New buyer looking at a 1st gen around 130k.
 

First I would like to say hello, I am new to this community and this is my first post but this seems like the place to be if you have a lexus and like it. I've been looking for suv/trucks that require little to no maintenance as I just want to use it for moving stuff around maybe some long trips and other stuff. I remember and still see how tough the camry is and after researching other similar cars I settled on this as the car that would be best all around for me as far as price, maintenance, and reliability. I went to test drive a few and the ones with issues were very apparent (brake issues, suspension problems, a check engine light) so I didn't hold that against the car but the owners lack of maintenance. Just wondering if there are any red flags I should be looking for or is this solid like the older Camrys that last for ever. I just looked at one that had a clean title/carfax with everything good and one owner. It was bought in an auction and the guy will probably take 3900 with 134k ish miles. What strikes me about this car is that it has had one owner basically the entire time and it was in New York until it shows little to no activity on carfax when it came to my state (california) for 2 years. The guy said he bought it at auction... The carfax shows 3 visits to the smog/california certification place... that is it. I am fairly new to buying cars so I am not sure what that means or if it means anything. Anyway thank you guys in advance.

Do not buy that car that was in New York most its life, unless you actually put it on a lift and look at the underside yourself. With low miles like that, it might have been stored in the winter, but an AWD car like the RX, I bet it was driven in the winter with all that salt and stuff. Even if it looks good in the pictures, I bet you will see some significant rust on the underside.

Main thing I'd look for in a 1st gen RX is documented maintenance history, including regular oil changes. The V6 engine in these cars will tend to develop oil sludge if you don't change the oil on time(every 5k miles). Change the oil on time, do all the other required services on time, these cars are pretty much bomb proof. All the electrical crap on them holds up over the long term, something I can't say about German cars.

Well that's the thing I didn't really get. The mileage seems to be normal if not low for a 2001 isn't it? it only has 135k. And the entire time it was in new york which was from 2001 to 2013 it was maintained meticulously it seemed, tons of service records oil changes etc... seems like a car that someone really just took care of. I am wondering what it is even doing in California for the remaining years only getting smogged. This is all that is on the last 4 years of the carfax:05/30/2015 104,547 California
Inspection StationPassed safety inspection
Passed emissions inspection02/15/2016 113,230 California
Inspection StationPassed safety inspection
Passed emissions inspection07/10/2017 130,616 California
Inspection StationPassed safety inspection
Passed emissions inspection

It would seem more like it was being stored out here in California if anything and I just can't figure out why it is even here. I remember reading somewhere a long time ago.. that you could transfer cars to a different state if there was an issue with the title and it would not show up on the vehicle history.

I did go see the car and test drive and it was actually the best driving rx i've seen (i've driven 4 so far) and was able to see the majority of the issues.. 50% front tires, probably could use a set of pads (not urgent brakes fine) and potential front end bushings... heard a few squeaks here and there, there was also a crack on the front bumper that was completely hollow inside... I'm not familiar with how they design the bumpers on these cars but this seemed really flimsy as if it may have been replaced with a cheap after market one.

I would always have the car inspected and put in the air before buying anything.. just wanted to make sure it was worth paying for the inspection before I even proceeded. Is the price good @ $3900?

Is it an AWD or FWD? FWD have a simpler transmission that is less prone to fail and easier to maintain. Check the color of the tranny fluid that it is pinkish and not dark and smelly.

the fact it passed CA emissions means you should have a good cat and O2 and A/F sensors. Some of the 1st gen RX's burn oil due to the rear valve cover passages getting clogged. Check the oil level, and also check the tailpipe for evidence of residue from the oil burning. The fact it passes emissions also means you are less likely to have a major oil burner.

As for the mileage on the car, I have a 2000 and it only has 158k miles. There are others that post here with much fewer miles on their RX's. Some people just don't drive alot of miles.

It was the front wheel drive model, it was kind of late and I didn't have much light so I didn't really get to explore everything. Oil looked good, didn't check any of the other fluids except to see that they were atleast at the right level. Also could not find the v belt or does this car have a timing chain? Looked at the tailpipe when starting and driving there was no smoke. The trans was one of my main concerns because I know most autos seem to have some tranny issue if not taken care of but it seemed to shift well. I still just can't understand why it was sitting here for 3 years after being basically a main driver in the opposite cost the entire time. The carfax also has it listed as a 1 owner car although the guy said it came in a large pallet of items he ordered. I've never heard of pallets that include cars, and electronic devices all together but he showed me his receipt. If it was as he says it is then I would just buy the car but I always tend to think the worst.

