RX 450h prices?

[harrylime]

Is it me, or have RX 450h prices shot up in the last few weeks? I've been looking at 2015 onwards for a while and my perception is that they've risen sharply. If I'm right, is this likely to be due to impending winter?

[Guest]

I have also noticed this but i think its due to the current climate of people looking to change to Hybrid vehicles.

[welland]

On 12/7/2018 at 2:17 PM, harrylime said:

Is it me, or have RX 450h prices shot up in the last few weeks? I've been looking at 2015 onwards for a while and my perception is that they've risen sharply. If I'm right, is this likely to be due to impending winter?

Has there been any movement in prices of rx400h as well? 

[BoldlyGo]

There is definitely switching going on from diesel to hybrid, but there is also a reliability switch going on. I've just acquired my first Lexus having been with a series of Range Rover sports since 2006.. reason to switch is that LR misdesigned positioning of the diesel particulate filter on the 2014 to 2017 diesel engines of evocque, discovery sport, discovery 5 and RR sport.. consequence is engines are getting oil dilution as diesel is seeping in as the particulate filter is blocking as it's not close enough to the engine to burn itself  clean . Interim services and failed engines/crankshafts have been occurring and LR are not guarenteeing supporting the work under warranty.   A good number of LR sport owners are throwing in the towel and I know at least 5 that have moved to the RX..

[olliesgrandad]

3 hours ago, BoldlyGo said:

There is definitely switching going on from diesel to hybrid, but there is also a reliability switch going on. I've just acquired my first Lexus having been with a series of Range Rover sports since 2006.. reason to switch is that LR misdesigned positioning of the diesel particulate filter on the 2014 to 2017 diesel engines of evocque, discovery sport, discovery 5 and RR sport.. consequence is engines are getting oil dilution as diesel is seeping in as the particulate filter is blocking as it's not close enough to the engine to burn itself  clean . Interim services and failed engines/crankshafts have been occurring and LR are not guarenteeing supporting the work under warranty.   A good number of LR sport owners are throwing in the towel and I know at least 5 that have moved to the RX..

The trouble is with modern diesels is that they work well for people like me who drive 500 miles a week in mixed conditions. Two people I know well ignored my advice and bought Audi and VW Golf diesels as 'shopping cars', engines never getting warm. Stratospheric bills on cars that are ultra low mileage and still having (and will have issues). Funny that car salesmen always sold the economy benefits and low tax. 

Never mention major engine issues though. 

I know of someone who's parents bought a new RAV 4 and junked the engine in less than 3000 miles.. 

I don't think the issue is with position of DPF it is because engine is not travelling far enough to warm up. 

I ran a fiat diesel, an Alfa diesel, 2 mini diesels and 2 Mercedes diesels over 140,000 miles and never had a DPF issue, in fact I never recollect seeing regeneration because the engines were always running hot. I changed to Lexus because of the quality 👍

[JeffL]

3 hours ago, olliesgrandad said:

The trouble is with modern diesels is that they work well for people like me who drive 500 miles a week in mixed conditions. Two people I know well ignored my advice and bought Audi and VW Golf diesels as 'shopping cars', engines never getting warm. Stratospheric bills on cars that are ultra low mileage and still having (and will have issues). Funny that car salesmen always sold the economy benefits and low tax. 

Never mention major engine issues though. 

I know of someone who's parents bought a new RAV 4 and junked the engine in less than 3000 miles.. 

I don't think the issue is with position of DPF it is because engine is not travelling far enough to warm up. 

I ran a fiat diesel, an Alfa diesel, 2 mini diesels and 2 Mercedes diesels over 140,000 miles and never had a DPF issue, in fact I never recollect seeing regeneration because the engines were always running hot. I changed to Lexus because of the quality 👍

I read about this virtually every week on the uk site honestjohn.co.uk. As above, people buying diesel for low mileage and short journey lifestyles. Why don't people do proper research before buying! That's what great about reading honestjohn and this forum......

