I have heard and read great things about the RX300, my question is this: I have an opportunity to purchase a 1999 RX300 for about 11k. This car has 139000 miles on it. Do you think I should get it with that mileage? It would be replacing a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 84000 miles and so far has had signigicant problems. The last thing I want is to trade up for a vehicle that will have similar issues. What do you guys think?

 

Spend some time going through previous posts in this Forum. Some folks have some issues but mostly the reviews are +.

The milage and age puts the perspective vehicle into a zone which may need repair, but most of all it depends upon how the previous owner cared for it.

You should be able to get a car history report through dealer on maintainance and carfax on reported accidents. I would pour over the maintanace history and look for abnormality in miles driven vs reccomended service performed.

Buying a car without a history just adds up your risk.

Salim

 

I have a 1999 with 142k. If I were you the two things I would check, besided CarFax, would be (1) requiring that the car had synthetic motor oil its entire life with frequent changes, and (2) the frequency with which the transmission fluid was changed. The 1999 maintenance schedule did not mandate fluid change at any particular interval and many people like me ended up buying transmissions at about the 100k mark.

 

Any other advice? Here are the specs:

1999 RX300 2WD
139000 miles
I can get it for about $11,000

Is this a good deal, or should I stay away?

 

I would still try to negotiate for under 10K, this thing ain't even an AWD.

 

As much as we're Lexus fans around here, I'd say that you've got to think about the fact that first and foremost it's a used car. You're talking about trading into a car that's a year older with 55,000 more miles than the Jeep. Right off the bat, that doesn't sound like a hot idea, despite the Jeep's history and the Lexus name.

Any car can be a good car, or it can have problems as time goes on. The nameplate doesn't really change that. I can't tell you how frequent big problems are with an RX300 as time goes on, but the two most expensive ones that have been discussed here are:
- Oil "sludge" buildup (believed to be caused by poor circulation design in the block, and brought on by not changing the oil often enough)
- Transmission mechanical problems

Again, I don't know the percentage of cars that develop these problems - it's just that they've come up here on the forum. They're major problems when they happen, often requiring replacement of the engine or trans respectively. But on the bright side, that's a fairly short list of things over and above the usual wear items.

The last thing to consider in this trade is the price of parts and service. Something happened several months ago at Toyota HQ where it was mandated that Toyota dealers must stop dealing with parts that only fit Lexus products. Of course, this implies that Toyota dealers can't work on Lexus cars, because they're stuck if a part breaks in the process of doing something and then they can't replace it. Therefore, you'll pay Lexus prices for service if you need anything done by a dealer. My Lexus dealer is a nice dealership with good people, but I'd be very afraid of the size of the bill for something that's not covered by warranty!

 

You can get the VIN and call or go by a Lexus dealership and they will give you a print out of the maintenance that Lexus has performed on the vehicle. That may give you some insight on the history ofthe vehicle.

 

Welcome to CL! While Lexus builds a fine automobile, they have yet to achieve immortality. 139,000 miles is a LOT, roughly 20-22K per year for the past seven or eight years (the '99 RX was intro'd in mid '98 in its first markets). If that mileage was primarily on the highway at speeds of 50 - 70 mph, that isn't quite so bad as miles put on in urban traffic or in freeway jams. There are probably other 2WD RX's out there with a lot fewer miles and only a slightly higher price.

Check the Kelly Blue Book at www.kbb.com for more specific pricing for your area. If you can buy from a private owner, so much the better. Either way, buy a CarFax report to be sure it hasn't been wrecked and rebuilt. DO NOT let the dealer furnish the report to you - that's almost guaranteed to be a phony. Buy your own. Check to be sure it was routinely serviced by a reputable mechanic. And finally, have a well-qualified mechanic go over it before you buy. A couple hundred bucks can buy you a lot of peace of mind.

Good Luck!