View Poll Results: How many of you are considering trading in your RX for a higher mileage vehicle?
Yes
18
16.98%
No
88
83.02%
Voters: 106. You may not vote on this poll
Gas Prices and the RX
05-08-08, 05:54 AM
#31
Driver
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: OR
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sold 
my RX350 yesterday night for $34,500 
, had it for 16 months(purchase price when brand new for $37500, purchased it in a sales tax free state), loved it.So $3000 is not bad for 16 months .Used to get between 27 to 28 mpg on highways.
Recently I have been driving 90 to 100 miles per day on city roads (possibly for the next 1.5 yrs) and have been getting only 16 to 17.5 mpg and it will not work for me.Will be buying a Prius today which gives 48 to 51 mpg for city driving conditions.
Based on predicitions for oil to go as high as $200/barrel folks expect to pay between $4 & $6/gal.For now you may feel it is a nice suv(no doubt about that) and gives 20 to 25 avg mpg (cit/hwy).But once gas price reaches $5 /gal ,my gas bill would be $150 to $160/week and per month it would be $600 to $640/month. That is crazy. I will save the money and still continue to have my existing lifestyle without making sacrifices for gas to haul 1 person in a 3000+ pound vehicle.
I will wait out for 2 years and most probably by then we will have more choices like nice Hybrid/Hydrogen vehicles.
Recently I have seen GM/BMW hydrogen vehicles being tested on the streets of Los Angeles on a experimental basis and there are at present 18 test Hydrogen filling stations between Southern CA to Washingnton State.
Good Luck folks !!
my RX350 yesterday night for $34,500 , had it for 16 months(purchase price when brand new for $37500, purchased it in a sales tax free state), loved it.So $3000 is not bad for 16 months .Used to get between 27 to 28 mpg on highways.Recently I have been driving 90 to 100 miles per day on city roads (possibly for the next 1.5 yrs) and have been getting only 16 to 17.5 mpg and it will not work for me.Will be buying a Prius today which gives 48 to 51 mpg for city driving conditions.
Based on predicitions for oil to go as high as $200/barrel folks expect to pay between $4 & $6/gal.For now you may feel it is a nice suv(no doubt about that) and gives 20 to 25 avg mpg (cit/hwy).But once gas price reaches $5 /gal ,my gas bill would be $150 to $160/week and per month it would be $600 to $640/month. That is crazy. I will save the money and still continue to have my existing lifestyle without making sacrifices for gas to haul 1 person in a 3000+ pound vehicle.
I will wait out for 2 years and most probably by then we will have more choices like nice Hybrid/Hydrogen vehicles.
Recently I have seen GM/BMW hydrogen vehicles being tested on the streets of Los Angeles on a experimental basis and there are at present 18 test Hydrogen filling stations between Southern CA to Washingnton State.
Good Luck folks !!
This Article confirms people trying to trade in SUV's for cars: http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...heir_guzzlers/
Toyota's Own outlook
My only concern is the values of SUV's will fall so bad because there is an oversupply of used SUV's you may not get a good return , doesn't matter whether it is a Lexus or not.
How many of you here on this board drive alone on a daily basis for more tham 50 mpd (miles per day) or use it to haul the family/pets just for the weekends?
When the time comes I may also get rid of this vehicle if there is a good alternative, for now I am staying put. If you have long commutes that may be another story.
Last edited by tjain; 05-08-08 at 06:12 AM.
05-08-08, 06:51 AM
#32
Lexus Test Driver
every time I think of that, I look on the side at them 5+ liter trucks hauling nothing, then I am all good to go.
Last time I filled up, it was $56, then I looked at the next pump that some Chevy truck just pulled out, $81! Why do those guys drive empty 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks around is beyond me.
Last time I filled up, it was $56, then I looked at the next pump that some Chevy truck just pulled out, $81! Why do those guys drive empty 1/2 or 3/4 ton trucks around is beyond me.
The good news about the gas price going up is that, the diff. between regular and premium gas price have not change, still between .20 to .30 cents diff. In a way, premium is getting cheaper, if you go by percentage of cost over regular gas
05-08-08, 08:38 AM
#33
Intermediate
I know what you mean, we have a lot house wives around here that drive around in their Suburbans or Tahoes all by themself. It just doesnt make any sense to me why would anyone need a truck that big, even if you 2 kids.
The good news about the gas price going up is that, the diff. between regular and premium gas price have not change, still between .20 to .30 cents diff. In a way, premium is getting cheaper, if you go by percentage of cost over regular gas
The good news about the gas price going up is that, the diff. between regular and premium gas price have not change, still between .20 to .30 cents diff. In a way, premium is getting cheaper, if you go by percentage of cost over regular gas
05-08-08, 09:03 AM
#34
Driver
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: OR
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What doesn't make sense to me is why anyone would buy a SUV just to drive around as daily transportation. If you need room to haul gear for sports activities, hunting, fishing, home repair and landscaping I can see why the SUV is so popular but to buy one because they "look cool" or you are trying to keep up with the Joneses then a car would be a lot more practical. Of course when you buy an SUV the price of gas to operate it is usually on the bottom of the list of why you need one. Back in 1980 when I bought my first SUV, a Chevy K5 Blazer it got 13-15 mpg but I used it for what it was designed for, off road driving. As SUV's became more popular I noticed the type of tires slowly changed from the mud and off road tires to all terrain to the current "all weather" type of tire. Just like that Crown Royal whiskey add things come full circle. With the rising price of gas I predict that in the future the SUV's you will see on the street will be geared toward more for off roading and the luxury kind like our Lexus RX will become more car like similar to the BMW X6.
