It's a Lexus, but I Could Well Be Tempted...

[Blackhammer]

The styling on that blue 450h looks fine to me; it's the enormous, angular one-piece grille on the later ones that I really don't like. I think I'll have to go and see it soon - and it's not far from me.

Oh ok I understand, the larger alien mouth is an acquired taste, that example has the same colour interior combo as mine

 

[Cyclone1]

I’ve had x2 RX300’s, the first I owned from around 2007-2010, the second I bought last November. First time ownership was fantastic, no issues in around 40k miles, just servicing and tyres. I ran a new 335d at the time, but often took the Lexus on longer journeys as it was such a great cruiser.

10 years on and I’ve bought pretty much the same car! However, 10 years on and you find out unsurprisingly there are issues that have appeared with age. For example rear end chassis corrosion, water leaks (check rear carpets) through either the sunroof drain channels being blocked, or the rear light cluster shrouds bring bunged up with debris. Suspension bush wear (can see many suspension related items on the MOT history), plus on SEL models they have air suspension that has either failed or potentially will fail, therefore incurring a high cost to replace v the value of the car. Some owners switch over to the standard suspension due to cost.

I find the auto gearbox to be very smooth and decent, in manual mode it shifts quicker than my old 219 CLS did.

What was impressive about buying this car second time around, was that even though it was 10 years since I’d last driven one, that it still felt exactly the same. It’s a great car to waft along in.

Don’t discount the 300 or 350 as they can be picked up very cheaply.

I like the shape and still think they look good on the road.

Happy hunting

Jules

 

[C240Sport97]

Was that this model, or the subsequent 2009-on version?

looking at the pics, it was 2009 on version .. I am not knowledgeable on Lexus SUVs

 

[Petrol Pete]

It's £5K...just buy it, have the cat professionally removed with a flange/clamp arrangement and just pop it back in at MOT time

 

[E55BOF]

looking at the pics, it was 2009 on version .. I am not knowledgeable on Lexus SUVs

Nor am I - yet... There have been a fair number of reviews of the later version I've seen, and most of them comment that the ride on the Sport version, with stiffer suspension, is not terribly good, so I think you are right about them.

 

[E55BOF]

... For example rear end chassis corrosion, water leaks (check rear carpets) through either the sunroof drain channels being blocked, or the rear light cluster shrouds bring bunged up with debris. Suspension bush wear (can see many suspension related items on the MOT history), plus on SEL models they have air suspension that has either failed or potentially will fail, therefore incurring a high cost to replace v the value of the car....

Similar problems, apart from rust, to big, heavy Mercedes with Airmatic, in fact . W211 suspension bushes, or W164 rear light cluster leaks, or Airmatic strut failures on everything with them, anybody?

I'm going to go and see the older one on Sunday, to see how I like it.

 

[E55BOF]

It's £5K...just buy it, have the cat professionally removed with a flange/clamp arrangement and just pop it back in at MOT time

Is that legal; and more importantly, would the engine run properly?

If I bought the older one, first line of defence might be to remove any 'hybrid' badges, and change '400h' to '300' on the tailgate. Mind you, I don't think I'd be particularly at risk of theft; I don't live in a high-crime area, let alone a city, and my cars spend most of their time on my drive, and are very rarely parked on the street for long. The possibility of cat theft is a factor, but not a major one.

 

[Deleted member 149005]

There is an interesting article in this month’s Mercedes Enthusiast (March 2020) from the US launch of the 2005 ML320 CDI against the RX40h

 

[E55BOF]

Both sold...

But there are a few others about, so I'll get to drive one eventually.

 

[Will]

I wouldn’t play down the risk of cat theft. I live in a fairly safe/low crime area and in the last few months you hear of cat theft locally on a pretty much weekly basis.

Guy at my work had his wife’s car done at 7.30 in the evening, parked outside their house in a cul-de-sac, less than two minutes from start to finish. Someone we know who lives in a very nice road near to us had their mother in law’s Honda Jazz cat taken whilst the car was parked on the drive. All in the last few weeks.

Apparently on the RX they don’t even need to jack them up - only what I’ve heard

Just type in ‘Lexus R’ onto the Ebay search banner and before you can finish typing the model out ‘lexus rx 400h catalytic converter’ is one of the top searches.

Japanese cars and especially hybrids seem to be the primary target of cat thieves.

[URL="https://blog.lexus.co.uk/catalytic-converter-theft/"]Catalytic converter theft: what you need to know - Lexus
[/URL]
Lexus RX400h catalyst theft - Page 1 - General Gassing - PistonHeads

Petrol Pete’s suggestion isn’t as silly as it might sound!

 

[E55BOF]

I've done a bit of digging (well, reading stuff online; none of that could possibly be wrong, could it...). It appears it will run perfectly without the secondary cat under the driver's side, and that that cat only does about 15% of the exhaust clean-up task anyway; the primary cats in the downpipes are the main ones. I wouldn't feel too guilty about having the secondary cat deleted if that's the case, and if I buy one that is exactly what I will do.

 

[E55BOF]

Still looking, and I chanced upon this:

Lexus RX 450h LPG Fantastic Condition Drives Like New Full Service History | in Cumbernauld, Glasgow | Gumtree

Somehow, the weird grille looks OK on that colour car. I could live with the black interior - I have in the past - and that car just looks so GOOD.... I might be in love...

 

[rayaans]

Family have had Lexus for a long time now. All started off with the RX300 which had no issues in 8 years, then a facelifted 450h again with no issues and currently the latest 450h, again with no issues. So much so that theres an IS300h in the family as well.

From what I remember, the RX300/400H were the smoothest riding of the RXs but had no handling capabilities whatsoever, as in they could easily roll round a roundabout, the 450h was a bit firmer. The current one is nearly up to the RX300 ride comfort standards but handles a lot more keenly.

 

[E55BOF]

There's one small niggle - the spare wheel is in a bag and has to be carried in the boot, because the spare wheel well is full of LPG tank. Two rather bigger niggles are that it's a good bit more than I'd planned to spend, and I'd have to fly up and have a long drive back, but it really does look very good indeed in that colour; even better than Tanzanite blue.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

There's no way that I would buy someone else's bodged up LPG conversion.

 

[E55BOF]

There's no way that I would buy someone else's bodged up LPG conversion.

Nor I. The kit is made by BRC, and was installed by Martin Motors of Glagow. Google them both; I have. See also here for a disinterested (in the true meaning of the word) view on BRC:

CRD Performance

"One of the few companies we believe manufacture and sell only their own equipment is BRC in Italy. We still rate this as probably the best make of kit available all round, but expensive when compared to the Polish kits."