Advice On Buying Buying My First Rx 300/350.

[Calders]

as a regular poster over on the Ls forum i currently have a ls400 and ls460 but am now thinking of buying a Rx 300 or 350. We got a puppy back in January that has quickly grown into something resembling a brown bear so was thinking of garaging my pride and joy Ls 400 for a couple of years.

obvious choice for me would be the Rx, only looking to spend 4/5 k so I would be looking around 2004/2005 just wondered If I should be aware of any major issues of a RX of this age ? Any advice would be welcome.

[ChrisKaye]

Leaky power steering, leaky diff oil seals and make sure timing belt (and spark plugs if poss) have been changed!

Other than that it is all down to the spec you want! If you can afford the road tax, the 350 is awesome, but they only came out in 2006!

[PCM]

... and trusting your instincts when looking for something genuine - not just an ex-auction, polished up 'trader's' offering...

Maybe ring around the Lexus dealers asking if they can you let you know if any cheap part-ex's come in?

[plastic orange]

I bought a 2005 Rx300SE for my wife back in March. It had 100k on the clock with full lexus history. I also run an LS 400 mk4, so I can advise you on general comparisons with the 2 cars.

Firstly, I find that fuel consumption isn't as good as expected - 21 urban and best of 25mpg cruising at 70, in other words, my LS is my economy car.

General build quality whilst good, isn't to LS spec and neither is the gear change, with the box being caught out at times. I find that performance can be described as adequate with hills needing the box to change down, again it's a heavy car with nearly 100bhp less than the LS.

I do enjoy sitting higher up in the car, and handling is better than I expected with little body roll and low wind and tyre noise. I also find the seating arrangement good with the rear seat being able to accommodate 2 child seats with room for an additional passenger. boot space is also very good with storage space under the floor for sundries.

Like the LS, cam belt change is expensive, so make sure that it's been done and that all electrics work as they should. I didn't want the additional technicalities that the air suspended SEL had, so the SE ticked that box.

Have a good look underneath as they do rust a bit under there.

The good thing is that there are quite a few to choose from as they are more popular than an LS, but this is dependant where you live as I had very few to choose from in Scotland.

Seems to be quite a few LS owners getting RX's these days, says a lot for brand loyalty.

Pete

[Calders]

Many thanks for the advice!! , I realise the rx is not going to be in same class as an Ls, they are simply on another level imo,

not to worried about economy or performance as I will be doing very low mileage but the rx 300 seems to be the obvious choice as at least I know I'm going to get reliability and quality from a lexus in general (fingers crossed)

only other car I would consider would be the land cruiser as I've owned two and found them both to be fantastic cars and hold there money incredibly well.

Thanks again!!

[foxy-stoat]

I bought a 53 reg RX300 with just under 48,000 miles a few months ago. I looked around for a good few months before seeing anything on autotrader and eBay, finally bought off a private chap on eBay. You will get to know the cars that have been advertised for weeks and weeks at dealers or over priced private sellers so you will have a better idea of the value and market. Good thing about these cars is the horrid MPG puts a lot of people off so you can be very picky, choose one with no issues mechanically and as full service history as possible.

After owning a SEL I would now consider cars without sat nav if they are very low mileage or in very good order as the reversing camera and changing the heater speed by touch screen is a gimick, but cool to have.

[PCM]

... I couldn't live without the Reversing Camera.

For me personally, it's a must have.

[two tractors]

owned an 02 300 for two years,replaced a brake light bulb.that was it,lovely old car ,quiet,comfortable and a good load lugger,just upgraded to a 350 had it a week now ,so far very pleased,its a lot quicker and has all the toys.haven't noticed much difference in fuel econ. so far