[ISJason]

There is definitely switching going on from diesel to hybrid, but there is also a reliability switch going on. I've just acquired my first Lexus having been with a series of Range Rover sports since 2006.. reason to switch is that LR misdesigned positioning of the diesel particulate filter on the 2014 to 2017 diesel engines of evocque, discovery sport, discovery 5 and RR sport.. consequence is engines are getting oil dilution as diesel is seeping in as the particulate filter is blocking as it's not close enough to the engine to burn itself  clean . Interim services and failed engines/crankshafts have been occurring and LR are not guarenteeing supporting the work under warranty.   A good number of LR sport owners are throwing in the towel and I know at least 5 that have moved to the RX..

Sensible people moving to Lexus.. LR are total rubbish from experience.


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[Mr Vlad]

Nothing wrong with diesels doing short journeys so longs as once a week they go on a 20 plus mile run.

As for RX prices going up. Rubbish. I can buy a very similar spec RX to mine for £1.5k Less than I paid for mine 6 or so months ago.

What you pay for one and what they're worth (in case of a total write off for example) is horrendous. If my car got totalled then I'd get 5.5k less than what I paid for it.

[Spottedlaurel]

Interesting to read these thoughts on RX pricing. I'm the former owner of a cheap LS400 and have owned numerous Toyotas over the years (currently have Avensis, Auris and Camry on the driveway as well as several Datsun/Nissan), but I'm now looking to move onto a 2013-15 RX sometime next year. Fellow LOC member Jumpingjehovahs kindly let me have a drive of his RX recently and it did nothing to dissuade me.....

 

I'm hoping that as the current model becomes more widespread on the used market then values of the previous-gen RX will soften. Maybe it's the time of year and customers are spending money elsewhere, but on my regular search I've noticed main dealer examples starting to drop a bit, with Derby now advertising a 2014 Advance with 44k miles for less than £21k and Sidcup having a 2014 Sport for £22,400 (listed at £400 higher on AutoTrader). Just noticed they've added a 2013 Luxury at less than £22k.

 

I'm picking up some useful info from reading this forum, which should put me in a good position when I get to the point of visiting dealers sometime in February/March next year. Looks like there should be enough around at the right price/mileage to give me a bit of choice (not white, no panoramic roof, no air suspension).

 

A quick question: Do Lexus dealers have the ability to adjust their interest rates on finance? Some, like Steven Eagell, quote lower figures than others, but as far as I'm aware they all go through Lexus Financial Services?

 

I wish Toyota/Lexus offered a bit more choice in the large estate sector. An RX wouldn't necessarily be what I'd go for, although having now driven one I can see they are a fine thing and would suit me well. An estate version of the IS or GS would have been fine for me as a more interesting replacement to my current Avensis, but of course there is no such thing, and I believe the forthcoming Camry is only coming here as a saloon. A shame, especially when the Germans and Volvo offer so much choice in this sector.

 

 

[Iwantanrx450h]

Hello. I’ve been a silent member of this forum for over a year; I’ve read every thread and tried to take in all the excellent advice, and I’m ready to make my purchase. My budget £20k for a facelift RX450h, but can stretch a little bit for the right car. I drove a couple of examples in October but didn’t quite find the right one, and having noticed the price rises in the last few months I decided to wait a little for price to return to normal; the Derby car then came up just over my budget but younger and lower miles than I was aiming for so I went for it.

I was taking a long weekend in Somerset so I cut the break short and drove up to Derby this morning to test drive (and hopefully buy) the 2014 advance. There was a fantastic greeting by the team in Derby, the car interior was immaculate (clearly careful owners) and drove perfectly (having been through Lexus workshop already). The bodywork was in a bit of a state but they had told me about this on the phone when I made the appointment (near side rear door has been painted a slightly darker shade than the rest, front bumper is lighter than the rest of the bodywork, there were a few scrapes / scuffs / small dents, and plenty of evidence of poor quality repair work (overspray/rough surface finish) on the rear bumper and off side front wing. But the salesman agreed to have all the bodywork sorted out before purchase (I guess painting more than half the car!) and I was happy with this).

