Im helping my aunt choose out an SUV under $9k and has to be decent.
we've narrowed it down to a 00' Lexus RX300 w/o navi, and a 01' MDX touring package w/ navi.

anyone have any complaints or experience on a RX300?

 

RX300 are solid...but under 9k....

 

yeah, i found one for 9k, 78,xxx on it. going to check it out tomorrow and if its in good shape see if i can pick it up for her on saturday.

 

what year?

private seller?

any accidents?

That price sounds awfully low.

 

http://www.sportchryslerjeep.com/use...seHistory=true

i havent done a carfax on it yet though, gonna see if the dealership will just print one out for me. and my bad on the mileage, its lower than i remembered.

 

here is my "take"

dealer never go by trade in using kbb...never, its not the standards they go by...BUT

They do use kbb to their advantage on SELLING their used cars. And kbb says 12k for this car.

So its really low....you need to find out how long its been sitting on the lot, they might just want to get rid of it....it might have other issues.

One thing to look at....those engines could have potential sludge problems if oil changes werent kept up on time.

 

QX4. Might be a little hard to find an 01-03 (the good ones) on that budget though

 

Toyota Highlander, Nissan Pathfinder.

 

its pretty funny, i cant find a highlander cheaper than its bigger sister the rx300.

 

buy a car..... do you really need a pseudo truck (my apologies to is300eater, who has the exception to my rule of Stupid Useless Vehicles).....

 

Its for his aunt and you dont know what her criteria is for wanting one.

My mom had a toyota minivan..the original...she likes to situp high....after owning an LS for a number of years she went to a RX300...now RX400

She likes being high to see, and having 4wd doesnt hurt since they are in the snowbelt now.

 

I just re-read the post. I know a lot of women like to sit high, and for that reason, women tend to favor an SUV. The problem I have is people buying them for the wrong reasons, where a very capable minivan or wagon would do just fine.

My gut says that the SUV craze in the US is just BS, and the car makers are making a mint over it. (but GM/Chrysler/Ford loose so much on their crappy cars, they should be in Chapter 11).

 

I wont disagree. 70% of the time my mom doesnt need a SUV. But in the winter sometimes my father will take it to work because of 4wd, and its their road trip car for their vacations down to SC. My father loves the way it drives.

But lexus doesnt make a luxury minivan that comes with the unbridled service their renowned for, and I think after 13 of driving a minivan...she is over it.

Just speaking from one families POV.

 

My mom's got an '02 RX with the full load and around 97K on it right now.

The only troubles we've had are few.

#1 - Repeated failure of the power radio mast. Since new, it's chewed up an average of a motor every year and a half or so.
#2 - Markings have worn off the radio knob, 'MAP-VOICE' and 'AUDIO' buttons.
#3 - The most major was a seal that failed causing the engine to start hemorrhaging oil. Thankfully it was in the hands of the dealer when this occurred and was taken care of immediately. This occurred out of warranty and the bill was $3,000.

Also, maintenance is expensive. Most major services are in the ballpark of $1,400 and oil changes are about $70. So be prepared for that.

It's been a good car, just not something you'd want if you're looking for an inspiring and/or emotional driving experience. Nor is it something if 'cheap to maintain' is in your list of must-haves.

 

Well, I currently own a Honda Odyssey (and the Subaru) and have previously owned a Volvo V70, and I say that a capable AWD van/wagon is better on gas and better handling in bad weather (the wagon better than a van, a van better than an high center of gravity SUV) than an SUV.

And 13 years with any vehicle is a long one. Now the LX series is really a Toyota Land Cruiser with a lot of leather. Very capable off road, but no one wants to ding up a vehicle that cost $75K.

For the price range the OP is looking at, I say the Lexus sounds like a good deal, just get the Carfax on it.

 

except that a lot of people wouldnt be caught dead driving a mini-van or wagon

 

Again wont argue with that. Though I would not knock the handling characteristics of the car based RX, the center of gravity isnt THAT since its not a full bore offroad truck. Especially the new ones. And as for Gas...somewhere in the same ballpark as the Ody. The hybrid, better obviously.

And again...volvo and honda just dont treat you the way Lexus does when you bring your car in for service...even a 9 year old out of warranty SUV...Thats part of their namesake. And to some older people, such as my parents, that means a lot.

