jjorgenson

Hi all,
I have been presented the opportunity to take in this 2010 Lexus RX350 with just a hair over 196,000 miles on it from a dealership I work at. They’d sell it to me for ~$6300 after taxes/registration. It was recently traded in by an older couple for a newer vehicle and it has a lot of highway miles. We also have a complete Carfax of all the maintenances done and it looks to be in decent shape. There is a scuff on the back. Our mechanics looked it over and said it is in really good mechanical condition. My questions are…

1. Is the price fair?

2. If yes, what about the mileage? I am going to be using this car as my daily driver/winter car and I want to know if these engines are relatively sound/reliable if taken care of.

3. Are there any issues I should look for?

4. Are heated/ventilated seats, backup camera, and remote start part of an additional option or was it part of the base offering?

5. Are there any big maintenances I should be prepared to undergo as the mileage increases to 200k, 210k, 220k, etc? I usually change the oil in my vehicles around every 6500 miles to be safe…

Feedback is appreciated! Thank you.

Felix

If your techs looked it over & they didn't mentioned if it needed anything, great. I'd Change out all the fluids, trans, diff, transfer case, coolant, flush the brake fluid, transmission fluild/filter as well as the oil/filter & I'd change the oil/filter at 5k, not 6.5K. I'd also swap out the rubber oil cooler hoses for steel lines. Looks like you have the premuim package, those seats are heated, the comfort package includes the ventilated seats which are different. Its a Toyota product as well its a 2gr engine, take care of the basic maintence & it'll take care of you for many more miles......

jjorgenson

Thank you for the quick response. It seems like a good car overall. I will look in to getting some quotes for having that job done as I don’t have time to do it myself (although I wish I did)! Any idea what an estimate like that would cost?

RX10

Looks like a reasonable buy if the basic maintenance has been attended to. I’d refer to www.drivers.lexus for more details about the car including build and option history as well as detailed maintenance records if the vehicle was serviced at Lexus or Toyota. In addition, this forum has a extremely helpful community and very informational threads/topics that will assist you with any questions about the RX350.

Felix provided some excellent advice. I too have a 2010 RX which I purchased almost two years ago. After getting great advice from many within this forum as well as reading a lot of the maintenance related topics, I’ve since changed all fluids, replaced the rubber oil cooling hose with the metal version (if you have the tow package).

Consider finding a independent mechanic shop who works on Lexus/Toyota vehicles for your basic maintenance. If you have AWD, you’ll need to have the ATF changed with a specialized machine at a Lexus/Toyota dealership. I’m not a DIY’er so I rely on Toyota dealerships for maintenance issues not handled by my independent shop. Toyota is cheaper than Lexus.

As for some idea of basic costs (these will differ depending on your area, resourcefulness and negotiating skills): ATF exchange $400-600; coolant $100-150; brake fluid $125-150; metal cooling hose (if it hasn’t already been replaced) OEM part $75, labor approx. 1 - 1 1/2 hrs; oil change $60-80 (and yes, every 5K with tire rotation). Additionally, find out when the spark plugs were last changed. Lexus recommends every 120K miles so that maintenance item might be due within a few thousand miles. That should give you a general idea of what needs to be done. Develop a base point with your maintenance items and you’ll be good to go.

The RX is a very dependable and reliable vehicle when maintained properly and can easily go 250-300K+ miles. If the car you are considering to purchase has been well maintained, lots of highway miles, no major accidents and only one or two owners, then I believe you found a nice car for, in todays market, a reasonable price (although I’d negotiate lower if possible or have then do some of the maintenance).

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out for you!

Clutchless

CarSpecMN is an independent Toyota/Lexus/Scion specialist in a Minneapolis suburb called Eden Prairie, MN if that is not too far away. They also have a blog with great information about these cars and their mechanical issues on their web page.
http://carspecmn.com/

mcomer

The 2010 RX was a significant upgrade to the previous generation, Bluetooth connectivity for both your phone and music,
standard XM tuner (subscription required of course), USB port (hidden in the center console), over "2 wider cargo area
with revised rear suspension that intruded into the upper cargo area.

The heated and ventilated seats were optional but customary in the Central Area incl. MN. The back up camera was included
with the Navigation equipped cars, the rear view mirror inset camera optional on Non-Nav cars was of minimal value. Remote
Start was an accessory for $500 that used the Lexus Key Fob involving pressing the Lock button three times. Many CL threads
lamenting the short range < '80 and the fact that the car will shut off when you open the doors. If you do not see the small 8 page
white paper flyer stuffed into the Owner's Manual or the postage stamp sized window cling announcing the installation of the
RES, Remote Engine Starter you can simply try by pressing the keyfob lock button, press/release/press/release/press and hold,
If not already equipped you may find that an aftermarket system works a bit better but requires an additional 1/2 size fob on your ring.

RadiantX45

Wow, it's hard to find a second gen RX for that cheap here in the PNW even with 200,000+ miles. I've never seen a third gen that cheap.
Looks like a base model, no nav, no HIDS, etc, which means less to go wrong.

I think it comes down to how much you trust the dealer you work at and the information they provide.

Do you know if they were planning to sell it on their lot or were they going to send it straight to auction?