We sat down to do the deal but it all fell apart when the salesman wanted £3,301 more than the car was advertised at. I showed him the dealership website advert (£20,859) and matching Autotrader advert. He went off and came back with the dealership Principal, both looking very embarrassed and explained there was a mistake on the website, but that they actually wanted £24,191 for the car and they would not honour the price the car was advertised at. So I left feeling incredibly disappointed and like I had wasted my day.

Ah well, I’ll keep looking. On a positive note I learned that, given the choice, I’d avoid the panoramic roof since it limited headroom for me (not a deal breaker though).

I'm sure the website price will be fixed by tomorrow, and it should make a nice car (after the bodywork has been sorted) for someone who has the £24k budget.

[Spottedlaurel]

Sounds like there's a lesson there, sorry to hear it didn't work out. It did seem cheap compared to others at main dealers.

 

Looks like £22-23k will still be the figure I'm working to.

[olliesgrandad]

20 hours ago, Iwantanrx450h said:

Hello. I’ve been a silent member of this forum for over a year; I’ve read every thread and tried to take in all the excellent advice, and I’m ready to make my purchase. My budget £20k for a facelift RX450h, but can stretch a little bit for the right car. I drove a couple of examples in October but didn’t quite find the right one, and having noticed the price rises in the last few months I decided to wait a little for price to return to normal; the Derby car then came up just over my budget but younger and lower miles than I was aiming for so I went for it.

I was taking a long weekend in Somerset so I cut the break short and drove up to Derby this morning to test drive (and hopefully buy) the 2014 advance. There was a fantastic greeting by the team in Derby, the car interior was immaculate (clearly careful owners) and drove perfectly (having been through Lexus workshop already). The bodywork was in a bit of a state but they had told me about this on the phone when I made the appointment (near side rear door has been painted a slightly darker shade than the rest, front bumper is lighter than the rest of the bodywork, there were a few scrapes / scuffs / small dents, and plenty of evidence of poor quality repair work (overspray/rough surface finish) on the rear bumper and off side front wing. But the salesman agreed to have all the bodywork sorted out before purchase (I guess painting more than half the car!) and I was happy with this).

We sat down to do the deal but it all fell apart when the salesman wanted £3,301 more than the car was advertised at. I showed him the dealership website advert (£20,859) and matching Autotrader advert. He went off and came back with the dealership Principal, both looking very embarrassed and explained there was a mistake on the website, but that they actually wanted £24,191 for the car and they would not honour the price the car was advertised at. So I left feeling incredibly disappointed and like I had wasted my day.

Ah well, I’ll keep looking. On a positive note I learned that, given the choice, I’d avoid the panoramic roof since it limited headroom for me (not a deal breaker though).

I'm sure the website price will be fixed by tomorrow, and it should make a nice car (after the bodywork has been sorted) for someone who has the £24k budget.

My car came from the same source and was bought based upon description. When collected it required extensive cosmetic paintwork which they tried to deal with by smart repair. They realised it wasn't going to work and so the rear offside door and the tailgate were refinished in their Lexus Bodyshop in Leicester. The tailgate was refinished as a warranty claim. 

[Bearded_Azn]

I did notice a price increse probably due to ULEZ, but was able to get my RX450 H 2014 luxury model for £18,500.

 

Very pleased indeed.

[Spottedlaurel]

Sounds like a good price. What mileage?

 

I presume that wasn't through a main dealer.

 

Steven Eagell have what appears to be the perfect example for me, even down to it having a sunroof and just down the road at Ipswich, and their interest rates seem to have dropped even lower in the last week, but it's white and that's one thing I am definite on not wanting. I think I'll be having a chat with them soon, I'm sure they'll have the right one turn up soon enough as people move onto the new model.

[jumpingjehovahs]

That is an amazing price, I paid the thick end of £18k for a 2010!

SL, I had an email from Steven Eagell this morning advising me of 0% interest rates at the moment for a January Sale. It sounds like a real shame that your local one is white!


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[Spottedlaurel]

1 hour ago, jumpingjehovahs said:

SL, I had an email from Steven Eagell this morning advising me of 0% interest rates at the moment for a January Sale. It sounds like a real shame that your local one is white!

