4th vehicle in the Lexus brand but I've just been turned onto the idea of an RX this last week. Always loved the car since Gen1.
Thoughts or considerations I may not be factoring?

#1 Has better service records than I've ever seen on a used car. They seemingly accepted every suggested service at the dealer.
#2 Has the packages I really like. Pretty much have to assume an RX driver didn't cheap out on maintenance.

I'm leaning towards #2 as I don't see myself wanting to do a front bumper swap the the F-Sport 'appearance pkg.' for #1.
The Premium pkg. also makes a big difference on the RX.

Both have about 60k miles and are selling for $23k.
#1 has 2 incidents of minor damage on Carfax, #2 has 1 minor damage reported. I'll of course do my best to determine what/where this damage was.



#1 2015 RX350

Base display audio, comfort package, headlight pkg.
PRO:

• Serviced only at Lexus dealer at least every 5k for the life of the car
• 1 owner
• All new: trans and brake fluid flushed twice, lower ball joint(s), brakes pads/rotors resurfaced, tires, headlight bulbs,

CON: Not a fan of the 'softer' front end very reminiscent of Gen1-2 (I love Gen1-2, just not on a Gen3).

#2 2015 RX350

Navigation, Comfort, Premium, Parking assist, Headlight and Sport Appearance Pkg. (this is a big one for me)
PRO:

• The car is more exciting with appearance I'm happy with
• Appearance and Premium pkg. just makes more sense to me on a 2015 RX.
  • Not all that common either I'm finding
• They did do brake fluid flush x2.

CON:

• No trans flush reported. Although, 60k isn't too late.
• Basically there just isn't much to show for service records.
• 3 owners (3rd had it for a very short amount of time, 'minor damage' reported, then sold it)

#3 ???? RXXXX
Wait to see if a better appearance pkg. RX shows up somewhere?

 

#1 is by far the wiser choice. Having complete service history throughout the life of the vehicle is crucial. Especially if you plan to keep it for many years.

 

Neither look like a good deal to me.
1. They both have accidents on record. Are you going to have them inspected by a mechanic? With an accident on record that is 100% a must.
2. Even if mechanic says it's ok, $23,000 is too much for an RX with an accident on its record. I couldn't do it. But that's just me.

Are you only looking at 2015s? Have you looked at 2013 or 2014? They're basically the same.

 

This is a big selling point for me. #2 has some service history (more than a few others I looked at), and also at dealers. I think there was a couple 10k mile gaps where I can't be sure they changed the oil inbetween.

Personally, i take my car to a small indy shop or do it myself so my cars would look bad on carfax too.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

#1 definitely seems to be a well cared for vehicle. I'm surprised it needed ball joints, they should last 150,000 miles or even much longer. Why? Perhaps these were the parts damaged in accident. Is the rest of the suspension original, any crappy 3rd party parts used? Would be an area to pay attention, to make sure nothing funky going on to confirm whatever happened was indeed minor AND properly taken care of.

#2, I agree with it being the more desirable choice. No service records could easily indicate quick lube oil changes or DIY. The fact that two brake fluid changes show up in the records is a good sign that maintenance was done, just probably not as easy for a quick lube or DIY to handle it so ended up at being done by someone that updates service records. 60K is not too late for a trans fluid change, so I would not worry too much about that if test drive shows no shifting issues. The main question would be, what was damaged exactly and why did the current owner feel it necessary to bail out of the vehicle right after. No faith in the car's repairs, or no faith in themselves to handle the car.

 

Mechanic would be a good idea. I'm relatively savvy on the topic but I'm not a mechanic per say and having it on a lift would be 10x better.
My mind hadn't got that far yet so thank you for point that out.
$23k looks pretty fair to low for me at 60k miles for '15. But maybe because I'm in Southern California?

I'm hesitant to a 1st year on a new Gen so wasn't looking at 2013. Although I'm a bit un-educated on what exactly all changed 2012-13 and if '13 was even more prone to issues.
2013-2014 limits finance options with my preferred banks as well.

 

@HOMER350 I hate how banks do that now. I guess they are trying to encourage people to spend more money by increasing interest rates on older vehicles? Shame.

The first model year of the generation you are looking at is actually the 2010 model year. The 2013 model year came with a refresh but not a redesign it is essentially the same as a 2010 aside from a few exterior/ interior components and maybe one or two incredibly minor mechanical differences.

Basically the only difference between 2010-2012 and 2013-2015 is that they have different bumpers, headlights, and tail lights. If you prefer to stay away from the first year of the generation that would be the 2010 model. For lack of a better term, anything that was "wrong" with the 2010-2012 was fixed with the 2013 model. But there wasn't really anything wrong with the previous model years (aside from the oil cooler line maybe - but I think even that was fixed in 2011). The 3.5L engine that's in the 2015 RX350 has been used in the RX350 since 2007. So you could consider 2007 the first year of the generation if you go by engine.

 

Ball joints were done 42,041 before the damage report around 50k.
True this normally doesn't come up until >100k. Definitely not 50.
My theory was this person had a concern to some extent and the dealer said "well, we could try..."

My thoughts exactly on #2. No everyone services at a place which would show up at carfax, nor should they necessarily.
The fact they got the brake fluids done shows initiative.
Most of the life was with owner 2 from 12k to 52k miles.
Reported service at 23k, 28k, 33k, 44k. Service was actually at the Lexus dealer who is selling, so they may have some more detailed info on what service was done.
The service reports on this car are actually looking better the more I think about it. So many cars I look at show 1-2 service records tops.

3rd owner did a good service at dealer and only drove 7k miles on the car, and had the accident.

The car was put for sale about 4 months after the accident, so it could of been entirely unrelated. I had to look more closely at the dates.

Thank you for your response!

 

Just throwing this out there, but regular service by a dealership isn't a 100% guarantee, and lack thereof is not necessarily damning. There is a lot of variability in quality of dealerships when it comes to service. I would trust a good local mechanic as much or more than an average dealership. Of course regular maintenance is likely a sign of a car that has been taken care of, and will last longer, I'm just saying it's not a guarantee.
Mine had all the service records, and it has it's issues.

Also consider if they spent a lot of time out of state. TX AZ can have paint issues from the sun, states up north can have issues if they salt the roads in winter.