The price difference between regular and premium is like 20 Cents so the cost difference on 15 gallons is $ 3.00 total. That is why I always use premium in my car.

 

You have done very well to get that many miles out of a 99 without major issues of which there are 2.

1- Due to baffles and general engine design there are sludge issues with the 300 engines as well as Toyotas that use this same basic engine. You can google this. This can lead to oil starvation and engine wear. The older the vehicle is and the more miles I would think the worse the potential for issues becomes obviously.

2- These transmissions are not known to hold up well, you have done very good to get 150,000 out of yours. At this mileage however I would be concerned on ANY vehicle that the transmission could go at any time.

You can fix a vehicle much cheaper than you can buy a new one (not necessarily the case with a CPO one). In this situation however, with two big potential issues I would personally opt to move up. The 330 is more reliable than the 300's were although both suffered from jerky trannies. We moved my wife up from a 99 to an 06 330 and there is a drastic improvement in handling and a transmission software upgrade cured all tranny issues for us.

 

I'm back - the original poster of this thread with an update. When I posted the original message I had 155K. My tranny died on me at 165K. RIP.

So, here I am at 165K with a cost of $4500 to replace the tranmission. But - the Lexus dealer is willing to give me $3000 in CASH for the car as it is right now!!!

Question - now what do you all think? Take the cash and get an 2005 RX330 available down the road for $18000? Or figure that if the Lexus dealer was willing to give me $3000 in cash, the car can't be so bad and might go 200K miles or more?????

Sigh

 

Well if u get a used tranny the cost overall might be closer to $2500-$3000. If the avg payment is $400-$500 that is a year of payments vs buying another RX which will be a 48 month loan. On the other hand the vehicle is newer, drives better, is larger with more features.

I would also look at 400h/350 vs a 330 if possible.

Good luck. I think I would take the cash.

 

I have the opportunity to uy a 2006 RX 400H with 92K -- BUT -- the mileage scares me.

I've heard to worry about the battery needing to be replaced at around 100K and that this model has inverter issues. The later is supposed to be a killer expense. Your thoughts??

 

friscogal, sorry to hear about your tranny failure. We went from a RX300 to our current RX330. Our 95K miles RX330 has been great up until the recent discovery of a leaking rack and pinion unit and the ongoing dashboard rattles and noises. Our old RX300 was just over 100K miles when we traded it for the RX330. The RX300 was a very solid and reliable SUV.

The RX330 is designed for regular gas, 87 octane, and that's what we've always used.

We're at a crossroad as to what we do now. Your early tranny failure is also giving me something to think about.

Good luck with your decison.

 

If it helps your own decision, the 1999 RX300 was quite infamous for having a complete transmission failure at my car's mileage or sooner (in my case, at 160K....but as early as 120K and I've even seen much less!). The transmission problem was addressed in the next model year of the RX300's.

I don't know about the reputation of RX330's with regard to transmissions, but I haven't heard anything out of the ordinary. The only reason I'm not paying $4500 to do the transmission replacement is that I'm guessing its probably downhill from here and I can't afford to be saddled with repairs from now on.

Frankly, if someone could tell me that my car would very likely go another 50K without an engine issue, I would keep the RX300.

 

You don't put a brand new transmission into 11 yr old vehicle, it is a waiste of money. Try searching junkyards for a used low-mileage one, and I am sure you'll come out under 1500. Don't get a rebuild one- its more expensive than junk yard part replacement, and rebuilds are rarely as reliable as original OEM. If your RX has no other problems, then yes, you are likely to get another 50k mi out of it easy. But it sounds like you are longing for a new set of wheels, then you can sell it 7k and net 5500, still more than 3k dealer offered on trade in.

 

Have you called your local transmission shops? I recently got my 99 accord done with a local shop that offers 3 years/ 36K miles warranty -- and the price is very reasonable.

good luck and keep us posted!

 

Here is some used and rebuilt ones.
FWD: http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi
AWD: http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi