argoldst

Well my 08 rx350 is 1 month old and in the shop a third time trying to fix an annoying rattle that no one can seem to locate.

They are now holding onto my car for a few days so the head service guy can investigate it.

With that being said, assuming they cannot find/fix this rattle, I'm getting rid of this car.

Assuming I trade it in to the same dealership for another lexus, what how much of a hit do you think I will take on it?

If I go to another dealer (if I decide to go to an mdx or something) what do you think I should expect to get for the car?

Obvi, it is brand new and has about 1500 miles. It is navi with lux package. Sadly, Kelly BB doesn't give any idea on 08 prices so what would you guys think?

(I had my is350 for year and it was perfect. This is the last last time I buy a jap car that was not made in japan. I will insist upon it next time)

Booyah

Where is the rattle at

AM1

iTrader: (6)

i dont get why people think that is HAS to be made in japan to be good. my rx330 was made in japan and its had more problems then my last 3 cars put together.

Booyah

I know really!! Its still a Lexus and its built to Lexus standards no matter where it was built--My Japan 04 was not the best either--it was good but my 08 built here is much better

argoldst

The rattle is coming (or sounds like it is coming) somewhere inside the door panel. I, as well as the tech, have tried holding everything, putting additional insulation, and etc. and cannot seem to locate it. It is very irritating.

As for only buying a car made in japan, my experience has not matched yours. My old acrua was made in japan (NO problems). My 2006 is350 made in japan, and did not have any problems or rattles. My current rx350 has a rattle that is driving me nuts and that the tech's can't seem to fix.

Maybe I just got unlucky with this car but I am 100% satisfied with the cars that were made in japan and the 100% dissatisfied with the one that was not.

Getting back on topic though, how much do you think i would get for my tradein?

SugarRush

COnsidering one can get invoice for a brand new 2008 rx350 these days and the all new RX is coming out next yr, i think the dealership will offer yours at most $5K or less from invoice (and not from your purchase price) of a similarly equiped 08 RX350.

mandyfig

Rattle in the door seems to be a new complaint.

The Plant in Canada who assembles our US made RX should be close in terms of quality of assembly versus the Japan plant. They have been doing it a long time. Then again, we need data to evaluate.

mandyfig

Given the choice (but not a show stopper), I would pick a Japan assembled car over others. UK assembled CRV's for some time and they sucked. Not only in the US, EU plants are worse.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

the dash rattle is common, looks like its spreading to the doors. i still think the made in US or made in japan for japanese manufacturers is pointless to think its better at one then the other. my gf's accord was made here in the US and has had no recalls, no TSIBS's, one speaker replaced under warranty in 3 years and 42K miles, while my same year RX330 made in japan with 37K miles has been to the dealer 7 times for warranty work since i got the damn car.

RXSF

im thinking...you should be given a new car as a replacement. insist that this isnt a true lexus, and say that you demand a new one. lol. sometimes you just have to be rough.


perhaps, you might be able to get one out that way...or you looking at maybe paying 5K for another. i think they would give you a good price considering your situation.

btw, my 2004 RX330 from japan...best car ever. i wouldnt care for one made in canada, but i plan on buying next years RX, and god knows where that will be made, probably canada. lol

oh, and dont call them jap cars, thats not PC

argoldst

well i got an offer to upgrade to the 400h for 6500 more. What do you guys think? Is it worth it or just deal with the damn rattling for year and get a new car then?

RXSF

hmm...i would take the hybrid. if i had the choice, i would take it just because i always wanted a hybrid. does it have the same options?

however, there is another part of me that thinks that the next generation RX will come out next year. you might as well wait till then to get the new model hybrid which will be built in japan

teamtbo

So, to me, that insinuates that Lexus isn't confident that a replacement RX350 would not have the rattling sound in the door? Is that true? If so, that is not right.

And even though the 400h would be great, it doesn't seem right that you should have to pay $6500 in order to have a car that doesn't rattle. I think they should either fix the problem, give you a new 350 or give your money back...not try to get you to upgrade.

tgdaman

argoldst,
I can't believe your rattle is in the door (doesn't matter which). That's just too easy to find. Did you try driving with the door slightly open (safe area, of course)? Open with the inside panel off? If this eliminates or changes the sound, you found the problem. If not, take a rider along to find the area the sound is coming from and troubleshoot from there. Unless your rattle is coming from deep inside the dash, I'll bet you will find it using these steps.

argoldst

Sadly i can't do that. The rattle seems to come more as you approach 60mph or a VERY bumpy road. I am not comfortable driving in either of those situations with the door open. I even had the head technician look at it. Now maybe they can do that (with the panel off) but I'm not gonna mess with that as they would probaly try to void my warrenty if I did that.

I have tried holding all different parts of the door to see if it would stop the rattle. sadly it has not.

The bottom line is that a rattle (no matter if it can never be fixed) does NOT make the car a lemon. So other then me just wasting my time and keep bringing it in for them to look at and not fix, there is not much I can do.