willydoit

Hi all, am looking for a circa 2005 low mileage RX300, I have seen a private sale for one with 78k miles which sounds okay except it is an SE-L originally a lexus ex demo but hasnt been serviced by Lexus since 50k but serviced by Indy. Seller says he has had no issues with suspension and is happy to video it going up and down for me to see and hear. My concern is that with all the reported issues with air suspension it has frightened me to death given the costs of repair and the apparent frequency of issues. By the same token I dont want to pass up on an otherwise good vehicle if my paranoia with the suspension is unjustified. I appreciate that no-one goes on this or other forums to advertise they havent got a problem so am wondering just how real a concern it should be, and whether its blown out of proportion. That isnt to belittle the huge impact such a failure has on those who have experienced it but I would like to try to put it into perspective. Was it still an issue with 2005 vehicles or had things improved? Are there any stats listed anywhere which will help determine the likelyhood of my having a problem with the suspension on a 2005 78k vehicle. There doesn't seem to be many SE-L models for sale, is that because people dont want to part with them or did few people buy them in the first place choosing to pay for upgrades to the SE instead in order to avoid the air suspension. Would be interested to see how many owners have not had issues with their air suspension against how many have. Anyone out their got air suspension on a 10 + year old vehicle that hasnt had expensive suspension repair bills? Possibly going to view the car this weekend which is a long way away so feedback on this would be appreciated so I can make an informed decision whether to discount all SE-L versions from my search and lose all the -L extras like the ML sound system which is excellent in my wifes SC430. Thanks in advance.

Hi, Thanks for the feedback, havent had chance to take the car out again yet to diagnose cause, rear shock absorbers were replaced recently so I doubt it is that. It could be the front ones I suppose or spring. It did sound a bit like a squeeky sprung mattress so it mey be the first place to check. Definitely seemed to come from nearside and at one point was loud enough to be heard over the radio although we were going over a bridge at the time which possible amplified the noise. It sounded as though it was a squeeky wheel or spring but the squeek didnt seem fast enough to match the revolutions of the wheel so I guess it just leaves the suspension although the road surface seemed quite smooth. There have been reports of issues with squeeky bushes on these vehicles so it may be that. Will see if it gets any worse, only heard it the twice on one journey so will monitor it.

Hi all, Had my sc430 2006 alignment checked at local ATS as after my LS400 the suspension and feedback through the steering wheel was nowhere near as comfortable as the LS which isnt an issue if normal and I was expecting the difference due to others comments on the ride of this model and it is after all a totally different car. However I did want to make sure all was well and there werent any suspension issues that I was mistakenly just putting down to "thats the way these cars are" . Was told that wheels were a long way out of balance and so was the front and rear wheel alignments. All were apparently rectified apparently no faults were found with suspension or steering. I have noticed an intermittent squeaking which sounds like a bed spring although I didnt notice the road was particularly uneven. Had it occurr twice on a fairly normal road surface even at low speed. I havent had the opportunity to diagnose it properly due to being intermittent and it seems to be coming from the nearside so not easy when driving. The roof was down but pretty sure it wasnt a roof issue as I have seen reported. I would guess at suspension. The car has done 42,000 miles in case it is relevant. It could just be coincidence but I didnt notice it prior to the alignment adjustment. Is there any element of the adjustment procedure which could account for the intermittent squeak if something wasnt torqued up correctly. I have read about suspension squeak issues with some sc430 but didnt want to start suspecting bushes etc especially at only 42k miles if it could just be an incorrectly torqued bolt or something. If alignment adjustment is just coincidental where would be the best places to get a mechanic to start checking for such an intermittent squeak as I suspect that being intermittent we are unlikely to be looking at anything with immediately obvious wear so anecdotal experience could be very helpful. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

Hi, it was the £300 per year I was referring to as rhe lower tax band, I dont want to be paying another 10.00 per week just to park it on the drive, am already paying around 800 per year for 2 cars and doing only around 6k miles per year in total so wanting to keep the road tax cost down and to bump it to around £1100 a year for that amount of mileage isn't sensible in my book.

