2010 Lexus RX 350 Or ...

houmi

Hi,

I am new to these forums (a bit hard to navigate and find the right place to post), so I hope this place is Ok.

I am looking to get a new midsized SUV, and I have owned/driven RX 300 (2001), so used to Lexus experience. Currently do drive a Camry.

I have not test driven anything yet. I am leaning toward the 2010 RX 350, mainly because of the name. I don't care much about the Hybrid vs Regular as I did a cost calculator, and saw it takes many years to get even (though it's nice to have a smaller carbon footprint).

Though since car buying can never be easy, I read about other midsized SUV's or crossover and have thought about trying out the Toyota Highlander, Nissan Murano, Acura MDX and the Venza, but I am affraid as I test drive those, it might make my choice a bit harder.

I was just wondering how people liked the 2010 RX350 (I am mainly concerned about interior noise like in gravel roads, and performance in highway and acceleration and what the gas mileage is once driven couple of K miles).

Also since I live in Seattle area (Redmond), does anyone recommend any particular dealer (Bellevue / Tacoma / Seattle) -- I used to live in the Chicago area, and loved the Naperville location.

Thanks!

Houman

tidester

While you're waiting for a reply here you may want to have a look at Dealer Ratings and Reviews.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

arniekc

I test drove the Venza and it had a very rough ride. The suspension is too stiff for me. I haven't driven any of the others yet, but I am leaning towards the RX. I was also thinking about the MDX, but the gas mileage is about the same as a full size SUV. Good luck.

wwest

I have owned several LS400s, still do, 1 GS ('00) and 2 RX300's, an '00 and now an '01.

All purchased from Lexus of Bellevue. But once I buy the car they NEVER go back to the dealer for service, 1 or 2 BAD experiences there, but mostly DIY anyway.

Were I in the market today then the Venza with the I4 and F/awd would be first on my list. If the Venza, then I would immediately change the wheels/tire to something like 17X8 and add wheel spacers all around so rear tire chains can be used like on my '01.

My ideal next purchase vehicle would be a Lexus RX250h "AWD" using the new I4 but with DFI and the new rear clutch F/awd system. I'm not unhappy, CLEARLY, with the acceleration level of my current RX.

houmi

I have heard mixed reviews about Venza, basically the stiff ride as was pointed here, but I read that it's basically because of the large tires.

It's really weird, we used to take our RX300 to service in the Naperville location and the repairs/oil change were so affordable, but I guess this is not so on the west coast ? I have heard of $100 for an oil change ? is this true ? Is this with a SPA ?

Anyways... I really enjoyed the service with Lexus back in IL and the car was rather nice and it had a smooth ride and not noisy, that's the reason Lexus was #1, and w/ consumer reports, edmunds, kbb, it always ranks high w/ Toyotas. It's also true that you can get another car fully loaded and it would be the base price of Lexus, but they give you more (also you spend more)

OTOH, I have had a pretty good experience with Toyota of Bellevue where I take my car for service and they're pretty good, that's why I thought to check out Venza/Highlander as well there.

I don't know much about other brands.

Houman

wwest

The bumper on my then new '92 LS was damaged due to the tight spacing and "don't care" McD graduate doing the parking in the car wash area of the old Bellevue location.

I got an "oil change" that involved not draining the old oil before pouring the new in, likely another McD graduate. Luckily I discovered it within 24 hours.

One of the mechanics tried to "upsell" me, the '00 RX didn't come with the rear bumper step protector.

How do you think that could afford to build and maintain that "palace"...??

Manager expressed an unwillingness (due to my no service history) to look into a possible warranty issue until I first agreed to pay the cost if nothing was found. To be fair in the end he waived the cost even though the warranty was not an issue.

Even so, I'm fairly sympathetic to them, a single margue shop, HIGHLY reliable product, and a relatively "smallish" installed base. So they must go the extra mile to attract the few scheduled service revenues that they do get.

houmi

yeah of course we all know that dealers make most their money from used cars & service (labor cost).

