xclusivetn

I need some quick help if anyone wouldn't mind. We have a rx300 we got with 49k. It was prurchased from a Maserati dealer in Naples, FL and shipped to TN. It now has 179k and we haven't had any major issues out of it (great car).

We were looking and found an 04 rx330 base model with 64k for $12,900. It was purchased brand new at Lexus(1 owner) and traded back in at Lexus earlier this year. It has now gone to a wholesaler to be sold. The carfax looks good and I have the service records on it which shows it had alot of svcs done at the Lexus dealer early when first purchased. I do see there was an accident of right side (impact) in 2005 but that is all the carfax stateds. On the svc records I did not see where the timing belt or spark plugs were changed so I'm assuming because of age (not mileage) that those will need to be replaced soon. We are suppose to purchase the car today but now I am having 2nd thoughts because I just noticed it was AWD. I am wondering would AWD be dealbreaker for any? My mechanic not seeing the car because we are in a different state says that since the cars are starting to increase in age that a fwd model would be less hassle & money to fix in the long run. Any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

jfelbab

I owned a 2004 RX330 AWD for 10 years. Traded it in on a new 2014 a couple weeks ago. I spend a good deal of time in Wisconsin and the AWD was terrific in the snow and ice. Otherwise it may cost about 1 MPG in fuel economy. I've not incurred any major expense due to AWD. The RX330 was a very reliable car. I believe that car would have gone another 10 years without major issues. It looked and ran like a new car.

My dealership didn't recommend changing plugs or the timing belt based on time, only on miles. I monitored my fuel economy and the MPG steadily increased since I bought it so I think the plugs were fine.

I would make the RX330/350 one of my top picks of a used SUV.

And lest I forget, Welcome to CL.

05RX330TX

Prior purchase the RX330 there are couple common problems, [1] External power side mirror [2] Power Steering Rack leak ($1200-$1500 to repair per Lexus).

Denvermgb

Because there are so many used RX330's and 350's out there, I wouldn't feel pressured to get this particular vehicle, especially if it is out-of-state. I just bought an '04 RX330, but only after looking at about 8 others first. The reliability of these vehicles is quite notable, especially when you compare the Lexus against other used vehicle options in Consumer's Digest. Take your time and get a mechanic involved if you are not able to thoroughly inspect the vehicle yourself. And, this forum is a great place to research and get your questions answered. Good luck!

thomas1

Personally the price seems high. I would look further...Great vehicle otherwise.

gusar

I have 2005 RX330 for the last 4 years. One issue I had - bearing in the rear wheel replaced (actually, hub was replaced). Otherwise - i love it. Don't do repair at Lexus and maintenance won't be expensive. My car is still solid.

DavidTB

I was thinking the price was a little high too for an almost 10 year old car.

jfelbab

To me, that price seems to be reasonable for a RX330 with very low mileage. A scan of the prices of these vehicles at Edmunds finds several RX330's with over 100k miles selling for thousands more. If it was a private party sale you could expect the price to be a bit lower but not much lower than the $12,900 asking price from this dealer.

www.Edmunds.com

Another source for used car pricing,
www.KBB.com

Much depends on the condition of the vehicle.

xclusivetn

Thanks for everyone's comments so far. Price wise, $12,900 I'm not concerned about at all. For the age and mileage I havent seem many other models come close. My main concern is the AWD and maintenance going forward. I was able to put the dealer off one more day and have until tomorrow to go thru with the deal or not. Thanks for everyone's comments so far. I will sleep on them and pray about and see how I feel in the a.m.!

Thanks

DavidTB

If you've done your price comparisons you know the prices better then me. That is nice low miles, and being in the south you don't have to worry about salt rust like we do in mich.

xclusivetn

Well actually that was one of my concerns. The vehicle was located on the east coast & AWD. I have decided not to purchase the vehicle and continue looking. What makes my search hard is that I have a few things that are a must:

1. good carfax & service history
2. low mileage (50k-65k)
3. good price (12k-14k)
4. FWD
5. black leather (my little one wasn't to kind to the tan leather in the current rx300 so dark leather is a must)

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These are items that I would like but aren't a deal breaker

6. black exterior (the black on black combo seems to be rare and hard to find)
7. navigation and DVD combo(not expecting to find this at my price point).

I know being a little picky will slow up the search but the good thing is we don't have to have a car NOW so I do have plenty of time to look. We was picky on the the RX300 which had a great price and only 49k on it but I did give in on it not being the color we wanted. I will keep you informed of what I come up with.

Thanks for all the help and replies and I am enjoying the forums!

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

it's ok to be picky especially if you're going to have the car a while. you don't want to regret it. I looked for my wife's car for 2 months. My advice is avoid the nav/dvd. The factory setup is garbage. Save your money and install aftermarket with back up camera.

xclusivetn

Well not having to have nav/dvd will surely give me more vehicles to choose from. Im not opposed to adding an aftermarket unit after purchase. Of course now that I am actively looking it seems like I can't find what I want now. Well I will continue to be patient for now and hopefully my black on black rx330 will surface

Thanks everyone!