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JDC

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  • Lexus Model
    RX 300

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  1. Occasionally, I get to lay my hands on my beloved's RX 350. I get to wash it, take it in for service and the like. But at the end of the day, she's laid claim to it. Oh well... Money well spent in my opinion.
  2. When buying any product, it always pays to look at the competition - if nothing else to give you some bargaining power. We recently purchased a 2009 Pebble Beach Edition to replace our 2002 RX 300 Coach Edition and felt it represented the best overall value when compared to Mercedes, BMW and Volvo offerings - but that's for us. We used to own Acura and they are a fine brand as well. There are a lot of premium quality SUV/CUV products out there. Drive them all, do lots of research on the web and decide what's best for you. Automobiles like music and food are very personal choices and if you look enough you'll know what's right for you.
  3. Having just traded a 2002 RX for a 2009 RX Pebble Beach edition I'm obviously a repeat Lexus customer. I think the Subaru represents the logical choice - exceptional mechanics but sort of mundane - 'spock like qualities'. The Cayenne? Can't say I was very impressed with the base 6 cylinder model and when the price came in I was even less enamored. I sincerely hope you have better luck with it than I've had with European technical prowess - never again will I own German "engineering".
  4. Hi All, We are most happy with our 2002 RX300 and are torn between an 2007 Acura TL Type S (which my wife favours) versus the IS250 (pour moi) to replace our Acura CL. I know all the obvious - FWD versus RWD, 3.5l versus 2.5l etc, Honda versus Toyota. Assuming all the bells and whistles for the IS250, can anyone offer advice? One thing of note, my wife finds the seats in the Acura more comfortable. I don't have trouble with either but has anyone else noticed this? Jim
  5. I have a 2002 RX AWD with upgraded Michelin LTX M&S tires (as part of the original purchase). In Nova Scotia, we can get a pile of snow (up to 1m in 24 hrs on rare occasions) and I've never had any trouble getting around very hilly roads. Like others, I suggest you replace your rubber with more aggressive tires.
  6. I had 2 sets of Pirelli tires for my beloved VW GTI (P6 and P600). As noted previously, they're SOFT. Probably the best performing tire I've used but they only lasted some 12K miles. I have a set(4) of Toyo winter tires for our Acura CL and have been very pleased with them to date. Wear well etc. For our 2002 RX AWD, the original tires were upgraded to Michelin M+S tires as part of initial purchase agreement. I've been very pleased with them. Quiet in the summer, appear to wear well (52K Km) and great in the "Great White North" winters. If I didn't have an AWD for winter reasons, I'd find the quietest/long-lasting combo (in that order). IMHO, there's nothing as annoying as tire drone.
  7. Even though I drive an 02 RX Coach edition and have been 100% satisified with our purchase, I'd personally opt a new 2006 Camry given your reasons for trading (i.e. better gas mileage). And that's only the beginning - you get a warranty, new tires, new brake pads etc etc etc. My experience with the RX is, for all intensive purposes, the mileage doesn't vary too much between city and highway driving. Not like our Acura CL does anyway. And relative to my Cadillac Fleetwood I don't even blink an eye even with our horrific Canadian Gas Prices (and taxes).
  8. Personally, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. I own a 2002 RX and here in Nova Scotia, Canada we're forced to use a pile of salt on our roads (not to mention the salty coastal air). Toyota products hold up very well here (easily 10 years in really very brutal conditions - lots of precipitation etc - similar to Maine). Enjoy your RX and don't fret your corrosion issues. It'll serve you well for many many years. Jim
  9. Both have pros and cons. We have a leather steering wheel on our Acura and birdseye maple wood on our 'coach' edition RX. For looks, IMHO, you can't beat the wood. I find both equally hot in the summer but prefer leather in the East Coast Canadian Winter. You can get a better grip on it while wearing gloves. The price of gas these days, especially here, you don't let the car warm up any longer than you have to.
  10. Somewhere in the owners manual it mentions keeping the sections clean of grease and dirt. I noticed my antenna stuck on the segment closest to the body. A quick wipe with a cloth and voila, instant fix.
  11. The RX300 is known as a reliable vehicle as was my Acura CL and my Cadillac Fleetwood. With the Acura I had no intention of buying the extended warranty - my wife convinced me otherwise and it paid off in spades. Both rear brake caliper housings cracked (Cdn$1000), the radiator (Cdn$842), front ABS sensor (Cdn$500), and a couple of other things. It's a 98 with only 89K KM's on it. The Cadi proved most reliable with only the disk brakes and starter going over 8 years. Rightly or wrongly I did buy the extra 2 years for the RX. The dealer almost tried to talk me out it. The key is it's insurance. You may not need it, like any insurance policy, then again it may pay off time and time again. It's a gamble like many business decisions.
  12. Presently, our 2002 RX 300 with 47K Kilometers gets 15 litres per 100km so about 15.6 miles per US Gallon (combined city and highway but it really doesn't seem to make that much difference either way) The Canadian winter warmup times will kill the performance figures to begin with (and the gas prices in this country only add to the misery). Consider yourself lucky!
  13. I have a 2002 RX with 4 keys, two 'real' keys, a 'valet' key and a 'credit card' key. The latter is a essentially a plain metal key that fits into the middle of the 'credit card' and simply fits in your wallet. Here's the trick, the metal key won't actually start the car until you hold the 'credit card' near the key barrel. There's a passive chip that's required to complete the 'transaction'. Hope this might offer some insight.
  14. Have a 2002 'Coach' edition with the single colour Gun Metal Grey, matching wheels, tan interior and alternate grill. All in all, I prefer the one colour look.
  15. Having also owned, among others, a VW GTi, Acura CL, and a Cadillac Fleetwood, and, now a Lexus RX, it is certainly a very fine vehicle. But, echoing other peoples comments, the contrast between driving several different vehicles allows one to view them with perspective. All of the cars were right for me at the time I owned them. I'm not sure the RX would of been right for me in my mid twenties but in my mid 40s it feels right. And you can get tired of a car over time. After about four or five years I generally find I've had enough and it's time to look at the market again. I really loved the Cadillac but found it damned hard to park in small area parking slots. So rather than make a 10 year commitment, make say a 4 year committment and ask yourself is it still right for you?
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