The reason this comes up is I go on the Lexus CPO site and see a vehicle where it is described that the seats are cloth. I send an inquiry to the dealer and he calls me back and he says no, all Lexus vehicles come with leather seats as a standard feature. Is this true?

In any event, what I have discovered is that the descriptions listed in the Lexus CPO site are notoriously incorrect, i.e. interior color totally wrong, incorrect options listed. Best to check the individual dealer site.

 

leather is not standard. It is part of the premium package. In fact, the RX is not only lexus vehicle that does not come with standard leather. That being said, it is near impossible to find an RX without the premium package, though it is technically possible

 

Is the same true for the navigation package, i.e. that 99% of people get it? I am considering getting one without navigation (a 2010) as I have no use for such a device. I could see if I went on sales calls in new territories but I pretty much drive to the same places all the time. The only reason I would get it would be resale value, I guess. I'm wondering what percentage of people get the navigation package?

 

Navi is always up to debate. Does it help re-sale value? Yes in the sense that it is an added feature, but if someone is not willing to pay for that feature then they won't even look at your car due to price.

I pesonally have the Navi and saw that the RX's with this feature were selling like hot cakes at the dealer when we bought ours. Most people wouldn't even sit in the car without the Navi.

Although we rarely use the feature when in town (we do once in a while) I have found that on trips I couldn't do without it. It makes things so simple and if we want to go somewhere we just punch it in and I don't have to worry about taking a wrong turn. True you could do this with a Tom Tom or Gamin but this is way more convenient.

 

Nav is more popular than not by me. I like it, I know others aren't that fond of it. It's helpful when there are those traffic jams or road closures. I have traffic added so it's supposed to reroute if I have a destination set. I've gotten warnings miles ahead of time but no rerouting. Other benefits, being able to calculate distance/arrival time, adding POIs, calling destination assist to download directions en route, downloading directions via Lexus owners site. Those are off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.

 

We don't have nav, but I think that it is a great feature. However, it is dramatically overpriced. All of the same things can be accomplished with a $150 to $200 unit. Cost not being and issue, we would have purchased ours with nav, but it just did not meet our value analysis calculation.

 

I'm more than willing to get an RX 350 AWD without a Nav than an RX 350 FWD with Nav.
I totally agree with cafpaf that the Nav is so over priced. And the cost to update it every year is like buying a new garmin nuvi every time.

Going back to the leather seats, most if not all dealers have them since most dealers don't sell you a BASIC RX.
We've been to more than 5 dealers every time we buy in a span of 15 years and none of them have a BASIC Lexus whether it's an RX 350 or a GX.

I think they get more money when you buy a car with add on packages.

 

Wait, cost to update the Nav? How does that work? You have to pay to update it?

 

Yes--pay to upgrade whenever you do upgrade.

 

Yes. If you go the dealer route it's about 300.
If you go elsewhere around 150.
And it's a yearly thing. Of course there's a choice of not updating the maps.

 

That's kind of a drag. I hadn't thought of that. Just kind of expected it would automatically update like my GPS on my iphone, lol. That's another reason for me not to get the Nav. However I am seeing bare bones 2010s going for the same price as those fully loaded, so who knows.

 

Well , most of the portable GPS ( Garmin, Magellan, Tom Tom) do require a yearly update. There are some models where you have a lifetime FREE update but most of them require you to purchase a map every year.

and Just so you know, the Lexus Navigation feels like it's 3-5 years behind from ALL the after market in dash/ portable navigation out there.

 

I love navigation, use it all the time. I miss "bird's eye view" on the Lexus. Mark what do you feel Lexus is missing to be 3-5 years behind?