Hi everyone -

I'm considering a 2015 rx350, but the recent 3g discontinuation announcement has me concerned about resale value 3-5 years from now? I can imagine going to sell the car and saying "Hey, sorry but the SOS button, stolen vehicle locator, destination connect, and remote start don't work anymore".

Can anyone level with me:
Would you buy a 2015 rx350 knowing this?
Do you think it will greatly impact resale value?
Does lexus pull stuff like this often?
Is there any chance they will come out with a replacement module?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "does Lexus pull stuff like this often". You seem to imply it is Lexus that is shutting down 3G networks. These cars rely on 3G cellular services which are provided by telecom companies, and as their networks are mainly now LTE and rolling out 5G services, 3G "has gots to go". Not worth maintaining.

Other cars, and lots of other devices (besides of course, older mobile phones) also have 3G only services and will fade out of useful existence as well. My wife's CPAP machine used to send stats to her phone, but that stopped working a while ago when the local telecom's 3G service it used went dark. Rather than have customers randomly start dropping off the network and complaining, Lexus is just opting to do an orderly shutdown of the service. I know of no auto manufacturer that does feature updates to older cars (except maybe Tesla), so once it rolls out the door, it is what it is, and what it always will be. At least as far as the manufacturer is concerned.

As far as resale value goes, possibly some, but not nearly as the usual things like mileage, general condition of vehicle, and an appreciation of Lexus brand and reliability. I guess it depends on how many people buying cars that are on the back half of their life are interested in buying subscription services for them. I'm sure there will be a few disappointed, but it will also affect other older cars with similar services anyway so there's not going to be much of an alternative, at least for built in OEM features.

 

Andy said it so well!

It is not just the vehicles (all brands) but also home security, phones etc. The latest offerings with 5G will one day also be superseded with newer standards.

Who does it impact ... certainly the group of folks who deem the dropped feature 'must have'. Usually this group lives with leading edge technology based gadgets/machines and are constantly upgrading. They are generally driving new to upto 5 or max 7 year old vehicles.

Vehicle manufacturers have to roll in new technology as they roll out new generation of models and some ride on the wave of technology crests and some regrettably go out of sync.

Salim

 

That assumes that the future buyer even cares about the somewhat over priced subscription service. As I understand it, my 2015 cannot be remote started with the system and even if it did that's the only thing of the package that interests me so when I bought my used 2015 a few years ago I never gave that a second look.

 

No impact to us. We never pay for subscription services. We just drive the vehicles since that is why we obtained them in the first place.

 

You are overthinking this The last thing on a used car buyer's mind is "does this have a stolen recovery system". The buyer is just looking for a car well maintained and serviced properly. When i bought my used RX, this thing hadn't even crossed my mind till you brought it up. I have AAA towing and a solid insurance. That's all I need on a used car.

 

The principal reason guests enrolled in the Lexus Safety Connect App was for the Remote Start.
A perceived drawback was the ongoing subscription costs. Even before this deadline, those that
wanted to "cut the cord" would just have a traditional keyring RS system installed. Still available
for those feeling disowned. I echo the praise given to Andy (Droid13) for the eloquent treatment.