Advice needed for which one for go for.

[alvinsu]

Hi, I've been considering buying a 2nd RX450h for a while would like like to ask for some options on which one you would go for and why?

1. 13Reg premier with 22k mileage asking price 32k.
2. 13Reg F sport with 17k mileage, asking price 30k
3. 63reg Luxery with 10k mileage, asking price 30k

So the question is whether the mileage makes any big difference (22k compared to 10k, with 10 mileage it is almost like a new car).  Whether the it is worth the extra money (and higher mileage) to go for premier or F sport model? Another thing is the premier has a sun roof which I quite like.

I am considering beige interior for a change, is it very hard to maintain clean compared to black?

P.S. I am also considering X5, or for more money go for the new Q7 or XC90, they are all very different animals, are there any of you who have tried them before, what are your verdicts?

Thanks very much in advance.

[rayaans]

Mileage isn't an issue on these cars. The beige interior isn't hard to keep on top of in terms of leather cleaning. The carpets get dirty really easily though so ask for some rubber ones.

Should be able to get the premier down to £30k too if you want. 

X5 is very different.  Ride is harder but it handles better and be aware that it's a much bigger car. Diesel engines are gruff. May be associated with "BMW ******" looks from people 

Q7 interior quality is great but the outside is just horrendous. Looks like a pig. Need the 272ps engine for a good balance. The 218ps feels underpowered and is less refined. Has generally rubbish reliability. Had 2 older ones and have 1 new one in the family.

Id say go for the new RX. It's awesome! 

[g00se]

If you go for an X5, stay away from the Xdrive 30D as its too under-powered IMO for such a BIG car.

30d = 3.0 single turbo diesel

35d = 3.0 twin turbo diesel

40d = 3.0 twin turbo diesel (different map, injectors etc)

M50d = 3.0 triple turbo diesel

I have just got rid of my 2008 3.0sd (which is the pre-facelift 35d)...  it was mapped to 350bhp & 700NM !!!

PROs

Looks great, plush interior, road presence, surprisingly fast

CONs

Too big for alot of car parks, heavy - so poor mpg, DPF issues, mega expensive runflat tyres (rears were 325/35/r20 @ £600 for a pair!)

Just my 2peneth tho..  for a buyers guide take a look at www.xdrivers.co.uk

goose

 

 

[alvinsu]

8 hours ago, rayaans said:

Mileage isn't an issue on these cars. The beige interior isn't hard to keep on top of in terms of leather cleaning. The carpets get dirty really easily though so ask for some rubber ones.

Should be able to get the premier down to £30k too if you want. 

X5 is very different.  Ride is harder but it handles better and be aware that it's a much bigger car. Diesel engines are gruff. May be associated with "BMW ******" looks from people 

Q7 interior quality is great but the outside is just horrendous. Looks like a pig. Need the 272ps engine for a good balance. The 218ps feels underpowered and is less refined. Has generally rubbish reliability. Had 2 older ones and have 1 new one in the family.

Id say go for the new RX. It's awesome! 

Thanks rayaans, so you reckon it is worth going for the premier model compared to luxury?  Is there anything I should watch out for when buying 2nd hand from Lexus? 

I already have a BMW 3series, and wanted a "higher" car to ferry my daughter as it is a pain to get her out.  X5 will be more practical due to the larger size but will probably be much more expensive to run. The main attraction of the RX is the reliability.

[alvinsu]

11 minutes ago, g00se said:

If you go for an X5, stay away from the Xdrive 30D as its too under-powered IMO for such a BIG car.

30d = 3.0 single turbo diesel

35d = 3.0 twin turbo diesel

40d = 3.0 twin turbo diesel (different map, injectors etc)

M50d = 3.0 triple turbo diesel

I have just got rid of my 2008 3.0sd (which is the pre-facelift 35d)...  it was mapped to 350bhp & 700NM !!!

PROs

Looks great, plush interior, road presence, surprisingly fast

CONs

Too big for alot of car parks, heavy - so poor mpg, DPF issues, mega expensive runflat tyres (rears were 325/35/r20 @ £600 for a pair!)