Hi all, due to the need for something with larger carrying capacity I am looking to compliment our existing Sc430 with a low mileage low tax band rx300 or 350. Must be well cared for and maintained, appreciate that these are a working vehicle but it will be to replace an existing Ls400 with 55k i will be selling shortly and I would like to keep it in as near perfect condition as I can so am looking for something with no damage or excessive wear and tear. Darker colour would be preferred with sat nav and working tailgate. I am in East Yorkshire area and dont want to travel too far as have already clocked up time and miles looking at vehicles which have not been as advertised such as the one advertised as excellent condition, well maintained with good tyres to find it had warning lights on dash, rip in trim, bodywork damage, peeling paint, no service by last owner and bald tyres. You know the sort of thing, this is not what I am looking for. Am aware of potentially high bills with these vehicles so good maintenance history is essential. Appreciate that this may be a needle in a haystack job, but as we now have the SC430 which has replaced the main usage of the LS400 I need to replace my LS400 with something better suited to our outstanding needs. Thanks in advance.

If you have your own workshop and can do the work yourself it is probably a good purchase as the vehicle itself is in great condition, I don't so it wasnt for me unfortunately.

Hi Guys,just to qualify, the vehicle with all the lexus bills £16k of them although much was done under warranty is on the RX350 It has full Lexus history and all the actual invoices. I did call Lexus the other day and they confirmed all the work that has been done. Have now seen the vehicle and it looks immaculate inside for a vehicle of this mileage (113k ) so has been well cared for, It is obvious the car hasnt been thrashed in any way so why the bills are so huge I dont know. I can only assume the previous owner, apparently a bigwig at the local bbc radio station was one of those who liked everything right and trusted that if Lexus said something wanted doing then it got done. Just a quick update to the story so far, went to see the RX350 which was in superb condition, full Lexus history didnt have sat nav which I would have liked but (Mel) the guy selling it was very nice and helpful. In the end we decided that due to the outstanding condition it would be a shame to miss out on it so decided to purchase. We were due to collect it today. The seller (a dealer) called Mel nr Gilberdyke if anyone comes across him, called today to advise that when moving the car he noticed a small amount of oil on the floor and suspected it was coming from the sump gasket. Said he wanted to get it checked before selling me the car so booked it into Lexus Hull for a quick check. ( He purchased the car from them as a trade sale) Rang later with bad news advising that it was the timing chain cover that had a leak. This despite Lexus Hull charging 3k for a timing chain and tensioners replacement just over 12 months ago. Asked if they would warranty the work given that the chain was only replaced 12 months ago ( bearing in mind over 16k of repairs and servicing all at Lexus Hull since new) and Lexus Hull apparently refused as they stated that the previous owner, against their advice chose not to have the timing chain cover replaced (over £700) when the timing chain was replaced. It seems the timing cover replacement will be very expensive, seem to recall 13 hours labour mentioned and the cover itself which was over £700. How can just a cover possibly cost that much and why should it need to be replaced if the timing chain etc has been replaced? Also at that price why should it ever leak? So, two points to my experience. 1) I could have been left with that mess to clean up if the seller Mel hadnt been such a straight up and honest guy, huge thanks to him for that as it lost him the sale but gained huge respect. I suspect most dealers would have cleaned up evidence of the leak which was apparently minor in capacity and sold me the car knowing I was oblivious to the issue yet soon to face a huge bill. And point 2) this car looked immaculate with full Lexus history and invoices with what on the face of it seemed to show no expense spared on maintenance and yet still had a possible £2000 worth of bills ready for the next unsuspecting owner for just one item. So it seems that a full Lexus service history on its own cannot guarantee a good car. I would add that unless you are a competent mechanic an independant inspection would seem to be a must. To be honest this and the number of people reporting transmission seal issues (another big expense) And Lexus Hull advising that they didnt find the extent of bills on the above car unusual (10k if you take of the 6k engine replacement which was under warranty) , I am seriously being put off the Lexus RX series. Am I right to be put off, are they a money pit in comparison to other Lexus models? Owners experiences re running costs on repairs would be appreciated as at this rate I am going to have to look at an alternative manufacture or forget the 4x4 idea altogether and keep my LS400 and stay at home if it snows. In closing a big thank you to Mel for his honesty and integrity, on my experience and taking everything I have been told on trust I wouldn't hesitate recommending him to anyone who comes across him in the Hull area. He does aparently purchase a lot of Lexus cars from the dealers as a trader but it seems that the thousands he must spend with Lexus Hull doesnt count for much when problems like this occurr, so really, what chance do the rest of us have?

