RX advice

ianom · January 29, 2017

Hi there.

New to the world of Lexus and hoping for some advice/opinions.

Which is the better option for second hand purchase around 5 to 7k. RX 300 / RX350/RX 400 in terms of reliability ; economy of fuel,servicing costs.

Is an lpg conversion an economic option and are there any downsides to that.?

Would very much appreciate any helpful observations.

Many thanks in advance

Ian

PCM · January 29, 2017

I guess it depends on your requirements?

I think a really good search of this forum answers lots of questions.

When I was looking, I read almost every RX thread there was.

So useful!

sorcerer · January 29, 2017

Got our RX300 around the end of May and done over 10,000 miles in her since. She had almost 80k on the clock when we bought her and we paid £5,500, which may have been slightly over the odds. If time was on our side we may have been able to get a better example for that money, maybe one that already had the cambelt and water pump changed for instance, instead of having to have that done myself. However, our previous car had just about had it and was becoming very unreliable so we had to get a replacement quickly.

We've spent a fair bit of money on it in terms of having all fluids (and where appropriate, filters) changed, cambelt, water pump, four new tyres and also had it converted to LPG. However, we now have a brilliant car that should, hopefully, see us get at least another 100,000 miles of trouble-free motoring done - and it really IS a superb drive!

The LPG conversion cost us £1,400 and I am VERY pleased with it. It was done by Simon of LPGC in South Elmsall, Yorkshire and believe me, the guy is an absolute genius. He's done an absolutely fantastic job, very neat and tidy and his knowledge and skill are second to none. Have a look in the LPG Forum and you'll see some of his conversions and a lot of his knowledge - he's in the forum as LPGC.

You can see a couple of pictures of my conversion and a bit of info about it here:

As to fuel economy, it definitely drinks fuel for fun, but thank goodness for LPG

As we all know, fuel costs vary greatly around the country so perhaps these can't be taken as direct, like-for-like comparisons but, have a look at the pics below. They show an RX400h at 19.6p/mile, a petrol RX300 at 22.5p/mile, and my LPG RX300 at 12.6p/mile

rayaans · January 30, 2017

Which is the best option from those?

Thats an extremely tricky question to ask as opinions will vary based on what people have owned! Nevertheless, I will kindly impart my advice upon you and it is:

Find any of those mentioned in your budget, in good condition and with a comprehensive history and I doubt you'd go wrong.

DanD · January 30, 2017

Depends also on how much mileage you cover, and on what type of roads.

plastic orange · January 30, 2017

My wife got a nice RX300 SE almost 2 years ago (100,00 miles) - no air suspension and in very nice order for £5700 with full lexus history (cam belt done and serviced). In the almost 2 years and around 10k miles we've had it, it's had a front wheel bearing, rear O/S caliper and a set of front pads and a rear suspension stabiliser bar link, plus an annual air con refresh as it seems to stop working after a while despite no leaks. I was a bit disappointed at the underside rust, but it doesn't seem structural. For peace of mind I drained and refilled auto box, and will do this again soon (using Toyota fluid).

Downside to ownership is fuel consumption - around 19 - 20 overall with best of 27 on long run, but it is nearly 2 tons and permanent 4wd. My wife likes it so much that my daughter in law bought one too (same age and spec) 9 months ago for £4.5k with lower mileage and full lexus history. It's only needed basic servicing so far.

Plenty out there, but there are some dogs, so look carefully and check underside closely. I'm not convinced about the later hybrids, but plenty folk like them, and they seem reliable too. I certainly wouldn't be up for paying £500 a year road tax for anything, so I'll keep my LS 400 for now.

Pete

sorcerer · January 30, 2017

1 hour ago, plastic orange said:

My wife got a nice RX300 SE [...] Downside to ownership is fuel consumption - around 19 - 20 overall with best of 27 on long run

This is so weird. Before I had mine converted to LPG and was just running on petrol I never managed anything like that - and I have to say that I was driving like Miss Daisy! The sight of the petrol gauge going down so fast was frightening!. My best ever was about 22 on a long run and about 17 around town, which matches with what Rayann said he got above*. I've also seen a couple of others say that their figures are as high as what you're getting so I wonder why there's such a big difference? At least mine drinks nice cheap LPG now but this does make me wonder if I could somehow get a little bit more out of it.

*Sorry, Rayann has mentioned that his RX300 did about 16 most of the time but it was in a different thread, not this one

plastic orange · January 30, 2017

My daughter in law's one gets better mileage than my wife's - up to 2 mpg better on average.