When I bought the RX300 in Naperville, I did haggle quite a bit... but they wanted a sale, so caved in to my demands (I was ready to walk out and I did walk out once), but they called me to go back....

Do you recommend a particular sales person @ Lexus of Bellevue ?

mickey34

We bought the 2010 RX 350 and have only 1197 miles on it but we really like it and are comparing to others we have owned: All RXs, 2000, 2002 and 2005. This one is the quietest as they have insullated the wheel well areas and positioned the side mirrors differently. We too calculated the cost difference and went with the 350 over the hybrid. After trying a few other brands we went back to the Lexus as it seemed the best for us. The pricing right now is a bit hard as they are are not shipping with all the options yet due to the economy. We got a AWD with the Nav, Premium pack, Comfort pack and Luxury pack. It was real hard to get one this loaded although we could not get all of that and the new special cruise control and heads up. We did get the 19" chrome wheels and altogether could only get 2600.00 off as they really aren't dealing yet in the So. California area. Today we got 27.2 on the freeway going about 70 miles an hour for a 38 mile trip with no traffic and in bumper to bumper traffic coming home got 22.3 for the same amount of miles. We feel the transmission is much improved and smoother, the acceleration is noticably better and we are enjoying this model. With the AWD it is very stable. We found that there is really a difference in dealership prices as far as service prices go and we shopped for a dealer who was reasonable. For example the list price for stock chrome wheels was almost 1000.00 less where we bought than a closer dealer. I suggest you try other cars and then try the 2010 RX 350. That is how we made our decision.

mickey34

We bought the 2010 RX 350 and have only 1197 miles on it but we really like it and are comparing to others we have owned: All RXs, 2000, 2002 and 2005. This one is the quietest as they have insullated the wheel well areas and positioned the side mirrors differently. We too calculated the cost difference and went with the 350 over the hybrid. After trying a few other brands we went back to the Lexus as it seemed the best for us. The pricing right now is a bit hard as they are are not shipping with all the options yet due to the economy. We got a AWD with the Nav, Premium pack, Comfort pack and Luxury pack. It was real hard to get one this loaded although we could not get all of that and the new special cruise control and heads up. We did get the 19" chrome wheels and altogether could only get 2600.00 off as they really aren't dealing yet in the So. California area. Today we got 27.2on the freeway going about 70 miles an hour for a 38 mile trip and in bumper to bumper traffic coming home got 22.3 for the same amount of miles. We feel the transmission is much improved and smoother, the acceleration is noticably better and we are enjoying this model. We found that there is really a difference in dealership prices as far as service prices go and we shopped for a dealer who was reasonable. For example the list price for stock chrome wheels was almost 1000.00 less where we bought than a closer dealer. I suggest you try other cars and then try the 2010 RX 350. That is how we made our decision.

houmi

Thank you for reply. Sounds like you got a very nice car. Like you I will be looking for those packs (Nav/Premium & Comfort), I probably won't go for Luxury pack. I'd basically like to get the navigation, the heads-up display, xenon light and heated/vent seats. I am wondering based on responses here, if I'll see such a car, or I'd have to order it to be built.

I thought to forgo the navigation pack and just get a Garmin or TomTom, but I think it will be clunky... but that saves quite a bit of $ and latest TomTom/Garmin are very nice.

Yeah I'll probably go test drive the Venza, MDX, Highlander and Murano tomorrow and then the RX on Tuesday.

rcf8000

What did the dealer charge for the 19 inch chrome wheels? You can't order them from the factory except as part of the Sport Package, can you? I have a 2010 RX350 on order with the 19 inch wheels, but I'd like to swap them for chrome wheels when the car arrives.

rparis

I am driving a 2001 and use regular gas-what kind of gas do you use on the 2010? If not regular, have you tried regular?

I am expecting to trade soon and, based on your comments, it sounds like I will notice quite an improvement. I really dislike the turning radius of my car which I know they improved years ago.

wwest

Unlike the previous RX the new 2010 RX F/awd system is more of a "part-time" system, it remains DIS-engaged most of the time. Only "firmly" engaged with actual front wheelspin/slip or under moderate to hard acceleration. The new F/awd system is automatically disengaged while turning, braking, or with VSC activation.

