NewGuy1

My fiancé currently drives our 2006 mercury mountaineer with 84,000 miles and I'm stuck with the 94 camry..haha. Anyways we are in the market to buy a new vehicle and trade in the mercury before it starts giving us problems.

My fiance loves the rx model and we happen to come across a 2005 RX330 with 44,000 miles, great condition, no scratches or dents, has everything except nav, and the original owners were an elderly couple who just traded it in for a newer model. Carfax came back with all the maintenance done when needed and no major accidents or repairs.

The dealer is asking $22,988. I got them down to $20,000 and to pay off my $10,000 remaining balance on the mercury.

Just wanted to see if anyone thought this was a good or bad deal and if I should go through with it. Thanks in advance.

Carver

Here's some cars in that range that are available around the country, see if any are near you and use them to get a better deal...

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1300824955794

Adamjeeps

Why trade a 2006 for a 2005? While the Mountaineer may not be a luxury ride, they are pretty well built and fairly reliable. There is no guarantee the RX will not need repairs down the road. Also need to consider the trade in, have you done your homework on its' value?

I would try to at least get the 2007+ RX 350 if you are dead set on getting one.

Good luck...

Poqman

My wife drives a 2005 RX330 and loves it. She bought it new and it now has 60k miles. It has been extremely reliable. The one service that had to be done by the dealer was an automatic transmission re-program to improve the shifting. Other than that, tires, battery and regular maintenance. There has been two recalls, one for a master brake cylinder seal and the second for the floor mat clip that may cause a sticking accelerator pedal.

NewGuy1

Carver, Thanks for the link. I did check out auto trader around my area in New England and I feel I would be getting a good price. They were all relatively in the same price range and most of them have higher mileage.

Adamjeeps, thanks for your input. I understand why someone would question going to an older vehicle and consider it downgrading. But I was more looking at the mileage and condition. I mean what's the difference of buying an 08 or an 05 with 40,000 miles. Either vehicle can give you problems at anytime. I just thought it looked like a good deal considering the condition, prior owners, and history of maintenance. As far as the trade in goes I think I should push for more. I feel they were low balling me and saying they wouldn't make much more off it at the auction then 10k. Im deffinitley going to search around for some newer models and compare prices. Thanks again

Anyone else purchase an 05 rx330 recently and want to share what kind of deal they got and any reviews on the vehicle so far....

intermec

with good service history, I think $20K is a pretty good deal.