Pete

DanD · January 31, 2017

15 hours ago, plastic orange said:

I'm not convinced about the later hybrids

Why not? What are your reservations/concerns?

plastic orange · January 31, 2017

19 minutes ago, DanD said:

Why not? What are your reservations/concerns?

Basically, there is just so much more to go wrong and I'm not keen on cvt transmission, however, in future years I may be forced down this route. Also I don't think that real life mpg is hugely better for the price.

Pete

Fsport · January 31, 2017

Four fig repair costs for potential hybrid 400h issues in addition to hardly any mpg improvement renders a 400h a no go for me.

The £500 annual tax means the RX350 is also a no go.

Get a 04/05 RX300 SE (not SEL)

rayaans · January 31, 2017

5 hours ago, plastic orange said:

Basically, there is just so much more to go wrong and I'm not keen on cvt transmission, however, in future years I may be forced down this route. Also I don't think that real life mpg is hugely better for the price.

Pete

Have you driven the CVT rather than read about it? I find a lot of owners don't really notice it once they drive the car rather than read the countless reviews.

TBH the CVT is smoother than the boxes in the RX300 and RX350 which has slight hesitancy in certain situations

plastic orange · January 31, 2017

6 hours ago, rayaans said:

Have you driven the CVT rather than read about it? I find a lot of owners don't really notice it once they drive the car rather than read the countless reviews.

TBH the CVT is smoother than the boxes in the RX300 and RX350 which has slight hesitancy in certain situations

Only CVT i've driven is some old Volvos (dafs) and didn't like the way the engine speed remained high when accelerating and then slowed to cruising speed and the almost clutch slipping feel it gave. I appreciate that the technology is somewhat different now, and I really should have a go in order to confirm how they drive. Still doesn't overcome the additional tech of batteries etc though.

Pete

Zotto · February 1, 2017

The big mistake is that CVT in Lexus-Toyota hybrids is NOT the old CVT with belts, it's a system to cope thermal and electric engines in a completely different way, so thinking to it like a DAF transmission is misleading. They should have called it with a different name instead of eCVT.

rayaans · February 1, 2017

13 hours ago, plastic orange said:

Only CVT i've driven is some old Volvos (dafs) and didn't like the way the engine speed remained high when accelerating and then slowed to cruising speed and the almost clutch slipping feel it gave. I appreciate that the technology is somewhat different now, and I really should have a go in order to confirm how they drive. Still doesn't overcome the additional tech of batteries etc though.

Pete

Its definitely worth a test drive - you won't be able to put your foot down for long in the 400h/450h thats for sure, especially on public roads.

The CVT in the RX is actually an e-CVT, a planetary gear system rather than belts and pullies

julian1969 · February 1, 2017

For the Prius but the principle is the same

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

DanD · February 1, 2017

I agree.

You have to experience the CVT over an extended test drive. I was skeptical myself, but when on a 24 hour test drive was impressed on just how smooth the CVT is.;.. and have not looked back since. Yes it does hold on to the revs but in practice you rarely notice the temporary increase in noise because of the power, the engine note and excellent noise insulation. It is cheaper to run (tax and MPG) than the 300/350. On the other hand, I guess that if you don't do a lot of miles, the non-hybrid may prove cheaper in the long run.

With regards to the hybrid system, I am yet to hear of anyone who has had any major issue with it.

You are probably correct that the number of hybrids and EV will become the norm over the next few years. I was in California for work earlier this month and the number of Nissan Leaf, Teslas, and Toyota/Honda Hybrids was incredible. You see as many Teslas over there than you do Mondeos over there. Oh, and you do see electric Mondeos and Focuses too!. Once on the motorway on my evening commute I counted no less than 12 Nissan Leafs in a row!!! Admittedly, California is not representative of the all US.

sorcerer · February 1, 2017

On 31/01/2017 at 11:31 AM, plastic orange said:

Basically, there is just so much more to go wrong and I'm not keen on cvt transmission, however, in future years I may be forced down this route. Also I don't think that real life mpg is hugely better for the price.

Pete

I would have chosen a 400h purely for the CVT but it just didn't make economical sense. Tax is only £35 cheaper than a petrol RX300 (£260 as opposed to £295) and the fuel economy is only marginally better than a petrol RX300. Although I would have liked the CVT and the idea of a hybrid, it just made more sense to buy a petrol one and convert it to LPG.