Looking to buy Gen3 RX450h a couple of questions...

[Simon-R]

I am looking at buying a facelift Gen 3 RX450h and I have a couple of questions:

 

• There seems to be a lot of caution around buying a car with Air Suspension is this justified? If so am I right in thinking an post Aug 2014 Advance model might be the one to go for as it is on std springs but gets a sunroof and Mark Levinson Hifi? I was looking at a Premier but that obviously has Air suspension.
• Are there any features on the Premier that make it worth going for over an Advance?
• Is the Mark Levinson worth having? I like my music and am coming from a Volvo with upgraded Audio.
• How common is the Pre Crash system with Adaptive Cruise Control? I currently have this and ideally would like it again but I assume it is only available on Premier and not Advance.

Budget is around £16k but can flex for the right car.

 

[Friso]

Hi Simon,

Can't comment on the Air Suspension question but I chose to avoid it when making a similar decision in 2017. That does mean that you would be without some features that are specific to the Premier version. Colin Barber's overview on the Forum's homepage is really useful in this respect for comparison (linked below). It does look like PCS and ACC were both options on the F Sport grade and Premier models, but again, not sure how common they actually are. Don't recall reading much on these features on here. People do seem to like HUD though, which you would also appear to miss out on if going for an Advance model (Sport and Premier have HUD).

There seem to be mixed opinions on the ML system, some even preferring the 'standard' system, which is pretty good as it is. I settled for a Luxury model with moon roof, but was pretty pleased with the spec as I had nothing to compare it against (first car). I do like my music though and am pretty impressed with the non-ML sound system.  

I haven't checked prices recently but you may have to up your budget.

Good luck and do use the search functionality which will direct you to other similar threads (which I researched extensively myself before taking the plunge). 

 

 

[rayaans]

The pre crash system is very rare on these.

The ML is worth having. It does sound better than the normal stereo. 

If you're going to buy an extended warranty, don't worry about the air suspension. If not then leave it out

[Barry14UK]

I bought the Premier version of the 3rd Generation RX450h and wish I had taken out the extended warranty as the two front air struts failed at circa 40K miles and cost just over £2000 to have replaced.  I have now taken out an extended warranty lest the rears also need replacing.  I seem to have been unlucky as some owners have done much greater mileages before replacement is needed.  If possible, I would drive  cars with an another without air suspension so you can decide whether you think the difference in ride is worth the extra risk/cost of air suspension replacements at some stage.

Buying a car from a Lexus dealer will cost you more than from a general car dealer but the former will provide a better warranty.  You need to be particularly careful if buying privately or from a general dealer, although there are sometimes bargains to be had.  This was an expensive car new and some of the parts and cost of fitting can be very high. 

[katabrontes]

I am not sure Barry14UK is quite correct about the Lexus warranty.  There have been several reports on the forum about problems over getting work done.  I bought my 2005 RX350 from an independent dealer who underwrote their own warranty.  As we were about to leave for France for several months they agreed to honour it while we were away.  In the event one of the ignition coil failed in France and the cost or replacing this including the testing etc was over £400 which they reimbursed when we returned to UK.  There was also a problem with the sunroof which turned out to be pretty major as a small plastic part had broken and jammed the roof so that not only had the motor burned out but the tape which moved the roof had snapped as well.  The repair involved removing much of the interior trim, the whole of the sunroof mechanism and mounting frame and the labour time involved was, I was told, about 35 hours.  There have been no faults with the car since then (10 years).

I would certainly buy from this garage again. 

I am sure that, in general, if a garage underwrites their own warranty they will be a bit more careful about what they buy.  In the past when I had a problem with the air conditioning on a Saab I was told to "drive around for a day or two and if it is still a problem bring it back and we will fix it".  It was and I did and they told me to take to the local main agent who replaced a relay.  No doubt this transferred the cost of th repair from the seller to the insurer who underwrote the warranty!

[Barry14UK]

Doubtless there are some good garages/sellers,  however,  some members here have reported problems in getting warranties honoured by non Lexus sellers.  Not so good if you are one of these!

[PCM]

On 2/1/2021 at 6:56 PM, Simon-R said:

I am looking at buying a facelift Gen 3 RX450h and I have a couple of questions:

 

• There seems to be a lot of caution around buying a car with Air Suspension is this justified? If so am I right in thinking an post Aug 2014 Advance model might be the one to go for as it is on std springs but gets a sunroof and Mark Levinson Hifi? I was looking at a Premier but that obviously has Air suspension.
• Are there any features on the Premier that make it worth going for over an Advance?
• Is the Mark Levinson worth having? I like my music and am coming from a Volvo with upgraded Audio.
• How common is the Pre Crash system with Adaptive Cruise Control? I currently have this and ideally would like it again but I assume it is only available on Premier and not Advance.

Budget is around £16k but can flex for the right car.

 

Have you found one you're thinking about, Simon?

 

[katabrontes]

On 2/2/2021 at 8:41 PM, Barry14UK said:

Doubtless there are some good garages/sellers,  however,  some members here have reported problems in getting warranties honoured by non Lexus sellers.  Not so good if you are one of these!

Not confined to non Lexus sellers however!