My First Lexus

[halfabusa]

Hello all! I recently bought a Lexus RX400H after a lot of contemplating trying to choose between the possible SUVs on the second hand market. My budget was up to £10k and my preferences were reliability, running costs and comfort/gadgets.

The two runner ups were the lexus rx400h and vw touareg 3.0d (pre 2007 lower tax bracket) and I believe I've made the best choice out of the two :) It's the most luxurious vehicle I've ever owned and I can feel the high quality in every aspect of my ownership. From the smooth and solid paint (previous car was a honda civic, infamous for it's thin as hair paint quality) to the silent ride, soft leather seats, great sounding V6 engine.

I was a long time lurker in these forums but didn't want to join until I bought a Lexus, in case my choice went towards Touareg side :)

My car is a high mileage example with 123k miles under it's belt, but the only thing that shows the mileage is the amount of stone chips on the bonnet and headlights. Seriously, it's unbelievable how everything is still solid. Not a slightest sound in the cabin, no damage or sagging on the seats, no wear on steering wheel or pedals. Even the paintwork looks like a new car.

I read a bit on these forums about the potential risks of high mileage cars and the discussions were promising. I didn't want to spend a huge amount on the purchase price, and instead bought on condition. It's been serviced at the same Lexus dealer all its life until it was px'ed to the same dealer, with one owner showing up on the V5. It was then auctioned off by the dealer and i got it from the trader who bought it from the auction.

It had the expensive 60k and 100k services done by Lexus and only needs a couple of front tyres.

It looks like it's been a motorway car all its life as rear seats look like they've never been sat on :)

I called up the servicing dealer to find out that it also had an inverter recall and had that changed. It came with a healthy hybrid Battery check done last year.

I can keep talking forever about how great it makes me feel every time i get to drive it, but i'll try to stop now :)

Just wanted to say thank you all for this forum as i gained a lot of information from the posts. The most recent example is: I was thinking of keeping the immaculate lexus history on it but after finding out the 60k service which it's now due (124k miles) was £745, i decided to look into the posts here, and learned about a highly recommended specialist shop in Sidcup called tech one.

I phoned them up and got a price for a major service and spark plug change, and it works out cheaper than a full service from Lexus (excluding spark plugs) at less than £400.

It's a no brainer, so I'll get it serviced at tech one together with new tyres soon, and keep enjoying my car and the forums here.