Piece Of Junk!

[Tsuriman]

Is what I am hoping to avoid another piece of junk;-)

Seriously though, I have had some pretty bad luck. A '91 Cressida famous for a blown head gasket... yup. Another BHG in a '97 Subaru and a Tranny in a '96 Ranger.

Other than the tranny the other 2 might have been avoided with a little due diligence. They are notorious for the blown head gasket those years.

I almost pulled the trigger on an RX300 '01 with 66K miles for $11.9. It was a beautiful car and a great price, low miles, but I flinched because of a lot of comments about the transmission issue.

So I am looking more at the 04+ RX330 and seeing less posts about problems. I have avery nice Silver '04 with 80K mi, for sale nearby for $17K.

BOTTOM LINE if you were to buy a RX right now and had up to $18K what would you do? What would be a great deal? What would be a steal? What would you avoid / seek in a RX?

Thanks

[grouch]

If you get an '04, get one made in Japan. The ones from Canada are not as well made.

[RX in NC]

My wife's current 2004 RX330 AWD (approaching 96,000 miles) has been a much better vehicle than her previous 2000 RX300 AWD (which suffered from all of the well-known early RX maladies and was the worst vehicle I've ever owned in 40 years of driving). And yes, the 2004 models built in Japan are better-made than those built in Canada. Japanese-built RX VIN numbers begin with the letter J. Good luck to you....

[cduluk]

I would definitely go for the 04+ Rx330 rather than the previous generation 01-03 Rx300.

I had a 2003 Rx300 before my Rx400h. It was a WONDERFUL car. I loved it in every way. But now that i am in the newer generation RX, i like it better. Not because of the hybrid aspect, but because of the newer technologies.

The Rx400h has the same technologies as the 04 Rx330 (minus being hybrid of course). The introduction of optional AFS (turning headlights) was a big stepping stone for the 2004 Rx, as well as the optional automatic wipers.

It's also apparent that the 04+ AWD and 2WD Rx has a much stronger transmission (haven't heard of a single case of it failing) than the AWD system of the Rx300.

I would take the plunge for the 04 <_<

[lexus114]

My wife's current 2004 RX330 AWD (approaching 95,000 miles) has been a much better vehicle than her previous 2000 RX300 AWD (which suffered from all of the well-known early RX maladies and was the worst vehicle I've ever owned in 40 years of driving). And yes, the 2004 models built in Japan are better-made than those built in Canada. Japanese-built RX VIN numbers begin with the letter J. Good luck to you....

Mine is Canadian built, and it`s just fine eh. :D

[tmastres]

Agreed!, I'm still driving my 00 but if I were in the market for another RX I'd definitely start at 04-05 or later. I mean even with an 04 you're talking about a 5-6 year old vehicle. Why bother with something 7+ years old that may have serious problems that you can't pre-screen for?

[lenore]

I would say an 05 or 06, most of the bugs worked out by than.

[RX in NC]

Tom,

How many miles on yours now, and how much longer do you intend to keep it?

[lenore]

173k miles and still going. Wife says run it till it drops. Almost due for another timing belt, but this time will do idlers and crankshaft seal. I updated the car to blue tooth for the cell which drops the radio and does all the magic stuff. Just wish it had navigation. Leather is worn on the armrest. but the seats look good. The sunvisor has split on one seam, other than that the car looks fantastic.

[maxSteel]

173k miles and still going. Wife says run it till it drops. Almost due for another timing belt, but this time will do idlers and crankshaft seal.

My 1999 AWD has 193k miles. I was planning to do the timing belt soon, last one was done around 90K.

Is it expensive to replace the crankshaft seal and idler bearings?

Is this a recommended service? I don't recall it being mentioned previously.

[lenore]

You can get the parts cheap at many online sites. However if you have someone do it for you it is cheaper getting it done while doing the timing belt than having to go back in there afterwards for a squeel or oil leak. I have no idea how much hey would charge, but the parts are not bad. Places like Partsgeek.com has them reasonable as well as sites that sponser on this site. As for the recommended service if they have not been changed the last ime around, i CAN Tell you that is a good service life for those components at 190k.