Just my 2peneth tho..  for a buyers guide take a look at www.xdrivers.co.uk

goose

 

 

Hi g00se, thanks for the reply. So you have owned both the x5 and RX. How would you compare them for the purpose of a family car? Any little details that makes them growing on you only after owning for a while?  Sometimes it is hard to get a full picture with just s short test drive.  In terms of comfort, and interior space ?

[Assa1974]

Ha ha,  I was about to start a very similar thread albeit with a somewhat lower budget. I've got 3 RX400Hs in mind:

2007 / 70K miles - £9,990

2006 / 100K miles - £7,150

2005 / 130K miles - £6,750

They are all SE-Ls and  all have the beige interior, exactly the spec I'm looking for. So the question in my mind is how much of a difference does 30k miles make? Is the 2007 car really worth the best part of £3K more? I was going to go for the 2006 car but the service history is spotty and the dealer doesn't know if the cam belt has been changed, although he's prepared to negotiate on price. The 2005 car has FLSH although it looks like it's missed a couple of services as it's only got 10 stamps. I was thinking that if the 2006 has a good interior (I've struggled to find cars of this age without a lot of scratches and tears or dirty carpets) and I can beat him down to around £6k then it's worth the gamble as it'll go straight into Lexus for a full service anyway. 

Thoughts or advice?

 

[g00se]

22 minutes ago, Assa1974 said:

Ha ha,  I was about to start a very similar thread albeit with a somewhat lower budget. I've got 3 RX400Hs in mind:

2007 / 70K miles - £9,990

2006 / 100K miles - £7,150

2005 / 130K miles - £6,750

They are all SE-Ls and  all have the beige interior, exactly the spec I'm looking for. So the question in my mind is how much of a difference does 30k miles make? Is the 2007 car really worth the best part of £3K more? I was going to go for the 2006 car but the service history is spotty and the dealer doesn't know if the cam belt has been changed, although he's prepared to negotiate on price. The 2005 car has FLSH although it looks like it's missed a couple of services as it's only got 10 stamps. I was thinking that if the 2006 has a good interior (I've struggled to find cars of this age without a lot of scratches and tears or dirty carpets) and I can beat him down to around £6k then it's worth the gamble as it'll go straight into Lexus for a full service anyway. 

Thoughts or advice?

 

IMO that 70k '07 is a bit much..  i just paid £10.5k for an '07 with 49k on the clock.

if you could get the '07 for closer £9k that would be my choice.

goose

[DanD]

12 hours ago, alvinsu said:

Hi, I've been considering buying a 2nd RX450h for a while would like like to ask for some options on which one you would go for and why?

1. 13Reg premier with 22k mileage asking price 32k.
2. 13Reg F sport with 17k mileage, asking price 30k
3. 63reg Luxery with 10k mileage, asking price 30k

So the question is whether the mileage makes any big difference (22k compared to 10k, with 10 mileage it is almost like a new car).  Whether the it is worth the extra money (and higher mileage) to go for premier or F sport model? Another thing is the premier has a sun roof which I quite like.

I am considering beige interior for a change, is it very hard to maintain clean compared to black?

P.S. I am also considering X5, or for more money go for the new Q7 or XC90, they are all very different animals, are there any of you who have tried them before, what are your verdicts?

Thanks very much in advance.

I would not worry about mileage... these should all be considered low mileage... and focus on the condition, colour combination and spec.

I always used to go for dark interiors, but my last two RXs have both had the cream/beige interior and I have not regretted it. I have found the leather to be of very good quality and easy to maintain... even with my wife new jeans leaving blue marks on it. These came off fairly easily. I would recommend that you go for dark matts though: they do not shock as they match the colour of the upper part of the dashboard.

Premier, sport, luxury... it all depends on how many gadgets you want! - If you go to the top of the RX pages on the forum, take a look at the first entry from Colin Barber titled "RX450h - Series 3 - Equipment Specifications"... Hopefully this will help you make your mind up as to which to go for. Bear in mind that in terms of performance, the power train is the same for all three. The only difference is that the sport has slightly firmer suspension.

[alvinsu]

Thanks, I just had a look ,  is there much difference between the hid and LED lights? Also the premier seems to have a different kind of leather, what's the difference? 

