Why shouldn't I buy an Rx400h ?

[IanA2]

 

 

As above.

Having finally decided not to buy a fairly new hybrid, (can't really justify it for around 2,500 miles pa) and having pretty much given up the local (ish) search for that hen's tooth, aka an Rx350, my thoughts are turning to a 400h. All my research says that a carefully chosen example with Battery insurance should be ok. That said, I'm a hybrid virgin and am just a wee bit nervous about the unknown.

Thoughts gratefully received.

 

Thanks

[royoftherovers]

44 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

 

 

As above.

Having finally decided not to buy a fairly new hybrid, (can't really justify it for around 2,500 miles pa) and having pretty much given up the local (ish) search for that hen's tooth, aka an Rx350, my thoughts are turning to a 400h. All my research says that a carefully chosen example with battery insurance should be ok. That said, I'm a hybrid virgin and am just a wee bit nervous about the unknown.

Thoughts gratefully received.

 

Thanks

What is "Battery insurance" Ian?

12v or Hybrid and if the latter who can provide that?

[Rutlandlex]

With that kind of mileage I'm not sure that a hybrid is best suited.  You've got 2 batteries to keep charged in a hybrid and if you're not doing enough miles then the traction Battery is not going to be charged well meaning that the engine will be running permanently and that defeats the object of a hybrid.

It depends on whether your journeys will be infrequent but reasonably long or frequent but short.  For the former you will need a good 12v Battery that won't drain too much while the car is standing and for the latter I would think about getting a normal car.

If I was doing that kind of mileage then I'd get a V8 Jeep Cherokee or something like that 😁

[IanA2]

Ah, ok, I thought Lexus sold some sort of hybrid Battery warranty/insurance. Did I get that wrong?

[Rutlandlex]

I think they will give you a 12 month warranty on the Battery if you pay them for a hybrid health check but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

[Herbie]

4 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

Ah, ok, I thought Lexus sold some sort of hybrid battery warranty/insurance. Did I get that wrong?

They do a 'Hybrid Health Check' for about £60 or £70 that, if everything is ok, covers the Battery for a year.

[IanA2]

2 minutes ago, Rutlandlex said:

With that kind of mileage I'm not sure that a hybrid is best suited.  You've got 2 batteries to keep charged in a hybrid and if you're not doing enough miles then the traction battery is not going to be charged well meaning that the engine will be running permanently and that defeats the object of a hybrid.

It depends on whether your journeys will be infrequent but reasonably long or frequent but short.  For the former you will need a good 12v battery that won't drain too much while the car is standing and for the latter I would think about getting a normal car.

If I was doing that kind of mileage then I'd get a V8 Jeep Cherokee or something like that 😁

Trips over the last few years tend to be a regular weekly 25 mile round trip, a few shorter, and the (very) occasional round trips of about 60 miles. 

Would that be enough for the hybrid, do you think?

I hardly drive at all these days by virtue of assorted disabilities, otherwise I would still be impersonating Mr Toad in my (now gone) SL60. I still have G Wagon, but that's going too as I can hardly get into it without a step ladder 😞

[IanA2]

6 minutes ago, Herbie said:

They do a 'Hybrid Health Check' for about £60 or £70 that, if everything is ok, covers the battery for a year.

Seems like a good deal.

[IanA2]

15 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

What is "battery insurance" Ian?

12v or Hybrid and if the latter who can provide that?

see below 🙂

[IanA2]

9 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

see below 🙂

https://www.steveneagelllexus.co.uk/offers/hybrid-health-check/11394/offerdetail.aspx

[royoftherovers]

7 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

https://www.steveneagelllexus.co.uk/offers/hybrid-health-check/11394/offerdetail.aspx

Thanks Ian.I do know about that, but what I do not know are the associated Terms and Conditions which will apply. You will need to speak to your local Lexus Dealer for the details and I (and others I am sure) would be interested to know what you find out. I smell a catch !!

[IanA2]

As Mrs Beeton instructed, first catch your car....🙂

It might be that our mileage precludes a hybrid, in which case I'll be refocussing on a 350. there are n:-(ot that many for sale, and those that are seem to be miles away.

I don't travel like I used to.....:-(

[Rutlandlex]

22 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

Trips over the last few years tend to be a regular weekly 25 mile round trip, a few shorter, and the (very) occasional round trips of about 60 miles. 

Would that be enough for the hybrid, do you think?

