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Comments
I would appreciate a recommendation on a bike
rack (for carrying two "standard" mountain bikes)
for RX300. I do have roof rails. Any recommendation for roof rack vs. tow hitch rack?
Thanks,
brs1.
BTW, we got a better price on a RX300. It's supposed to come next week so if it works out I'll let you know the details.
first_lexus
You don't say whether you are considering a AWD with or without Navigation package, or other options such as Premium Package plus, cargo mats, heated seats, etc. Check out the invoice prices on places like edmunds, consumer reports, and carsdirect, and total up everything you want. The carsdirect invoice is about 500 more than on the other sites; I read in earlier posts that the invoice price might have gone up by this much recently. In Northern California, around 2000 over invoice is a "good deal" according to the dealers but you can get 1000-1500 over invoice if you fight for it. Check out www.fightingchance.com. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
If we're down to that then this must be one damn fine vehicle!
Oh, by the way, it is a CUPHOLDER, not a BOTTLE-HOLDER!
Snow and ice. We had our share of that here on the eastside of seattle just last week. I had absolutely no complaints about my 2001 AWD with VSC and Trac. I had to "push" things a bit just to see if the VSC and Trac would work as advertised and they did. Otherwise there was never a time in the two days or so of driving on ice and snow surfaces that I had the least bit of cause for concern.
I have reviewed the AWD setup in the MDX and I don't doubt that the MDX has a much better mechanical setup for AWD. I am quite certain it would out-perform my 2000 RX that I traded in. The RX normal torque split is about 70/30 front/rear and it can NEVER deliver more than 50% of the available torque to the rear wheels, whereas it appears that the MDX can route full torque to ANY one wheel.
But having the VSC and Trac in the 2001 clearly overcomes the shortcomings of the 2000 RX against the MDX.
I would have more seriously considered the MDX if it had HID. I'm not really sure that VSC and Trac would be useful in the MDX but....
Maybe next time....
The MDX, like many vehicles, is an auto-WD set up. This means that all of the torques is normally biased on either the rear or front axel. In the MDX's case, it's the front axel. These are reactive systems that will shift torque as slippage is detected. This is basically called traction control and will help you get "unstuck" from snow, ice, etc. But because it is normally front-wheel drive, the rear-end of such a vehicle can and will "fishtail" under certain conditions.
The RX is a true all-WD, because there is some torque being supplied to both axles at all times (some say 70/30, Edmunds says 50/50). Because the torque/friction is distributed,there is less chance that a particular wheel will "break free" from the road surface. This feature improves handling. I believe the torque distribution is 50/50 because of the very "neutral" solid feel I experience when taking corners. The RX also has traction control that will shift torque when needed to help avoid "stuck" conditions. Now, take this a step further and add VSC. VSC will actually detect if the front or rear end of the vehicle is deviating from the driver's intended path, and then adjust the engine throttle and individual wheel speeds as necessary. This is a huge handling advantage. The only other cars I'm aware of that do this now are Subarus, Toyota/Lexus, MB, and BMW.
Take a look at LexusSafety.com for more interesting info.
If you are close to Westchester, I can recommend a good dealer.
Thanks for the info.
Mark
Besides, no automobile is a permanent decision. You can try something else next time if it does not turn out to be everything you are hoping it will be.
kingscreek: I am looking at both vehicles at this time as I already have a '00 ML430. It goes against my grain to give Acura a 5000.00 markup on the MDX, I don't want it that badly.
I haven't seen the Michelin Cross Terrains, thank you for suggesting them tonychrys.
Steve
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket & Accessories message boards
1. The web order page is not secure, even though they claim it is. The page where you enter your credit card number is not encrpyted, you can check this by looking at the bottom of your browser and looking for the "lock" symbol. Plus, the page does not begin with "https" which indicates a secure page.
2. After I notifed them of this, a person came back with a lame email response that "I asked the web administrator and he said it was secure." Folks, I've run major web sites for a living, they don't know what they are talking about.
