jbrooksga

Typical newbie here.....

We are shopping for an 04 330 and drove 3 different ones yesterday. Two of them had AWD, and they seemed to just generally drive better than the FWD.

The best one was AWD with 50k. It is VERY clean with absolutely no dings or scratches. My wife wants the heated seats, but I'm not sure if AWD is really necessary since we live in the Southeastern US. Apparently the heated seats only come on the AWD models. I understand that we are giving up some MPG for that as well.

Not only was it very clean, it had the most solid handling of the ones we tested. The overall feel of the chassis just felt more solid as far as steering response. It has some moisture inside the drivers side headlight, which is the only problem I could report. Seems like that has been a common problem with others as well.

It is being sold by a dealer who specializes in Lexus pre-owned. They acquired it at an auction, and the vehicle previously had one owner in the state of New York. That somewhat bothers me due to the potential of rust from winter driving. That said, the vehicle appears to be in great condition. Carfax records look fine, as some of the service data is available. We would be paying $27,500 for it.

Since it is over 50k, the warranty has expired. Should we consider getting an extended warranty from Lexus if that is even possible?

Any other things we might should investigate before making a purchase would be appreciated.

mandyfig

Extended warranty helps. Get it from the dealer, but normally it has to be within the warranty period to avail of the extended one, not sure. Or else you can get from other sources.

The G Man

I would ask the dealer about extended warranty or go with a after market extended warranty. I would also ask the dealer to replace that headlight. AWD is no big dealer in your area and you can add heat seats from an after market source. I would not worry about rust, cars today are design to withstand any NY winter with no problem as far as rust is concern.

mandyfig

Just go and check out the underbody and seal-repair as necessary. You should be good to go.

deepakg

How do you tell if it is an AWD or FWD from the vin #? I purchased a RX330 of 2004 two weeks ago. The dealer says it is AWD buit I do not know how to tell. Can any one please help?

cdnewton

Check the fourth digit of the VIN: G for 2WD, H for 4 AWD.

benzo555

iTrader: (11)

My 04 2WD RX330 does have heated seats. Its just an option. Now I cant tell you how much better or worse it drives, but living in Houston AWD is not necessary at all. I do have 107K on mine and absolutely no problems but wifey wants upgrade to a RX350 or RX400h and to change color.

Make sure that all the Lexus VIN tags are in place and if you can get the RX with Michelins instead of the Badyear RSAs.

You can also look under the car if its a FWD or AWD.

litesoarer

$27,500 is too much.

We were looking at AWD RX330's back in late August, and almost bought a CPO '04 RX330 AWD with 37k miles, Fully optioned for $23,500. (Then the recession came)

ratha67

Original post is 1.5 years old.

triplecore

do you think the op is still debating on this RX?

jbrooksga

LOL.....

I stumbled across this tonight. Might as well finish the details.

We purchased the 2004 AWD in 2007, at this point I don't recall exactly the final cost. It had 50k when we purchased it, now it has 117k. So far it has been a great vehicle. No unexpected repairs to speak of other than regular maintenance. Timing belt will be changed next week. Yes I know that should have already been done, but as everyone knows this one is very pricey even at an independent shop.

The wife really wanted the heated seats, so the AWD was the only option to make that work. AWD is not really needed in Georgia, however it does feel very solid in heavy rainfall situations. I did drive it in the snow once this Winter, and can appreciate how the folks up North would need it.

The only drag about the vehicle is the MPG. Seems to always get around 19-20 MPG with a mix of city and highway driving. I suppose that is good considering the AWD.

I'm fighting the headlight condensation problem now. Always had it previously but recently it has gotten much worse. While washing it today I noticed water literally pouring into the headlight, which is why I'm here tonight doing research.

mandyfig

I posted a tip on the condensation issue, check it out.

lexus114

That is way too much, I only paid $23,000 for my 2005 AWD RX 330 w/59,000 miles on it.

phlfly

Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum I bought today, long wait ...wait, then pull a trigger for 2004 RX330 90,000 miles(I know a lot, but) price 14,000. Is it good one?
Full and detail maintenance record with this car, because it was serviced on our local dealership only, since came to port. Amazing one owner.
Power steering, Radio, brakes, rotors, tires, timing belt, rear hatch struts, battery were changed. But don't remember seeing head lamp. Is it a big problem for this cars?
Also transmission and transfer case oil replacing when? And what oil did you use for this?

Thanks

lexus114

Synthetic oil in Transmission,transfer,and rear. Oh,and i would do that NOW !