I hardly drive at all these days by virtue of assorted disabilities, otherwise I would still be impersonating Mr Toad in my (now gone) SL60. I still have G Wagon, but that's going too as I can hardly get into it without a step ladder 😞

You might get away with a hybrid then if that's what you do.  As I said previously the 12v Battery on a used car might not take too well to being stood around so much so you might have to get a new one of those but that's only about £100.

[vadre]

What about an RX300. Not much difference compared to the RX350, especially at the low mileage you cover. I would avoid the SE-L model with the air suspension though.

[IanA2]

• 3 minutes ago, Rutlandlex said:

  You might get away with a hybrid then if that's what you do.  As I said previously the 12v battery on a used car might not take too well to being stood around so much so you might have to get a new one of those but that's only about £100.

  We already keep our wagons pretty much permanently on trickle, so nothing new there; but you reckon the mileage, low as it is, should probably be ok. That's good to know, thanks.

[IanA2]

2 minutes ago, vadre said:

What about an RX300. Not much difference compared to the RX350, especially at the low mileage you cover. I would avoid the SE-L model with the air suspension though.

Had a 300 before, MrsIA2 (and me) found it a bit slack in the bhp department.

Does the 40o SE-L have air suspension, I thought not.

[Rutlandlex]

The petrol SE-L's have air suspension but the hybrids don't

[IanA2]

11 minutes ago, Rutlandlex said:

The petrol SE-L's have air suspension but the hybrids don't

Thanks, I am deeply suspicious of air suspension.

 

I shall plow on, I suspect a 350 is the more practical solution, whilst the 400 will probably be the available solution.

Thanks everybody for all the useful help/pointers.

Here's a pic of my much missed Mr Toad mobile 🙂

[royoftherovers]

5 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

Thanks, I am deeply suspicious of air suspension.

 

I shall plow on, I suspect a 350 is the more practical solution, whilst the 400 will probably be the available solution.

Thanks everybody for all the useful help/pointers.

Here's a pic of my much missed Mr Toad mobile 🙂

The Mercedes Forum is less authoritative without your regular contributions Ian.

[IanA2]

2 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

The Mercedes Forum is less authoritative without your regular contributions Ian.

Nice of you to say so, I suppose I know a little about MB, at least up until they stopped making cars and concentrated solely on manufacturing money.

Aside from that, I have to say I found some of the (frankly ignorant) blowhards a little too rich for my digestion.

This is a much more civilised forum. Mind you, I suppose if there was a forum devoted to when MB made cars, say up until 1998, then that could be fun. My G is 1991 and doesn't look a day older than..........

 

If I ever win the lotto I'll be buying one of these:

[Rutlandlex]

I don't know if this is important to you or not but the road tax on the 350 is £555 per year but the 400h is "only" £280

[IanA2]

Not an issue really, but thanks anyway.

[Herbie]

Given your very low mileage I think a hybrid is probably not the best choice.

In a normal car the 12V battery is usually quite big and beefy because the starter motor will draw a minimum of about 300A to crank the engine. In a hybrid, all the 12V Battery does is to provide power for the entry/exit system and provide power to boot the computers that bring the hybrid system to the 'READY' state; after that, starting of the engine is done by the traction Battery.

Because of that the 12V Battery in a hybrid is much smaller and doesn't hold as much charge, or for anywhere near as long, as the Battery in a normal car and you may find that you have a flat Battery on a fairly regular basis.

[IanA2]

44 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Given your very low mileage I think a hybrid is probably not the best choice.

In a normal car the 12V battery is usually quite big and beefy because the starter motor will draw a minimum of about 300A to crank the engine. In a hybrid, all the 12V battery does is to provide power for the entry/exit system and provide power to boot the computers that bring the hybrid system to the 'READY' state; after that, starting of the engine is done by the traction battery.

Because of that the 12V battery in a hybrid is much smaller and doesn't hold as much charge, or for anywhere near as long, as the battery in a normal car and you may find that you have a flat battery on a fairly regular basis.

As I said  a few posts above, we're used to having cars on trickle chargers.

 

Would that not resolve this issue, or have I missed something?

[royoftherovers]

27 minutes ago, IanA2 said:

As I said  a few posts above, we're used to having cars on trickle chargers.

 

Would that not resolve this issue, or have I missed something?

A Solar Powered trickle charger keeps my GS450h topped up when I am away for up to 12 weeks.