Rx 300 Buyers Guide?

[StueyD]

Hi All,

Newbie here and not yet a Lexus owner.

I'm looking for a cheap, cheerful and hopefully reliable ride and the 2000 - 2003 RX 300 has appeared on my radar as well within budget and there are a number for sale locally with about 80,000 - 120,000 miles recorded.

I do less than 6,000 miles a year so the poor fuel consumption doesn't really bother me.

Other than the usual common sense car checks are there any things I should specifically be looking for?

I searched for a buyers guide on the forum but couldn't find one.

I've seen on some sites mention of ECU problems which can lead to poor auto changes and can be terminal to the transmission. How common is this and what are the warning signs?

Am I right in thinking the cambelt needs replacing before 100,000 miles or 10 years? What is an approx. cost to have a garage do a cambelt change?

Other than the above and the alloys corroding I can't find any reports of much going wrong (which is one of the reasons i'd like to get one).

Does anyone have any top tips on anything else to look out for?

Many thanks

Stu.

[japanesebob]

I rushed into buying mine earlier this year at a time when my wife was about to go into labour and I really liked the car - I wasn't at all cautious and bought a 2003 rx with about 95000 miles and no service history whatever. It is a 98-03 model with the spare wheel in the boot and does not have roof bars. I can get some after market ones for it though, the lexus ones are like hens teeth. I had to have a bit of work on the brakes, I think because it had been sat for a while, and it is currently being converted to run on autogas. We had looked at merc ml's and found them to be rusty sheds, the lexus by comparison, although older and with higher mileage, is like a brand new car.

If I had had a few more pennies I would have gone for a lexus approved used, but that is in hindsight and I couldn't have afforded it anyway.

Since buying it I wrote to the previous keeper and he has given me the detachable towbar and the lexus boot liner - restored my faith in humanity actually, he could have just ignored my letter but he took the trouble to get them to me!

Check if the cam belt has been done, I have no idea if mine has so I will have to get it done next year.

Also check if the sat nav computer is present, it should be in the boot under the floor. If it isn't he here the screen for the sat nav will say "external device not connected" or something similar.

There is loads of help on this forum as to what to look for, best of luck.

[StueyD]

Almost forgot.....

What are they like for rust? Good, bad, average? Any particular places to pay attention to?

[mcleish]

Bonnets are rubbish (I know of a good few people who had them replaced under warranty, Lexus know about it, but continue to use the same bonnet materials, even in the newer cars of today), if you are lucky, you should not have stone chips and rust spots all along the front directly under the bonnet grill.

Wheels rust, loads of stories about them as well.

Just ensure that the Cambelt is done if the car has done 100k miles, this is a must or you could have major issues later on.

That being said, they are lovely cars, from the 1st Generation right up to todays RX450, so try and enjoy it.

[japanesebob]

hmm...rust. That was my big worry, after I had bought the car I looked at the mot advisory - I know, I know, should have done so beforehand but I have already explained why I was hasty. My car had an advisory for minor corrosion, "not considered excessive" in a couple of places. One of which was the rear sills due to the car being jacked up on both sides without regard to the correct jacking point, thus crushing the sills and allowing a bit of corrosion to set in. I also noticed that the car's underneath looked horrible, particularly in comparison to a peugeot I own that is even older than the lexus. I asked at my usual, very highly regarded garage and mot centre, and the mechanic said that the mot tester should not have put the advisory on, and it was nothing to worry about. He told me that most Japanese cars of that age look dreadful underneath and that I shouldn't concern myself too much about it, which did put my mind at rest. I have read on this forum that the mark1's didn't have the best under chassis protection, so just have a glance underneath before you buy one. Also check the boot floor underneath the spare wheel and make sure that it isn't rusty there either. My spare wheel was like brand new and had obviously never been used, or even removed from the well, but the boot floor had a tiny bit if rust, I sorted that with hammerite kurust before having my lpg conversion and it appears to have stopped it in its tracks.

My intention when I have the pennies is to pay a visit to a rust protection company in Spalding, they use dinatrol and as I intend to keep the car for as long as possible I think it will be worthwhile in the long run.

[ColinBarber]

series II underbody rust protection isn't that great. The series I is better in that regard but given their age could probably do with an inspection and touch up.

[japanesebob]

My bonnet and wheels are fine, by the way. I had a small patch of rust on the tailgate, caused by one of the bolt holes for the reg plate. It was only small but I had it filled and re sprayed anyway. I would suggest the important thing is advisories on the mot and mot history - that should show up any serious corrosion issues.

[StueyD]

Here are a couple i've found locally i'm going to go and check out...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201410318645611

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201411068790434

Are either of them know to this forum?

Any advice most welcome!

[ColinBarber]

The only minor weakness on the series I is the transmission. Make sure everything is smooth and pull the dipstick to make sure the fluid is not dirty brown (it is unlikely to be nice and red because it doesn't get changed as part of the service schedule).