Thinking of buying a 2020 NX300H some questions please

Jumper68Y · November 2

21 hours ago, Ken R said:

Disappointing to hear that the dealership experience has not been good!

I have enjoyed the exact opposite since I switched to Lexus in 2018.

Very to be honest Ken.

Of the dealers I have dealt with so far two have been good, and three not very good at all. With the car I really want at the poorest dealer who quite frankly doesn't seem bothered if the car sells or not.

Its all a bit odd if I am honest as I have not had this disinterest from a seller as customer for some time.

Deathstar · November 2

On 11/1/2024 at 12:38 PM, Jumper68Y said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this comprehensive review and provide all this information,

Its really helpful and really useful.

Being honest this search has turned into a little bit of a nightmare, I've missed out on number of NX300 FSport cars now and have made the decision to go for a NX350H or NX450H.

My dealer experience thus far though has been basically pretty awful, ive seen a couple I really liked and then have really had to chase and call and email the dealers to get any information at all, they just dont seem to care about selling.

Audi just see you as a cash machine, I should know having come from four previous Audi's so I was expecting great things from Lexus and their reputation for customer care, but thus far its been far from fun and not made the experience of potentially spending £30K+ on a car very enjoyable.

Im considering stopping my search for the minute and waiting until March when there might be cars handed back under PCP and a bit more choice, as experience at the moment, is dealerships dont have to tried to hard to sell, so they wont. Even basic questions like "when was it last serviced" have been left unanswered, or as one dealer sales person said "I don't know but its fairly new so should be alright"

I had read a couple of reviews that the 450H was a better drive than the 350H due to the weight of the batteries and some tweaks to the suspension due to the weight, but this might just be internet guff.

Thanks again

No problem - Any time. I found the f Sport suspension to be a bit too harsh for my liking; i'm not sure if the new ones follow the same pattern. Dealers are going to be hit and miss. I have had excellent service from Stockport - they were outstanding when I bought my first Lexus. I traveled 5 hours up there, and the dealership couldn't do enough for me. When we picked the car up they noticed there was something in the rear tyre, they didn't mess about and changed it for a brand new one.

Cheltenham were good too - however I did have an issue when I picked the car up. The bonnet was covered in loads of yellow spots. THese were not here when I first viewed the car. Their initial response was 'take it and we'll give you £200 off'. I was a bit upset by this, however the next day the Sales manager phoned, apologised, said that they would get the bonnet resprayed, and get the MOT sorted (it wasn't in with the original deal and something else which I can't quite remember.

My biggest gripe is that there are so few dealers around - I really wish Lexus would look at expanding their dealership network.

Jumper68Y · November 4

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

Very close to buying a NX350H, which is ticking all the boxes at the moment for spec and deal.

Only thing that's wavering me is the cream on black interior. I can not decide if I love it or hate it and if it will be a nightmare to keep clean or not 🤪 To many choices these days 😃

Ken R · November 4

Go for it! Great colour combo.

Goodplan53 · November 5

Earlier this year I changed my 2020 RX Takumi for a new NX 350h Premium Plus with Pan Roof. I, too, had some concerns beforehand, but I am so pleased with the NX and delighted that I made the switch. For us, it's the perfect size, quality, spec, performance - pretty much ticks all the boxes actually. It's a better size for us living in rural area, whereas the RX was just too big (although I miss the sound of that V6). As for performance, I don't notice any difference and it's just fine - plenty of power. My wife loves driving the NX more than any other car. Me too.

Not sure if this helps - best of luck whatever you decide.

Andy B · November 5

13 hours ago, Jumper68Y said:

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

Very close to buying a NX350H, which is ticking all the boxes at the moment for spec and deal.

Only thing that's wavering me is the cream on black interior. I can not decide if I love it or hate it and if it will be a nightmare to keep clean or not 🤪 To many choices these days 😃

For what it's worth, I have the cream on black interior and have no regrets choosing it. It looks quite classy in my opinion. The cream sections provide some brightness in the cabin without being too "in your face".

