I just bought a 1999 RX300 w/ 56k on the odo. I paid 15500. I thought it was very low miles, we were looking at 4runners but they all seemed to have 90k+ on them...so I thought what the hell why not a Lexus after all it is a Toyota. Got good reviews on edmunds.com and consumer reports said is was a good buy. Anyway I have been reading the posts about the 1999 rx300 AWD tranny and sludge problems and am now second guessing myself. I told my wife that we may sell it to try to avoid huge problems later...she started crying...Help. I dont want to sell it, I really like it, and obviously my wife does too. It has had a trans fluid change at 30k and I just did it at 56.5k. It has never been flushed, as far as I know. The sludge thing, if there is any (the oil has been regularly changed every 3-5k see my other post titled "Rx300 Sludge...engine Flush?"), seems pale in comparison to the tranny issues discussed on LOC USA.
I guess my question is, if the tranny is well taken care of, ie. regular flush and change every 30k, and the oil is properly dealt with, is this a gamble? In other words, am I taking a risk that is greater than any other used car...is this thing a time bomb...how many people experience this problem, out of the thousands of 99 RX300 AWD's, do all of them have this problem, It just seems that I would have read something about this in places other than LOC USA. I guess I just want to know how realistic it is for me to experience problems...remember this is a well taken care of, one owner, senior driven vehicle. I know that I have asked a lot of questions...I am just searching for real world no bs answers. Please help!!!!! I just want a nice car that will last! Thank You for your help.