or plugs. Either that or the service plan is especially calculated to include those costs.

[ColinBarber]

You often find that when it comes to changing the timing belt the water pump bearings need doing too, I had to have a new pump fitted also while everything was off,Lexus wanted nearly £1000 to do both, the nearest Autocare to me did both for £700.

I wouldn't say they need doing at 100k. A lot of people do it as insurance.

The cost of the water pump isn't that high compared to the labour required so you can save money by doing them both together. But you never know, the water pump could last 300k miles.

My WP was inspected when the cam belt was changed, no sign of leaks and the bearings were fine so it wasn't changed.

[Boxbrownie]

Its not so much insurance to do it but part of the scheduled service regime, I would say rather than insurance to change it, its more of a gamble not to!

Definately worth changing the pump at the same time, the cost involved is meagre compared to a failure later down the line.

[nelmo]

Bought mine with 102k miles on the clock and not had a problem since (just under a year ago).

I had the cambelt done at an independent Lexus specialist - charged me £375 but didn't do the tensioner (he said it wasn't necessary).

Never heard the water pump mentioned before, although I'm sure if I'd gone to the dealer, I would have...

Turning out to be the best car I've owned in 27 years and 6 different manufacturers...

[javadude]

Turning out to be the best car I've owned in 27 years and 6 different manufacturers...

Ditto. I've owned mine 3 years and it's now 6 years old and all it's needed aside from the servicing and warranty work is brakes and tyres. Oh that plus several repairs from people driving into it while parked cause its too small to see.

[DanD]

Had water pump replaced while the car was in for the inverter recall. Cost me £375.

If buying from a dealer, you can get a service plan that will cover all the servicing costs ovr an agreed period of time, based on expected mileage. It does make sense as it typically saves around 15% of the costs, and is inflation proof. It also ensures you car will be maintained within the Lexus network. Lexus also has maintenance packages and prices that are specific to cars over 5 years old... worth talking to your dealer.

To look for... inverter recall... corroded wheels... and make sure the Battery is reasonably new.

Obviously check that all the gadgets work, like the CD changer, satnav, air suspension (if SE-L version), ICE (if SE-L version) etc. Also check for water ingress in footwells and in the boot. All these rarely go wrong, but when they do, they are costly to fix.

At any rate, if buying from dealer, you will get a good warranty package that should put your mind at rest.

[NEV72]

Another thing to consider is becoming a gold member of the Lexus owners club, you get 15% discount on servicing from your local dealer, providing they're a participating dealership, costs £40.00 for two years, you can make it pay for itself if you box clever.

[Boxbrownie]

Its a shame my local dealer shut down just after I bought mine.........now my nearest dealers (both almost exactly the same distance) are 52 miles away, costs me £25 in fuel just to get there and back.

And I don't live in the back waters of Scotland........Essex in the one of the busiest areas of the South East!!

I think I'll source parts over the net............ :D

[Stokewalker]

All, thanks for the advice...I've gone for a 2009 09 plate special edition...inverter recall has been done, alloys look good, fsh. Bit of an issue with some low speed vibration coming through the steering wheel on initial acceleration, but they've agreed to fix that (although I need to go in to see the mechanics to try to find the issue)...but other than that, all seems good.

Mind you, I've had a wake up call on main dealer discounts...been 10 years since I last dealt with one (not Lexus, I might add) when you could get a wad of cash off the asking price plus £1000 min for your old banger...had to scrap for every penny!

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[NEV72]

My transaction for when I bought mine, rested on them throwing a new Lexus brolly in for free, I almost walked away.

[chrisfs]

With a Lex (and flsh) 80-90k is not "high milage".

[Duncan Roberts]

That's not high at all.

[DanD]

Mine is the Exec Limited Edition too, the last version produced before the 450h came out. It has all the toys, with the exception of the rear screens and DVDs.

It also has illuminated door seals where "LEXUS" glows blue in the dark. Probably sounds horrid, but it does acually look very smart. Do all Exec Ltd Ed have these or was this an add on?

[stevet]

I think all 400h's had the illuminated door sills. My SE has them.

[NEV72]

Yup, mine too, a lovely neon Blue too if I may say so.

[Dewey]

I think mine has orange illuminated door sills, did they change the colour? Mine is a 2006.