Hi Rayaans, Went to look at your old car today, to be honest, if you saw it you would probably be in tears, two bald tyres, warning light on dash, scratches on bodywork, just hasnt been looked after, only one service since dealer sold it. It apparently ended up at a car auction in Bridlington. Such a shame after tHe way you looked after it.

Hi Guys, just to qualify, the vehicle with all the lexus bills £16k of them although much was done under warranty is on the RX350 It has full Lexus history and all the actual invoices. I did call Lexus the other day and they confirmed all the work that has been done. Have now seen the vehicle and it looks immaculate inside for a vehicle of this mileage (113k ) so has been well cared for, It is obvious the car hasnt been thrashed in any way so why the bills are so huge I dont know. I can only assume the previous owner, apparently a bigwig at the local bbc radio station was one of those who liked everything right and trusted that if Lexus said something wanted doing then it got done.

Thanks Rayaans, will let you know how we get on, at the moment am just waiting to see if my daughter has the time to travel over the bridge to view these cars later today as I am tied up the rest of this week.

Thanks, hadnt noticed the cupholder, dealer seems to have done a good valeting job on it so it may be that the carpets are as good as they will get, that said the SC430 we just bought also looked clean inside but once we started cleaning it it was suprising how much surface dirt we got off it. I have uploaded the two images the dealer sent me of the two things he thought may be an issue, the tear on the door card and some damage to rear bumper which I assume wasn't there when you sold the car. It looks to me as though someone may have tried applying heat to the door card as the surrounding area has lot a lot of the graining but you may be able to tell if that was how it was originally. Someone may have made the job worse by messing around with it as it looks quite brittle and cracked so not sure if it would still be repairable but it may be possible to get that section of the trim from somewhere, if it does seperate and can be repaired it may be possible to swap it ouot to the rear door if they are identical.

Thanks Rayaan, I would have preferred factory fit sat nav if possible but it isnt a deal breaker for the right car, would have preferred to have purchased the car after you had had it for peace of mind as it sounds as though you are like me for wanting to keep things right. Looking at the service book it looks as though Dace did a service when selling the vehicle and then for some reason there is an intermediate service done at Lexus Hull 3 months and 2k miles later but nothing thereafter. Seems strange that they would pay the cost of a Lexus service so soon after the service by Dace yet there is nothing in the book after that which leaves 13k miles unaccounted for. Have emailed the sales guy about the service and sat nav already so will see what he comes back with. Thanks for all your help.

Thanks for that, good news about the leather repair, looking at the pictures not sure if it has already had a repair attempted. One thing I have noticed though is that the ad says it has sat nav but it doesnt look as though it has from the interior images. Can you confirm if the car has sat nav or not. May not be a big issue for us but it is a requirement for my daughter as she does quite a bit of travelling. Thanks for all the info it really is helpful.

