skaler13

Hello everyone, first time Lexus buyer here.
I've been researching for ages and decided I want to get the RX 450h.
There are a few cars I have looked at including the 2010 model with the tech pkg and a 2012 model without the tech pkg. Both are at the same KM (80k) and the 2012 is 4k more expensive.
Is it worth buying a 2010 Lexus? Is that TOO old? The 2010 has run the same amount of KM as the 2012 and has a tech pkg so right now I'm considering getting that. Any advice? Anything I should be cautious of?
Thank you all for your replies.

703

Get the newer model. Has revised chassis and suspension. So rides better.

Droid13

Can you elaborate? I'm not aware of any changes to the chassis and suspension between the 2010 and 2012 model year, even the 2013 mid life crisis update apparently made no changes to the suspension. The only thing I've heard is that the earlier models were subject to TSBs related to squeeks from the rear suspension, specifically the shocks and rear trailing arms.

Droid13

I think from a reliability view, I don't think there's a lot of difference. Obviously the 2012 model would have experienced 2 years less being subjected to the elements so some things like 12V battery, brakes, body etc may be a little more creaky in the 2010 and therefore up for maintenance a bit sooner than the 2012, even with the same mileage, but $4K goes a long way towards maintenance. For me personally, it would be tough to spend 4K more and get a lesser vehicle in terms of options. I'm guessing from your displayed info you're in Canada, but you didn't say what option package the 2012 did have, but if it's bare bones that would be a deal breaker for me. I have the "touring" package which has many of the features available in 2010, but not quite as much as the tech package. If that's what your 2012 has, then the differences aren't so much. Then the choice becomes what value does the tech package provide you vs something with a little less life experience.

My 2010 is coming up on 160,000km, everything still works. Only repairs needed were water pump under warranty several years ago, and replaced original leaking rear shocks (which was common for early 3rd gen RX).

F250

I just purchased a 2010 RX450h back in August with 72K miles on it. It is perfectly quiet with no signs of any suspension noise (yet), but I expect to be doing something to the shocks and 12v battery before too long, both as proactive repairs instead of responding to failures. I would have preferred the refreshed look of the 2013's, but they were simply outside the price range I was willing to pay.

skaler13

Thanks for all the replies guys. So I've done some research on various models and the differences in price. I am in Canada so they're more expensive here.
I'm hoping to keep my Lexus for a long time so I definitely don't want to get something too old. But also if there's barely any difference between the 2010 and 2013 models I'll be fine with the 2010. However is getting a 2013 model worth it when it has about 20k less miles and is about 15k more than a 2010? I'm kind of surprised because the jump from the prices of a 2012 to a 2013 is about $10,000. For same mileage and 1 year difference in age..
My wife insists that we don't get a car that will give out in 8 years so just trying to make a decision on a car that will last us a while.

F250

That extra $15K is a WHOPPER of an increase, and certainly not worth it in MY mind. You could also moderate the issue a bit for yourself. I typically keep vehicles for 7-12 years, and what I'm considering is sticking with my 2010 for about 2 years and then making a much more "modest" upgrade to a 2013/14. I still agree with getting a vehicle which is capable of 8 years of excellent usefulness and reliability, but that doesn't obligate you to keep it that long yourself.

skaler13

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea... Do you think you'll get good resale value for your car when you upgrade? Will you trade it in to the dealership or sell it off yourself?

F250

I only sell vehicles myself. I get more and save someone money at the same time by pricing my vehicle between the trade-in value and dealer retail value.

I expect to only put about 7-8K miles per year on this RXh, and it is living in my garage, is only hand-washed, and I detail every scratch and rock chip out of the finish (only has a few right now, and am waiting for warmer weather to get that task completed). I expect to get top dollar for the vehicle when I sell it because I will maintain it so it will still look and drive brand new.

skaler13

Gotcha.. Yeah I'll be driving around 30k kilometers per year in mine (20k miles) so resale might be a little tough. As well as I'm no expert when it comes to cars. Whenever an issue comes up I usually youtube it and try to fix it myself if it's not too complicated. I might just go with the 2010... I'm a sucker for tech packages.

vlad_a

Pete, you have to consider that vehicles in the North look very much different from the South. Each time we drive outside of the rust-belt, it is surprising to see older vehicles being in much better condition than in our area.
Salt does its thing and it is persistent. I kept my IS300 in a top shape and even skipped a couple winters of driving. However, after having it for 12 years, the result of salt treatment started to rear its ugly head.

Even when replacing brakes on our 4-year-old RX, I was not happy with the "protective rust" layer that the calipers had accumulated. Rotors were too rusted and got replaced.
I would estimate a vehicle in the snow region to be capable of 11 years of saying in good shape.

skaler13

Hmm.. That is a very valid point. Since I'm in Canada we do get nasty winters and salt trucks are everywhere. This winter has not been so bad but I'm sure it will take a toll on the car. And since this car I'm buying is from a major city (Toronto) the likelihood of the kilometers that are on there (80k) are all from city driving which as we all know take a bigger toll on the car than highway driving. This does put me a few steps back because I do not want to have to pay for expensive repairs. I would be doing mainly highway driving (60mph) with the car. The car being 7 years old now means 7 winters it has endured and 7 years of city driving.

F250

I do understand what your point, vlad, and it is certainly a valid one. One of my first criteria in purchasing is ONLY non-salted vehicles. We certainly get vehicles around here from all over, and I've seen some of the salt damage you referred to, but only when I've not been able to properly vet the vehicle and it just happens to be a convenient "looker". Shoot, on my 2002 F250, I managed to knock a chip of paint off the back edge of my hood (right in front of where I sit every day) right down to the metal some 8-9 years ago, and even with it being kept outside 100% of the time, it took over 5 years for a thin rust film to show up on that spot. The one time I had to drive that truck in the snow here several years ago, as soon as it got above freezing, I hit the car wash and did full body and under carriage rinses until I was convinced I had all the chemicals back off it, but I know I couldn't do that if I lived in the stuff.

Obviously, I'm not as concerned about a few scratches and rock chips on my 15 year old diesel truck with 290K miles on it, but it still looks excellent and has absolutely zero rust anywhere (except for that little rock chip). I actually chose to let that rock chip stay unattended to as a daily reminder of how careful I need to be -- it happened when I lifted the hood to check something while my two oldest sons were giving it a wash as a birthday present, and they had the wiper arms up off the glass... as I pushed the hood upwards, the back edge scraped along the wiper arm as it pushed the arm back down onto the windshield and chipped the paint in the process.

703

https://lexus.pressroom.com.au/press...ctionID=6#3775

"The new-look RX range has a tauter chassis thanks to a rethink on the positioning and number of body and chassis welding points.

In total engineers added 12 additional spot welds to each side of RX (at the rear wheel housings and C-pillar) to refine Lexus' world-class chassis.

Engineers also added additional reinforcements around the dash panel and reviewed the power steering assist to improve steering response and feel - resulting in a lighter feel at rest and a smoother feeling when steering quickly."

"Each of the three powerplant choices in the new-look Lexus RX Line has unique suspension calibrations and improved steering feel. "

I have a 2011 RX450H. I have driven a 2013 RX450H. The 2013 does feel more solid.

vlad_a

There may be some confusion in the model years. AU above refers to 2012 in June of 2012, which would be a model year 2013 for US.