Now it has come full circle for everybody, Detroit companies are on the decline because of overdependance on SUV profits , eveybody is paying the price. In general,Why would you need an suv that has seating for 7 passengers?
How many times have you seen 7 people in a SUV? probably 2 or 3 out of 100 vehicles on the road.
Some SUV look like a mini bus.
Customers are coming to grips now and trying to get rid of them.Even Crossovers like RX will not sell if they are 7-seaters & do not get decent mileage.
The new proposed federal standards for vehicles are going to be tough, expected mpg is 31 mpg, so 7 seat crossovers will not pass the federal standards in current form.
So day's of SUV are numbered.
It's going to be good or bad year for Lexus next year depending on how they execute the new next gen RX in 2009.Timing is kind of bad.You may see a initial rush of existing customers trying to trade their existing RX for the new model.
Last edited by tjain; 05-08-08 at 09:13 AM.
05-08-08, 10:28 AM
#35
Pole Position
Join Date: May 2007
Location: CA
Posts: 355
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i feel for you. i drive 97percent on stop and go city streets. i almost do no highway driving. Acutally living here in so cal, even being on the freeway many times is like being a city street with heavy traffic on many freeways most of the day and night. i usually average around 12-14 mpg. as such i usually fill up 1.5-2 times a week. each fillup costs around 62-65 dolalrs a full tank. im spending around 90-120 dollars a week in gas. i would have got rid of this car (2005 RX330) a long time ago, but unfortunely it is leased by my company for my use. absolutely garbage MPG for a car that only has 230hp. and before anyone flames me or tries to start something with me, this is my true mpg and my opinion. 
05-08-08, 01:30 PM
#36
Driver
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The problem with Diesel in the US is they charge so much more for it, that it almost makes no difference in cost - where I am it was $4 when gas was $3, right now it is a little more than a dollar more, so it is 33% more. The average diesel VW or coming Benz and BMW's get's between 15 and 30% better economy, so it doesn't really save you any money. VW has some new diesel hybrid stuff coming out which will be in the mid 60's for mpg's, so then we will be talking!
05-08-08, 01:41 PM
#37
Why do American's think their fuel is expensive? My last fill up on Sunday cost me US$5.61 per US Gallon. Fuel in Europe is even more expensive.
US$3 - 4 per gallon (US Gallon nor a real Imperial Gallon) looks pretty cheap to me!
US$3 - 4 per gallon (US Gallon nor a real Imperial Gallon) looks pretty cheap to me!
05-08-08, 02:23 PM
#38
Driver
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: OR
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
People have been used to $2 to $2.5/gallon , on the west coast in some cities people are already seeing $4 /gal prices which they have never seen. Hence the complaints. This also has ripple effect on the price you pay for food which has to be driven across the country & utilities.
But people have to understand the demand for oil from faster growing countries like China/India coupled with weak US dollar is the cause.
05-08-08, 10:29 PM
#39
05-09-08, 02:52 AM
#40
why do you always bring that up for? here in so cal for example with cities spread out, you almost have no choice but to drive your car a lot. most people here commute on average more then 25-27 miles one way to work. coupled with how bad traffic is here for most of the freeways, for most people this is a no choice type of situation. i would love to be able to take the subway or take a train to and from work but realisticially it isnt feasible for me or most of the population, since for the most part it barely exists. while gas may be cheaper here in the US then many other places in the world, we really dont have much choice but to drive our cars. At least in europe there is good enough public transportation that if you didnt want to drive a car you dont have to. i wont even bring up the countries where gas is under a dollar a gallon, lest i cause another riot around here......
05-09-08, 06:04 AM
#41
Super Moderator
I got used to the gas prices that we have in the U.S. now the moment I moved down to Mexico back in 2002 and came home last month to the same prices. Only good thing is that I get better gas mileage thanks to being at sea level and better fuel quality (not just the additives).
05-09-08, 08:14 AM
#42
Driver
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't think it's expensive. In fact, I wish that the US would have quadrupled gas taxes 10 years ago - it would encourage more responsible vehicles and driving, while providing tax revenue to maintain the roads being beat up by ridiculously heavy vehicles.
05-09-08, 11:55 AM
#43
What you describe is exactly like nearly all Australian cities. Public transport is lousy over here (no Subway's anywhere here in Oz), our cities are actually spread out more than yours are (I know) and we drive just as far as American's do. The point is, you guys need to look around at the rest of the world and suck it up. You are not as bad off as you think you are!
05-09-08, 02:30 PM
#44
Intermediate
US has still has the cheapest gas prices.Unlike Europe, US (like Australia) is a very big country and does not have very good public transportation except for some major cities like New York,Chicago etc.
People have been used to $2 to $2.5/gallon , on the west coast in some cities people are already seeing $4 /gal prices which they have never seen. Hence the complaints. This also has ripple effect on the price you pay for food which has to be driven across the country & utilities.
But people have to understand the demand for oil from faster growing countries like China/India coupled with weak US dollar is the cause.
People have been used to $2 to $2.5/gallon , on the west coast in some cities people are already seeing $4 /gal prices which they have never seen. Hence the complaints. This also has ripple effect on the price you pay for food which has to be driven across the country & utilities.
But people have to understand the demand for oil from faster growing countries like China/India coupled with weak US dollar is the cause.
I'm currently in Swtzerland and gas here is about $1.77/liter -> about $7.00/gallon.
Enjoiy US prices!
05-09-08, 08:19 PM
#45
didnt know that about australia......anyways at least in parts of asia or europe there are alternatives. true we arent that bad off, but conversely you could also say that we are all getting screwed since gas costs like what 70 cents a gallon in venezuela, saudi arabi, etc........