jskennedy

looking for a new suv

narrowed decision down to '10 rx350, '09 toyota highlander limited & '09 gmc acadia lt2

i'll overlook the the acadia for the moment

the rx350 is ~$8k more than the highlander with the same features i desire

it has a little more warranty & gets me an extra $1k on my cash4clunker trade-in

i asked my dealer why i should be a lexus over a toyota & all he had were "lexus experience" type answers

i asked my wife her preference in the 3 vehicles & she chose lexus for the luxury aspect

my biggest draw, being a techie, is the new mouse controlled nav system

however i find it difficult to justify $8k for an advanced nav that i'll rarely use

you guys have all made the decision to go lexus, why did you do it?

thanks

shane

Cruiter

Shane
That's quite a question. In these forums as you can probably guess you're going to get answers that run the gamment from 'My wife wanted it', to 'My Dad had one'. When I got my 1st RX it was in 2003, the last year of the 1st Generation which was a very successful long run. I was retiring from the Navy and had already retired from the car business so I had a lot of preferences as well as prejudices. Laughing to myself here, 'cause I still do. Then it was between the RX and Acura MDX. One Friday night at our favorite Friday night eating spot in Slidell LA, two cars almost simultaneously parked outside. One was the MDX and one was the RX, both driven by housewives. The one in the MDX really liked it but like a Monday morning quarterback, wished she'd gotten the RX. The lady driving the RX wasn't looking back even though she had to drive over 40 miles each way for service. My wife said RX and RX it was.

Now it's 2009 and the 2010 models are out. I was getting my oil changed and drove one. Ok, here's the other part. Once you've experienced the Lexus atmosphere and been lucky enough to have dealers that know how to provide it, unless you have a financial breakdown, you don't go back.

I was getting my oil changed and placed my deposit for the 1st 450h that came to town. Well it just so happened it was also my 1st color choice, the dealer had done an en-route swap before it arrived.

The good folks in these forums are just a small representative sample of the folks that drive them but a pretty good sample. Judge by your own feelings as well. Visit the waiting lounge in a Lexus store and act like a customer. Grab a Starbucks coffee or coke and pastry and sit down in front of the TV and listen and talk to the patrons.

If you buy one, you'll have a very good chance of being happy that you stood tall and made the commitment.

The choice is personal. It's not the most expensive or the cheapest SUV available. Like any complicated machine there could be a warranty issue, that's why they provide one. And it's pretty substantial. But using history as a guideline and considering all of the high tech gizzmo widetry, there is a good chance you'll just do normal maintenance.

Good luck and welcome to the Forum

rxets

Well said, Jim.


On my case, I have to admit I buy Lexus due to its price, "quality" (for some items, it's kind of the burst of quality bubbles), the level of the services, quietness, smoothness, reputation, and "badge" (vanity). These characters from Lexus will keep your distance from many of other brands.



Armani Exchange -> Emporio Armani -> Giorgio Armani. Somtimes it's hard to go back...

Hal56

there is another reason--aside from upgraded luxury features (which can be subjective)

Part specifications are usually better across the line--ie--small issue--window glass is a little thicker-more insulation, brakes have better specs, suspension--you name it

Back in 96 I bought a taurus sho--same thing in specs vs the std taurus (not to mention a better engine)

Now--the mark up on these items is hefty --so lexus makes more per vehicle--not the 8k but dollar for dollar there is a difference for the halo nameplate--and perhaps some extra trade in value down the road or just that the car is a better vehicle.

but if you believe that a car is just transportation get the less expensive one.

trcr1@gran

This is real simple to answer. My wife came to me and said, "I want a 2004 RX330, and then years pass and she says, "I want a 2010 RX350. Everyone knows, if Momma aint happy, aint no body happy.

Stormforge

one word: reliability. lexus is guaranteed to have less problems than other name brands over a long period of time (say 10 years or more). lexus has a lower tolerance for mechanical defects (as it is the luxury line), so it should be more reliable than toyota because the cars are built to tighter specifications.

that doesn't mean there won't be some minor problems; all cars (regardless of name brand) will have some minor defect of one sort or another. lexus just happens to have one of the fewest.