I wonder if that deal applies to all Toyota/Lexus dealers? I had something similar come through from SLM Toyota who I've bought several cars from and also use for servicing. The small print on the SLM offer suggests it's for two years only and requires 25% deposit.

[Charlie1955]

Prices seem to be holding up well in the second hand market. I bought my 2011 RX450h 112,000 miles with FLSH 10 months ago for £11000 with a couple of small cosmetic issues.

[Nigel-Lexus Owner]

On 12/30/2018 at 4:21 PM, Charlie1955 said:

Prices seem to be holding up well in the second hand market. I bought my 2011 RX450h 112,000 miles with FLSH 10 months ago for £11000 with a couple of small cosmetic issues.

Just to add my view: I have purchased a 2012 RX450h with 161,000 miles in May 2018 for £11,500 and drove it about 9K by now. So 170,000 and nothing wrong with the car. Amazing reliability. When I purchase it, there was one company owner from new with all Lexus stamps and services. I just test drive it a bit and call Lexus from the stamps to confirm they have serviced the car. As soon as they confirmed that, I have purchased it( from a small independent dealer in Surrey, where I live). 

I am writing this to let people know these large engine cars with 2 electrical motors can do a lot of miles and they are great cars. A friend of mine is a mechanic and he told me the hybrid gets a lot of help on a stop start traffic from the electrical engines. They help the petrol engine with the start, when the most torque is required and that does not stress the petrol engine.

If you have not decided on a car yet and are even considering anything else, please go to your local Lexus and just test drive one. 

All the best. Hope in a few years time, I would be able to announce the 200,000 miles and more after that.

Happy driving

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks and sounds like a great car for that price.

 

I am visiting my local Lexus dealer tomorrow.....

 

Sadly they don't have an RX I can test drive, as they've just sold the one they had at Ipswich and looking online it appears that a few of the ones I'd seen over Christmas have gone. But I can at least get a valuation on my current car and have a chat about others they have within the group.

 

Sidcup appear to be quite aggressive in their pricing, with several examples around £22-23k. Cambridge are quite the opposite, with a pair of Premiers both priced significantly above what anyone else is offering. One of them is the most expensive series 3 on AutoTrader, at a price that's only £1500 less than 16-plate series 4 models with less mileage on the clock. 

[jumpingjehovahs]

Looks and sounds like a great car for that price.
 
I am visiting my local Lexus dealer tomorrow.....
 
Sadly they don't have an RX I can test drive, as they've just sold the one they had at Ipswich and looking online it appears that a few of the ones I'd seen over Christmas have gone. But I can at least get a valuation on my current car and have a chat about others they have within the group.
 
Sidcup appear to be quite aggressive in their pricing, with several examples around £22-23k. Cambridge are quite the opposite, with a pair of Premiers both priced significantly above what anyone else is offering. One of them is the most expensive series 3 on AutoTrader, at a price that's only £1500 less than 16-plate series 4 models with less mileage on the clock. 

Excited to hear you’re starting the process! I found Cambridge extremely expensive too (hence going to Stockport). Guildford seemed good value for money and seemed to have good stocks. (A long way from you I know!)

Good luck!


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[WESTIE]

Hi Nigel

I know its a long way from you but Lexus Reading currently have 17 in stock and are always up for a deal.

Happy hunting

Tony

[Herbie]

If you see one that you like anywhere in the country, you can ask them to do a video walk-round of it for you. Of course, if you like the look of it you'll still want to test drive it and then you just have to be prepared to travel.

We drove over 200 miles for our RX300 and about 120 miles when we traded that in for our current RX450h.

We went from Preston to Lexus Teeside for the 450h and the sales guy I spoke to must have known that we were hooked from the off. I said that if it drove as well as it looked, we'd be wanting to come up in the 300 and do the deal there and then, leaving in the 450h and that's exactly what we did.

