Spottedlaurel

At Aldeburgh/Thorpeness, on the Suffolk coast. We took ours there for a short break with the family, well-loaded and with five of us on board - it did the job admirably of course. We first saw another one on Friday night and then throughout the weekend I continued to spot various examples of 400h and 450h. Mostly gen 3 of the latter, with the occasional gen 4. I think the oldest gen 3 I saw was a 59-reg,which may have been the one below: I hadn't intentionally included this very late gen 3 here, I only noticed it later sneaking into the shot of this pampered Volvo. It looked particularly smart in dark blue and turns out to be a Premier that'd only done 34-odd thousand at its last MoT. Makes mine seem high mileage at 54k! I don't see a huge number of them around on my normal travels in East Anglia, it made a pleasant change to catch sight of a few others being used and hopefully enjoyed. After three years of owning mine I'll write a brief update soon.

They sold me an approved car with a damaged exhaust system and plastic undertrays held on with cable ties. They would replace the latter but wouldn't touch the (undoubtedly expensive) exhaust. The manager insisted it was fine without them ever having seen it, and him admitting he wasn't a technical person. Replacement in the 30-day period was the best option,luckily a better car turned up in their group - I had to pay a bit more but it worked out OK as I still have it. Credit for its better condition was more due to the previous owner and low mileage than to Motorline. I found the whole buying experience not-quite-satisfactory. Mercifully they're not my local dealer so I don't have to see them again. And they're one of those dealerships that charges an admin fee!

Motorline! Never again in my experience.....

The small, 12v battery condition might be worth checking if it's gone for periods of time without use? When I had mine replaced last year it was around £238 at a main dealer. Aftermarket options are limited with it. The hybrid battery doesn't usually cause any issue, but it would be worth getting it put through a health check at a Lexus dealer once a year for peace of mind, even if services and other work happen elsewhere. They is a charge for this check, but I believe they will then offer a warranty on the battery up to 15 years old. More here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check/ With low mileage it could have tyres with plenty of tread but they'll be quite old. It'd be nice to see a set of relatively recent tyres, ideally matching front and rear. All-season tyres suit the RX well, budget on around £600-700 for a full set if they're needed. I recently did that on mine and I hadn't realised how much the noise and ride quality had deteriorated with the old ones, it was a change well worth making. My 2014 example has a slight squeak from the front brakes, doesn't affect anything but a shame when the rest of the is so quiet. They say it's because of slight lipping on the disc edge. On my first RX I found some damage underside, with the expensive exhaust system dented and plastic trays held on with cable ties, and that was an approved car at a main dealer. These cars aren't really off-roaders, but it seems the previous owner of this one thought it was......

Yup, return it. The only issue might be finding a replacement given the shortage of decent used cars at present.

On my gen 3 RX there is no wiper de-icer switch with the other physical HVAC controls, it's only accessible through the screen.

I know it's not a gen 4 RX on 20s, but I've just gone for the Continental CrossContacts on my gen 3 model when the CrossClimates were difficult to obtain a month or so ago. They seem good so far.

You're probably beyond the point of worrying about a Lexus warranty - even if you get Relax or an equivalent you're now going beyond the age limit. If that's not an issue then a trusted indie sounds like the answer. Do you have the Hybrid Health Checks? That can always be done separately to the servicing.

I could have done with reading this 2-3 weeks ago! I needed a set of four for mine, at the time Michelins were expensive or not readily available. Can't find the CrossClimates on there under my registration and postcode. I ended up going for Continental All Season Contacts which I'm pleased with so far. Just under £700 fitted at a local tyre fitters, plus tracking.

I've never been along to one of these events or even made an enquiry as a result of one. Worth a phone call perhaps? I imagine they'll be giving more allowance on RX than new NX. I imagine that will be reflected in future trade-in values, once it's replaced the RX will depreciate more quickly? The PCP on my 2014 RX comes to an end soon. Knowing how desirable it would be as a trade-in it'd be very interesting to go and see what kind of deal I could get, but I'm keeping what I've got and getting out of car finance. I'm too near the end of my working life to commit myself to another 3-4 years, then having to pay it off or start over again. If I was changing this time around I'd only be considering another RX, but that's because my budget only stretches to used cars. However, if I can manage it when it's time to pension off my current RX in 5-10 years' time then the NX450 will be of considerable interest to me.

Steven Eagell are having one of their "Manager's Confidential New Car Events" next weekend, with up to £5,000 deposit allowance. I don't know whether they have any genuine savings available that you wouldn't get elsewhere with a bit of negotiation.

