irondonkey

I've been tossing the idea of purchasing one through carmax. Compared to used private party prices, it's been in the range of 20k for one with not too many miles.

Just wondering about maintenance- is it a lot? and have you ever had any drastic issues with the car when reaching the higher miles? I feel it would be a good idea to purchase the carmax extended warranty.

thanks!

KKM

According to April issue of CS, its one of the most reliable cars out there.
Maintenance is low, I do my own. Regular oil change very 7k, engine and cabin filter and brake fluid exchange, every 30k. Lexus website has the maintenance schedule.

chargerfan

iTrader: (2)

Ive owned mine since day 1.... Just hit 65k on the odo. The following is what ive done for maint:


Oil changes = $15/mobil1, $30 oem
@ 10k intervals. First one was free from the dealer, following oil changes done myself with oem toyota filters and oem toyota oil (minus the last 2, which were done with mobil1 0w-20 due to it being on sale for $10.88ar). I have uoa's for those interested in seeing it...it shows doing oil changes before 10k is a waste of time/$.

Cabin air filter = $25 ish @ 30k.... Which i regret doing cause it still looks clean, imo could easily go 2x longer. I kept the orig, and plan on re using it for another 30k after my 2nd one hits 60k of use.

Engine air filter = $25 ish @ 30k, and then i went with an injen short ram intake at 60k.

Tires.... Michelin pilot sport a/s at 30k, and oe Michelin primacy at 60k... Had i actually rotated my tires like most people and drove better... Im sure 40k would have been possible. Meh, $99 per tire from amazon/tirerack

Brake pads = $0... Orig pads still have plenty of meat left

Brake fluid = overdue for this one, but shouldn't be too expensive/hard to do


For what its worth.... 0 issues, 0 situations where i was left stranded roadside, 0 breakdowns, 0 warranty claims, 0 headaches/heartaches, 0 worries when i take this car from san diego to vegas 4x yearly.




TL;DR = LOW MAINT, RELIABLE

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

The costs are some of the lowest I've ever seen on any vehicle in my family.

I'm the "car guy" that takes care of these things at home, including my dad's RX, my mom's CT200h and whatever I'm driving at the time.

This thing has cost next to nothing to operate.

I've done an engine filter twice [50k KM's on car, got it with ~14k, near new], A cabin filter, a few oil changes, dealer Ow20 & filter, usually ends up being ~80$, so figure two a year.

This year, I'll be doing the CVT fluid, as a rule of thumb. And of course a new engine filter & cabin filter. [i get a bunch for all the cars at once from Rockauto, filters are ~3-4$ ea...]
Might be getting new brakes soon, as I have a clicking caliper in the back, so that's the one "irregularity" thus far.

Oh yeah, I put new Michelin's on it, since the originals were showing fine cracks, and my dad put a nail in one... so there's 600$

All things considered, the tint, WT mats & winter tires & rims cost me 3x more at once than I've spent on it in the three years its been in the family!

yeldogt

I have only put 9k on mine since September .. so not even the first oil change. With all the Prius parts -- I'm expecting similar reliability. We have had no additional expenses with both of our Prius -- none. Both of the Prius went 90k on the first set of tires! with 140k on the highest mile one -- still same brake pads.

!0k oil changes -- I buy the maintenance parts on-line and switch them out at the proper interval. !00k spark plugs -- I did the transaxle at 100k also.

Having owned many lexus vehicles -- they are incredibly reliable.

lexusrus

X2.👍👍

Totally reliable.

Just look at the taxi cabs at LAX and ask around. Mostly Pruis' with 300K+ miles with no issues.

lexusrus

FYI

Starting 2016 if you buy a used CERTIFIED Lexus from a Lexus dealer, you get UNLIMITED MILES WARRANTY for the duration of the Lexus Certified warranty which often exceeds the original new Lexus warranty. I don't recall the exact number of years on the new 2016 date.

I bought my RC-F as a Certified Lexus from a Lexus dealer back in 2015. The new 2016 unlimited mileage plan was not offered. So I only got the 100K miles warranty.

yeldogt

The new is 4y/50k -- my last Lexus CPO (few year ago) was 2 year 100k.

