jwalker678

The MSRP difference between the 350 and 450H with same equipment is $6,300. Looks like I would pay $7,100 more for the 450H since there is less deal making for this model. Assuming I kept the car 5 years I estimate fuel savings to be $3,500 using today's gas price. What other justification is there for paying this premium for the 450H?

Cruiter

I don't know where you get your prices but the difference in the base price is $4860. Included on the 450h but optional on the the 350 is VDIM and the individual TPMS showing all four tire pressures at the same time. Along with that are a few other trim pieces not even available on the 350. Then you have the Electronically Controlled continuously Variable Transmission (ECVT) with Manual Shift and Snow modes that is unbelievably smooth and tourqey. Oh yea, with the hybrid system, not only does your city and highway mileage go to the 30/32 range, the horsepower goes to 295.

The correct way to look at it would be as if it were the 'Grade' up which it is. I have a very early one, build 16 May and have had 0 problems. It's everything I thought it would be and I don't look back at all.

Oh, and not only will the resale be higher, it might be a lot quicker as there are less of them available.

Now you're right on one thing, you might pay more profit for a 450h than a regular 350 but if you base your best buy is the biggest discount then the 350 might be better for you. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, just stating facts.

Other than that, they are the same body's and interior.

syzygy

450h is the fastest GS ever produced and the 4th fastest Lexus (lfa,is-f, is350) overall

GS 350 is the 6th fastest lexus (behind the GS 460 which brings up the 5 spot surprisingly - weird that the hybrid outperforms the V8)

syzygy

Actually GS 350 might be as fast as the GS 460 due to it being ~200 pounds lighter, and GS 460 has only 40 or so more HP.

GS 350 might actually bring up the 5 spot over the 460.

syzygy

Actually upon further review I discovered that the GS 350 also has a FAR more aggressive final drive ratio compared to the 460 , poising it for superior acceleration.

Trade off of course is that at much higher speeds engine would need to be at a higher RPM to maintain that speed, but that's more practicality and not so much "performance" oriented.

syzygy

Sorry, I thought this was the GS 450 h vs GS 350, not RX. My bad guys.

jwalker678

I used the MSRP given by the dealer on two similarly equipped vehicles. The difference widens because the dealers 30-40 Rx 350 in stock and 3-5 Rx 450H and are willing to offer a greater discount on the Rx 350. I am not so sure the resale will be greater. Lets say you keep the car 5 years and have 75-80k miles. The warranty is up on the battery and now you have the potential cost of replacing. Plus, by then who knows what technology will be preferred. Still, I am leaning toward the RX 450H. The MSRP is right at 54k and I can buy for 50k.

DunWkg

Quoting from an article from the San Francisco Gate

"So the question comes up (it's a topic that arises all the time in the discussion of hybrid versus non-hybrid): how much fuel can you buy for $5,000 to make up for not buying a hybrid. In other words, how much do you save? (The DOE says that if you drive 15,000 miles a year and pay $2.66 for a gallon of gasoline, you will spend $1,995 fueling your RX350 annually or $1,377 on your RX450h. The savings of hybrid over non-hybrid is $618 per year.)"<end quote>

Based on these assumptions, for the hybrid to pay for itself how long will you be keeping it?

It would also be hoped at the end of your ownership, battery technology has improved, become cheaper and when you trade in your 450h you won't lose too much value due to the cost of those batteries for the next guy/gal.

What value to you is the fact the 450h is a "Certified Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV II)"?

The breaking point for me was my wife and I could have challenges seeing who could drive the 450h the longest distance on battery! More quality time, woohoo!!

psu77

FYI, the warranty on the battery is 8 years, 100k miles. In Calif, it is 10 years, 150k miles.

jwalker678

Thanks, I that is better than I realized.

LexFather

What I said in the other thread

SLegacy99

Exactly what I was thinking and an important selling point often overlooked by the buyers of expensive hybrids. If you arent going to drive it enough to recoup the fuel economy benefits, the car will still be worth more than the gasoline version. Especially if gas prices continue to go up, as they are.

Less maintence on brakes, various engine parts is another benefit.

Factor in reduced maintence costs in there and any state/local tax benefits and the RXh really makes sense, especially for the driver who likes a potent CUV.

wa3cuj

All of my research said that you probably will not pay the difference on gas savings unless you keep the vehicle a very long time and drive a lot of miles. Using info on the web the RX 400h hybrids (there were no estimates on the 450h yet) had a much lower rate of depreciation than the 350's. Lease residuals on the web supported that also. In the end the higher gas goes in price the quicker the gap closes. Also, the higher gas goes the more people tend to pay for private sales on hybrids.

You might want to ask how much you are willing to pay to be "socially conscious".

As for dealers not discounting the 450h as much as the 350, I found the same thing until it reached the end. When I bought my 450h on the last day of October the dealer really started to come up with good numbers when I told him I would purchase a 2010 SRX over a 350 if I was going to go all gas. He then started offering percentage discounts on the 450h that equalled the discounts on the 350. I settled at slightly more than $3500 off MSRP.

tnb1

RX450h AWD over RX350.
More horsepower.
More torque.
More Eco friendly.
Built in Japan=Quality.

Terry

SLegacy99

Using our 400h as an example I found that with 50k miles it's worth
Excellent condition: $27,100
Good: $25,600

An identical 350 is worth
Excellent: $24,125
Good: $22,825

A differece of $2975 and $2775 respectively. Not bad considering the difference that we paid out the door was less than $3000 different from a comparable RX350.


Results from kbb.com, trade in value, 2007 MY.