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I really like the look of the spoiler, but the dealership actually suggested against getting it due to the increase in wind noise.
My questions
(1) Anyone out there have experience with the spoiler on the 2001 and the increase in wind noise?
(2) After hearing all of the opinions on the tires, what tires should I upgrade to, what should I expect the cost to upgrade the tires to be and should the dealership do it for me?
Thanks in advance.
Bird
1) The rear spoiler does not add noise. In fact, it was the old, ugly "wind deflector" on the '99s that added noise. That's why Lexus changed to a "spoiler" on the 2000's and up. I suspect your sales person is trying to talk you out of it because he has a model in stock without the spoiler, these are usually port installed or from the factory. If he has to install it he has to eat the labor charge.
2) Tires. The 2001 RX AWD can come with either the Goodyear's or Bridgestones from the factory. Tell your dealer you want the Bridgestones, they will usually swap off of another vehicle if necessary. No charge. If you want something else (like Michelins) there will be a nominal charge.
The main option is the whole package my Sticker says 41,576 + 545 - msrp discount of 1500 total sticker 40621.00.
Did I get a good deal or did I get Savaged
Also, my first Major gripe (there is always one) is why you cannot get the interior light to come on when you open the doors.There is no button for Door
I paid 38000.00 even on the deal before taxes and stuff.
My lease will be 3yrs $663 a mth
Thanks all.
Thanks again.
1. Interior light: When all else fails, read the manual. There's a center-mounted switch near the moonroof control that will automate the interior light coming on with a door open (unlike the Santa Fe, where Hyundai supplies a bulb, wires, and a carbon zinc battery and their 10-year warranty coverage, except for the bulb and battery).
2. Good lease deal: When a prospective buyer tells a dealer they want to lease and it's painfully obvious that they haven't got a clue as to how to do the calculations on their own, that salesman must feel like he just won the lotto. You might want to do your homework before leasing a car, perhaps by going to Edmunds "Leasing" boards and learning how to do the math.
When you purchase outright, it's easy to see how the deal works: Your final price out-the-door or your monthly payments multiplied by number of contract months.
On a lease, there are many more factors. You don't list how many miles per year your contract calls for, how much cash up front (if any), the residual amount, the money (finance) factor, the pay-off amount at end-of-lease, etc.
Example: Our 2001 RX is on a 36-mo lease, 15k miles/year, 15 cents a mile over 45k miles at end--of-lease, sticker of $41K, capitalization cost of $36K, residual of $24K, no cash upfront other than Lexus $500 loyalty coupon, money factor of 7.85%, payments of $513/mo plus sales tax.
Your RX stickered for $600 more than ours; based on a 50% residual value, you should pay $300 more plus interest over the 36 months or about $15 more than the $513 plus your local sales tax percent.
The main option is the whole package my Sticker says 41,576 + 545 - msrp discount of 1500 total sticker 40621.00.
Did I get a good deal or did I get Savaged
Also, my first Major gripe (there is always one) is why you cannot get the interior light to come on when you open the doors.There is no button for Door
I paid 38000.00 even on the deal before taxes and stuff.
My lease will be 3yrs $663 a mth
Thanks all.
Thanks
My math is not great here are the #s
Adj Cap Cost 38571.50
MTH of 613.18 *35 = 23874.48 Total Payments
1163.18 due at Signing
Pay off 24372.60
12k per year.
Add Sales tax to Mth makes it 663.18
We have 9% sales tax
Thanks.
I was thinking the front overhead light should come on. There is no switch for that one
Lexus services at Toyota: I would feel comfortable getting minor services such as oil changes done at Toyota dealership, something more involved, I would have to think twice.
Doing lease math is kinda boring for other posters so if you want to know what numbers go where, send me a direct email at jeffmust@aol.com.
All in all, your pay-off ("residual") is OK at $24K or 63%, the money factor/interest rate I believe is around 8.0% which is OK, and so on.
The part of your deal that could have been better is the discount on cap price, from $41.6k down to $38.6k or about -7%. A lot of Lexus dealers (but perhaps not in your area) are doing 12% off MSRP or even better, so the cap price could get closer to the $35-36k area. For example, if your RX had a cap price of $36.0k, the lease payment would be $526 plus $47 tax, a total of $573/mo, about $90 less than you're paying.
By the way, your $1163 up front cash paid for payment #1 along with DMV fees, so there are 36 payments involved.
