jtcipro

Hi everyone,
Looking to get my first Lexus and stumbled on my friend letting go his fully loaded 2008 RX350 with about 92K miles on it. He ran into the oil line problem a couple months ago and had it fixed by the dealership, as well he has had all the scheduled maintenance done. I was wondering whether I would be able to expect this car to last to at least 200K with regularly scheduled maintenance? Currently driving a good old reliable Camry and wondering whether I should just save my money for a newer RX350 in the future. Struggling as he is letting it go for around 11k.

Hope to hear some of your thoughts!

thomasfx10

I bought my 2007 RX350 from a Non Lexus dealer over two years ago. It had 95K on it when I bought it and now has 132K with no major problems. When I was doing my research on car I used CarFax to see how many owners and for accidents. Check these things on Carfax

1) How many owners? I would not buy it if the car had a lot of owners ... Mine had two.
2) Was it in an accident? Do NOT buy if an accident is on it ...
3) Maintenance schedule ... This is not a huge indicator because people can take it to other places besides the Stealership or DIY (Like me)

Car sounds like a good deal for 11K ... I paid 14K for mine 2 years ago ... Just make sure it passes steps 1 and 2 above ... Also see if they will give you a 30 days warranty.

I would never buy a new car (that is just me) ... I have a habit of keeping a car for a few years and then selling it and I would lose a lot of money ... As soon as you drive it off the lot you already lost 10% of the value ...

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

Besides wheel bearings and potentially a water pump, these cars are really solid. Since that oil line issue was resolved, there isn't much more to look out for. Possibly struts, but that is most cars around this mileage. No timing belt is also a plus.

roadbike56

When buying from a friend, you have a real advantage. First, most friends won't sell a car to someone if it's been a problem. I'd ask about the oil line failure. Did it fail while the engine was operating or did they detect a leak and had it repaired before the leaking line broke? If the engine ran dry, don't buy it. If it was changed before complete failure, then I'd take the car to my mechanic and have a good look at it, especially the steering rack. The big weak point of these cars is the steering rack leaking. Have them check the boots on the rack as well. If all is well, I'd buy it. $11K for a 08 with less than 100K on the clock is a pretty good price.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I completely forgot about the steering rack, I have had to replace the boots on both inner tie rods. I wonder if the leaking rack is the result of cars with ripped boots that people have failed to replace?

jtcipro

So I asked my friend about it and he states that the day oil line failure happened, he had heard loud sounds like a jackhammer. He immediately stopped and had the car towed to the dealership where he then had the line replaced. Would this be indicative that the engine had run dry?

Thanks everyone for th information so far!

Caprica

That is pretty indicative of the engine running out of oil. I've heard engines that lose oil pressure from a failed pump and they sound horrendous, like a diesel engine in a bad state. Did your friend happen to notice if the idiot light (oil light) came on in the dash while the engine was still running? It is staggering how much damage can happen to a tight tolerance engine with no oil pressure for even a few seconds. At least he is being honest with you, but in my opinion (and take it for what it's worth as I'm a fresh noob here anyway) I'd be a bit nervous about the future longevity of that 3.5.

Caprica

Also, where do you live in Alberta? I am originally from Calgary. Grew up on the west side around Coach Hill.

jtcipro

The light did not go on from what he says. He had also given me the maintenance record from that day and it looks like they replaced the pipe and then added 5L of oil. No mention of a light on their end too.

I'm actually in Edmonton. Calgary is a nice city though