Help RX450h advice

Nickyt211 · November 25, 2020

I need your help before I get roped into buying a Honda CR-V

I have been dreaming about a 450h for years. I am now finally in the position to buy one but my budget is around £10,000 the cars I’m looking at are all 2009/10 with 90k ish on the clock. I’m worried about wether that is high mileage for such a lot of money. But I love these cars.

( my husband wants a 2013 Honda CR-V that is much newer with 70k on the clock)

are there any issues buying a 450h at that age and mileage?

what mpg can I realistically achieve from it?

help please 🙂 x

PCM · November 25, 2020

I guess any car can or cannot have issue...

I would go for it.

Others here will have more objective advice.

Find the best genuine, honest example you can with good service history, good MOT history ( you can check online. )

Lexus online might have some, or ask your local Lexus dealer to look out for one. Maybe a part/ex?

royoftherovers · November 25, 2020

Nicki, they are both fine vehicles.

I would only recommend buying the Lexus from a Lexus Dealer with a full Lexus Service History, but your budget would need to be boosted by £4000.

Others on here may disagree.Piers (above) offers good advice.

KenMavor · November 25, 2020

7 hours ago, Nickyt211 said:

I need your help before I get roped into buying a Honda CR-V

I have been dreaming about a 450h for years. I am now finally in the position to buy one but my budget is around £10,000 the cars I’m looking at are all 2009/10 with 90k ish on the clock. I’m worried about wether that is high mileage for such a lot of money. But I love these cars.

( my husband wants a 2013 Honda CR-V that is much newer with 70k on the clock)

are there any issues buying a 450h at that age and mileage?

what mpg can I realistically achieve from it?

help please 🙂 x

I am in the exact same quandary.

Been looking at a 2009 to 2012 RX 450h but being glancing at the Honda and other similar SUVs.

The Honda is a great car but it does suggest an older, boring, mature person in the drivers seat. It also does not drive as well as the RX 450h. I would call it utilitarian against the 450h. Other car I was looking at was Mitsubishi Outlander....the PHEV version. Had a drive of one......yeuch. Noisy, plasticky, slow, and whatever.

Suggest you get your husband and you in the Honda and the 450h. There is a massive difference - comfort, silence, space...etc. The Lexus is just a nicer place to be. With the hybrid I was looking at spending most of my miles within 15 miles of home.........then a few long journeys to see family. Perfect for a hybrid.

Honda's new hybrid is probably too new and hence expensive and untested.

The kicker as you say is that the Honda would be newer, less miles, etc. It is a difficult choice. There are however some very keenly priced 450hs on the market with a low mileage.

It also depends if you will ever come around to the RX 450h again......also maybe consider the Lexus 2 year warranty on it which you can pay up monthly rather than on a lump sum.

Good luck!!!

Mossypossy · November 25, 2020

Lexus will have virtually double the bhp.

Enough said.

Spacewagon52 · November 25, 2020

This is just my personal view. I would go for the 450h with due diligence regarding MOT history and service record. I would NOT purchase an older 450h with air suspension. These are the SE-L or Premium specification. You would be very unlucky to get lots of trouble with a Lexus. All cars can go wrong, but with Lexus it seems that ONE thing can go wrong and IT CAN be expensive to fix but after that one issue,you rarely get a catalogue of failures. there is a member on here who suffered a catastrophic failure to his LS 430 but he still went and bought another Lexus.

Buying older cars is risky but if you buy an older Lexus you have more chance of it giving reliable service than the equivalent BMW or Mercedes. The Honda is a very good car ......... but until you have owned a Lexus ........ you will never know the difference! Owning being the operative word!

Good luck with your decision, read as much as you can on this forum.

Prince Bob · November 25, 2020

11 hours ago, Nickyt211 said:

I need your help before I get roped into buying a Honda CR-V

I have been dreaming about a 450h for years. I am now finally in the position to buy one but my budget is around £10,000 the cars I’m looking at are all 2009/10 with 90k ish on the clock. I’m worried about wether that is high mileage for such a lot of money. But I love these cars.

