Thinking of buying a 2004 RX330...what to know?
06-09-16, 06:56 PM
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Thinking of buying a 2004 RX330...what to know?
Hi everyone. I'm in the market for a new (used) car and I fell in looooove with the rx330. I'm considering buying a 2004 model with 116k. Service history on lexus.com looks good, nothing of concern (seems like the wheels got realigned alot, though...). Carfax report is clean too. 2 owners, no accidents, etc. The asking price is $8995. It doesn't look like it had the timing belt/water pump replaced yet. I'm hoping to use that to my advantage when negotiating the price.
Is there anything specific I should look out for or really need to know...any tips? I'm taking it for a test drive this weekend and I'm hoping everything looks and runs good.
Is there anything specific I should look out for or really need to know...any tips? I'm taking it for a test drive this weekend and I'm hoping everything looks and runs good.
06-09-16, 08:29 PM
#2
It's not any different than how you would inspect other used cars.
with that mileage, you should have a new water pump and alternator.
I just got an 2005 with 164k, I'm in the bay area, northern CA, on CL, they go for $10k, all day, I got mine for $7400. second owner. no paperwork, 1 key.
It's in pretty good condition, but it was the wife's car and they had a toddler, so I had to sanitize it, and there was a fair amount of kid damage to the passenger rear area and door, do to kid use.
I would check the axles, brake pads, look under the hood, check the color of the fluids. I like to wrench, so all that would just help negotiate the price down.
I know some of the AWD trannys have experienced early failures, around 100k mileage...
Do you know what package you want? A 2nd gen RX330 where i live, with 100k miles, that would go for $14k. A little to spendy for my budget.
with that mileage, you should have a new water pump and alternator.
I just got an 2005 with 164k, I'm in the bay area, northern CA, on CL, they go for $10k, all day, I got mine for $7400. second owner. no paperwork, 1 key.
It's in pretty good condition, but it was the wife's car and they had a toddler, so I had to sanitize it, and there was a fair amount of kid damage to the passenger rear area and door, do to kid use.
I would check the axles, brake pads, look under the hood, check the color of the fluids. I like to wrench, so all that would just help negotiate the price down.
I know some of the AWD trannys have experienced early failures, around 100k mileage...
Do you know what package you want? A 2nd gen RX330 where i live, with 100k miles, that would go for $14k. A little to spendy for my budget.
06-09-16, 09:17 PM
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It's not any different than how you would inspect other used cars.
with that mileage, you should have a new water pump and alternator.
I just got an 2005 with 164k, I'm in the bay area, northern CA, on CL, they go for $10k, all day, I got mine for $7400. second owner. no paperwork, 1 key.
It's in pretty good condition, but it was the wife's car and they had a toddler, so I had to sanitize it, and there was a fair amount of kid damage to the passenger rear area and door, do to kid use.
I would check the axles, brake pads, look under the hood, check the color of the fluids. I like to wrench, so all that would just help negotiate the price down.
I know some of the AWD trannys have experienced early failures, around 100k mileage...
Do you know what package you want? A 2nd gen RX330 where i live, with 100k miles, that would go for $14k. A little to spendy for my budget.
with that mileage, you should have a new water pump and alternator.
I just got an 2005 with 164k, I'm in the bay area, northern CA, on CL, they go for $10k, all day, I got mine for $7400. second owner. no paperwork, 1 key.
It's in pretty good condition, but it was the wife's car and they had a toddler, so I had to sanitize it, and there was a fair amount of kid damage to the passenger rear area and door, do to kid use.
I would check the axles, brake pads, look under the hood, check the color of the fluids. I like to wrench, so all that would just help negotiate the price down.
I know some of the AWD trannys have experienced early failures, around 100k mileage...
Do you know what package you want? A 2nd gen RX330 where i live, with 100k miles, that would go for $14k. A little to spendy for my budget.
i just really want a reliable car that's going to last, and that maybe i can sell back for more than $900 (like my poor '99 camry that i drove into the ground). the car i'm looking at right now comes with navigation and a back-up camera too, so it's *quite* an upgrade. lol. my budget is pretty good for a used car, but not for a new one ($9000 tops, no loans/financing...i have enough of a headache with student loans and going back to school). i'm a little iffy about buying a 12 year old car with so many miles, but i figure an old lexus beats out any newer ,low-mile kia/hyundai/mazda/chevy.