But even with all that it's likely much better than the previous F/awd version, VIRTUAL F/awd using TC braking.

I can't imagine the new 6(9) speed transaxle being "smoother", the constant speed "shiftiness" must be worse with the extra gear to "choose" from for optimal FE. And please let us know how difficult, or not, it is to adapt to, learn, the procedure required to avoid the inadvertent throttle lift upshifts that result in the 1-2 second downshift delay upon immediate re-acceleration.

wwest

Not sure about my '01 but I would bet the 2010 has the new non-resonant knock/ping sensors and therefore can adjust, in real time, the mixture ratio to avoid knock/ping with high throttle openings.

So octane, within reasonable parameters, will be a non-issue.

houmi

I went an test drove the highlander, very smooth ride, though it's a bit boring looking. I did not care much for Venza, it feels like a Camry wagon that is lifted from the ground, it costs as much as highlander but with less cargo space. I also went and checked out the Murano but did not drive it, felt a bit crammed inside, but it was fully loaded.

Tomorrow, going to check out the RX350 (2010), I think though I'll either get the RX or the Highlander... I don't think I'd go wrong with either. On paper, I'd lean toward Lexus, but we'll see....

houmi

I ended up getting the rx350 4wd (2010 model). bargained it from 46.5k to 44k, it has navigation, leather, ventilated/heat seat , etc and is black/black. I thought it had parking assist, but it doesn't but no biggie, but the rear view cam is neat nonetheless.

I traded in a 2001 camry with 60k miles. and bargained it upwards to 7k approximately.

and I bargained the apr from 6 -> 5%, I coulda probably done it lower on all three counts, but I really wanted it.

My experience was pretty nice with the dealer, nice people (don't understand the bad reviews people write), but overall it was great.

thanks for all your help.

td_sjc

I got this from a local dealer.
2010 RX350, FWD, 3yr, 12K miles.yr, is 59% residual with a money factor of 0.00235 (multiply by 2400 to get APR). For 3yr lease, 15K miles/yr, the residual is 57% with the same money factor.

For a 4 yr lease, 12K miles/yr, the residual is 50% and for 15K miles/yr the residual is 48% with a 0.00235 money factor,

I test drove the 2009 Venza (fully loaded, 3.5L V6) and then compared it to the RX350 (2010) on the same terrain, rough roads included. Inside, they seem to be almost 90% same car with the Lexus having upgraded trim. The Lexus ride is definitely smoother and it rides higher. However it feels more like a SUV compared to the 2001-2003 RX300 which drove more like a car. This is just personal preference though. I'm told that the RX is basically a Toyota Highlander with upgraded trim. My neighbor works as a mechanic at the Lexus dealership and told me that Lexus does pinching of the metal every 6 inches Vs Toyota's ever 12 inch. Pinching means where two metal panels are "pinched". I guess the Lexus's 6 inch pinch gives it the more tighter feel and less rattles over the long run. He also told me that the RX300 & RX330 engines were much better than the RX350. They are seeing more problems with the latest engine and some other issues that I can't remember. So my option is to look for a used 2006 RX330 (FWD or a brand new Venza.

Hope this helps.

houmi

I don't know where your friend got that info...

according the consumer reports, they're all pretty good:

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/6940/captureqww.png

specialk63

I have a 2003 RX300 with 65.5 k miles; bought it used with 48k certified from dealer; wondering what a good trade number is; carmax offers me 10,500. It is in great condition. (no extras on it like gps)

mdhutton

http://www.kbb.com

stever

That's dealer asking price, not a trade-in price.

What is the "Kelley Blue Book" Price?

mdhutton

I disagree, but I'm not surprised the host of this forum would direct the conversation to a link on this site.

stever

Make sure you see the "right" book too. I've always read that Kelley sells one just for dealer subscribers.