( my husband wants a 2013 Honda CR-V that is much newer with 70k on the clock)

are there any issues buying a 450h at that age and mileage?

what mpg can I realistically achieve from it?

help please 🙂 x

I purchased a RX450h for similar money from an independent dealer about 9 months ago. They had sold 3 that week alone. Everybody was trading in their diesel X5, ML, Range Rover because of ULEZ. Most dealerships will provide a 6-12 month warranty, check their feedback online.

90k on a 2009/2010 is a average miles for the year and nothing on a Lexus provided it's been well maintained. I would not expect issues but make sure the maintenance has not been skimped or has been run a budget.

Plenty to choose from, so you can be picky. I would expect full service history, ideally from Lexus. If the history isn't all main dealer I would at least expect to see evidence of a recent hybrid Battery check. Good cars do sell very quickly though. Check MOT history online, you don't want to be purchasing somebody else headache.

I purchased an SE-I, which has most of the good stuff (electric seats, tailgate, power fold mirrors, heated seats, parking sensors, xenons, camera etc.I avoided the SEL because it has air suspension, and last time I checked air is £1k per corner, plus labour, height sensors etc, and I can't be bothered with the hassle. LED headlights are very expensive again £1k each, can't replace individual LED, main dealer part only, but you don't hear of them failing.

It means I don't have heads up display, vented seats, memory for passenger seats and extendable seats cushion, you will have to decide how important these are to you.

It is possible to purchase an SEL without air suspension, but those in the know seem to want these models and every single one I enquired about was sold.

MPG is typically low 30's, I have eco mode switched off though and don't drive like Miss Daisy. You can get mid 30's without too much trouble. Obviously if you hammer a 2.2 ton, 300bhp suv it will drink a bit....

Hope this helps good luck!

Edited November 25, 2020 by Prince Bob

Barry14UK · November 25, 2020

As regards petrol consumption, it does depend on a number of factors but my car is similar although a little later and when I bought it , it was showing 31.4 or 32.4 mpg as I recall. I have averaged about 30 but we have a lot of hills in Devon. It uses slightly more fuel in winter than in summer. The best I ever achieved on a long leisurely journey was 37point something - others have done better. So much depends on the length and type of journey. If you take on 29 - 34 overall you shouldn't be far out unless you drive it hard. There is a technique to get the best mph out of the car.

I bought mine mainly because it is very comfortable and reliable although Honda is probably almost as reliable.

If you are not used to a cvt gearbox you may find this a little strange.

As suggested, best to try both out. You want to be happy you made the right choice..

Djwbiker · November 25, 2020

Nicole,

I would recommend buying from Lexus so your budget will need uping a bit . I have just looked at lexus.co.uk and found 450h's starting at £11,300, £11,950, £12,299, £12,950........

all will include 12 month Lexus warranty (check the details of what it includes) and this can be extended for years 2 and 3 for £995.

Also as a LOC Gold member you can get discounts on Lexus servicing.

Good luck with your search.

Barry14UK · November 25, 2020

You have to weigh up whether you want to pay quite a bit more and have greater reassurance by buying from an official dealer with 12 month warranty or get more for your money by going to a general car dealer where you might be able to get a better deal. Not advocating you do this or go for this one but as a 2012 with 65K miles for £11300, it might be worth considering something like this and getting AA to check all OK. https://www.motors.co.uk/car-58359916/?i=1&m=sp Hmmm looks like some overspray on nearside rear quarter, could be significant but sort of thing you need to checkout.

But before you go all over the country looking at individual cars, you really need to determine whether an RX450h is for you. They are really in another class to the Honda. Incidentally, if you look at the fuel consumption of the car I linked to you will note it is showing 30.9 which is within the range I suggested. Don't go by the official figures, they are wildly optimistic as were those for other cars under that stupid method of calculation.

