Kalvano,
Is the ML sound worth the $$ in the new 2010 rx400h vs the std 12 speaker sound system? My rx400h 2008 std sound system sucks. We have a Prius and it's sound system blows the Lexus away. I'm goin to trade up my 2008 for a 2010 and am trying to decide whether or not to get the ML.

 

You probably should go to a dealer with your favorite CD and pop it in to check for yourself. What you're talking about is an opinion and everyone has one according to what they bought, what their girl friend/spouse said, how much they could afford, etc.

IMHO tho , the 12 speaker system with the NAV system sounds great with a good CD or recording done properly on an IPOD. The fidelity from the satellite system is very questionable though. I think that's the satellite and nothing else, I get the same difference in my house between the satellite music stations and Blue Ray. Satellite sucks.

But don't spend 'your' money on my opinion, fashion your own.

 

Cruiter,
All good points! The greatest weakness is that on the 2008, I have to use a cassette adapter for my Ipod because I could not get an Ipod input jack and satellite on the same Lexus vehicle. The sound quality is lost altogether because I'm using 1970's cassette technology.

 

Hi, everyone. New to the forum, and I may soon be new to Lexus, too. I have an Acura MDX that's coming off lease in a couple of months, and I'm looking closely at the 450h.

I know given the fact that the 450h is new, there has been little movement on terms. But I think it would be helpful, especially to those of us who are considering jumping in, to post how much you paid for yours and/or lease details -- and especially over time to track if there are more favorable rates and terms as demand eases or supply increases.

My MDX lease isn't up until the first week of November, so I have some time to see how the market develops though I may have to pull the trigger in September to increase the chance I get the options I want and there's no gap between when the existing lease expires and the new car arrives. Before the MDX, I had a Volvo XC90, and before that a 4Runner. My wife has a Chevy Tahoe.

I've been looking around the forum the last several days, and it's been helpful resource. I look forward to spending more time here learning more.

 

Welcome Ipswich. I see no one has reponded to you yet. Sorry

I have found about a 5% discount off MSRP on the 450h to be standard. The ones on the lot/coming in now are decently equipped but additional packages like luxury will add weeks to months of wait time. Leasing the 450h will be expensive, probably in the $700s. Part of the problem may be because, yes, it's popular, but also some dealers are too busy trying to get rid of the 400h on their lot. It'll take a while for production to catch up. The alternative is to go with the 350 instead. Have you taken a look at them? A well equipped 350 will be more heavily discounted and lease for under $550. They're easier to get too.

It's a tough decision but have no fear, the 450h and 350 brethren will help you. Guys and gals, can you help?

 

Hello Ipswich! Welcome!

We (my wife and I) special ordered our RX450h way back in early March, it was accepted in late March, built in May, and arrived in late June. With all the options we ordered (basically everything except for rear seat entertainment), the MSRP (including tax and license) came to about $60K. They did not want to give any discount but since I have been a loyal customer they took off $1K and that was that. We decided to do the 3 year-one payment lease (no monthly payments). The up front payment was about $33.7K. The residual after 3 years is something like $35K (don't remember the exact amount since I am writing this at work).

 

Thanks, guys. I'm going to start spec'ing one out with the dealer, and we'll see where that lands me on price, availability and timing. Based on some online configurations of MSRP and invoice, it seems like I'll be at about $60k MSRP (don't tell my wife).

I test drove the 450h a few days ago, and it’s very impressive. Like my MDX, the handling is car-like and very responsive. The fit and finish are equal to or better than the Acura. I was really curious about how the performance changed from battery to engine and whether there was any hesitation when merging or needing power. Of course, there wasn’t any hesitation, it was very smooth.

(I’m sure everyone tells this story, but it was wild pressing the button to start the car, and because it started in battery mode there was no vibration like when a gas-powered engine starts. But because I couldn’t feel any vibration, I thought the car wouldn’t start or that the battery was dead. I looked at the salesman like, “Dude, this thing isn’t starting, what are you trying to sell me?” He just looked at me and smiled!)

