JohnAMG

I am helping my brother in-law to look for a certified preowned 2004 RX330. What is the reasonable price to pay for RX with 10-20K miles? Are there any known issue with the 2004 RX330? And does 2004 RX comes with rearview camera and bluetooth? I test drove one last year before I purchased my GX( needed the 3rd. row seating for the kids) and I like it quite a bit. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

John

Lil4X

The early '04 330 had the option for the camera on top of the Nav option (but most Navs were so equipped in '04). The camera is obvious, hanging just below the liftgate handle to the left of the license plate. Bluetooth did not appear until MY '05, but as handy as it is, it's not a critical option, IMHO.

CPO '04's with nav are about $35-$36K (list) from my local dealer in Houston. A recent check indicated they might back off that a grand or so. Good luck - with the 350 hitting the showrooms in force, the 330 price may dip a bit in coming weeks.

JohnAMG

Thanks for the reponse. If my brother-in-law can get one for $34-35K with low milage it would be great. He originally wanted to buy the new RAV4( V6 Limited) but it is MSRP at $29,000 with no discount because it is so new. I recommended him to look at a preowned Lexus since my experience with Lexus has been great, and he complemented how nice my GX470 is. I told him the ride and quality between a RX(even preowned) and a RAV4 is night and day. Plus he is the kind of guy who doesn't want to bother with problem car so obviously Lexus is the choice.

John

tfischer

Well, that's very interesting.

Just a few weeks ago I traded in my RAV4 and purchased an '04 RX330 CPO with Nav from a local dealer. Since you are asking, here's my take on that deal.

The prices above are very fair. My '04 has about 40,000 miles, and my dealer started at $35 large. It's hard to say what I paid exactly, since we went up and down on that number and up and down on the trade-in, as dealers like to do. I don't know what he would have sold it for without a trade-in -- you never do.

I would have loved to have found one with 20,000 miles, but that's pretty rare.

There is no Bluetooth in the '04, but it's not a big deal. The NAV is excellent and a slight step up from what's in my '02 SC430 (gen 2 vs gen 3; the '05 has the gen 4 NAV), but they both use the same data disc, so that's handy for me. I have the original '04 brochure, and I am sure that all RX330s have the backup camera as a part of the NAV option. If it has the NAV, it has the backup camera, and the backup camera is not available without the NAV. It's obvious which 330s have the NAV because they have the big square 7" screen atop the dash. The one's without the NAV have a LCD readout (for the climate controls) that looks to be about 2 inches high. Look at the interior pics for the cars being sold on eBay and you will see the difference right away.

The RAV4 is a very reliable car, but it is flimsy, lightweight and spartan compared to the RX. I had one for 5 years, and was pretty happy with it. I thought I would be taking a step up by moving from a RAV4 to an RX330. I was wrong. It's about 5 or 6 steps up -- maybe an elevator ride to the top.

(There's nothing wrong with a RAV4 -- the receptionist at the Lexus dealership bought mine from them later that same day.)

Finally, check the "in service date." You will have 4 years of full warranty from that date, which is probably a bit over one more year, plus you will have 3 years of CPO warranty from your date of purchase, which is less broad than the original new car warranty, but equivalent to the Platinum Lexus Extended Warranty. Be sure to get everything checked out just before the end of the 4 year full warranty.

I say go for it. I couldn't be happier with the car. I thought I would like it, but I'm crazy about it.

I can see why it's the biggest selling Lexus model.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

No blue tooth in 2004. I think it came out in the 2005 models. Anyway, for $34-$35K I would just add another $2-$3K and get a brand new 06 RX330. There may still be a few left on the lot and the dealers are probably willing to bargin since the 350s already are coming out. My local dealer as early as end of last year were already advertising Premium Plus package RX330s with HID, power lift gate for $37K. I think $35K for a 2004 RX330 is way too much. At the very least it should be a low miles 2005 for that price.