Don't feel bad; it's a great vehicle and it's likely that at end-of-lease you can sell it for more than the $24k pay off.
Next time, don't tell the dealer (any dealer) that you will be leasing the vehicle - always negotiate as if you will be buying for cash. Get the lowest possible out-the-door price - THEN say, "Hey, you know what, what's your best 'captive' leasing company deal?"
"Captive" means they have to quote the factory's finance company, in this case Lexus Financial Services. With other leasing deals like Citibank, World, etc., dealers can play with the residuals and money factors to their heart's content, making it tough to compare one deal to another.
Anyway, end of Leasing 101 for today.
thanks
Thanks
http://www.toyo.com/tire_basics/plus.html
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/plusone.htm
http://web.wt.net/~tbelcher/civictire.htm
When done properly, no adverse effect to the speedo, etc.
That's very useful info on the "plus sizing"!
U-Haul quoted $169 installed but they use one made by Valley Industries which requires some drilling to mount it.
Draw-Tite makes one to fit the RX(no drilling). Dealers quoted $229 to $269 installed. 1800hitch.com sells it for about $150 plus shipping.
In my opinion the best hitch is actually the cheapest. Bageco.com sells one made by HiddenHitch for the Toyota Highlander for $109.56 plus s&h. It fits and looks at least as good as the factory hitch. It is a quality unit, exceeds the towing capacity of the RX and very easy to install. It took me 20 minutes to install. No drilling,6 bolts, it fits factory mounting holes perfectly. 1800hitch.com also sells it for about $130. I am sure they will start charging more once they realize it fits the RX.
Could someone recommend a good bike rack that would fit that hitch (3 bikes)?
Thanks.
Persistence pays, and if you have a sense of what you want and what you should pay, you shouldn't take, "I'm afraid you have to go far from this area to get that price" for an answer. (a response e-mail) We wrote him back and told him not to be afraid!
Enjoy the miles!
Anyone???
Jack Fetter
Other Yakima models and other manufactures make models that tilt down for opening the rear hatch but you first have remove the bikes before tilting down the rack (yes, it's correct I checked with their tech support). I think Thule makes a tilt down model with a piston on it that you don't have to remove bikes. Maybe others do to.
Something else to remember, if your bike does not have a top tube (mens) with most rear racks you need some type of adapter to make it fit nice. I used the Yakima and also an older Thule without the adapter but you get a much better fit with it.
For hitch info see post 2274. For electric get plug in harness (part Q14467) from www.toyotaguys.com for Toyota Highlander ($24).
I must say, I am very dissapointed that an SUV that comes with the necessary oil cooler and pre-wiring for a hitch can't be done at a dealer if that's what I want. I guess I'll buy the $105.00 hitch and the $24.00 harness and do it myself. This just makes me think about skipping Lexus service altogether and have the work done at Toyota as others have. She basically said "go to -haul for a hitch" which is something I would really think Lexus would want to ensure was done correctly and in line with their warranty (ie; no class III hitch since it is rated for class II, etc)...
Jack
I just called my dealer and they said they could order it, no problem. Plus, IronToad.com (an authorized dealer parts department) sells it online here: http://www.irontoad.com/l_associated.htm
Bottomline, you need to find another dealer to service your Lexus.
Please do me a favor and give me the name of your dealer, I would like to give them a call and find out the price to install it...
Thanks,
Jack
Call Ray Catena Lexus in NJ at (732) 493-2100
I'm not sure if parts will quote you a labor charge, usually they have to find a SA to do that. I've had them install Lexus parts I bought elsewhere and there without a problem.
Thanks again Mike00
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"In my opinion the best hitch is actually the cheapest. Bageco.com sells one made by HiddenHitch for the Toyota Highlander for $109.56 plus s&h. It fits and looks at least as good as the factory hitch. It is a quality unit, exceeds the towing capacity of the RX and very easy to install."
-----
BTW, I decided to skip altogether trying to call Lexus again. Even if they offer it through the dealer at $375 + installation, it seems like they might be making a bit too much to bolt a hitch on and run a wiring harness from the factory harness plug. I am still confused as to why my dealer is so positive this is NOT available yet obviously others have not had the same response...
Jack
As to your dealer, well, he is a rarity in the world of Lexus dealers. If you ask most owners, they will tell you that their dealers will go out of their way to be helpful. They don't do this out of the goodness of their hearts, they know that excellent customer service means more $$$ in their pockets.
