cbrecher

I come to you from the world of BMW seeking advice on my next purchase. I have been a BMW faithful my entire life, I have only owned 325i's and now I am ready to get out of my sedan and into a crossover. I am ready to be done with the costly repairs that always pop up outside of routine maintenance and into something with a little more space. My top to priorities are driving experience and reliability. My budget and test driving preferences have led me to two rigs, the Mazda CX-5 and 2013 RX350. I live in Iowa which brings harsh winters, but I am hunting for a FWD to save some coin and just purchase a good set of winter tires, which I am a firm believer in.

My dilemma is to pick between the used RX with little to no warranty left, or the new CX-5 with all of it's warranty and nothing on the odometer, so I am hoping that some Lexus faithfuls might be able to steer me in the right direction.

I am tired of fixes and with all of the electronics on the car nowadays, I am just tired of things going wrong and not working. I take good car of my cars and understand the importance of routine maintenance and that you can't just drive a car 100k without making some fixes along the way.

Do you go with a new car all under warranty knowing that there could be a couple of bugs in it or go with the used car that likely has the initial bugs worked out, but is out of warranty and running the risk of a repair?

You advice is greatly appreciated!

airboss

I just got out of a eight year 'relationship' with a BMW X3 (still have a Z4), as I too got tired of $2000 bills every year. My X3 was in good shape, but overtime something broke, it was $800, plus this and that.

My wife is on her second Toyota Avalon, two years into the second one, no issues. The first went 75,000 miles and 7 years (to the day) and when we sold it the only issue was the instrument lighting rheostat had died (in the full bright position). My daughter has a 2010 Toyota Corolla S, with 105k miles, and we've replace the positive battery cable - that's it.

I wanted the ride (and reliability) of the Lexus and bought a 2015 RX350. I'll contemplate the extended warranty, but most say don't bother. I looked at the Acura RDX, which drove more like the BMW, but given I have the Z4, I chose ride and comfort over driving.

96SC4

iTrader: (2)

I seriously considered a new CX-5 as well, to haul around the new family.
I have always been a sedan guy myself, so I'm on the same page with you.
Not sure if you've driven the CX-5, but it isn't as roomy on the inside as the RX350. It just didn't fit the bill for me when it came to child car seats and leg room. Not sure what you need the extra room for(maybe just the trunk?), but you might want to take a closer look in that department.
The grand touring is nice, and handles quite well(for a CUV), but the extra room and comfort of the RX350 was the no brainier for me and my family.
Good luck with your car shopping.

Yurka

I had a fair amount of experience with CX-5 and its a lovely car, but personally prefer Lexus. It feels more firm, more room,I'm 6'2" so leg space is something i look for especially since i usually have to commute fairly long distances. On my 2nd RX at the moment and no regrets, the car is reliable, also as of January of this year, Lexus extended the warranty to all their L-Certified vehicles. I just got a 2013 model and my warranty does not expire until May of 2019, it is not much, another 3 years but its something good to have. Also upon purchasing a Lexus, a representative will tell you that you must buy extended warranty if you want within a 30 day period otherwise you will not be able to purchase renewal later on, and that is BS. i had the same thing with my 2010 RX, once the factory warranty was about to expire i was contacted by Lexus asking me to purchase extension so you can still do it and honestly, RX is a pretty reliable car, one thing that i had replaced out of the ordinary in 6 years were rear shocks, they started to leak, but that was covered by the warranty. It is also good in snowy conditions. Often go to PA in the winter to snowboard, many times drove with my friends, (Benz GL, Venza awd, x5, Pilot) and my own, must admit Pilot and RX seem like they keep the road the nicest, Venza was all over the road and GL got stuck in a little of unclean snow a few times. Cant go wrong with Lexus tbh

cbrecher

This may have convinced me.... damn you! I actually found a L-Certified local trade in with about 35k on the odometer and just about exactly what I am looking for. Good to know about the warranty, the unexpected fixes are what I am looking to mitigate. Peace of mind is my large concern, and I feel that i would have plenty of it with Lexus.

Yurka

As of reliability i do not think you can go wrong with Toyota/Lexus, the cars are great. If you maintain it properly you'll going to be all good. Ive spoken with a bunch of mechanics regarding 3rd gen RX, they all say its a great car and in about 9 out of 10 times it comes into the shop for oil change, brakes, filters. However 2010-2012 models tend to have shock problems, leaking rear shocks to be more specific, which is something common for those particular years for whatever reason and covered by the insurance, but with 2013-2015 body they changed the structure a little bit, car feels like its holding the ground a little bit more firm than 2010-12 models and supposedly they fixed the shocks issue. As far as i know 2010-12 had a recall about a year ago ive received a letter in the mail from Lexus, it was something with leakage under the hood( cant remember what it was) had to go to the dealer to check it out but my car didnt have an issue. 2013-15 models ive been told do not have any recalls as of yet. Thats pretty much it lol, i hope you find the car that you like, good luck!