The problem with the Lexus CPO was that it did not extend the 4y/50's time. It was simply 2y/100k from CPO purchase date. So... if you bought a 2 year old Lexus you still got the remainder of the 4y/50 -- but you would then only get the miles out to 100k up to 4 years.

Example: Purchase a 2 year old Lexus with 40k with CPO -- you plan on driving 10K a year. You would get 10k of the new car warranty -- once the 50k is reached -- the CPO takes over until the 2 years is up or 100k.

Jaguars CPO works differently: Purchase a year old Jaguar with 15k. The CPO is still 2 years 100k ... but it kicks in after the new car warranty ends -- so you can drive the car for the next 5 years or 100k with a warranty.

jbny

I just bought the CPO 2013 f sport, starting Jan 2014 CPO warranty is
6 Years/ Unlimited miles from in service date (which for me was Jan 2014), they said it is as follows
Basic Warranty - 4 years/50k Miles
CPO - 2 years after end of basic warranty/Unlimited Miles
Complementary Maint for 2 years/20k Miles (i think max is 4 times).

yeldogt

JPNY: Great news ... It has changed since I last purchased a few years back.

For many years I would purchase the vehicles they used for loaners. This for my company -- they would normally be around 1 year old and 12-16k. Lexus would finance and sell at very favorable terms.

Otherwise I had to look for cars 4-5 years old with low miles and go CPO.

Jaguar was one of the first to do a CPO back in 1996. The point was to prop up the used car values -- Jaguars had a poor resale value and this not only hurt the brand .. it made the lease cost very high. Porsche had a similar problem -- due to maintenance cost fear. My dealer told me that Lexus was concerned if they did the same CPO it would hurt new car sales. Why buy new when you can get a one year old car with 12k and a warranty out to 100k and 6 years .. for less money.

While I have bought one new Porsche -- most have been CPO and all the Jags since they started the program.

jbny

Thats good info yeldot

my 2013 seems in pretty good shape and I would not but a Lexus new (way too expensive for me, but i was considering leasing one)

The sales guy told me they changed cpo to unlimited and also started re-leasing lease returns with very favorable rates as they know the car will hold up for atleast 6 years for the most part....I saw a 2013 ct200h for 179 a month lease...don't know more details maybe down payment would've been higher cause that's like leasing a civic.....

irondonkey

thanks all, great info. i see that a lot of you are located in Cali, which is actually why i'm even considering the purchase of one. i'd like to relocate to cali, from GA, and need something that saves on gas while being reliable. I will be on the lookout for a good car to pick out at carmax for the next 1.5 years. even though this one looks very nice- http://www.carmax.com/enus/view-car/...results%20page

for motor oil- amsoil synthetic is guaranteed up to 25k miles. its one expensive oil change at $12 a quart, but i do believe that you simply need to change the oil filter at maybe 5k miles, and pour in half a quart to make up for the loss oil.

jbny

irondonkey - I suggest going with CPO rather than carmax as the prices are pretty similar (atleast on the east coast) plus it seems Lexus really wants to move most of the 2013/2014 lease returns...also with cpo you're covered for 6 years plus 2 year complementary maintenance.
Happy Hunting

irondonkey

i'm still a bit confused with how CPO warranty works.

it's for sure 6 years, unlimited miles?

CPO prices are a couple thousand more than that of carmax, according to the inventory search for my zip code. maybe i just need to search outside of my area.

here is what is posted on the lexus site under the cars-

L/Certified Warranty and Inspection - Every L/Certified vehicle comes with a 2year/Unlimited mileage warranty with 24/7 Roadside Assistance included. If the vehicle is still under the Lexus Factory Warranty, the L/Certified Warranty will go in effect once the Factory Warranty expires. If the Factory Warranty has already expired then you will receive the 2year/Unlimited mileage starting the date of purchase.

they are offering 0.9% for 60 months though. that's a great rate.

jbny

yes

Starting Jan 2016 it's 6 years unlimited miles from first in-service date, 4 free maintenance for the duration of the 2 yr/unlimited miles.