[GSLV6]

I think what you pay used depends entirely on demand at the time of looking and what's available.  I was tempted earlier in the year to chop my 2015 RX F-Sport in for the newer "L" model as I wanted the extra space.  Mine was valued at £26.5K with extras over standard including premium ML stereo, roof bars, LED lights, 19 inch alloys, HUD plus other upgrades and then it had 25K miles on the clock and was blemish free (still is).

I decided not to go ahead with the change because I was disappointed in just what little extra space the newer 450L version had (I wanted something that would release two of the three rear seats when packing in our full camping outfit...the tent is a particularly big one!) but was offered no discount on the new prices which started at over £55K.  Given that mine was around the £58K mark with the extras when new, to lose over 30K in 4 short years was an eye watering realisation of just what devaluation these cars suffer but saying that, it's still not as steep as say a Jaguar car depreciation of the same year, or any other prestige marque including BMW.

Where people score with Lexus is in whole life running costs.  A mate has a new F-Pace, another has an X3.  The guy with the jag wouldn't dream of buying one, and has his on PCP because with depreciation and reliability issues, it works out cheaper than buying one and suffering depreciation plus the risk (STILL a big one with Jags it seems) of going wrong.  The guy with the X3 has suffered transmission problems...very costly repair bills and depreciation was steeper percentage-wise than the RX.

Looking around for a second vehicle, we discounted diesel totally.  The last three that we've owned from Volvo, Mercedes and Skoda have all proved unreliable even with long trips every few weeks.  The Merc was the best (older style W204 220CDi) but has multiple sensor failures (a grand's worth to rectify), the Volvo suffered multiple expensive transmission issues and electrical faults and the Skoda Fabia vRS was hellishly expensive after a 5 year ownership period.  New suspension bushes, new Garret Turbo at 75K miles (£1300), new discs and pads, new caliper, new engine mounts, egr bypass and re-map for economy, inlet manifold removed for cleaning etc etc etc.  I would never ever buy a diesel again.  DMF and clutch irrespective of make will usually want replacing on manual cars circa 100K miles (£1000), turbos if you're unlucky, will go,  DMF failures are still common (many of my mates have suffered dmf issues with theirs), and euro 6 engines operating higher boost and direct injection seem to need more frequent servicing (mech says that oil dilution with gas/diesel is a common issue with most direct injection engines) plus they've all had to become horrendously complex to pass EU emissions.

Petrol engines just seem to be more reliable and cheaper to run longer term (bar fuel costs) if regularly serviced.  At least that is they seem to suffer less issues.  Our petrol engined cars have all been more reliable long term.

When the skoda went, we replaced that with a 2016 Honda civic 1.8 i-vtec petrol after trying the 1.6 diesel (hated it...unrefined imho, gutless and will no doubt suffer similar issues to other diesels).  We were lucky in finding a mint low miles example of the very l;ast of the 1.8 i-vtec engined cars....possibly the most reliable petrol engine ever made, after the Lexus 3 litre V-6 and V-8 motors.

My advice to anyone looking in and contemplating a Lexus is this:  don't buy one if you are buying purely on fuel economy....RX hybrids are NOT cheap to run fuel-wise.  Over a 2 year period with a very careful right boot, driving in mainly hilly areas, I have averaged 30mpg.  That's your lot.  If you live in the Fens of Lincolnshire you may see closer to 36mpg average.  Don't expect any more.

You buy an RX (or any other petrol hybrid Lexus) for peace of mind....low running costs, comparatively speaking, due to great reliability and build quality, and customer service from dealerships that other makes look on with envy at.  Is it worth holding out for one with all the bells and whistles?  Yes, if buying used as used prices don't really reflect the differences in costs new between models.  The sweet spot for post 2012 Mk3 RX's is the Advance Plus or F-Sport (which handles better) or if you fancy a more luxurious ride, the Premier.  Bear in mind that active suspension can go wrong and if buying one, best to take out Lexus's excellent extended warranty which applies to all cars up to 10 years old.  It's worth the extra..so budget for it. I did, and had a new steering rack £1800 incl fitting otherwise) in the first year as it was making a knocking noise.  It functioned fine but the dealership recommended as I had the warranty, to replace it, which I did.

