I have been offered an RX450H (2010) with 23K on the clock...

[NRSP]

Hello,

Great to find this site; please excuse the newbie.

I have been offered a seemingly immaculate RX450H (2010) with 23K on the clock by the only (careful) owner. It has been garaged and has a full service history.

I'm not hugely familiar with the brand or the car, but at first glance, it looks like it might be good family car.

Are there particular things that I should look out for with this model or that might need work in the coming years?

The owner says that it has air suspension.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice; appreciated!

NP

[Phil xxkr]

8 minutes ago, NRSP said:

Hello,

Great to find this site; please excuse the newbie.

I have been offered a seemingly immaculate RX450H (2010) with 23K on the clock by the only (careful) owner. It has been garaged and has a full service history.

I'm not hugely familiar with the brand or the car, but at first glance, it looks like it might be good family car.

Are there particular things that I should look out for with this model or that might need work in the coming years?

The owner says that it has air suspension.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice; appreciated!

NP

I wrote this in June Nick. (without air suspension which I understand can be very £££ if it goes awol

I thought I might share with you my first 90 day experience of owning a RX450H which may resonate with other people or not as the case may be, and in no particular order; 

Despite it having the footprint as my XKR this is a big unit and without the rear camera I would need a HGV licence to reverse and still haven't braved parallel parking😊

The internal dimensions are huge which is great for my dog crate but is ruddy cold in winter thank goodness for heated seats and gloves 😁

Yet despite its bulk on the road it is surprisingly Inconspicuous and doesn't draw attention which has its advantages I think. 

On a flat surface the ride is supreme, effortless, very quiet just the hum of tyres at 70. And in the relentless traffic queues on motorways it is just fantastic noise is zero except for a/C fan. This means when getting out at the other end it doesn't feel like you have been run over more than the tarmac. On uneven surfaces however it does get you in training for a part in Bill and Ben. 🤭

My dealings to date with my local dealer have been just excellent and give you the confidence customer satisfaction is paramount. 

MPG is twice my Jag and VED nearly half! What's not to like? 

Albeit lacking DAB my phone works perfectly when listening to Talk Radio 

Finally, on a fine sunny day driving on that long M50 sweep towards Wales, listening to Classic FM playing the theme of The Big Country gives you goose pimples in the recognition of how incredibly lucky you are. (yes I know you would prefer it to be Yorkshire) 😎

 

A couple of other points I should have mentioned are firstly, because it's so quiet you can easily neurotic about each little squeak and noise, if you are so minded do not under any circumstances put a dog crate in the back if you do turn up the  radio volume 😀. Secondly, again related to the lack of noise, cruise control is crucial in keeping your licence endorsement free (or freer). Some kind person on here recommended Radarbot which I have and find its auto connect feature really useful. Oh, and I should have pointed out Bill and Ben the flower pot men were marionettes in an early childhood TV programme and not a reference to the old bill or big Ben. 😉

[Spacewagon52]

26 minutes ago, NRSP said:

Hello,

Great to find this site; please excuse the newbie.

I have been offered a seemingly immaculate RX450H (2010) with 23K on the clock by the only (careful) owner. It has been garaged and has a full service history.

I'm not hugely familiar with the brand or the car, but at first glance, it looks like it might be good family car.

Are there particular things that I should look out for with this model or that might need work in the coming years?

The owner says that it has air suspension.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice; appreciated!

NP

Depending ion how much you are paying for the car, I would go for it. My only concern would be the air suspension. With such a low mileage it might not be such a risk - others may disagree.

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, NRSP said:

Hello,

Great to find this site; please excuse the newbie.

I have been offered a seemingly immaculate RX450H (2010) with 23K on the clock by the only (careful) owner. It has been garaged and has a full service history.

I'm not hugely familiar with the brand or the car, but at first glance, it looks like it might be good family car.

Are there particular things that I should look out for with this model or that might need work in the coming years?

The owner says that it has air suspension.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice; appreciated!

NP

My first Lexus was a 2005 RX300, followed by a 2013 RX450h Advance and now our current car is a 2018 RX450h Luxury.