3. So, I went the old-fashion way and tried calling the 800 number. I called numerous times during the day and no one ever answered. I finally left a message saying I wanted to spend money. No one has yet to get back to me.
I can't imagine what would happen if I actually could order something and then needed customer service.
You've been warned.
I too drive between 80-90 mph RX drives great well worth the price of the tickets I receive
/direct/view/.eea61db
Drew
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Salim
ps: Some one was looking for Chrome bumper guards .. check out JAOS.
Tonychrys, I've ordered from irontoad on a couple of occasions. Didn't know about the security problem though. I too had problems contacting them via phone. Eventually, I called and pressed the extension for another make. I got through there and that person transferred me to the Lexus parts dept and I finally got to talk to someone. (I think you are calling a dealer's parts dept. and often no one is working the parts counter, thus no answer) Despite contact problems, the items I ordered on two diff. occasions were delivered promptly and I received good installation instructions when I e-mailed irontoad. Give e-mail a try.
1. Does anyone know if Lexus will make a RX300 with no options? I intend to keep the car for ten years, so resale value is not a concern.
2. Could I use the CA and FL quotes to negotiate with an OH dealer? My concern is that the demand must be much higher in OH.
3. Are there any major problems with dealing with Cars Direct that would negate any possible savings?
Have you consider the MB M-class or the Toyota 4Runner? Both are body-on-frame, and have higher tow limits (5000lbs for the M-class).
Drew
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I too considered a plain RX, but in the end I decided to take one w/ the premium package bec.: 1. I really wanted a CD changer and getting it seperate from the premium package made no sense, 2. an RX premium package in the color I wanted was coming to the dealer in three days and 3. after negotiating prices at several SoCal dealerships I found that the difference bet. a plain RX and one w/ the premium package was not tremendous-- dealers just seem much more willing to discount the price of a car they have as opposed to one that would have to either special order from another dealer or the factory.
You should certainly try to use the CA or Fl prices to negotiate a better deal in OH, but I would be very surprised if the OH dealer would come anywhere near those prices. Market value. I live in Northern CA and I'm buying my next RX in SoCal bec. the differnce in price is about $2000. I have not had much luck in getting NorCal dealers to match SoCal prices.
You might want to give the SoCal dealers a call and see if they can sell/ship to you in OH. Some of the larger Lexus dealers such as Longo seem to have experience in dealing w/ out of state purchases.
What I don't understand is why he is going working himself into such a dither about a vehicle that he claims he has no emotion for. He sounds like a spurned lover to me. I think he is having an internal crisis.
This is an ancient story. He states he neither wants to drive or own the RX, and yet he doesn't want anyone else to enjoy it. Don't you think there is a measure of the little green monster in this story? For what else can arouse such passion? Why would he care what we drove and how much we paid for a car? You would think he would be grateful that we are supporting our economy as good American patriots.
No, my friends, there is a story to our little mustang and it is not the one he claims. Perhaps his dreams are filled with the glory of Lexus, but heart has been broken by the lack of an opportunity. Let him not arouse your anger, for he deserves only pity. Bless his little heart, he just doesn't know any better.
Drew
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I spent an hour at an Acura dealer yesterday, where they had 3 MDX's available. Cost was $2000 over MSRP plus whatever crappy dealer accessories they had already put on each model (the running boards look awful and the fender flares are just ridiculous). I may end up going with an MDX if I can only find one that isn't too messed up by the dealer add-ons. At this point I'm willing to pay up in order to forego a six month wait.
(off topic) Please email me direct at jeffmust@aol.com.
Loved your SF post to our pretend buddy GT!
Noticed that you're in IT in New York; I'm in IT outsource services on the West Coast and would love to chat about specifics.
What I do care about is annoying people like you who can't intelligently debate the issues. You make a fool of yourself everytime you post a message. You just seem to want to have the last word. I can't even begin to guess how old you are or how you socially interact with folks in the real world.