Get the car inspected before you buy it paying particular attention to underbody rust, transmission, and electrical systems (eg door lock actuators and heating/cooling servos). Just a clarification, the car will need as much routine maintenance as any other car, and a 16 year old car with 135,000 miles is going to need ongoing repairs. And yes, it has a timing belt which sould be replaced every 90k miles.

Yes I will be getting it inspected before purchase. And of course would continue to do the maintenance on the car, never understood why people neglect the regular maintenences. When you say ongoing repairs do you mean this car at this mileage is likely to be in and out garages for things outside of standard maintenances?. One of the big attractions to me about this car is the relatively low cost to keep it maintained and the ease and I have read many peoples experience that these cars can go up to 200k+ if maintained regularly. I have 2 mercedes now that will have you jump through hoops just for a simple trans fluid change (things like "sealed for life transmissions" not fun). I am more worried about the time it has been sitting here with no maintenance records.

I'd say if it doesn't have any rust on it, buy it. Also look under the hood for a sticker indicating the timing belt was changed. Usually they'll put it on the engine cover, on the radiator support, I think the one in my car is on the air filter box. If the timing belt hasn't been done, use that as leverage to get the price lower.

Look, I get the "cost" justification.
Ever heard of "you always get what you paid for"? This is just that case. Do NOT buy cars that were extensively driven in NYC. Those engines and transmissions are abused and run in continuous strain of stop and go traffic. That's to start with. LOW price points towards vehicle having some hidden issues and seller aware of them and trying to rid of it.
I spoke. Unfortunately, it looks like you have mind set on for financial reasons...
We sold ou RX300 with 154 000 miles for $5000 cash and I am positive, I under valued it. As car was in GREAT condition because I PERSONALLY took care of it. But that's 5 grand. For much higher mileage and I sold in about 2 weeks. So 3400, unless I misunderstood you, then i do apologize, you are buying trouble.

repairs I have done since purchase in 2008 (separate from regular maintenance or bulbs). I have done almost all of these myself except the evaporator and A/F sensor (car was out of town at time)

replaced A/C evaporator
Driver door lock actuator (replaced motor in actuator)
replaced driver door cable from inside handle to door mechanism
Brake fluid sensor
Replaced relay in window master controller in driver door
Replaced radio antenna mast
Fixed air mix servo (cleaned dirty lube inside)
Fixed air mode servo (subsequently failed again, set mode permanently to front vents)
Cleaned IACV
Four ignition coils have gone bad and replaced
replaced A/F sensor1 bank1
Replaced oil control valve for bank1
Replaced A/C blower motor
resoldered keyfob button solder joints (keyfobs became flaky, there were cracks in some of the solder joints)
Driver side rear lock actuator (replaced motor in actuator)
Replaced rear valve cover with gen 3 model

Thanks I will check those again.

This is not really the issue I am having as I am asking fair bluebook price for the car ( I am cost conscious if it comes to putting a new trans in the car or some other sort of overhaul later down the line however) they ask 4200 which is on the lower end of the spectrum but needs some work like I said mainly cosmetic and general maintenance (tires, brakes, crack on bumper). I am asking 4k btw and want to talk him down to 3900. I am willing to pay fair price for the vehicle if it is what it says it is. But maybe it just isn't worth pursuing and I should just keep looking for cars without a story behind it. I am not sure the year of your car features etc but there can be quite a variance on these things as well with value. And since I do not know the individual I cannot confirm the 30k mileage that was put on it in California was given the impeccable maintenance. But you do raise a valid point it has been driven exclusively in new york which does have stop and go traffic, this is also what raised the flag for me (also the fact that it wasn't just sold in new york). The only reason this particular one peaked my interest is because it was a 1 owner car (usually if you keep a car for that many years you don't crap on it) and then I actually test drove it and it drove better then many cars that I went to see that were California native with less mileage and higher prices.

Were these repair parts costly (please pm if you want to share)? Sounds like you got your moneys out of it from what you described

Not costly since I did so many of them myself, sometimes using aftermarket parts when it makes sense. Often they were fixes of parts, not even requiring a new part purchase. All from using the valuable instructions and comments shared by all the wonderful members on this forum. If Lexus did them all I estimate it would have been at least $7k including parts.

Cool any particular aftermarket lexus part site you recommend, wanted to get an idea of part prices.

RockAuto is the best for price checks, although I have never used them to buy so far. For all my cars I have bought off Amazon, aliexpress, ebay, and local part stores.

Thanks, I use a lot of ebay and amazon too but sometimes you don't know what you'll get. I'm gonna check out rockauto.