I can't say that used prices have crept up as new prices have.  When I was looking a few years back, a 2 year old F-Sport spec'd up like ours with less than 15K miles averaged £33K.  Because the Mk4 came out, a 2 year old one now will cost you more, but bear in mind a similarly specified new car these days is £5K more to buy than the last of the Mk3's in the first place.  I priced a new Mk4 to our specification and it came out at over £60K on the road.  That's probably why used prices for 2 or 3 year old cars have risen but go back to 2015, and there's a significant price drop.  That's where to look for a used RX.  Trying the Mk4, I saw and felt very little difference in overall performance and driving than mine, but I much prefer the interior on the new ones.  Ask yourself whether buying that new interior and a smidgen more space is worth paying £1000's more for...I don't think it is.  The bargains are all in late model Mk3 RX cars.  Forget the mileage and buy on condition, specification and service history and you won't go wrong.  £25K buys a great low miles highly specified example, 18K still buys a good one a year or two older.

[olliesgrandad]

38 minutes ago, GSLV6 said:

I think what you pay used depends entirely on demand at the time of looking and what's available.  I was tempted earlier in the year to chop my 2015 RX F-Sport in for the newer "L" model as I wanted the extra space.  Mine was valued at £26.5K with extras over standard including premium ML stereo, roof bars, LED lights, 19 inch alloys, HUD plus other upgrades and then it had 25K miles on the clock and was blemish free (still is).

I decided not to go ahead with the change because I was disappointed in just what little extra space the newer 450L version had (I wanted something that would release two of the three rear seats when packing in our full camping outfit...the tent is a particularly big one!) but was offered no discount on the new prices which started at over £55K.  Given that mine was around the £58K mark with the extras when new, to lose over 30K in 4 short years was an eye watering realisation of just what devaluation these cars suffer but saying that, it's still not as steep as say a Jaguar car depreciation of the same year, or any other prestige marque including BMW.

Where people score with Lexus is in whole life running costs.  A mate has a new F-Pace, another has an X3.  The guy with the jag wouldn't dream of buying one, and has his on PCP because with depreciation and reliability issues, it works out cheaper than buying one and suffering depreciation plus the risk (STILL a big one with Jags it seems) of going wrong.  The guy with the X3 has suffered transmission problems...very costly repair bills and depreciation was steeper percentage-wise than the RX.

Looking around for a second vehicle, we discounted diesel totally.  The last three that we've owned from Volvo, Mercedes and Skoda have all proved unreliable even with long trips every few weeks.  The Merc was the best (older style W204 220CDi) but has multiple sensor failures (a grand's worth to rectify), the Volvo suffered multiple expensive transmission issues and electrical faults and the Skoda Fabia vRS was hellishly expensive after a 5 year ownership period.  New suspension bushes, new Garret Turbo at 75K miles (£1300), new discs and pads, new caliper, new engine mounts, egr bypass and re-map for economy, inlet manifold removed for cleaning etc etc etc.  I would never ever buy a diesel again.  DMF and clutch irrespective of make will usually want replacing on manual cars circa 100K miles (£1000), turbos if you're unlucky, will go,  DMF failures are still common (many of my mates have suffered dmf issues with theirs), and euro 6 engines operating higher boost and direct injection seem to need more frequent servicing (mech says that oil dilution with gas/diesel is a common issue with most direct injection engines) plus they've all had to become horrendously complex to pass EU emissions.

Petrol engines just seem to be more reliable and cheaper to run longer term (bar fuel costs) if regularly serviced.  At least that is they seem to suffer less issues.  Our petrol engined cars have all been more reliable long term.

When the skoda went, we replaced that with a 2016 Honda civic 1.8 i-vtec petrol after trying the 1.6 diesel (hated it...unrefined imho, gutless and will no doubt suffer similar issues to other diesels).  We were lucky in finding a mint low miles example of the very l;ast of the 1.8 i-vtec engined cars....possibly the most reliable petrol engine ever made, after the Lexus 3 litre V-6 and V-8 motors.

