I am looking to replace my mother's RX300 with a new SUV. She (more likely me) would like to have nav and bluetooth. All the other regular amenities. Suggestions? The only thing that really stood out to me was the MDX.

She doesn't want to get another lexus because their maint. costs are through the roof.

 

Acura MDX, Subaru Tribeca (if you can get past the front end design)

 

Fx45

 

never again will i buy an fx. (lemon law repurchase) what a hell storm.

thanks for the suggestion though

 

how did the fx qualify for lemon? i never heard anything about that

but yea MDX sounds like the best bet, my mom has a highlander and she loves it

personally i would go for a yukon or envoy denali

 

yukon and denali are way too big, and i am sure gas is worse than the mdx.

i will look at the highlander also - forgot about that one.


the fx: day after i bought it i went in to get xm installed, scratched rear bumper and qtr panel (DEEP), and installed wrong antenna - morons. leaky car wash was the big problem (gave them i think 8 times to fix it, michigan law requires 4 attempts), headlights and brake lights stopped working, lights on guages (when headlights on) stopped working, rattles, amongst other issues. drove it like 6k miles or something like that for 4 months and fought through the BBB to get a repurchase. after the arbitrator required to allow them another opportunity to repair (i gave the opportunity - and they scratched the roof in the process) they still failed to repair the leaky sunroof. in the end my total cost on the fx35 was $135 in mileage usage. rest of money - including clearbra and taxes was returned to me. :w00t:

my dealership (the only one in the area) was full of fools. they dont know anything there. well the sales guy was actually one of the best i have ever dealt with. but service wise they are useless.

on the bright side of things i had fun driving a brand new (6 miles) g35 coupe several times while the fx was in for repairs.

 

I am in a similar situation and I would opt for the RX330. We also have an RX300 in the family and it is a great car. Maint costs are for oil changes and that is it. They absolutely must have routine maint due to an engine design problem but as long as you don't go past normal maint intervals at 5000Km the car is a rock. They have since changed the engine design. Also the dealer said they could sell it in a day so I am thinking I should keep it since it is very low k's.

The RX330 has a much improved turning radius, more power and the eletric operating rear hatch is a nice perk for the older crowd like my dad.

I don't think the Acura MDX would be any different for the maint costs. If she is interested in a smaller form factor tell her to wait for the RDX. Mazda has some new smaller size utes out but they are in a different class from the RX.

What I hate about our RX is the heater and stereo controls are very confusing. I drive it occasionally and get them mixed up every time.

The Highlander with a 4 cyl may also be a good choice and don't blow a fuse but the Hyundai Tuscon is worth a look.

edit: just re-read your original post and see you want the perks so I guess the cheaper utes are out. Just remembered the BMW X3.

 

dont get any mazda SUVs, they all have transmission problems similar to our TLs....my mom was checkin out the mazda SUV, forgot the name but we ran across many bad tranny stories for brand new cars

the highlander is alrite, i personally think its pretty boring and expensive (28-32k loaded) but it does come in a AWD version and it can seat 7, i just dont like it because i see one like every minute

 

Well, personally I am a big fan of the rx330. The problem is the local lexus dealers (all of them) charge $100 every 5k miles for an oil change. Then the 15k and 30k services are 600 each. With acura the oil changes are 30 bucks, and the 15k and 30k services are in the range of $280-300.

She likes the MDX, I just find the RX330 much better on the inside.

 

How about the Cadillac SUV, I think it's the SLX? It's smaller like the RX and MDX and it has Navi, don't know about the Bluetooth.

 

so the dealership sucked, not your fx then???


fx > *

 

I agree with the mazda thing. She doesn't like the mazda's anyways though.

 

The FX also. The FX was repaired by a tech who was originally one of the engineers who designed it.

 

That's a good idea. I forgot about that one, I will look into it.Thanks

 

hmmm, was it made of legos...

i find that impossibly hard to believe, in other words

 

feel free to call nissan north american and ask them who specifically repairs the vehicles on a final opportunity during a lemon law case. i have documentation from them claiming it is a representative who originally designed the vehicle. now if it is ACTUALLY true or not, god only knows. probably some bullshit to make customers feel better? - especially in my case when i figured out how stupid the techs were at the dealer - scratching panels? oh, i forgot to mention, when they installed the xm, it didn't even work - apparently the guy cut a wire by mistake.

 

which is why i said it is probably the dealer that sucks


seeing as i am approaching one year of absolutely zero problems with my fx...

and you keep complaining about scratches, if the dealership sucks, then by all means let people know, but that doesn't mean the car does

 

anyway, i sat inside the new subaru and it seems like a pretty nice machine, and my boss loves his highlander, but i thought it could use a little more power

hybrid highlander maybe?

 

I admit that the dealer sucks, but the rep who came into town to do the final repair attempt was also stupid. He is the one who scratched the roof. I admit the FX I bought was a fluke, there are always problems with all car lines - it is just a matter of who gets the bad one. I was unlucky - and combined with the stupidity of the service department - that is the reason I did not accept a replacement FX nor am I willing to buy another one.

As far as the FX itself, it is a GREAT suv. I like how it drove, while it was weird to get used to at first after driving only sedans, it was a fun well spirited SUV. The power from it was great. Gas sucked, but that's what you get from SUVs.

 

I am going to go drive both of those later this week. I saw the subaru and sat it it a couple months ago, but never took it out for a spin. I liked the interior, it was nice - and for 35 some odd thousand it isn't a bad deal. I think it is really between the tribeca and the mdx.

I saw a mint rx330 in the used lot of the acura dealer. 2004 with 35k miles. They were asking 35 for it, but I know they paid 26,5 for it, so there is plenty of room to move on the price of that.

(The fx... scratches happen thats part of dealerships - i have heard of this before. but my real problem was the leaky sunroof. I didn't particulary enjoy the free shower when it was raining.)

 

Touareg?

 

A lot of people have told me to stay away from VW. Yes? No? I mean personally I liked teh touareg. Anybody have thoughts on VWs reliability and maint costs?

 

I'd most definitely get the Touareg, as long as it's not a V6.

Reliability is somewhat of an issue, especially with the amount of hi-tech gagdgets and their electrical issues, but I'd still go for it... w/ extended warranty if you're keeping it for more than 4 years.

I heard you can get about 10k off MSRP on the 05's right now... which would mean you can get a fully loaded V8 for about 45k + TTL.

 

Really 10 grand off!?