iseeu1001

I do love my venza 2013 xle v6 fwd and had it since march of 2016, got it certified used for 23k with 29k miles. I am looking at trading my venza in for a lexus rx 350 2011. I know the lexus uses premium but can use regular but I will put premium in it. I had a lexus is 250 before and loved it but i needed a bigger car which the venza fits. Now I see this lexus rx 350 2011 for sale at this lexus dealership for 14,981 with 116,653 and my toyota venza has 48000 something on it but to lazy to go out and check it due to cold weather. Now carmax wanted to give me 14k for the car but I am sure I can talk to the lexus dealership to giving me more and lower the price of the rx 350 because 15k is not worth it for a 2011 and its 116k vs 48000 miles even though they have same engine which is the 2gr-fe.
Lexus Pros:
higher hp and torque
18 inch rims( more choices for wheels and a little cheaper price)
HID
More quiet in cabin??
Toyota Pros:
runs on regular
love the 20 inch rims(but hate paying for the price of tires lol.)
LED(I installed led headlights)

lexusrus

I think the important thing is to make sure that the RX you are looking at had ALL services done on time. Also to get a pre-purchase inspection by an independent Lexus dealership.

For me, I would go for the Lexus if possible. But I'm a Lexus fan.

iseeu1001

According to carfax there is no service history on it. Here is the car http://www.lexusofrockville.com/Vehi...-MD/3135763443

lexusrus

Can the Lexus dealership pull up ANY service history?

If there are NONE and the owner is effectively out of the picture, then NO ONE REALLY KNOWS.

If you are still interested in that RX, THEN I WOULD HAVE IT FULLY INSPECTED BY A THIRD INDEPENDENT EXPERT MECHANIC FULLY VERSED IN TOYOTA/LEXUS VEHICLES AND KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

Even if the above inspection came back OK, the vehicle MAY STILL BE A SUSPECT for some potential catastrophic failure in it's major SYSTEMS (engine/ tranny/AC, and etc). So you will need to budget for this potential by asking for more discounts. There is no magic numbers. You need to arrive at some figure that you are comfortable with and just go for it.

BTW, I think I remember reading about something about the rubber hose bursting that carries the engine oil into/out of the oil pump. There is a TSB of sorts on this to replace with the metal type of hose.

Clutchless

You should pass on this vehicle and do a www.cars.com search for similar but lower mileage vehicles with service histories. There are many nice used RX350s available in the DC - Maryland metro area. I would never trade a new lower mileage vehicle for an older higher mileage luxury vehicle. You will have many more maintenance and repair items and possible major (transmission) mechanical failures on that RX.

What options are on the Venza vs the RX that you now want to have?

I have a friend with a Venza that I have driven and ridden in many times and yes it rides worse due to the 20 inch wheels. However, for a lot less money than swapping cars, you could order a new set of 19 inch wheels and better riding tires from Tire Rack for the Venza. They can select the proper size 19 inch tire to match the new rim size and maintain the factory overall diameter. Or get a set of used RX350 19 inch wheels and just use Tire Rack to determine the proper tire size.

Gampa

I concur with Clutchless... too many miles on th RX with no maintenance records. Try smaller wheels on the Venza, 19 or even 18 inch, with MIchelin LTX tires... then maybe even new shocks and struts, transmission fluid change and new brakes and rotors.
You may start liking your Venza again.

Clutchless

Plus you could get back much of the investment in new wheels by selling your old ones on either eBay or Craiglist. With tires if they are new or without if old. Get the shop installing your new ones to remove tires from your old wheels as part of the deal. Save the new boxes and hope your old wheels fit in them. I have done this a couple of times.

iseeu1001

Yeah I was thinking bout going to a smaller rim size but I heard then you gotta calibrate your speed to match the new tire sizes if you are going to up or down a size. I also like how more comfortable is in lexus. I don't want to pay high prices for a car thats why I got my venza when it had 29k miles at 23k. Good price for a nice size cross over. I like the fit and finish better then the venza also. I know that the lexus rx and venza is also the same as in there both cross overs and they almost look the same but with different materials.

My venza is an xle so comes with leather seats, push to start, and an optional factory remote start which was added to my car from the previous owner. Oh talking bout remote start is there any way to extend the range of a key fob? I look silly putting the remote to my head to get a little more distant for remote start. Oh and I like the feature where you can roll down the windows on lexus, I know you can get that aftermarket done to my car to.

Airbalance

I heard people using 17's from the HL for winter wheels
as long as the overall circumference is the same you would not have recalibrate anything

you would have a lot rubber on the wheels

N4TECguy

Nope you should not do this trade. I am not being biased as the RX is not my first choice in cars, but it is what the wife chose for herself and I believe was the best of the choices we had at the time. I would buy this car again, but I am not in love with it. We did look at Venzas but they were short on headroom for me.

The RX350 has 275hp vs the Venza at 268hp. That's practically no difference at all. In fact the RX is a bit heavier and will likely be slower.

Not sure on the quieter cabin, I did not drive a Venza. You are right there may be a bit more road noise, but I bet good tires mitigate most of that. Doubt it's a huge difference. I will tell you, our RX exhaust noise is unbefitting of a Lexus. Some are worse than others, and ours isn't that bad...if it was a GM or a Ford. But I'd consider it out of parameter for a Lexus. If you search, you will find this issue on 2010-2015 RXs and it even continues on the new model 2016-2017 - there is 70+ pages on the 4th gen forum about this issue. We also have various rattles, notably in the B pillar region (also common) and the rear seat area. If your Venza has no rattles, I implore you to keep it...rattle free cars are gems

You can swap your 20s for smaller rims. The Venza was available with 19s. This will not require you to reprogram your speedometer as long as you use the proper size tires. The size of the metal wheel will change, but the outer diameter of the rubber tire should be very similar - thus, essentially nothing is affected mechanically (speedometer or odometer). You may get a softer ride, but probably not worth the money.

Your Venza has almost everything an RX would have. The HID headlights aren't that great. I pay more attention to headlights than most and a good Toyota reflector housing will match or beat the Lexus HID's any day. Yes, our RX has AFS HIDs, yes they still swivel and auto-level, and yes they are aimed properly. I am not impressed, except unfavorably so by the $150 cost to replace headlight bulbs. No, they are not lifetime bulbs, they get dimmer over time even if they do not burn out completely (and they do burn out completely sometimes).

Keep the lower mileage car, you know the maintenance history. Make sure you change the transmission fluid. Toyota says this is a "lifetime fluid." The fluid that came out of my RX was the darkest I've ever seen at 95k miles, and I have done this on cars with 60-150k miles, on trucks that towed 11,000 pounds, and even on transmissions that couldn't be saved. Do the tranny fluid, and a well maintained Toyota will serve you better than a 100k mile RX.

If you're dead set on an RX, find one with lower mileage. But being 100% honest, there is no advantage to this trade that I can think of.

iseeu1001

Yeah I don't mind not trading in for an rx but just for thought . I wonder how to change the key fob signal so I can remote start from further distance.

Clutchless

I think your remote start key fob issue may not have a solution except if the remote start manufacturer offers a range extender.

iseeu1001

Its straight from toyota and not aftermarket so I was wondering if there is anyway to extend the range around the car or with the fobs.