Spottedlaurel · November 25, 2020

It certainly looks like you're there or thereabouts to get an RX of that age/mileage for circa £10k from an independent dealer, but going by what Lexus Sheffield are asking for a 2010 SE-I with 95k miles you'd need to find a couple of thousand more if you wanted the comfort of buying it from a main Lexus dealer.

If you're fixed on that budget probably better value to go for a reputable independent and ensure it's got good service history and a previous owner who's had it for a fair while, maybe upgraded to something else from that garage? If it could qualify for the Lexus extended warranty then that'd be good. To be honest even buying from a Lexus dealer I'd say consider the same things - I got an approved one for over £24k from Lexus that had a worrying enough issue for me to exchange it.

Is there an expensive service at 100k/10 years? If so it would be good to get one that's had that done properly, or factor it into your costs if not.

As you already own an older RX then you know why they're good, and somewhat overlooked? I think it's the blend of abilities they offer that makes them worthwhile.

I bought mine to replace a Toyota Avensis estate, as I wanted something a bit special for my (borrowed) money than just a means of transport. RX isn't quite as good at being a loadlugger as the Avensis or other big estates. It's not really any sort of off-roader, as a luxury car my 1993 LS400 does a better job in many ways (certainly rides better), and any number of diesel SUVs will give better economy, but it offers a sensible compromise between all these requirements. There aren't too many others around my way, it's nice to have something a little different.

Driven in a way that lets the hybrid thing operate effectively (which doesn't necessarily mean slowly) it offers a smooth, luxurious drive. I quite often have no idea of whether the engine is running or not without looking at the graphics.

Assuming my circumstances permit, I like mine enough that I'll be looking to buy it outright at the end of the PCP. I'll be getting an under 8yr old RX with two owners from new, full Lexus history and 60-70k miles for around £10k, so I'd be silly not to.

Malc · November 25, 2020

6 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

The Honda is a very good car ......... but until you have owned a Lexus ........ you will never know the difference! Owning being the operative word!

quite agree, owned our Honda Legend 56 plate for 4 years and 25k miles now and indeed a very very fine car with little out of order expense

owned a Ls400 for 20+ years incl. this one for 9.5 years and covered about 200k+ miles in them and they are just so so much better in all regards

Malc

Spacewagon52 · November 25, 2020

Please let us all know which car you eventually decide to buy.

Nickyt211 · November 25, 2020

I can’t really push my budget any more

tbh. I’m just looking at a 2010 with 94k on the clock for £10,000 atm looks very clean with full service history and some warranty.
does anyone know if there is a major service at 100k?
my rx300 is a fab car for the money so I know I would love a 450 I just have to watch the old purse lol if I stick to the hondas I will save at least £1000 and get a newer low mileage car.
Economy is important to me so I’m a bit disappointed that most of you aren’t getting near the claimed 40mpg minimum.

Spacewagon52 · November 25, 2020

3 minutes ago, Nickyt211 said:

Economy is important to me so I’m a bit disappointed that most of you aren’t getting near the claimed 40mpg minimum.

A lot will depend on the route you take how you drive the hybrid. It will be significantly better than your RX 300 for sure.

royoftherovers · November 25, 2020

10 minutes ago, Nickyt211 said:

I can’t really push my budget any more

tbh. I’m just looking at a 2010 with 94k on the clock for £10,000 atm looks very clean with full service history and some warranty.
does anyone know if there is a major service at 100k?
my rx300 is a fab car for the money so I know I would love a 450 I just have to watch the old purse lol if I stick to the hondas I will save at least £1000 and get a newer low mileage car.
Economy is important to me so I’m a bit disappointed that most of you aren’t getting near the claimed 40mpg minimum.

What is the point of spending £10,000 Nicole,just to save peanuts?

Keep the RX300 and save until you can afford it. And don`t even imagine that you will get anywhere near the fuel consumption that manufacturers claim. Oh, and buy a lottery ticket as stranger things have happened.