With regards to keeping it clean - I had protective sealant applied to the seats; etc. by a professional detailer so the occasional wipe over with a clean damp microfiber cloth is all I need. I would recommend getting this done but would personally decline any offer from your dealer (Lexus?) to do this as they probably won't be as thorough as a professional. One advantage of the cream on black is that you're mostly sitting on the black part so dye from jeans; etc, shouldn't be a problem.

Hope this helps.

Jumper68Y · November 6

Thanks all,

My saga continues but I think I am getting closer to Lexus ownership by the day 😆

So I put down a deposit on Monday afternoon what was advertised as a FSport 350H Azure Blue Takumi with cream and black interior, so the top spec.

Took the day off work yesterday and drove nearly two hours to do the deal, to arrive to a standard Fsport (no Takumi spec), its partly my fault for not asking for some pictures of the Mark Levison door speakers to confirm the spec but at the time excitement took over and I just went with the listing.

Asked the dealer if considering it was listed wrong there was any discount as it was a lesser specification, the answer was no and if I didnt buy it they would take it off sale for a while and then list it again correctly.

I've only heard the ML Audio so far so no idea how it compares with the standard non Takumi sound system, but as a result it was 4 hours wasted and my search continues. Anyone who has compared them both?

On the plus side I got to see the Azure Blue and Cream and black leather in the flesh, it grew on me in the short time I spent looking at the car.

GMB · November 6

I think Lexus car salesmen are cut from different cloth than the other folk. Whatever happened to "doing a deal" ? I went to look at a nice used Lexus last year and said OK I like it, No part-ex.cash sale, What can you do? To my amazement he said the price is on the windscreen and that's it. I said goodbye and took my money elsewhere where I got a good car a short time later - and a bit knocked off for goodwill, although they would not put a drop of fuel in the empty petrol tank. Cost me £70 within 5 minutes of ownership. A few years earlier Nissan gave me £5K off a new car, plus Nissan gave another £5K worth of extras for the last month of the sale, plus a good price for my part-ex. The car was OK but Nissan after sales were dreadful. So, Lexus is best but don't expect any favours from the dealer sales people.

Ken R · November 6

38 minutes ago, Jumper68Y said:

I've only heard the ML Audio so far so no idea how it compares with the standard non Takumi sound system, but as a result it was 4 hours wasted and my search continues. Anyone who has compared them both?

The standard sound system is perfectly adequate as far as I am concerned. Would always recommend that you try to go for Premium Plus trim as a minimum.

Jumper68Y · November 6

54 minutes ago, Ken R said:

The standard sound system is perfectly adequate as far as I am concerned. Would always recommend that you try to go for Premium Plus trim as a minimum.

Yup, I have followed your advice and only been looking at Premium Plus or FSport models (both which come with the same kit)

Im not that bothered by the other Takumi bits and pieces if the stereo is good in the standard model.

Thanks again

Jumper68Y · November 8

Dear all,

Thanks again for all your help! (which will continue) as I have bought a Lexus NX350H 2023, which I collect next Thursday.

Ive gone for a white Fsport with red and black interior.

Bizarrely, it was advertised a premium plus Fsport (which I didn't think existed) but it does have the Fsport specification but has Mark Lawrenson speakers and sound system, which does not show as being standard on the Fsport. So I was a little confused by that but all seems OK. Its also got the protection pack (mudflaps and PPF on the rear bumper lip) but no boot mat and no rubber car mats, so again a bit odd.

Other than Bridgestones on the back and Michelin Cross on the front (which I did moan about), but they would not have it you should not mix then and they should be changed.

Next thing will be searching the forums to find out the location of the fuse box and fuse for powering my dash camera.

Will be sad to see the RSQ3 go, but this is going to be a 10 year car. I have no intentions of swapping it for a long time.

Thanks again for everyone's help

Ken R · November 8

Look forward to seeing some pics! Enjoy the car when you take delivery.

Deathstar · November 8

On 11/6/2024 at 12:25 PM, Jumper68Y said:

I've only heard the ML Audio so far so no idea how it compares with the standard non Takumi sound system, but as a result it was 4 hours wasted and my search continues. Anyone who has compared them both?

