When to give up on my RX330

[Back in the South]

My RX330with 257K miles  is in the shop for a new radiator and passenger side steering rack.  This is a single owner car.  All maintenance has been done by Lexus (different ones as I moved around the country).   Reasons for choosing Lexus is that work is guaranteed and all records are in the national data base.  I really take good care of this vehicle and most of the miles are road miles.  The car has been in 2 slow speed accidents:  front accident (rain skid into stopped car in traffic) where the hood had to be replaced so it has new headlamps, bumper, etc. and a rear accident so the rear bumper was replaced.    No damage was done to the frame or radiator at that  those times.    The tape player died as did the CD player but the radio works for the most part.   I

Things I've replaced include the passenger side mirror (known issue), the windshield (rocks) and the front passenger window (from a break-in).  It recently received a very small dent to the rear left quarter panel while in a parking lot and I think it can be pulled out without trouble.  Other than that the body looks perfect.  There is no rust (although it lived in salt covered streets for the first 4 years). I've kept all records on this car from the purchase and with all maintenance done by Lexus (with the exception of body work and  some oil changes done by Toyota), this vehicle has cost exactly 50 cents/mile and this includes the costs to me of insurance deductibles. insurance,  gasoline and oil changes.  I realize that I should start using a garage instead of a dealer to save costs.

I've driven the newer models and am using a 2019 now.  I love the new features, but the bulkiness and the anime design are not to my liking.   I also do not want a car payment so would be looking at a used replacement.

My RX330  has the original engine and original trans and I know they cannot live forever.  I'm trying to understand when to give up and would appreciate thoughts.  

[zieke]

Looks like U have more than got your money's worth out of it, so you could just milk it to the very end (when a repair would out strip the car's worth). The only caveat would be finding an immediate replacement, but if worse came to worse, you could rent a vehicle until U find one U like. Personally, I don't really like the new RX350's because of the ft. design. It also appears they have no ft. bumper, so if someone would back into U the grill would almost always break. The Honda CRV's and Pilots look quite nice. Best of luck!!

[bayray]

As a owner of a 04 RX330 w250 K miles we too didn't like feel , bulkness of the newer models and bought a 09 RX350 all wheel drive ! You won't be disappointed! Great ride and handling better traction rear camera ! The same interior with some upgrades! Alternatively you go with 09 RX 400 hybrid with extra tech feel and fast acceleration.

[paulsRX300]

We got 274,000 miles out of our 2001 RX 300. The engine was running like a top but the transmission failed. With that amount of miles, we sold it to a junkyard. Then I spent two months looking for a replacement. We wanted a 2009 RX. I just can't get around the weird looking 2010 and newer models. All the '09 Rx's I saw were more than we wanted to spend. Then another 2001 RX showed up as a trade in at a local dealership for $2000 with only 125,000 miles on it. Come to find out it had a rebuilt title for a minor front end collision in '04 and the dealership just wanted it gone. So I drove it and as soon as I left their driveway I felt something slip. There was snow and ice about and I was on the way to my mechanic so I thought little about it. After looking over the car my mechanic said If I didn't buy it he would. He really didn't check it out as I would so I really put it to a little extreme use and noticed the tranny slipping again. A friend of mine has a tranny shop and we figured we'd get the tranny replaced for $4200 and pay the $2000 (Damn dealership would not come down anymore) for a total of $6200. We came real close to buying another 1999 RX for $6400 with 145,000 miles and it needed a timing belt replaced. Now we're driving the new to us 2001 RX for a week and a camshaft snaps!! Engine wasted due to metal everywhere.. This was supposed to be my daughter's car to go to college with. What NOW!! I'm sure you can guess, we bought a remanufactured engine that is being installed as I write this. We will not have a $10,000 2001 RX 300!! The moral of the story is keep your RX 330 if its running great and just needs a few things now and then, I hear some of them will go to 350,000 miles. 

[lenore]

Man just plain bad luck.  I would have jumped on a RX330 or even a highlander. But quite frankly for a college student any Camry or even a Prius would have been my choice.  The Four cylinder Camry is one of the best designs I have ever seen.  Everything, is easy to work on and parts are cheap.

[paulsRX300]

You're correct but we never ever looked at two-wheel drive cars since we live in the snow zone of north Idaho. 4 feet of snow dropped on us in February alone. Wife got stuck in the driveway twice in our Subaru Outback which I'd bet you know is all-wheel drive. We hope to move south of Sedona, AZ completely out of the snow except for a dusting of snow and then maybe we'll pick up an '06 SC just for the fun of it. Thanks for replying....not many people do.

[lenore]

Funny all of the folks here are going to Idaho, and you are heading south.  I have lots of old co workers that moved to Arizona, it has worked for them....

[RX400h]

The general rule is that if a repair or repairs within a short period of time are equal to or greater than 50% of the value of the car, then it may be time to buy a replacement vehicle.

[TammyR]

On 4/6/2019 at 11:45 AM, paulsRX300 said:

We got 274,000 miles out of our 2001 RX 300. The engine was running like a top but the transmission failed. With that amount of miles, we sold it to a junkyard. Then I spent two months looking for a replacement. We wanted a 2009 RX. I just can't get around the weird looking 2010 and newer models. All the '09 Rx's I saw were more than we wanted to spend. Then another 2001 RX showed up as a trade in at a local dealership for $2000 with only 125,000 miles on it. Come to find out it had a rebuilt title for a minor front end collision in '04 and the dealership just wanted it gone. So I drove it and as soon as I left their driveway I felt something slip. There was snow and ice about and I was on the way to my mechanic so I thought little about it. After looking over the car my mechanic said If I didn't buy it he would. He really didn't check it out as I would so I really put it to a little extreme use and noticed the tranny slipping again. A friend of mine has a tranny shop and we figured we'd get the tranny replaced for $4200 and pay the $2000 (Damn dealership would not come down anymore) for a total of $6200. We came real close to buying another 1999 RX for $6400 with 145,000 miles and it needed a timing belt replaced. Now we're driving the new to us 2001 RX for a week and a camshaft snaps!! Engine wasted due to metal everywhere.. This was supposed to be my daughter's car to go to college with. What NOW!! I'm sure you can guess, we bought a remanufactured engine that is being installed as I write this. We will not have a $10,000 2001 RX 300!! The moral of the story is keep your RX 330 if its running great and just needs a few things now and then, I hear some of them will go to 350,000 miles. 

My 2005 RX 330 need rear struts and it has 199K miles on it.  The dash is cracked badly and the rear lift gate works only if I force it open.  Other than that, it's a great vehicle!  No major repairs in the six years I've had it, only regular maintenance  based on its schedule.  It will need a new timing belt in 15K miles which will be 100K after the first one was replaced. Multiple mechanics have said its a sound vehicle, but I hesitate to put $2K in it with a cracked dash... at least I know what to expect with mine.  And I was even thinking about putting lowering springs on it.  Do after-market struts really feel different?  And wouldn't the lower springs make up for any compromise on the after-market struts?  

Are they really worth hanging on to until they stop?  I'd love it if I could get three more years out of it!  decisions, decisions...

[fake]

Run them till the wheels will not turn!

[Bykfixer]

3 hours ago, fake said:

Run them till the wheels will not turn!

Then go to a junk yard and buy replacements