wvuguy

Hello every one,

Yesterday I looked at a 99 RX300 with 131k miles at a local dealer. It drove nicely, looked clean and I did not notice any issues. We agreed on sale price of $6800. I put half the money down and I was gonna pay rest today. Today I checked the service history at the lexus dealership and they told me it was checked by them last week and it needed a rear left hub bearing, axle aseembly and rear speed sensor. They gave me an estimate of $2700! It is a one owner car and timing belt on it was recently replaced. I am not sure what to do at this moment. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks.

salimshah

Please clarify if the selling dealership is the same Lexus dealership from which you pulled the history from [very unlikely based on milage and model]. Then look at the contract if there are provisions to re-neg or walk away BEFORE DELIVERY. Typically you can walk away before delivery, although some dealership would hang on the money ... but eventually have to return it. Check your local codes. We are talking nearly 40% in repair cost.


All the above is to determine your options.

Check with Lexus parts for price and then based on your capabilities and tools you can DIY or 4 hrs of estimated labor get it done at a garage.

Salim

wvuguy

The dealer I bought it is not lexus dealership. Lexus dealership sold this car to the dealer I got it from about a week back. I have not signed any contract yet. Only made payment through credit card which I can always dispute. Lexus dealer ship told me $1700 in parts and $1000 in labor. I checked at local parts store and the parts are only about $400.

salimshah

You have done your home work and now tell us, how we can help.

The things you mention here seem to be nothing major [other than how you want them fixed and the cost].

Salim

mikey00

I am not sure of all the details but it sounds like you already own it. $6800 plus $2700 in needed repairs = $9500. That's a little pricy for a 1999. You could have bought my 2001 for that much. If you feel you still have some leverage on the seller, tell them what you now know and offer to split the repair cost.

AlexusAnja

If you have not signed anything... did you atleast get a receipt that you "deposited" the money with them? If so, I would back out of the deal and say they did not disclosed any issues with the vehicle. Also, they should offer some sort of anti-lemon law deal of say 30 days or 3000 miles of no problems.

Although not big things, it's things that are wrong and I would not take the deal as is and then repair the vehicle.

thomas1

I would also mention is it AWD or FWD. if AWD potential tranny problems could occur.

wvuguy

The dealer I was buying the car insisted that the Lexus dealership was trying to get the previous owner to trade in for a new car and swore there are no issues with the car. I test drove it again and I did not notice any issues at all. The dealer ended up coming down $400 on the price. I drove the lexus back home about 80 miles and it drove extreemly smooth without any issues. There was no noise of bearing or anything else. I am not sure why the Lexus dealership had recommended replacing all that. I ended up paying $6400 for it. It drives like a new car. Thanks for all your help.

*PS it is a AWD

mikey00

From your description it sounds like a decent deal. You do have some potential issues in your future like sludge, trans problems, etc which you should be aware of and watch for. You can find out more about these by reading the forumn.
Just one last guess on why Lexus wanted to change rear axle and related parts. Are you sure your ABS system is working? A common problem is ABS activation when stopping at low speeds when there is no need for ABS activation. This is usually due to the ABS sensor ring which is part of the axle. As long as you don't have this problem, you may want to try a couple of hard stops on a slick surface and just make sure your ABS is working.
Best of luck with your new RX!

salimshah

Apparently there are no issue, but the vehicle has been flagged. I would not put any value to a used car dealer word [sorry, for me the diagnosis at dealership ... which may be wrong .. has more credence].

So now the vehicle is yours ... just get a printed history and do the regular maintenance. You may like to consult with Dealership to ensure the diagnosis was correct and how did they determine that the problem is there .. since you do not feel any thing bad.

Once the problem is known, I always try to fix it. Any thing not attended to immediately tends to cause more problems [the engineering margins are so low that the whole system needs to be good]. Any thing you procrastinate on WILL be more expensive in future. The only non OEM things I have used are the tires, battery and struts. Stick with OEM sensors.

Salim

wvuguy

I have not noticed any ABS problems. I checked with the lexus dealership, they told me transmission was replaced about 8k miles ago. Also conventional engine oil has always been used so far. Do you guys think its a good idea to switch to synthetic oil now?

code58

How mechanically skilled are you? Maybe I should say do you have mechanical skills and if so at what level are they and what do you have in the way of tools? I would suggest taking the top engine cosmetic cover off and the front valve cover to check for sludge and to see what kind of deposits the engine actually may have. (even at those miles, it doesn't necessarily have to have deposits.) If it looks relatively clean inside, my personal feeling is that todays conventional oils are excellent and it is not necessary to use synthetic. I have nothing against synthetic, just that I don't think they are necessary unless you have too much money and the burden is weighing you down, or you have an UNUSUAL condition calling for it's use. Way too many vehicles that have gone 3-400,000 miles on what ever cheap oil is on sale to think it has to have synthetic or it will blow up. (I AM NOT advocating using cheap oil) I have personally used Castrol GTX for at least 20 years in everything but my current F-150 and have ZERO varnish or deposits of ANY kind. Good Luck with whatever your decision is!

code58

Good advice Salim!

wvuguy

I have basic mechanical skills. I can change spark plugs, starter ..etc. I will take out the valve cover and see what I can find. The oil in the dip stick looks extreemly clean.

code58

I would say with basic mechanical skills you should have no problem with that work. If you don't have a Chilton manual, you should get one. I don't personally like them, but you don't have much to chose from. You might try E-bay- that's where I got the factory manual. When you replace the valve cover gasket, be aware that there are 2 listed and they are very much different. You might want to take the valve cover with you to the parts store to compare. They gave me the wrong one and I had to go back. Good Luck!