On the plus side I got to see the Azure Blue and Cream and black leather in the flesh, it grew on me in the short time I spent looking at the car.

I will say, the Blue is a lovely shade and makes the car look awesome.

In regard to the Mark Levinson, it does make a huge difference, for me anyway. When I have taken my NX into the dealer, and invariably received a standard model, there is a massive difference in top end clarity, and bass. That's not to say the standard spec is poor; it's not, but the ML sound system is better.

Some people might say the standard one is ok, and if you feel that way, great, but for me, I made sure I went for the Premiere / Takumi model.

rado16v · November 9

Congratulations on your purchase, sounds a fine car especially after all the hassle you've had. That pearlescent white is a lovely colour. Quite a shift from a RSQ3.

When we were looking, most ads I would see had inaccurate descriptions and that was from Lexus dealers.

We've had ours for a few weeks now, there are a lot of parallels to our story. We started looking at top spec nx300h's, sat in a few at the big car supermarket type places but never drove one. I preferred the look of the nx350h but didn't want to stretch the budget that far.

Anyway, been keeping an eye on late high spec 300h's and lower end of the 350h's. Ours turned up at an Audi dealer of all places! The previous owners had part-x'ed it for a etron SUV. The description was sparse but I could see it was a premium plus model with the memory seats. It was priced well (incorrectly even?!) I thought and in Green which we really liked. Left a message with them awaiting callback but later that day saw the listing had been taken down and no one had called, assumed we had missed it. Rang them again and they said it had been reserved by another dealer but they are happy showing it to us and rather sell to us. And here we are.. I could only get £590 off the asking price!!

You'll like it, it's a nice car and full of tech. I'd have loved the ML but just couldn't justify it. Does yours have the camera rear view mirror? That maybe a Takumi thing only.

RONNIE W HODGEKINSON · November 9

On 11/1/2024 at 12:38 PM, Jumper68Y said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this comprehensive review and provide all this information,

Its really helpful and really useful.

Being honest this search has turned into a little bit of a nightmare, I've missed out on number of NX300 FSport cars now and have made the decision to go for a NX350H or NX450H.

My dealer experience thus far though has been basically pretty awful, ive seen a couple I really liked and then have really had to chase and call and email the dealers to get any information at all, they just dont seem to care about selling.

Audi just see you as a cash machine, I should know having come from four previous Audi's so I was expecting great things from Lexus and their reputation for customer care, but thus far its been far from fun and not made the experience of potentially spending £30K+ on a car very enjoyable.

Im considering stopping my search for the minute and waiting until March when there might be cars handed back under PCP and a bit more choice, as experience at the moment, is dealerships dont have to tried to hard to sell, so they wont. Even basic questions like "when was it last serviced" have been left unanswered, or as one dealer sales person said "I don't know but its fairly new so should be alright"

I had read a couple of reviews that the 450H was a better drive than the 350H due to the weight of the batteries and some tweaks to the suspension due to the weight, but this might just be internet guff.

Thanks again

Both ken and I have Nothing But Praise for the Edinburgh Dealership..Great Customer Service All Round..!!!!

Mossbourne · November 9

I am considering having a dashcam fitted but have some concerns.

1. Will removing some of the pastic trim for the wiring cause some creaks and rattles.

2. Do they block some driver windscreen vision?

3. Can they be easily removed when I change my car?

Harrier Man · November 10

21 hours ago, Mossbourne said:

I am considering having a dashcam fitted but have some concerns.

1. Will removing some of the pastic trim for the wiring cause some creaks and rattles.

2. Do they block some driver windscreen vision?

3. Can they be easily removed when I change my car?

1. Not if it's done properly and the installer doesn't break any clips or not clip them in fully.

2. Not for me.

3. The actual camera is easy but the wiring could be tricky, you can't just pull it. The sticky pad securing the mount to the windscreen can be difficult to remove bit I wouldn't bother as it cannot be reused. I would leave it in place unless you felt it would affect resale.