Does anyone have experience with the RES? The dealer told me I should go with the dealer-installed unit rather than factory-installed, for several reasons. The dealer-installed units are actually part of the back of the headrest, not separate from it like the factory-installed units (I feel like my kids would grab the screen of the factory-installed unit to pull themselves into their seats). Also, the dealer-installed units are built-in to the headrests and would allow for each kid to control and view their own separate DVDs (the DVDs are loaded into the unit at the headrest itself, not in the center console up front. I do need to check on blu ray compatibility.) And the sales guy said the dealer-installed unit is about $1k cheaper and includes the same warranty as the factory-installed unit.

Given the price and flexibility of each kid watching something different, I’m inclined to look at the dealer-installed version more closely. But I was curious if anyone had any experience with the system or any red flags I should consider.

Thanks again, and I’ll post feedback I get on my own pricing when I get that from the dealer.

Chris

 

Ipswich, I know Stormforge has RSES. Not sure who else does. He's in BC so his 450h is packaged a little differently. But all of the hybrids are coming out of Japan. You might want to PM him.

P.S. Too funny about the push button start!

 

I leased a 2010 RX450h on August 14th from a Maryland dealership. The following are more information on the transaction:

MSRP: $54,610
(includes Navigation System Package, Premium Package, Comfort Package, Towing Prep Package, Bi-Xenon HID w/AFS, 19" wheels, 12 speaker Premium Sound System, wood and leather trim, Cargo Mat Option, HUD display, Parking Assist, and Remote engine start). The HUD display, Parking Assist and Remote engine start options are not typical options available in my region unless special ordered.

Purchased Price: $51,500 (with lots of haggling)

Traded-in a '05 RX330 for near KBB trade-in price (deducted costs related to some body paint repair required to make it ready for sell). $2700 from this transaction (after loan payoff).

Lease payments $602 without tax (add 9% for PA tax = $656.18), residual 59%, money factor 0.00251 (non-returning LFS customer with excellent credit), 36 months w/12,000 mileage allowance. Paid the acquisition fee ($700), registration & tags fees ($300), and doc fee ($100) out of pocket and added $2K more to bring down the adjusted cap cost to my overall desired monthly payment. Total out of pocket $1100 (for fees), $2K for down payment, and $656.18 (first payment).

The vehicle was special ordered but the individuals changed their minds. Thus far,
very happy with the 2010 450h.

 

Ipswich, my package is basically the same as LexLady's. Up in in New England there are almost no RSES models and absolutely none with the Luxury Package. Mine included Nav, Premium Package, Comfort Package, and actually showed up with the remote starter. The MSRP is about $52,700. I am not sure of the "actual" purchase price, as this was a lease with a trade-in. However, I had about $1,500 in negative equity on the trade-in, put down $1995, and had a final payment of $713 (including 6.5% state sales tax). Hope it helps.

 

Oh...one additional note, that was on a 48 month 12k per year lease. So if you take off the negative equity, I would have had a payment of about $680 per month. I was playing three dealers off each other and was told by the other two they couldn't meet the third because it was almost invoice. It is definitely worth going to multiple dealers because by themselves, they aren't cutting deals.

 

congrats on your new RX!

 

yup, as kitlz mentioned, i got the rses. the factory rses can also play 2 DVD movies: one through the DVD changer in the front, and the 2nd DVD movie via a separate video input (ie: portable DVD player). but if the DVD system from your dealer has separate DVD players built into each headrest, that looks to be a more "flexible" system. and for $1,000 cheaper, seems like a no brainer option.

however having said that, the dealer installed DVD system is most likely aftermarket and not factory from lexus (if that makes any difference to you). if you go with the dealer installed route, make sure that the warranty for the DVD system is the same as if you got the factory DVD system.

 

Good info on the pricing, the lease residual is actually a bit better than I thought it would be for a new in-demand model.

On the RSES, the dealer is telling you to buy theirs at least in part because their margin is probably closer to 50% versus the 6-7% of the factory option. Lexus dealers in particular make a ton of money doing tint/wheels/electronics installs on these cars, and can and do charge a significant premium to do so versus the alternatives.

Even if the cost savings were substantial I would still be inclined to go with the factory unit as it will be more cleanly integrated and add more value to the car when it's sold.

Just MHO of course.

 

I am on a trip and am in Minneapolis today--stopped by a dealer when I drove buy as the dealer had a ton of RX inventory on lot --5 450's all tagged as sold. None had lux package all rses.

probably 30-40 350's

guess which car they will deal on?