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of the RX

The air suspension can be a bit ropey and it's expensive to fix with new air struts being around £600 each. However, don't let that put you off, for two very good reasons:

• If one went faulty you could take the opportunity to convert the car to normal coil suspension and get rid of the air altogether (complete coil kit is about £700-£800)
• Although there are people on these forums who have had air strut problems (a) there hasn't been that many, and (b) remember that people come to forums like this when they have problems and are looking for help and advice. No one joins a forum and only posts good things about their cars. There must be many, many hundreds or thousands of people out there who have never had problems with their air suspension.

Unfortunately, being 11 years old means it won't be eligible for a warranty apart from the hybrid Battery.

The Hybrid Health Check can be done at any Lexus dealership for £59 and it tests and checks all the parameters of the high voltage Battery. As long as it passes the test, Lexus warranty the Battery (only the HV one, not the 12V one) for 12 months and then you go for another one and so on until the car is 15 years old.

If it was me, I would definitely go for it.

[Phil xxkr]

37 minutes ago, Herbie said:

My first Lexus was a 2005 RX300, followed by a 2013 RX450h Advance and now our current car is a 2018 RX450h Luxury.

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of the RX

The air suspension can be a bit ropey and it's expensive to fix with new air struts being around £600 each. However, don't let that put you off, for two very good reasons:

• If one went faulty you could take the opportunity to convert the car to normal coil suspension and get rid of the air altogether (complete coil kit is about £700-£800)
• Although there are people on these forums who have had air strut problems (a) there hasn't been that many, and (b) remember that people come to forums like this when they have problems and are looking for help and advice. No one joins a forum and only posts good things about their cars. There must be many, many hundreds or thousands of people out there who have never had problems with their air suspension.

Unfortunately, being 11 years old means it won't be eligible for a warranty apart from the hybrid battery.

The Hybrid Health Check can be done at any Lexus dealership for £59 and it tests and checks all the parameters of the high voltage battery. As long as it passes the test, Lexus warranty the battery (only the HV one, not the 12V one) for 12 months and then you go for another one and so on until the car is 15 years old.

If it was me, I would definitely go for it.

Top advice Herbs, and in addition it now appears some Lexus dealers are offering extended warranty policies beyond 10 years so that's worth a look. Also depending on the price for the car it maybe worth buying, try it and if you are not happy with it move it on for a profit? 

[NRSP]

Thanks Phil, David & Herbie; appreciated.

The hybrid health check sounds like a definite.

Air suspension work sounds costly (is that ~£600 a corner, in a dealership?) but great to know that it can be converted to standard suspension, if need be.

Most importantly, do you have any suggestions on what kind of ballpark figure I should expect to be asked for this seemingly immaculate (inside and out) 2010 RX450L SE-L with 23K on the clock?

Thanks again all,

NP

 

[Mossypossy]

I would not expect any change out of £10k.

[Herbie]

58 minutes ago, NRSP said:

Air suspension work sounds costly (is that ~£600 a corner, in a dealership?)

That's the cost of a new unit from a Lexus dealer, but you could try eBay breakers for a used one if needed. As I said earlier though, I think if one went then I'd be worrying about when the others might give up the ghost and I'd take the opportunity to convert instead.

1 hour ago, NRSP said:

Most importantly, do you have any suggestions on what kind of ballpark figure I should expect to be asked for this seemingly immaculate (inside and out) 2010 RX450L SE-L with 23K on the clock?

Got to be honest, not a clue. All you can do is go through Autotrader and/or Parkers and see what others are going for but it'll be difficult because of the low mileage.

[ColinBarber]

7 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

I would not expect any change out of £10k.

If not more. It's always difficult to put a price on low mileage - all others of that age have done way more miles. I'd say £11k is still a good deal.

1 hour ago, NRSP said:

Air suspension work sounds costly (is that ~£600 a corner, in a dealership?)

Just for the part if you replace with a genuine part (and actually I'd put the figure higher).

The air suspension gives more problems on the older shape RX rather than the one you are interested - it may not be as big a problem on a 2010 model because it is not old enough yet or the reliability has been improved but the fact is that suspension are essentially wear & tear items that will fail (or degrade) at some point.

[The-Acre]

When I considered an RX450h they were all at at least 10k for an 09 plate with 100,000 miles plus. 

[Mossypossy]

Asking price does not indicate sold price.

[ColinBarber]

58 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Asking price does not indicate sold price.

