DesertRat

I think you made a good decision passing on the 2001 as I feel the asking price was too high.... JMO

$19.95 for standard Toyota oil and Toyota filter at local Toyota dealership. I do this every 3K miles.

My wife and I both like the wood even out here in the heat of W TX. Granted it will be slicker than leather, both will scratch, and the RX is so easy to turn (other than larger than normal radius) grip is not a big issue. Wood looks great!

Turning radius is too large on 2001 RX300. It takes awhile to get used to backing up often just to swing into parking spaces, 3 point turns instead of u-turns, etc. Not a terrible prob but something you have to be aware of.

My wife loves her 2001 RX300 2WD (CPO) purchased 1 year ago w/ 23k miles. Vehicle currently has 31k miles. No problems so far (crossing fingers), just oil changes every 3k miles and a recent dump/fill of tranny fluid. Based on research and input from this forum, you might think about avoiding the AWD model due to tranny probs.

My wife drives the RX and loves it. Said she wouldn't trade the 2001 for the bro-in-law's 2004 RX330 (not that he would offer). She is 49, I am 48.

OK.. interior of Mineral Green is Ivory Tan.. didn't look at poll closely enough.

Why not add Mineral Green over Dark Green to this poll? Don't know why but it looks more like Darker Silver over maybe Mineral Green.

I live in a town with only a Toyota dealership that I have had good experiences with in the past. Nearest Lexus dealer for warranty work is 105 miles away. For basic maintenance issues (oil changes, trans service, etc), if the local Toyota dealership services my 01 RX, does this maintenance show up in the Lexus maintenance history records?

Just 3 weeks ago bought an 01 RX300 with 23k miles, CPO from Lexus in Dallas. Loaded, wood wheel, no nav. $27.9K 1. Your dealer will try to get retail plus about $1K for CPO. Research retail on Kelley or NADA and work down from there. The CPO is piece of mind for an additional 3 years or 100k miles total from the day you purchase. I feel $1k premium is worth it. When you buy from a Lex dealer, they will offer you the 1 time chance for 2 additional years of warranty (I believe this is 5 years from your date of purchase and 100k total miles). I declined this $1900 offer but assume this additional warranty coverage could also be negotiable. Work them hard, shop around, try waiting until the last days of the month when salespersons are anxious to sell, and remember that while the RX300 is a great vehicle, it is no longer a current model and we may see more depreciation in the coming years. 2. CarFax for sure to check for major probs. A Lexus service record is great to have. My dealer proved that they sold this vehicle to a local owner who had all service (including oil changes) done at that dealership. No major probs or warranty issues is nice to know. If Toyota/Lexus maintenance records are not available, they probably won't have proof of other maintenance. As you probably are aware, oil changes at least every 5k miles are important for the RX you are looking at. 3. Transmission and sludge appears to be major concerns. Be wary of repeated probs that may pop up on maintenance records. A CPO vehicle should look and drive like new. Don't accept anything less. 4. I would work on possibly negotiating the additional 2 year warranty coverage or perhaps include the 30k maintenance when you reach that mileage. If you don't get 2 master remote keys (plus valet and wallet key), you should push for a 2nd master remote key. I got my dealer to give me the 2nd master key and a new set of front/rear carpet floor mats. Anything is reasonable when negotiating the purchase of a vehicle. If you don't ask for it, you sure won't get it. Good luck with your purchase!!

Last weekend I purchased an immaculate 2001 RX300, mineral green, 23K miles from a Dallas Lexus dealer. Wood steering wheel, premium sound, no nav. This was a CPO vehicle. They were at retail plus $1k for CPO so starting price was $29995. The dealer proved that vehicle was purchased and maintained exclusively by that dealership. Complete maintenance records were provided as well as CarFax, etc. Final purchase price was $28K. I did not opt for additional 2 years warranty coverage which they were asking $1900 for. I probably paid top dollar for this type of vehicle, but with all the records supplied by the dealership, combined with the low mileage, I feel that we got a great vehicle that we can enjoy for several years. Hope this helps!