DNC

For us it was two words; customer service. After reading some of the post on here I am surprised you cannot count on this from every Lexus dealership. Some of the postings I have seen with the bumper issue have been very disappointing.

yanje03

Shane,

You must want to buy a middle size SUV with some good reliability reputation. I can tell you my story. When I was searching medium size SUV car few month ago I didn't want to buy Lexus at all. Because too many RX on the road and I dont real want to buy another Japanese car any more. If you did see Audi's adv you will realize how Audi joke RX. But since too many friends recommand me Lexus brand and they all told me their car never had problem and how sux on German car. I still gave lexus a try. After test drive, I found none of other car in the same price range can even compare with Lexus comfortable drive with luxury. not even close. if you only compare spec, you might see many car has less price and offer more feature. test drive it and you will see the different. I just give you one hint, see which car can offer real wood interior and wood steelwheel. Most cars are using faked wood. Why so many RX are on the road? It must have a reason. More people like it. The only one might be close to RX is Audi Q5,but that car only 1 year history with smaller size plus $3k higher price plus you dont have much Q5 could select in your local dealer .
If a luxury brand offers ony 20% higher price, I will select luxury brand definitely. Since this car is offer more comfortable feature girl like it more than man. but this car also has good acceleration. 7.5sec 0-60MPH is very good for a SUV. Hope my word could help you make decision.

yanje03

why you count customer service when you buy a reliable car? You should not expect to deal with customer serivce if nothing need to be repaired. if just want to do regular oil change. Any place is better than dealer. no doubt Lexus has better service facility.

data2009

Here are my thoughts:

What do you care the most about the vehicle you drive? Its looks, its handling in 4 seasons, its reliability, its gadgets, its value (or volume, you pick), or its manufacturer's service department (or, rather true cost of ownership)? Let's not forget the vanity and desire (or does driving leave you cold?). I bet, its a bit of everything, for most.

Take a score card (mental or on the paper), and rate each on a scale of 1 to 10.

Using this process, Acadia would not even make it on my shopping list, but its just me. That would leave Toyota and Lexus, but how can 09 Highlander aging platform compete with (well, not so) fresh-out-of-the-oven 10 RX?

As for myself, the comparisons were between 09 Acura MDX, 10 Audi Q5, and 10 Lexus RX. Twice before, I picked 01 and 05 Acura MDX over 01 Lexus RX and 05 Lexus RX, mostly due to handling factors, but I always longed for Lexus quality, lacking with Acura.

Audi was a fun drive, but its not in the same category as RX, imo. It's a compact SUV, while RX is mid size. Plus, first year German vs first year Japanese (ok, 70% Canadian) is not an equal comparison, either.

So, here we are: I've been driving 10 RX since mid-April, and mostly happy with the choice.

Hal56

here is a thought on dealer service--years ago we had a chrysler mini van (family and that stuff)

I called to bring car in for basic service before going on road trip--4 week wait !!!

So took car to jiffy lube and they pronounced the car ok --should be as it only had several thou miles--. however, on trip, the serpentine belt broke--(this was not the only reason I wil not walk into a chrysler dealer again--in winter the slifing door fell off the track and later under warrantythe tranny broke--but since they broke so often te dealer had those in stock and fixed it in a day--which must have been the reason for a 4 week delay for routine service.

anyway--Lexus and BMW, etc--I can get immediate routine service--if I want a loaner it may take a day or two longer.

thats service

yanje03

my experience on dealer basic service is higher price with some function not work after, yes longer waiting time for sure and also need call them to make reservation. all basic service just change oil/filter/rotate tire. none dealer shop could do the better job,only if your car is too rare.

kitlz

Newbie here but hope my two cents counts. I have been in RXs for 11 years with number 3 on the way. Back then I made the choice to buy Lexus after going to court against Ford on my Explorer lemon (yes, official). There wasn't too much out there back in 1998. While there are now, it's the same poor quality. I have had very few problems overall with my RXs and the service can't be beat.

Hal56

i used to have Volvos back in the 80's--I found when not using original equipment parts (ie brake pads) things just did not feel right--

so from then I have paid the price on repairs and gone to dealer. I also found with daughters pontiac you can really negotiate with dealers with service.

except for oil changes--and for my vette which I have been fortunate enough to find a mechanic who knows what he is doing and uses oe parts.

sightdev

Arcadia = Highlander, Enclave=RX350 is what GM is comparing against. I am still wary of GM products but I did considered MKX from domestic brand before the purchase of RX. I read next generation MKX will be little more than grill and taillight differences from Edge it is based. In other hand, compare to Highlander and RX which platform is shared but have different character/design/presentation/purpose. Highlander would be better value for money especially if you need third row seat. RX just feels more refined and little quieter and a lot of technology. I use to think I would not have much use of the navigation but first built-in navigation was in a 2002 LS and navigation became most used feature in the car ever since. I have two kids and play in travel team so we drive to a lot of unknown area and we would have been lost many times without navigation. Built-in navigation is so much more convenient and usually has much larger screen with easy access. In 10RX, using any external device that will use 12V outlet, you will be disappointed where Lexus had decided to place both outlets. Note, Arcadia/Enclave is much larger than Highlander or RX. For my family, RX beat out four other CUVs because of "perfect size", best mileage rating [1-4 mpg] among AWD, and I just couldn’t resist the remote mouse controlled system [cool for about a month].