nmehta211

HI all, and thank you in advance.

The wife and I are looking to purchase a second car, that will be used in Manhattan for a 40 mile round trip reverse commute. It will be parked in a garage overnight. I drive a M3 which I am sad to say, the valets and potholes have torn up.

While we could spend to purchase a new car, the garage valets will just end up trashing the car. Therefore we are looking to spend $25K for a 2010+ RX unless spending more makes sense.

We have found a few cars.

Mid 2010 Black/black with 45k miles, $27,600 but no warranty at a Lexus dealer (clean, new tires, new brakes).

Early 2009 inservice 2010 Gray/Black with 52k miles (no warranty) for $25,900 at a Mercedes dealer (clean, new tires, original brakes).

2010 CPO car for $27,600 with 51k miles. New tires and new brakes. Has beige interior which we don't love.

Thoughts? I am torn on whether to buy a car without a warranty but understand these cars are pretty solid. Or should we spend more and get a newer model (2013 model?).

Thanks in advance!
Neel

greeknasty

gotta say go for which car stands out most to ya..whether its 2010 or a 2013. of course im sure you know the front cosmetic differences.. as far as warranty thats just hit or miss you never know...you could get warranty end up not using ro you can get one without warranty and bam nothing but issues..
the sad part is ive seen 2013's still over 35 thousand so maybe if you can find some lower then that may be your best choice...

corradoMR2

Knowing it might get "abused", I can understand why you want to buy used. Despite the RX being the most reliable luxury SUV, consider buying newer if you plan on keeping the car for several years just . 2012+ years, you also just need 87 octane fuel versus 91 the prior years. No major mechanical issues, but the 12V battery on a 5-year old RX will need to be changed if it hasn't been.

Warranty - I wouldn't on any of the RXs you listed and save the 2K for the unlikely chance you'll need to spend it on a future unexpected repair. If it was an X5 my heart was set on, I'd get the warranty without a second thought.

Good luck and welcome to Lexus!

dwlink

If it were me in your situation, I wouldn't even spend money on a used Lexus. Get a cheapo rav4 or a highlander seeing as you're going to let valets in NY drive this car.

My daily driver right now is a 10 year old 5 series (which is 2 months away from getting replaced by one of the new 4 gran coupes) but I've never let a valet near that thing in my life. Same with my wife's RX. In fact, a bus valet hit her car back in December of last year.

Don't let valet drivers near your cars!!!!

If you are still going to get one of those cars, I would certainly avoid a beige interior as that will be more maintenance to keep looking nice compared to black.

kitlz

dwlink, I like your thinking about going with Toyota instead. The thought of the RX being abused by garage valets makes me sad

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

Try giving Peter at Lexus of Queens a call and see if he has anything you like. If you have to be stuck in NYC traffic, better to be in a Lexus is my theory

nmehta211

Precisely our viewpoint. Life's too short to drive cars that aren't enjoyable (econoboxes!).

Wasn't sure about the reputation of Lexus of Queens cars (they are never certified) but I will give them a look. Thanks!

dwlink

If you end up going the Lexus route, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a certified one. These things are rock solid. Any damage a valet does isn't going to be covered anyways unless you can prove it was their driving that caused something to break.

Really makes me wonder why luxury automakers haven't incorporated a valet mode into the cars:
1. Enforce a speed of 35 mph as they shouldn't need to go any faster than that
2. Enforce a rev limiter of 2500-3000 RPM or so as they don't need to accelerate any faster
3. Full time recording of all cameras equipped on the car while in valet mode
4. Data log of GPS positions along with timestamps and speed shown on map
5. All climate, seat, entertainment options restored to users settings when exiting valet mode

This way you could much more easily build a case against valet drivers that abuse others' cars.

Cruiter

I know there are some situations where people need to use them, I just avoid those situations. My son uses them at lunch places sometimes where he has to meet clients (but he 'could' just spend 5 min more parking & walking).

Neither my 2010 RX450h or my 2014 C7 Corvette have ever been driven by a valet nor will they ever be. I always park myself and even if I have to walk an extra block plus it's good exercise.

My youngest son while in school did valet parking for some good extra money but the stories he tells about what many of the valet drivers did while parking are beyond what I could fantasize. And they take a good chunk of your cash to have the privilege to drive your car as you would 'never' do and then pillage through your belongings you left in it.

I may be a tad off topic, but just wanted to slide in my 6 bits.

User 41924

I really like this idea!! And it seems so easy!

Maybe the fear of getting caught using these methods, would improve the service for everyone. Win/win!

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

LOL at the thought that some 19/20 year old is spending his day just waiting to get into that sporty RX so he can gun it to the 4th floor parking spot. My Rx is with the valet daily as that is what my building uses. I want my truck, they bring it to me. I look at it. If it has a scratch, they will pay for it via their insurance. They can drive it, my wife cannot. The world is safer that way (road rage) and I lose absolutely no sleep over it.

I would prefer to park my own but lets be realistic. Giving control of my car to a staff of 5 people to park it versus 600 different potential drivers daily at a 'park your own' at your own risk garage is a non-issue for me.

And I used to work at a garage in midtown at 18 so yes, my GS will never be left in the hands of a valet but the Rx, eh not so much.

kitlz

And let's not forget this parking attendant failure.

Neel, when you get the RX, make sure you add brush bars to avoid bumper rash. Plus the cabbies love to do those bumps and runs too. Heck, driving in NYC is no different than walking on the sidewalks. It's a contact sport. My RXh will never see NYC streets, parking garages or valets.

MjThind

I don't know I may be minority here but I love driving in NYC, short bursts of acceleration and hard on the brakes, but in a rental Escalade, never in my own cars, lol.

raylor4

David Letterman says the pot holes in NYC are so big, there's a Starbuck's at the bottom, or, they are so big, you have to turn your lights on half way in. : )
Ray A.