In the current market the sold price could well be higher than the asking price 😉 

[Barry14UK]

Not everybody likes the transmission which is not very noticeable with moderate acceleration, but give it wellie and it sounds like clutch slip.  To be frank, I prefer a normal auto box but the Lexus one was not a deal breaker.  I have a back problem and for me the best thing about my RX 450h is the comfort the seats afford on long journeys.  The RX450h compares well with competitors for reliability but spare parts are expensive and for other than service parts, after market parts are not so readily or cheaply available.  Some earlier cars developed underbody rust which could be worse if used in coastal area with salty atmosphere.  Overall, happy with my car, although it seems to be the exception to the rule in that it needed two new front air struts, at a total fitted cost of circa £2200 by Lexus at 40K miles.

[Stefan213]

Like i said on other threds, on my 2011 rx450h with air suspension the milage is just over 140.000 miles and no issues what so ever. 

One brake caliper sized 1 year ago and that was all 😆 maybe i am lucky but i can't see to many threds ith air suspension problems

I would not buy a car that old with so low miles to be honest

[Spacewagon52]

10 hours ago, Stefan213 said:

I would not buy a car that old with so low miles to be honest

People seem to be in two camps here. Provided the car has been serviced annually, I would have no hesitation in buying such a low mileage car. The wear and tear on most components will be minimal. Like Radu, others will feel the opposite. I have never been keen on buying a younger high mileage car - I would always plump for a low mileage older car. You pays your money............ 

[NRSP]

Thanks everyone - really appreciate the input.

It's our neighbour that's selling it - she's asked £12-£12.5k of us.

Her dealership have offered her £13.8k and RAC have estimated £15k for a private resale.

It is fully main dealership serviced, but the last 3 years, she's only had minor services, because of the low miles.

They have given her advisories on cracked suspension arms and a pitted rear disk, quoting £1,400 for repair all-in, when needed.

Is it still a good deal at £12-£12.5k (tax & mot until June '22), for a family runner for the next few years..?

Thanks everyone,

NP

 

[Herbie]

Again, I'd say yes and go for it.

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, Herbie said:

Again, I'd say yes and go for it.

Agree with that. I don't think the price is at all bad compared to what I've seen, plus you know the seller which is so much better than buying from an unknown source.

[Illogan]

1 hour ago, Herbie said:

Again, I'd say yes and go for it.

I think that's a reasonable price too.       And with that service history (although nothing in 'life' can be guaranteed, (including 'life' itself of course)) I'd suggest that's definitely worth a tickle!

[Stefan213]

7 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

People seem to be in two camps here. Provided the car has been serviced annually, I would have no hesitation in buying such a low mileage car. The wear and tear on most components will be minimal. Like Radu, others will feel the opposite. I have never been keen on buying a younger high mileage car - I would always plump for a low mileage older car. You pays your money............ 

I had 2 cars that i used only for 1 moth a year, after 2 years they started to have all sort of issues from just sitting. Some parts can get old if the car its not used, hybrid Battery its one of them. 

[b4u2]

On 7/12/2021 at 5:12 PM, NRSP said:

Thanks Phil, David & Herbie; appreciated.

The hybrid health check sounds like a definite.

Air suspension work sounds costly (is that ~£600 a corner, in a dealership?) but great to know that it can be converted to standard suspension, if need be.

Most importantly, do you have any suggestions on what kind of ballpark figure I should expect to be asked for this seemingly immaculate (inside and out) 2010 RX450L SE-L with 23K on the clock?

Thanks again all,

NP

 

Check auto trader for market value and prices 

[Spacewagon52]

Even with those issues it is a good buy. Once they are sorted you will have a very good low mileage car.

[Barry14UK]

Is the dealer offer of £13.8k tied to purchase of another vehicle because if not I would have thought you neighbour would ask you to match the dealer offer? 

[NRSP]

Thanks for your input everyone - pending a test drive for my partner, to check that she's happy with it being an auto & the scale of it (it would be her daily driver), we're going to go ahead.

It seems like a good, genuine offer, from a trusted neighbour for - based on your feedback - what sounds like a good all-round & reliable family car.

Thank you,

NP

[Spacewagon52]

4 hours ago, NRSP said:

Thanks for your input everyone - pending a test drive for my partner, to check that she's happy with it being an auto & the scale of it (it would be her daily driver), we're going to go ahead.

It seems like a good, genuine offer, from a trusted neighbour for - based on your feedback - what sounds like a good all-round & reliable family car.

Thank you,

NP

If you and your wife do purcjase