Hi, Thanks for that, I was contacted last nigjt by the seller of the one with high bills, seems a genuine chap for a dealer, says the car was owned by a top management person at Radio Humberside, apparently he would just agree to whatever Lexus Hull said would need doing to the car which is rather worrying considering that Hull would be my local dealer and I was considering taking out an extended 2 year warranty on the sc230 I just purchased. I dont want to use a dealership that just manufactures work and then risk the warranty coverage if I dont have any recommended work done. i used to take my 98 Ls400 there but ended up going all the way to Sheffield for the cambelt change as I wasnt happy with Lexus Hull, no specific reason, just thought that I was looked down on due to the car being around 10 years old even though it was showroom condition with less than 40k on the clock. At the last major service they did there were a lot of things they said didnt need doing such as plugs etc due to mileage, but the discount received for not changing them didnt come anywhere close to what they would then charge to do them later. Thats always the problem with a low mileage car, you cannot rely on garages having done everything that would normaly have been done based on age. I did ring Lexus Hull to see if they would allow an extended warranty on that vehicle but as yet they havent rung me back. Maybe that tells its own story. Regarding your old RX, i was very interested in that one, only thing that put me off slightly was that there is apparently a tear in the top of the drivers door card (I am a bit anal when it comes to looking after my cars) but think I may go and have a look at that one today anyway as it sounded well cared for. Apparently most recent services were done in Huddersfield but I cannot find garage on the internet but dealership said they would be happy to give the garages number, seems it was being serviced every 5k for some reason. We may possibly need two as my daughter is also looking for one so that could make things a little awkward lol. Anyone know how much the top padded area of a door card would cost to replace? Glad to hear the explanation for the kwik fit servicing as that seemed a bit unusual but understandable under the circumstances. Turns out the one with the high bills doesnt have sat nav and my wife isnt keen on a black interior either so think that one is probably out of the window which is a shame as the dealer sounded a nice guy on the phone who gets a lot of Lexus from Lexus Hull and seemed to know what he was talking about. Thanks for the info on your old RX it has rekindled my interest on that one, any other info you have would be welcome, were the discs ever replaced? Any issues I could use to help with price negotiations? Will keep you updated on how things progress.

Sorry about that. Link below. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-56-LEXUS-RX350-SE-AUTO-1-OWNER-FULL-LEXUS-HISTORY-RECENT-SERVICE-/281727281233?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4198412851 We are also thinking of looking at this one www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506013932822?onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&make=lexus&model=rx_300&sort=locasc&postcode=yo259xz&radius=1500&channel=cars&search-target=usedcars&page=1&logcode=p And this one http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201506194464111?page=1&search-target=usedcars&postcode=yo259xz&make=lexus&channel=cars&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&radius=1500&sort=locasc&model=rx_300&logcode=p Any comments or advice welcome. Notice that not all have satnav which I thought was standard kit on these. Were any other items optional extras, also did any of the rev2 models have bluetooth as a dealer option. Thanks in advance

Looking to get a RX to go alongside my SC430 for more practical usage, have seen this advertised which is not too far from us but was a bit staggered by the Lexus servicing and repair bills, are these typical RX ownership costs, is it a Friday afternoon built car? Am awaiting seller to contact me but not sure if the bills are a good sign or a warning sign. Your opinions would be appreciated. Am waiting for Lexus Hull to advise whether the vehicle would qualify for a 2 year extended warranty, will be interesting to see if they would still be willing to warranty the vehicle given that they have looked after it. Any opinions gratefully received.

Hi Neil, Thankfully everything was working fine the following morning, must have been the steam cleaning although the roof was down so more care in future.

Congratulations.

Same things apply really, cambelt and service history, not familiar with this model so cannot be much help, I doubt they have had it long as car shows as taxed until march16 and test feb 16. I think with a car in this budget range you are always going to have to be careful as there is greater chance of wear and tear repair bills. There will be good ones out there you just have to be diligant. Might be worth checking the gs forum for any known issues with this model. Without wishing to sound nosey, Is 2k at the top of your budget? Lexus is a car people tend to hang on to so it may be worth stretching the budget as much as you can to widen the posibilities and increase the chances of a good example if you are likely to keep the car some time With a lower budget you may find a better deal looking at private sales and cut out the dealers margins which are likely to be quite high on these types of cars to cover any issues that occur in the first three months of any warranty. Good luck

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.