[rayaans]

4 hours ago, alvinsu said:

Thanks rayaans, so you reckon it is worth going for the premier model compared to luxury?  Is there anything I should watch out for when buying 2nd hand from Lexus? 

I already have a BMW 3series, and wanted a "higher" car to ferry my daughter as it is a pain to get her out.  X5 will be more practical due to the larger size but will probably be much more expensive to run. The main attraction of the RX is the reliability.

Not much to actively look out for but Ive seen some with brown, rusting calipers - make sure the dealer changes these as they look rubbish. Hasn't happened on mine and I have 36k on mine at the moment so I guess it shows it hasnt been washed much or left to rot after road salt!

BMW servicing is quite expensive on the X5 and I forgot about the huge run flat tyres which make a lot of noise and are very expensive to change. They wear out quick too.

Also, due to the thinner tyres on the RX, its actually better in poor weather like snow compared to an X5 which has trouble on moderately steep hills in this kind of weather.

Luxury - has pretty much everything you need

F-Sport gives you heads up display, sporty body kit + LED headlights and better handling with a slightly stiffer ride

Premier gives you everything from the Luxury + Mark levinson stereo, air suspension, heads up display, kerb view + LED headlights etc

I usually stay away from cars with air suspension but the mileage is so low that its probably not a concern anyway.

 

In terms of the headlights, yes the LED's are absolutely awesome. I can't fault them in any way and they are much better than the HID's. The Premier has semi-aniline leather - slightly softer but needs more maintenance

[alvinsu]

Started to see some latest gen rx450h appear on autotrader. When do you think they will drop below 40k? I am seriously tempted to wait a bit. Or maybe get a last gen and keep for 2 or 3 years, then change again..

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, alvinsu said:

Started to see some latest gen rx450h appear on autotrader. When do you think they will drop below 40k? I am seriously tempted to wait a bit. Or maybe get a last gen and keep for 2 or 3 years, then change again..

Luxury spec 65 plate 4RX will hit £40k possibly at some point before the year ends. Most likely nov/Dec as they're already about £45k. Don't expect to get a huge discount on them though as they'll already be heavily discounted at that time of year and most likely ex demos

[Assa1974]

On 18/03/2016 at 11:13 AM, g00se said:

IMO that 70k '07 is a bit much..  i just paid £10.5k for an '07 with 49k on the clock.

if you could get the '07 for closer £9k that would be my choice.

goose

Turned out all 3 were a bust. The two higher mileage cars just weren't up to scratch (one had serious electrical issues actually) and although the lower mileage car was nice the dealer wasn't budging on price and was a right prick into the bargain, so I walked away. After that I decided to give up on the Lexus and look at  some other things.

 

Lo' and behold, I spot another car this morning - 07 plate with 80k miles at £7,500. Hot tailed it over first thing. Clearly done all of it's miles on the motorway given the number of stone chips and some dodgy door mouldings but it's got FLSH, one lady owner from new and the interior is immaculate. I doubt anyone has ever sat in the passenger seat. I pick it up on Wednesday. It won't cost a fortune to have the exterior touched up and get some new mouldings.

Funny how things work out!

[rayaans]

5 hours ago, Assa1974 said:

Turned out all 3 were a bust. The two higher mileage cars just weren't up to scratch (one had serious electrical issues actually) and although the lower mileage car was nice the dealer wasn't budging on price and was a right prick into the bargain, so I walked away. After that I decided to give up on the Lexus and look at  some other things.

 

Lo' and behold, I spot another car this morning - 07 plate with 80k miles at £7,500. Hot tailed it over first thing. Clearly done all of it's miles on the motorway given the number of stone chips and some dodgy door mouldings but it's got FLSH, one lady owner from new and the interior is immaculate. I doubt anyone has ever sat in the passenger seat. I pick it up on Wednesday. It won't cost a fortune to have the exterior touched up and get some new mouldings.

Funny how things work out!

Were you looking at cars at a Lexus dealer or independents? Ive not come across any serious issues on Lexus dealer cars - only cosmetic damage which they fix anyway i.e. dents and kerbed wheels.