 

she gets car sick riding in lower cars, like my mom. they refuse to ride in my accord coupe or my cousins rsx.

 

Stay away from the Toyota 3L V6.....they had the serious oil gel problem.

Here is a small example of the troubles.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/lexus.html

Do yourself a favor and stay away from the Rx300.

 

i would worry about replacing o2 sensors, charcoal canister, knock sensors and maybe wheel sensorson the rx. these things are buggers and the problems sometimes seem to never go away.

i don't know if the mdx had any trans issues early on either.

 

yeah but its a 1mz, which is inside of like a billion camrys also. so im not too worried about the handful of people that had sludge problems.

 

It was bad enough for Lexus to extend warranties.
It was bad enough to kill the 3.0L and jump to 3.3L.

I'd stay away.

 

im not sure if the jump from 3.0 to 3.3 has much to do with it besides upgrade like the accord going from 2.2 to 2.3 to 2.4 or mdx going from 3.5 to 3.7

 

For what it's worth; my sister has an 03 RX300 and it's been 100% reliable until today. It has maybe 110k miles on it and it feels very solid. I think the struts are done or almost done, but otherwise it's great. No sludge either but we put only Mobil1 Synthetic in it.

Service is not that expensive if you go to a good indy mechanic. Timing belt, all front end seals, water pump, and a major service cost about $1100 at a good indy and maybe $1500 at a dealer.

I wouldn't hesitate buying an RX as long as it's been maintained.

 

mitsubishi montero seems pretty solid (upper class than RX300)

 

since when was mitsubishi montero higher class than a lexus rx300

 

maybe he meant by its size?

 

ahhh, yeah. i dont think she needs a huge honking suv, just something she can see over bushes and cars parked on corners.

 

my sis has a 00 RX, its nice, but personally i'd take the MDX.

 

My roommate's mom has an '01 with about 130K miles on it. From what I hear and from my experience with it, it seems like a very solid car. Nothing out of the ordinary that would make me say its not a good car so I find it weird hearing all of this bad publicity about it from all of you.

 

After owning one for the last 2 years I would have to say try to find a Pathfinder for her. Solid truck. The only issue I have with the Lexus is the cost of repairs as the truck gets older.

 

i would never buy a suv with high mileage. too risky IMO.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...00&cardist=774

get a 2007 santa fe with about 30k on it. you can get a decent one for around 12k and it will still be under factory warranty. invest 3k more and be smart. you will be worry free. i have 08 santa fe and it's a great fucking suv. i traded my 03 mdx for it.

 

Since I have personal experience buying a SUV with high miles I would have to say you dont know what youre talking about.

 

I don't know if this means anything to you or not, but my parents have a 2002 RX300 w/ Navigation that they are looking to sell. I have to ask my father what he wants for it, and it's going to be a little more than you want to spend, but it's solid, in excellent shape and it has about 50k miles on it. I think my father wants somewhere in the $10k-$11k range....interested? PM me...

 

Dude, these days, not KBB, not Edmunds, not Galves, none of the guides will give you a good idea of what the car is worth. The used car market is VERY soft these days. When I get an offer to buy a car, I usually go by Galves, but these days I try to quote BELOW Galves to be safe because the market is so retarded now.. The pricing he is saying doesn't surprise me...

 

im not sure if i can persued her to go any higher, i got her to atleast spend 9k instead of her original $4k. but it looks like someone bought the $9k rx300 before i got out there to test drive it........

 

Well, let me know...I'm trying to convince my parents to sell their car and get something new (My mom is driving my father crazy because she wants something "newer"), it's a very good deal, it's newer than what you were looking at, has lower mileage...definately worth the money!

 

 

07 santa fe > 6-7 year old lexus or acura suvs IMO.

maybe it's just me but i've never had any luck with suvs with high mileage. i've had 3 of them, and all ended up trading for a newer and less headache cars. even if it doesn't break, you still have to replace those expensive parts. having a peace of mind is more important to me. i loved my mdx, but after 100k, it gave me problems after problems. little things, but it cost me alot of money i wish i didn't had to spend.

 

+1 IMO, it's great if she could buy something that still has warranty on it. And I've been hearing from friends the new Hyundai suvs are good as well.