We have a 2010 RX 350. I'm retiring and can't waste money. I want to trade my 2007 DTS for a 2012 RX 450h but don't know when they are released, or when to expect a re-vamped model. I don't want to be caught with the "old" model. Any advice.

 

probably minimal changes, usually color choices are added/deleted. I dont expect to see much change from the 2011 model. They should be at dealers near August/September

 

The 12's will be ariving later than usual due to the quake. My dealer said Nov. Don't expect a major change till 2015.

 

if mid-model year coincide with past two gen RX, revision will occur starting with 2013 model. If you are not in a hurry, wait to see if 12RX450 will get the newer litium-ion battery like Prius[some] is expecting for 2012. Litimu-ion will have definately be more efficiency than the current nickel-metal. price may go up with new year but it may be worth the wait for few months when 2012 starts showing up.

 

I dont think the 2012 RXh will get the Lithium battery, Lexus and Toyota are having problem getting enough lithium battery from their supplier, Panasonic, at a reasonable cost. Personnally, I think Toyota really drop the ball when it comes to Lithium batteries, they didnt expect the battery technology trend changing so far and thought they could have get by with Ni-Mh battery for a few more years while Honda, Audi and Hyundai are using Lithium ion battery in all their hybrids as we speak.

 

No, the RX will not get Li-ion batteries. The regular Prius will not get that battery technology just yet either seeing as how the all new Prius V wont get it when it arrives this year. However, the plug in prius will, but that car wont arrive until 2012

 

I'm retired and own the 450h ... if you can't waste any money on a car purchase, the 450h might not be your best bet. When I purchased mine I knew that I was probably wasting some money on the technology. I really like mine, but the cost/benefit ratio is a little weak. It is more of a product with a premium price. If after you retire you end up driving less, that further weakens the value proposition.

 

To be honest, if you can't afford to waste money why are you even considering the 450h? It will cost more than a 350 and you can't make the math work out to make it ultimately cheaper over the life of the vehicle. If money is key I'd keep the DTS until the wheels fall off, that would be the cheapest option unless their is something wrong with the Caddy now. You really need to have good assets in retirement to shell out $60k for a luxury hybrid, and I'm retired too. You know your needs best, but do you truly need two Luxury RX's in retirement? A bit of overkill perhaps.

 

On this same topic, i am considering buying a 2011 RX. Im doing this thru the dealer internet - what im not sure about without shopping this around is the current offer i have - how do i tell its the best price and are there any other incentives dealers are offering - like free service during warranty, oil changes or ect maintenance?

Appreciate the advise

 

What I did was I found a car that I liked from a local dealer and put a small deposit down to put it on hold. Tell them your interested and want to talk it over with the boss, jokingly say wife/girlfriend. You don't really need to have one. This will help break the ice. Get him talk about money out the door, and that you need to confirm with your significant other. If he doesn't, tell him your significant other won't even consider, unless there's a price already. Offer him a deposit to put the vehicle on hold, so the sales person at least thinks that you're serious. He will probably send you over to their finance dept. From that point, they will probably talk about price, taxes, etc. Make sure you have a copy of that so you can show your pretend or real significant other.

The next day, go to another dealer and find the car that you like. Give the same routine as the first. Also placing a deposit on it. Now on the following day, whichever car or dealership you like better, go there and tell them you're unsure about the vehicle and that already have another one picked out with a better deal. Now you don't show them the document you got from the other dealership, but tell them you got a little better deal. Mention stuff that the other car had remote start, roof rack, DVD player, etc.

I'm sure the sales person would hate to lose your business, so he will probably discuss about getting you a better deal and send you to the finance guy. From that point on, they will probably discuss with you as far as what they can do to make a deal.

This takes allot of time/work on your part, but you'll be happy with the outcome. I've done this with my past 3 vehicles and got excellent deals. When I bought my RX, I was able to get 8 year/100k, 5 year/50k on maintenance (no worries about oil changes or regular scheduled maintenance), as well as other stuff thrown in at the price of the original quote, without any of the packages.

 

Thanks for the advise - was this on a 2011 RX or previous yr car?

The dealer said there is a 1K customer loyalty program avail and the 1.9% financing for 60 months on a new RX. He indicated that both of these MAY not be avail for the 2012 models??

I think the ext warranty and the maintenance are good items to get thrown in...keeps the operating cost down.

 

I would wait until the 12s are out and then buy a 11, especially if the factory is doing the 2k incentives to dealers to move the 11s. You could get a heck of a deal.

 

Tell me more about the 2K incentives, is that currently in place now? How is this related to the 1K customer loyalty and the 1500 customer discount card?

 

I bought my 10 RX350 In the middle of Oct. last year. At that time the manufacturer was giving the dealerships 2k on each 2010 model they sold. Whether they do this again when the 12s come out who knows. It could depend on supply and demand at the time. The msrp on my RX was 43,899 and I got it for 38,500, so I was quite happy. As a matter of fact, I bought it over the Internet and phone, sight unseen. Not every dealer wants you to know about this, so it is important to do lots of homework before you go to the dealership of your choice. And no, it is not related to the customer loyalty or discount card.

 

check out truecar.com for your area. While certainly not the best possible price that you can get, it's a decent representation of what others have paid recently. The 3-4 people (including myself) that have purchased cars and told me the exact price have all been on the lower end of truecar.

It's also a matter of supply/ demand and the tsunami has reduced supply (at least of the navigation models, because apparently the Lexus supplier had major losses and the Acura dealer had major paint color restrictions).