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.

Apologies, I was getting the cambelt change confused with the 430 engine which is 100k on my sc430, my 400 had belts changed a 6,000 and 40,000. It would be suprising if someone had the belt changed so far in advance unless they had just purchased it and suspected it hasnt yet been done. Would have thought they would have left the original sticker on for the first belt change as well, mine has both stickers.I suppose it's all guesswork in the end and buying any car is a gamble you just have to go with your gut and instinct and dont let your heart overide them.

Hi, Playing devils advocate again, the cambelt was changed way too late at 120,000 miles, should have been 100,000. Not necessarily an issue but indicative of how the car was maintained, will bet next months wages that servicing at that time was not by Lexus as anyone willing to pay Lexus prices would not skimp on leaving cambelt change. I suspect that documentation will show an ownership change around the 90-100k miles. If car was sold by a garage at that time they probably arranged the cambelt change to be able to sell the car. Bills would be something that would be handy to see to check what has been done ove rhte years. The boot seals and struts as you say should be an inexpensive fix. The cambelt and aircon are unlikely to be, you could end up investing 50% of your purchase price again on cambelt alone so be prepared for that. I would suspect that for the money you are budgeting there will be better examples available. The problem is that an LS400 even after 200,000 miles is still a better car than most anything else on the road within equivalent price bracket and if you havent experienced them before for comparison it is easy to be overwhelmed by the spec, quality and comfort and therefore overlook the negatives. For what you are paying they are one hell of a car and if you are happy to risk the potential bills associated with a high mileage car then you are unlikely to find a better car for your money so long as you get a good one. Gut feeling on this one is I would be walking away with the aircon and cambelt issues alone but thats just me. As mentioned before I dont like high mileage cars whatever the make but I like to keep my cars as close to showroom as possible and that just isnt possible when someone else has done 200,000 miles in it so I am probably more sceptical, picky and paranoid than most. Perhaps someone with a 400 with equivalent miles could give you a better insight as my 98 mk 4 has only done 55k. To reiterate, the 400 is an easy car to fall in love with just dont let your heart rule your head, £1600 isnt a lot of money for a car but if it's all you have got then its a lot to lose and if for whatever reason you have to try to sell it on needing a cambelt and with no working aircon no-one is going to give you anything like the amount you are being asked to pay for this one. With that mileage and the issues you are already aware of I would say its maybe worth 50% of the current asking price on a good day. Have a shop around to see what other examples are available there are good ones out there and the right one is worth waiting for. Just so you know, there is probably no-one worse than me for being "I want one and I want it now" so understand the temptations but I have always ended up regreting those hasty decisions and literaly lost tnousands as a result so now tend to over compensate. Whatever you decide to do I hope you get sorted and enjoy what is still one of the best cars ever produced.

Couldn't agree more, the bulletproof reputation these cars have can easily lead one into a false sense of security, 200k miles is a lot of wear and tear on any car and when the bills do start to roll in on these they can be costly. I would also add that there are few worse places than west yorkshire to end up being stung with a bad car, with all due respect to the good honest dealers around, but dealers are aware that Trading Standards have so many complaints about dodgy motors in that area they simply cannot cope which allows dodgy dealers to have a field day with little chance of being taken to task by Trading Standards so it really is a case of buyer beware.

Bear in mind that if there is a small leak somewhere or seals have gone that it may take time for the gasses to leech from the system therefore it is essential that the deal breaker is that the dealer puts the aircon in proper working order as opposed to just has to gas it ad that he includes it within the statutory 3 months warranty.