Good luck on the hitch, would be great if you could post some photos once you get it installed.
I'm in the process of doing the same.
Any reason you chose the tubular vs. square.
Mikey00- How difficult was it to install the wiring harness, since the instructions were for a Toyota SUV.
Thanks!
Confused/hard-nosed dealers by tonychrys - I will absolutely update you all on the install and take a few shots so folks can get an idea what it looks like. This forum has been most helpful to me so I will be sure and return the favor...
Jack
The hitch is a 20 minute install and the directions with it are for the HL but exactly the same for the RX. I expect the wiring harness directions to be the same. I did not install the wiring harness yet and may never install it because I only use my hitch for a bike rack.
Also, I got a kick out of the salesman trying to steer me towards those uglee Goodyear tires. He was trying to lump Bridgestone quality in with Firestone quality. My current car, a Toyota, has the Bridgestone Duelers and they're made in Japan. Good enough for me. 'Sides, the chrome option lists the Duelers as part of the deal.
For those of you shopping for the upgraded wheel & tire pkg, use this simple trick to get them to knock a big chunk off of MSRP: tell them you want a refund for the tires and wheels they're removing from the vehicle you've just purchased. Otherwise, you're paying for 2 complete sets of wheels!
BTW, I did get my 15K service at a toyota dealer today, saved $400 bucks. I was in and out in 1.5 hours. They appeared to do the service correctly, I think.
70/30...Think of the RX setup, solid torque coupling to the front axle and viscous coupling to the rear axle, like towing a trailer wherein tongue compression applies the trailer brakes. The trailer braking will never "drag" the towing vehicle. Same with RX AWD, the rear axle "drive" can/will never "push" the front.
Drew
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The manual shows a "solid" connection between the transmission output and the front axle, and then a viscous coupling from the transmission output to the rear axle. The "coupling" to the rear will not "firm up" unless there is enough differential turning rate between the driven clutch plates and the output clutch plates to create turbulence in the viscous fluid thus heating it and raising its viscosity.
Once the increased torque brings the rear axle up to the same turning rate as the front the fluid will cool and you will be left with only the "latent" viscosity (30%) to drive the rear axle.
Your owners manual dictates chains only on the front wheels which should also be a rather good indicator of where the primary drive is routed.
I mentioned a couple of months ago that I would be taking my 2001 RX and trailer to the south west corner of France in the Basque region close to the Pyrenees mountains. The 5-week vacation is now over and I had no problems with the RX at all. I took a photo in northern Spain when we had a short rest as it was getting hot (for us Brits anyway 90F). http://www.btinternet.com/~harryrogers/Basquerx.jpg
Then we had to put up with crowded beaches just a few miles north of Biarritz http://www.btinternet.com/~harryrogers/beach.jpg
Boy its a hard life.
Regards
Harry
Okay let me get this straight. So it appears that all of the RX's (even the '01s) still have a viscous coupling centre differential. Right? It makes me wonder why this is so though, other than for cost reasons for developing a new system, because if the front wheels start slipping faster than the rears, VSC should notice the wheel speed differential and then start reducing torque and or braking the slipping wheels. Unless the four wheel traction control component of VSC is designed not to activate until there is significant slippage either set of wheels. Any thoughts?
The 70/30 torque split sounds to me like they're trying match (well somewhat) the RX300's weight distribution.
Drew
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"Real Four-Wheel Drive, Made Easy: The transmission in the four-wheel drive RX 300 features an integrated transfer case and a viscous center differential that provides a 50/50 front-to-rear power split. The system requires no activation by the driver. If slippage occurs at the front or the rear, the viscous center differential automatically and transparently directs power to the wheels with the most traction. Customers can choose the RX 300 with the optional Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) system that helps control lateral skids by detecting and correcting understeer (front-wheel slide) and oversteer (rear-wheel swerve). "
If you call your local Lexus dealer I'm sure a savvy SA or lead mechanic can answer your questions. That's what I usually do, and if they don't know they usually call Lexus corporate for the answer.
Edmunds' road test also mentions a 50/50 torque split ratio for the pre-'01 models:
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/45022/article.html
Tthe RX300's weight distribution is 57% front, 43% rear. Very similar to the Toyota Camry's:
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/roadtest/44312/article.html
Drew
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