My advice to anyone looking in and contemplating a Lexus is this:  don't buy one if you are buying purely on fuel economy....RX hybrids are NOT cheap to run fuel-wise.  Over a 2 year period with a very careful right boot, driving in mainly hilly areas, I have averaged 30mpg.  That's your lot.  If you live in the Fens of Lincolnshire you may see closer to 36mpg average.  Don't expect any more.

You buy an RX (or any other petrol hybrid Lexus) for peace of mind....low running costs, comparatively speaking, due to great reliability and build quality, and customer service from dealerships that other makes look on with envy at.  Is it worth holding out for one with all the bells and whistles?  Yes, if buying used as used prices don't really reflect the differences in costs new between models.  The sweet spot for post 2012 Mk3 RX's is the Advance Plus or F-Sport (which handles better) or if you fancy a more luxurious ride, the Premier.  Bear in mind that active suspension can go wrong and if buying one, best to take out Lexus's excellent extended warranty which applies to all cars up to 10 years old.  It's worth the extra..so budget for it. I did, and had a new steering rack £1800 incl fitting otherwise) in the first year as it was making a knocking noise.  It functioned fine but the dealership recommended as I had the warranty, to replace it, which I did.

I can't say that used prices have crept up as new prices have.  When I was looking a few years back, a 2 year old F-Sport spec'd up like ours with less than 15K miles averaged £33K.  Because the Mk4 came out, a 2 year old one now will cost you more, but bear in mind a similarly specified new car these days is £5K more to buy than the last of the Mk3's in the first place.  I priced a new Mk4 to our specification and it came out at over £60K on the road.  That's probably why used prices for 2 or 3 year old cars have risen but go back to 2015, and there's a significant price drop.  That's where to look for a used RX.  Trying the Mk4, I saw and felt very little difference in overall performance and driving than mine, but I much prefer the interior on the new ones.  Ask yourself whether buying that new interior and a smidgen more space is worth paying £1000's more for...I don't think it is.  The bargains are all in late model Mk3 RX cars.  Forget the mileage and buy on condition, specification and service history and you won't go wrong.  £25K buys a great low miles highly specified example, 18K still buys a good one a year or two older.

Great write up and a sound guide to buying a fantastic premium product for the price of a new mainstream vehicle. Yes fuel consumption doesn't seem wonderful, but the reality is that not that many years ago 1.3 engined cars struggled to get similar economy figures. I endorse everything said about modern Mercedes. The build quality of the cars are nothing special and the dealership experience leaves much to be desired. 

[GSLV6]

Yes, fuel economy is still better than an average 2 litre family saloon of say a decade or more ago.   Don't even get me started on these newer small capacity "disposable" direct injection puny little petrol engines stressed up to the nines with turbo charging, super charging or both!  Few normally aspirated petrol cars of 1.8 to 2 litre in a medium to large body style, in reality, better mid 30mpg average, even Honda's excellent little i-vtec unit.  Our 2.2 Merc Diesel estate in auto trim (Avantgarde Sport model I think) only managed 36mpg average.  The Lexus GS300 (2007 V6 model) bettered it on a long run.  I drove to the Lake district and back a few years ago in that, fully loaded and averaged over 40mpg!  I miss the GS...it was faster, handled better and was more luxurious, better specified and better made I think that my current RX.  Only sold it as I galled spending over £500 a year to tax it plus mileage was creeping up.  The RX is a fine vehicle though and I don't miss the better road handling of the GS enough to go back to one....I dislike the later hybrid models which are too firmly sprung to offer a decent enough ride quality.  The RX having longer travel suspension may have slightly coarser road manners but is still the more comfortable ride than the newer GS.  At least the F-Sport we run is.  Whatever people buy in RX trim, they're unlikely to be disappointed but it does take a longer term ownership to really appreciate them.  If you jump in and do a direct comparison with your own car when looking to change it, you may judge the RX prematurely by comparisons of ride or handling alone.  Longer term you'll come to appreciate its practicality, the effortless pulling power (even if that engine does rev loudly when on CVT howl to maintain peak torque)  comfort, longer term reliability and satisfaction of ownership.