Possible New Addition To The Family Fleet - Does It Seem Ok?

[Anees]

Hello,

My mum has been looking for a 4x4 for a while and I have always liked the RX300 shape. I have found her one that is in Southend-on-Sea so its a long way away. After some negotitation we have agreed £8500 for the car which I think is a cracking deal. Apart from the normal obvious questions, what other things should I be asking about? Some advice is appreciated on what to look for.

I have asked the seller for more pictures with close ups of the alloys and the seats. I personally don't like cream interiors because they do show there age very quickly, so particularly want close ups of the drivers seat. My mum quite likes the interior however.

Here is the info:

Four Wheel Drive

Item Specifics - Cars & Other Vehicles

Manufacturer: Lexus Colour: Grey

Model: RX 300 Engine Size: 2,995 cc

Type: Four Wheel Drive Power: --

Mileage: 72100 Seats: 5

Doors: 5 MOT Expiry: Jan 2009

Reg. Date: 13 Jan 2004 Drive Side: --

Reg. Mark: **53 *** Get the Vehicle Status Report Road Tax: Jan 2009

Previous Owners: 1 Exterior: Alloy Wheels, Catalytic Converter, Rear Spoiler

Transmission: Automatic V5 Document: Present

Fuel: Petrol Manufacturer's Warranty: --

Service History: Yes In-Car Audio: AM/FM Stereo, Cassette Player, CD Multichanger, CD Player, Navigation System

Safety Features: 4-Wheel Drive, Alarm, Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS), Driver Airbag, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), Immobiliser, Passenger Airbag, Rear seat belts, Safety Belt Pretensioners, Side Airbags, Xenon headlights Interior/Comfort Options: Air Conditioning, Climate Control, Cruise Control, Electric heated seats, Leather Seats, Power-assisted Steering (PAS), Power Locks, Power Seats, Power Windows, Sunroof, Tilt Steering Wheel

The only problems I have been told about on the car are some stone chips on the front and a slight mark over the rear bumper. The car also has a reversing camera and the DVD Sat Nav system. Full Lexus Service History too and it was last serviced at 70K.

The alternative is to get an older (2001) BMW X5 3.0D for slightly more money, but would rather she gets the Lexus which is newer and has all the toys. My mum wants to sell her existing car to pay for an LPG conversion to address the economy concerns of the RX300.

Does it seem a good deal?

Thanks,

Anees

[Rillo]

Check driver seat for squeaks and sagging - I have had my seat replaced because of this.

alloy wheel corrosion

If it is SE-L make sure the air suspension works - i.e. it drops / raises and rides level.

and in general check all electrics work - seats, windows, tailgate, etc and check that air con blows cold air

[Anees]

Thanks Rillo :D

Going today to collect the car IF it is as descibed. 5 hours on the train! :o

Thank you for the tip on drivers seat. The Car is an SE with the DVD Sat Nav option and the reversing camera, so from what I can gather has all the toys of the SE-L apart from the air suspension.

When on the test drive anything in particular to look for? I know the gearbox should be smooth with silky changes.......

Anees

[Rillo]

Let us know how you get on - I have had my RX 350 for a couple of years now and can't rate it highly enough.

As for the test drive - gearbox should be smooth, check load cover for rattles (they often come loose and rattle), check tyres - they can be £600 for 4 so if they are low use this as bargaining tool. Check for stone chips on the bonnet and front bumper.

Other than that if it drives well and has FSH you should be fine.

[Anees]

Just got back about 25 mins ago fron Southend and now I can't sleep! I have bought the car and it really looks superb (hope I still feel the same in the morning!) Just driven for almost 5 hours straight in it and don't feel too tired or nor do I have any aches anywhere :D I know you are supposed to stop at a service station every two hours, but I couldn't face the food!

Very pleased with it. It had new tyres at the back (Bridgstones) and decent thread on the front. The stonechips I can sort out easily and all the car needs is a good polish to get rid of swirl marks in the paint. I liked the fact that the car was previously owned by the sellers boss so it has always kind of been "in the famiyl" and all service intervals were stamped.

Going to be a massive shock to my mum - its a bit of a change from her Yaris!

Only slight problem was a hint of vibraton when getting to three figures and I wonder if uprated Anti-Roll bars are available to reduce bodyroll? :P

[Gord]

Nice one Anees, you will have to pop round and show me sometime :D

[Damer]

Nice car. Looks like mine (except mines and SEL) she'll be very happy with it. The price you paid make me feel very depressed about residuals on mine though.

[Anees]

Its a redulcous amount of money for such a car to be honest. :D I think I got lucky because even as a part exchange the owner had been offered 9K, but we offered £8.5K on eBay which the seller didn't accept but then a week later his eBay auction ended with no bids, so said he would accept £8.5K. Even in autotrader they are going for aleast the £10K mark (apart from a black one thats on there, but its done 95K miles) private and dealers seem to have them on the forecourts for £11,995.

The thing that I really love is that we have some stuck up cousins that have just paid £45K+ :o :o for a new Merc M Class. They described Lexus as a "white elephant" and a "jumped up Toyota". Well with a private plate, this jumped up Toyota will have more toys then there £45K car and no one will really know that the Lexus cost over four times less. The Power Tailgate featre is really cool!

[Mark W]

Where as Mercs were not good enough so they had to create a Maybach ;)

Thats one hell of a car for the money....Glad you're happy with it

[Anees]

Slightly off topic, but I insisted to my cousins to go and check out the RX400h, which Gord had for a while and was really great. They claim that they went to see it, but it wasn't as good as the Merc??? Apparently Lexus is not a proper Luxury car............ hey anyway.............there loss! :P

Got to get my mum into mods now......... Do you think she would notice if I nicked the clear side repeaters and put them on the Aristo?

[Damer]

Its a redulcous amount of money for such a car to be honest. :D I think I got lucky because even as a part exchange the owner had been offered 9K, but we offered £8.5K on ebay which the seller didn't accept but then a week later his ebay auction ended with no bids, so said he would accept £8.5K. Even in autotrader they are going for aleast the £10K mark (apart from a black one thats on there, but its done 95K miles) private and dealers seem to have them on the forecourts for £11,995.

The thing that I really love is that we have some stuck up cousins that have just paid £45K+ :o :o for a new Merc M Class. They described Lexus as a "white elephant" and a "jumped up Toyota". Well with a private plate, this jumped up Toyota will have more toys then there £45K car and no one will really know that the Lexus cost over four times less. The Power Tailgate featre is really cool!

Hold down the "open" button on the fob for a few seconds and all the windows should come down too.

Only hope on my residuals is that I have only just hit 40k miles on a 4 year old car and now averaging less than 10k a year.

[Parthiban]

I can't believe the price of that to be honest, sounds like a cracking deal! We were looking at RXs last year, and an 04 plate SE-L was around £25k! Fair enough we were looking at Lexus dealers, but I wouldn't expect that much of a difference...........shows the values of large engined cars has really tumbled recently :o

Nice purchase though, looks in great condition - if you can afford fuel and road tax hikes, this really is the time to buy a large engined car.............hmmm, M5 here we come! (I wish )

Btw, I'd have to agree with your cousins though, if buying new I'd prob buy the merc or the X5 now, they've moved the game on a bit and the RX is showing it's age - alternatively I'd probably wait for the new RX which is out next year?

[Damer]

I think they are talking about September 2009 for the new RX.