xis

Hi,
Coming from a couple previous Lexus cars (GS300 and IS300), purchased a used 04 RX330 from a local dealer. The car looks great and runs great (just over 60K), leather/nav/ent/tow, etc... They let us take it home for the day and to run around town and see if we liked it - we did. So we went back that night and negotiated a decent sale and left happy.

Two days later, wife starts her up to take the kids to school and one of them comments about it smoking. By the time I got back there, it had basically stopped....
The next morning, I intentionally looked at the exhaust while my wife started it. white smoke with a tinge of blue... (BUMMED!!) We notified the dealer and they said we could bring it in at our first free oil change and leave it overnight so they could check it out. Luckily I did not want to wait. We took it in and they kept it overnight. Started it in the AM and confirmed the smoke. To our (HAPPY) suprise, it had one week left on the powertrain wty and they stated the issue was a needed valve guide repair. No problem.. What's a few days to get it fixed?

Meanwhile - they replaced the brakes for free since they were worn and admitted that it must have slipped by the used shop without having that corrected prior to sale (happy again).

They called after several days to say that one of the original valves had a 'mark' on her so they had to order another valve and we had another week to wait while the part came in and they completed the repair.

So we had the car for about 3 or 4 days. They have had it again for 2+ more weeks (gave us a rental - yeah)
I am happy that they are taking care of the issues - but bummed that they are happening to our "new to us" car in the first place.

Bottom line... Should I be more concerned? Should I ask them to do anything else?

Thanks again for reading.

bagsbie

Is this a Lexus dealer or an independent store? I would check the carfax report, note the original dealer or the last dealer that shows on in the maintenance section and have the current dealer obtain a full maintenance history. If the current dealer is the original dealer, I'd ask them for that history and inspect it to see if there're any issues with the car and if they were addressed. I believe, 60k is one of the major milestones in RX's maintenance as well. Do not get too worried but remember that you purchased a used vehicle and things could happen. Make sure you take care of it from now on. Keep us posted on how things are with the car and hopefully, this is the only major problem you'd have to experience.

xis

Hi -
It is a Lexus dealer and I did check Carfax -
One owner - bought, maintained and traded in from the owner one at the same Lexus dealer that I bought it from.
History is clean. It was maintained and had regular and scheduled services.

Hoping all goes smooth when I pick her up...

mandyfig

Good luck, you should be OK.

kiwi

screw carfax, they dont know everything, better of spending your money on a full point inspection. how could they miss the brakes, i am a mechanic, and its the first thing you check cuz its easy work that pays well, especially with the mileage you stated. sounds to me like it wasnt inspected at all. its good to see that they are taking car of you, but i would go else where and get a full once over jsut in case there is something else, it might cost you 200 bucks, but its good peice of mind if they dont find anything else

xis

Seems to have worked perfectly!
No smoke, good brakes. Everyone happy.

mandyfig

What did it say in the service report...it will be inetersting to find out.

xis

I will check it out and get specifics when I get home - but I do remember it listed the parts and assigned some charges to Used-Car sales (brakes/rotors) and some to Warranty (valve guides / valve).

She is running very well !

xis

BTW - as much as I really love the car, it is the wife's. She loves it even more than me!

I have an '07 RDX Tech. Quite a bit quicker and better handling, but nowhere near as smooth of an engine or transmission. I like the touch-screen Nav in the Lexus so much better than the voice activated one in the RDX and the DVD & power rear gate are wonderful additions.

Also, is it just me or does everyone think the 04-09 RX body style walks all over the 2010 Venza version??

kitlz

Yeah, I like my 04 RX better than the Venza, my 99 RX and the 10 RX for that matter. But I'm sure the 10 RX will grow on me

Glad to hear yours is better.

daryll40

I love our '06 RX that I bot used for the wife with 17K miles back in May. That being said, while it DOES look better than the '10 IMNO, the SEAT on the '10 is FAR SUPERIOR. It's a "real man" seat like in the LS. The '06 seat is OK but "girly" because it's short under the knees. The '10 has the control where you can extend the bottom of the seat and it makes a huge difference.

Grumpa72

It sounds like they are doing it right. While it may be a pain to not have your own car, when it is done, you will have a new head, brakes, and who knows what. No, do they guarantee their repairs?