Nickyt211 · November 25, 2020

I only achieve 17mpg in my rx300 so I will easily halve my fuel bills with a 450 that’s hardly peanuts. I could buy the Honda and save up till I can eventually get a better Lexus someday.

royoftherovers · November 26, 2020

7 hours ago, Nickyt211 said:

I only achieve 17mpg in my rx300 so I will easily halve my fuel bills with a 450 that’s hardly peanuts. I could buy the Honda and save up till I can eventually get a better Lexus someday.

I`ll drink to that Nicky.Do stay on the Forum though.

PCM · November 26, 2020

9 hours ago, Nickyt211 said:

I only achieve 17mpg in my rx300 so I will easily halve my fuel bills with a 450 that’s hardly peanuts. I could buy the Honda and save up till I can eventually get a better Lexus someday.

Should be higher - I get 24 minimum, on a mix of roads...

Spacewagon52 · November 26, 2020

My average in mixed driving is 22 mpg - whether I drive it hard or gentle seems to make little difference. Th official consumption for urban cycle is 16 mpg

Barry14UK · November 26, 2020

Don't forget to factor in the higher depreciation on a newer Honda than an old RX 300 and when you buy and sell the transaction nearly always costs money.

Prince Bob · November 26, 2020

11 hours ago, Nickyt211 said:

I can’t really push my budget any more

tbh. I’m just looking at a 2010 with 94k on the clock for £10,000 atm looks very clean with full service history and some warranty.
does anyone know if there is a major service at 100k?
my rx300 is a fab car for the money so I know I would love a 450 I just have to watch the old purse lol if I stick to the hondas I will save at least £1000 and get a newer low mileage car.
Economy is important to me so I’m a bit disappointed that most of you aren’t getting near the claimed 40mpg minimum.

The major 100k service at Lexus is £675.

10k with is 94k on the clock isn't a bad start. I would expect a service, fresh MOT and any issues rectified so a 'no advisory' MOT, comprehensive warranty and breakdown cover chucked in aswell, you don't ask you don't get... Don't forget to haggle as well.

I can't think of any 300bhp suv that can get 40mpg combined. Not even the smaller, less powerful NX300 averages 40mpg https://www.greencarguide.co.uk/car-reviews-and-road-tests/lexus-nx300h/#:~:text=The official combined fuel economy,NX hybrid was 31.1mpg.

The 450h is economical for the type of car it is, but it's not an 'eco car'. It's a big tall, heavy, 3.5 V6, and this type of car will never provide great fuel economy figures.

I'm not sure which Honda CR-V you are looking at but the 2.0 4wd auto doesn't average much above 30mpg is slower and is being a 4 cylinder won't as refined as the Lexus.

The cheapest car to own is often the car you currently own, better the devil you know... If you a purchase a new car, be it the Honda or Lexus, see the lower fuel consumption as a bonus rather than a reason to change.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Prince Bob

Grey RX · December 2, 2020

You may already have made up your mind but I thought I would mention that I have a 2010 RX450H which has now done 104k miles. The 100k service wasn't really a huge expense - as already stated but I did need rear pads which pushed the cost up a bit. Also just replaced all 4 tyres.

I bought it as a used car from a Lexus dealer about 5 years ago. I had one non-service repair done under the used warranty when the heater fan became very noisy. Other than that no unexpected maintenance costs. it's been a delight and pleasure to own and drive. Average fuel economy around 32mpg over the 5 years. A long run not pushing it can get to 38/39. When the 50mph limit was in place on the M1 around Milton Keynes that did wonders for the economy.

royoftherovers · December 2, 2020

An extremely helpful post Richard.

It may be useful for the buyer to know the Ball Park figure you are looking for, why you are selling, when tax and M.O.T. are due etc,etc,

Good luck.

Barry14UK · December 2, 2020

4 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

An extremely helpful post Richard.

It may be useful for the buyer to know the Ball Park figure you are looking for, why you are selling, when tax and M.O.T. are due etc,etc,

Good luck.

Certainly the MOT but I don't think you can carry the Road Fund Licence over to a new owner.