Scott R

First, let me say that what I *really* lust after is a Toyota FJ Cruiser. In fact, there's one we might take a look at tomorrow. It's an '07 4WD with a little over 100k miles on it for about $15k. But then I was double-checking the MPG numbers people were getting with theirs, and I'm a lot more worried. Sounds like 18mpg average is pretty normal. Ugh. That said, we don't put a ton of miles on our cars, so maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it.

In my searching, I've also come across an '06 AWD 400h with 129k miles for only $12k. What, if anything, should I be concerned about with a high-mileage '06 AWD 400h?

I came across a couple of user reviews on Edmunds which talked about needing a $10,000 repair. One of them specified it as a faulty invertor, for which there was a recall, so they didn't have to pay for it themselves. The other review that mentioned a $10k repair also specified it as being an invertor, but the way they wrote the review, it definitely sounds like they had to pay for it! The 3rd review talks about a $10k repair that they only had to pay $150 of. They're the top 3 reviews (as of right now) here:
http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/rx-400h...s.html?sub=suv

Assuming this is a real problem I'd need to worry about, would this be covered even though it's now well out of warranty? Was it an actual factory recall that I could bring it in, perhaps proactively, to have them correct with me paying nothing (or a minimal amount)?

Getting back to the mpg thing...I work out of my home most of the time and my wife has a relatively short commute (about 20 mins - backroads), so if that means that the 400h would get less-than-great mpg, please advise.

Again, though, please share with me any other thoughts you may have about whether this $12k high-mileage '06 AWD 400h is worth pursuing. Right now we have an '07 Mazda CX-7 AWD, which I've never been thrilled with and has recently been acting a bit funny. It's paid off and I'd like to trade it in for something, but would rather not put down a big chunk of money or get a new loan, hence why I'm so interested in these two particular $12-15k vehicles.

Oh, one other question...this particular car appears to have a Bluetooth speakerphone (photos show the controls on the steering wheel). I don't see an AUX input in any of the photos. Is there an AUX input or does it possibly support Bluetooth audio? If not, about how easy/inexpensive is it to add an AUX input?

thomas1

12 k for the RX400h seems quite good. Mileage wise yea high. Has the timing belt, and spark plugs been done.? I bought mine with 87k miles and now have 123k miles, love the car. It averages 24,8 most of the time and has gotten 25.8 however my wife and I drive like a race car driver. The inverter should have been repaired under the recall. as for the blue tooth, ours has that for the Phone not sure about the 2006. Basically these vehicles are pretty reliable. Also be careful in your neck of the woods and make sure the car wasnt a flood car. The price seems quite low. Aux input can be added but generally they are for the Apple devices.There are aftermarket inputs also....

sneakyazn

I regularly get about 26mpg. I can get about 27.5mpg if I am very careful and use cruise control a lot, but then my gf starts getting very annoyed. I can't help it with that darn gauge in front of me all the time. It's been a great car for me so far with absolutely no problems.

gsenthil

Here is what I get with my 2008 RX400h
Cruise Speed | mpg
50 | 40
55 | 30
60 | 27
65 | 24

Also, on very short trips the mpg is lower since the ICE is on to warm the engine up. (Cold Pacific NW weather)

maseace

Did you get those numbers over a whole tank at each speed?

takeshi74

How many miles? Short trips are rougher on all vehicles and will result in less MPG. Your wife is also going to have to adjust her driving style if MPG is a big reason for the switch. If I leadfoot our 400h MPG drops quite a bit.

Relatively easy depending on how handy you are. There are threads on this topic that you can refer to. Or search around for aftermarket interfaces. Many sites have instructions available for you to refer to.

Denvermgb

Scott,
Did you purchase the high mileage RX400H? If, so what has been your experience? I am considering a similar purchase and am looking to this forum for some insight. Thanks in advance.