06-10-16, 04:48 PM
#4
Well, I'm not a poor grad student any longer, and I absolutely love my very used 2005 RX330. I plan to drive the **** out of it. I love it even more now that I added a thicker rear sway bar and a front strut tower bar, so much better!
The mark levinson stereo would have been nice, but I can live with the stock stereo. It has just enough bass to get me by.
if the owner didn't work on the car himself, I would not assume the work was done correctly by the dealer or mechanic. I would check the two axles and the transfer case. the rear diff had not be changed in at least 60k miles, it was black as night and very thin (OEM calls for 75-90). I took care of that.
I found out after I bought this car, they had hit something because the hood is slightly mis-aligned on one side, the front grille mount tabs were all broken and the front fender has a wierd work around because a key tab on both sides is broken, a screw on each side was used (drilled a hole), which made it very diffiicult to get the bumper off. NOT a big deal for me, but I know now why the price was lower, even though the 2nd owner didn't tell me, or he might not of known if the first owner rolled into something.
Yeah, I love this SUV. I wanted a greater towing capacity in case I get a track only car, or if I wanna get a harley, lol.
The mark levinson stereo would have been nice, but I can live with the stock stereo. It has just enough bass to get me by.
if the owner didn't work on the car himself, I would not assume the work was done correctly by the dealer or mechanic. I would check the two axles and the transfer case. the rear diff had not be changed in at least 60k miles, it was black as night and very thin (OEM calls for 75-90). I took care of that.
I found out after I bought this car, they had hit something because the hood is slightly mis-aligned on one side, the front grille mount tabs were all broken and the front fender has a wierd work around because a key tab on both sides is broken, a screw on each side was used (drilled a hole), which made it very diffiicult to get the bumper off. NOT a big deal for me, but I know now why the price was lower, even though the 2nd owner didn't tell me, or he might not of known if the first owner rolled into something.
Yeah, I love this SUV. I wanted a greater towing capacity in case I get a track only car, or if I wanna get a harley, lol.
06-11-16, 12:37 PM
#5
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On the test drive pay attention to how the transmission shifts in stop and go traffic.
I had an ES330 and hated the amount of lag in the throttle and tranny and I can only assume the same for the RX330. On the highway however, they are beautiful cars.
I also see a lot of power steering rack leaks on used RX330's on the lots, so take a peak under to make sure.
I had an ES330 and hated the amount of lag in the throttle and tranny and I can only assume the same for the RX330. On the highway however, they are beautiful cars.
I also see a lot of power steering rack leaks on used RX330's on the lots, so take a peak under to make sure.
06-13-16, 10:47 PM
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I just purchased a 2004 RX330 with 150k miles. It is white, light grey interior, w/AWD, two owners, with the one I purchased it from having it for 8 of those years. They were an older couple with no kids, and had it serviced at Lexus (all records were kept and given to me). It was a third car for them. I purchased it for $7k. There were a few issues with it, but minor enough to fix for little cost.
While I did not do it before purchasing, I would suggest asking the owner if you can take it to a mechanic for a "buyer's check". Some places will do it for free, while others will do it for a fee. I ended up taking my RX330 to a mechanic after I purchased it, paying $80 for the buyer's check. One thing found, which I had not noticed, was that there is some rust underneath. The owners had lived in Nebraska, so must have been salt on the roads. Luckily it is minor rusting, with the mechanic saying the only possible issue is it may cost more if repairs were needed and bolts were rusted. Knowing this sooner, though, probably would not have impacted my decision to buy it since the car is otherwise very clean and in excellent shape.
I absolutely love my RX330, and actually drive it more than my other car, which is a 2013 Scion tC RS8. I bought the RX330 as a second vehicle so I would not wear out my Scion, but now i want to take as much care of my RX330 as I do my newer car.
While I did not do it before purchasing, I would suggest asking the owner if you can take it to a mechanic for a "buyer's check". Some places will do it for free, while others will do it for a fee. I ended up taking my RX330 to a mechanic after I purchased it, paying $80 for the buyer's check. One thing found, which I had not noticed, was that there is some rust underneath. The owners had lived in Nebraska, so must have been salt on the roads. Luckily it is minor rusting, with the mechanic saying the only possible issue is it may cost more if repairs were needed and bolts were rusted. Knowing this sooner, though, probably would not have impacted my decision to buy it since the car is otherwise very clean and in excellent shape.
I absolutely love my RX330, and actually drive it more than my other car, which is a 2013 Scion tC RS8. I bought the RX330 as a second vehicle so I would not wear out my Scion, but now i want to take as much care of my RX330 as I do my newer car.
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