I went through an exchange on my 1st RX. In my case I kept it for a week or two after the 30 days as they didn't have anything suitable as a replacement. I think the important thing was to get the request logged before the 30 days was up. Might be more of a struggle to find an alternative now, due to the shortage of decent used cars?

What one did you get please George? I drive to work every day, but of course I'm not using my older cars so much/at all in the depths of winter when a solar charger would be least effective. When I remember I disconnect the battery, that's usually OK for the one that's in the garage but it's a pain with the LS400 on the driveway.

New battery fitted to LS400 today. Actually the second in the space of a year, I made the mistake of letting the last one go flat when I wasn't using it much before/just after Christmas and it wouldn't then take a charge. Must make sure I start using it more regularly, at least until the MoT is due in March, then we'll see what the tester says......

Yup. I'm probably getting a bigger drop than that, but at present I'm rarely doing any journeys longer than 10 miles.

At that age you'lll be going between pre- and post-update cars - from memory they changed a few things in 2012. I don't anything too significant was revised, so gor whichever is in better condition. Try to avoid air suspension as noted above, make sure the power tailgate works OK (cold/damp weather seems to bring on a spate of failures each year), otherwise I suppose just look out for the normal things on a used car. Good history, sensibe number of owners who've each kept it for a while, etc. Watch out for the 12v battery if it'll go for periods of time without being used. Will a Lexus approved car be within budget? That'll get you a decent year's warranty, but I believe the Relax warranty will cover you if you have it serviced by a main dealer up to 10 years old, and there's an additional product available at 10+ years old and under 150k miles. I don't believe mileage should be an issue on a well-maintained example. My 2014 Luxury is admittedly relatively low mileage for its age at around 52k, but I'm planning on keeping it for some years to come and I have no najor concerns about that.

Sorry to read this Brian, but it sounds like a sensible course of action before you keep pouring money into it. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I exchanged the first one I had. It was a Lexus approved used car, but despite that it had underside damage which I didn't think was right on a car costing decent money from a main dealer. That was obviously a fault peculiar to that car, but it could be worth checking in case a previous owner thought they had more of an off-roader than the RX really is. The one I got instead just does its job. After nearly three years the only issue I'm having is squeaking brakes, possibly because of lipped discs.

Welcome. My RX450 isn't high mileage yet so I can't speak from personal experience, but I doubt the hybrid system or its battery will present any problems. The 12v battery might cause you a problem, but they all suffer with that if the car isn't regularly used or the battery isn't left on a trickle charge if stood for a while. Several threads on here about that issue. Air suspension on the Premier model is best avoided for peace of mind. I don't know if the 400's problem with rear subframe rust will transfer onto the 450 once they get a bit older. I've noticed on mine there are a lot of places where the muck and crud can sit in that area. Given the price of most used cars at present I imagine even the oldest 450 will still command a fair price. They don't seem to hang around for long on the main dealer ad's.

Another vote here for the black plastic strip. Mine was fitted when I bought the car used, it's doubtless saved the bumper from marks and damage where I've been loading heavy boxes, furniture etc in and out during our recent house move.

It seems like a good compromise to me. Admittedly I'm not in the market for one at present, I'd like to keep my low mileage RX for at least another five years. By that time it'll be clear(er) as to which way things are heading, and the NX PHEV will be rather more within my budget! The UX300e is too small for me (much as I liked the driving experience), but fairly soon family transport won't be as much of an issue and the NX will be ideal size-wise. Full electric will be good for my normal work journeys and local running around - the short trips which probably do most to knock my MPG - but I'll still have something which can be used on long trips without charging concerns. I just hope some of you folks who are buying one now/soon spec it nicely and look after it so I have a good choice in a few years' time.....

Interesting (and saddening) to see we're getting enquiries about this one again. Is it related to the onset of cold, damp weather?

Interesting how different Lexus dealerships interpret it then - mine did not require this when I had it serviced by a main dealer at 40k miles and six years old. My service book is clear that plugs need to be changed only at 60,000 miles, unlike most other items it doesn't give a time alternative.

That link is for the US, and also the gen 4 model? Just looked in the service book for my 2014 RX, it mentions plugs at 60,000 miles only, not six years, so you might find they haven't been done yet. They haven't been done on mine, which has just clicked over 50k. Air filter is every 40,000 miles/four years, so timewise you're due one (if not already done), otherwise you're a long way off from the engine coolant at 100k or invertor coolant at 150,000 miles.

That's good, given that the CC2s are more expensive. As mentioned in another thread, Blackcircles are giving 15% off at present which knocks the price down from just under £700 to just over £600. I don't think the £100 refund works with them however, I couldn't see them on Michelin's list.