ilovelexus2007

Yikes, sorry to hear that. Did you ran nearby an 18 wheelers or something, cause a rock that can hit the windshield usually only happened to a compact sedan, not on a high SUV. My uncle has his windshield replaced on his 2002 MDX for $780.

I've heard numerous rumors about the redesign of the RX350 in 2010. Do you know if they plan to do the same for the 400h?

Also, what do you think about the new redesign? Would you trade in your current RX for the new ones?

1. http://www.autospies.com/images/users/luxu...us%20RX%201.jpg

Too Ugly. I WOULD NOT trade in my current RX.

2. http://www.thetorquereport.com/lexus_lf_vh...suv_image_1.jpg

I would. But it's an LF-X. Plus, it's only a concept.

Any perspectives/experience whether it is better to lease the RX400h compared to buying and selling it a few years later? (we hope to purchase a plug-in hybrid in 2-3 years!)

The questions are how does the real-world resale value of the RX400h compare to what's calculated in leases, and do Lexus dealers give better deals to buyers or leasers of the RX400h? (Lexus is currently advertising "special lease rates")

And if the answer is leasing, any advice on how to negotiate the best deal?

Thanks!

Never lease before, so I don't know. But if you plan to keep the vehicle less than 2-3 years, it's better to lease it. Buying it brand new you will take the steepest depreciation on the vehicle for the first 2-3 years, sometime as much as 45% in 3 years. Lease, you may have some limitations, such as 10-12K per year, do you drive a lot? Plus, you'll have nothing after 2-3 years. I recently bought my RX400h after driving my Maxima for 12 years, 172K. I now park it in my backyard. Plan to give it to charity or my nephew cause I will only get rip off if I trade in, and I hate car salesman making profit by ripping people off.

Conclusion: Buy if keep more than 5 years. Lease: if only keep 2-3 years

We got our '06 IN '06 with just under 10K miles on it, and there WERE no deals on new ... you either paid or walked :D

That was a very good deal you got there, under 10K and save 10G. So the offer I received 2007 RX400h, 30K for $39G (MSRP $50.5G) was a bad one.

Anybody has any idea how big of a factor mileage plays in determine a vehicle price?

...and what's very annoying in 400h when you accelerate fast-the engine is not as loud...

Really? That's annoying because the engine was too quiet? Boy, you can be easily annoyed :-). But I have driven the RX350 before I bought the RX400h, and I thought the 350 was a lot slower in acceleration when entering freeway. Plus, I thought the 350 was less spacious than the 400h (but maybe it's just my imagination since they are almost identical).

I have not driven the GX yet, but I think it should be even more comfy and stable since it's a larger vehicle. I just hate the MPG on the GX.

Wow! That per centage hits it right on the head. In '06 we bought ours used for $42K (In Amish PA where we bought it, that was a great price'cuz there aint a big demand for 400h's in that area) though 10 months earlier (early lease return) it sold new for $52K with our option package. That's 20%.

52K is the MSRP correct? You did not factor in the usual 3-4K discount when buying new? (maybe less than 3-4K in some area). But what was your milage at that time? When did you buy the 2006 RX400h?

I was offer a 2007 RX400h at 30,000 miles on Nov. 2007 for $39,000. The MSRP was around $50,500. I refused to buy. I wonder if I passed out a good deal.

I thought we are supposed to only report some basic info about individual 400h in this thread? :P

That's the beauty of being in the position of being the OP'er . . . you can take it wherever you want, and ilovelexus2000 DID ask the questions :P

That being said, and being that the topic is mpg, & it's variables, many who live in cold winter areas swear on the benefits of EBH's ... one of which is better mpg's weighed against the roughly $2.50 year average electricity cost that it takes to run 'em for 90 minutes in the morning (your cost / area may vary). What we did, was average our mpg per week before and after installation. Even when gas was "only" $2.50 ... we were saving about $2 a week, which meant the dang thing paid for itself in less than a year. But that was based off our average (15 minute) trip ... your trips may vary. Your EBH will vary to, some are over 1K watts, some are as little as 750 watts, so that's another variable.

Even if the EBH would't save us gas (which wasn't our purpose in buying it) the heater reving up much quicker was our goal. Heck, some folks simply use 'em just as added protection to protect freeze plugs from blowing out on super frigid days. That said, our area in the Flathead Valley MT has about 15% cheeper than the national average electricity, so again, your results may vary. No, I'm not an EBH salesman, but I do enjoy it when a plan works ... and for us ... this time ... it did. That helps balance out the plans that go south :D

Thanks someoneelsetookmyname for the detailed answers. And YES! The whole purpose of this forum is to not only discuss about Lexus cars, but also the experience from the owners and tips and knowledge that we can share to each others to maximize the profit of how to best handling the vehicle and our enjoyment. (No disrecpect to 08RX400h).

Btw, do any of you ever considered purchasing a used RX400h before bought it brand new? I heard the vehicle depreciate as much as 20% during its first year. Is that true?

im 22 and i make around 55k a year, but i live at home so i have no expenses :) love the lex

I thought I am the youngest one on the road driving an RX (I'm 25), but you are even younger. Are you male/female? Ever been asked why not buying G35, IS250, BMW 3-Series before?

I do know that investing $50k in the stock market at age 25 would probably yield over $2 million at retirement age. I also know that when I was young I grossly underestimated the cost of raising a family, home expenses, future college costs, healthcare expenses, the cost of retirement, etc.. There were also times when I overestimated my job security. I have learned over the years that the real value of money is not how many nice things I can buy, but instead, how secure I can feel about my future and also in how much I can do for others.

For what it is worth, I am a 50 year old Physician with no mortgage, 3 kids that have completed their educations and a fully funded retirement fund. I now give most of my income to charity. I still had to think long and hard about buying a $50k car a year ago.

If you mean investing is by buying mutual funds, then I've done it all (I think there is a limit amount you can buy for mutual funds per year, correct?). But to put all that money (50K) in stocks, I think it's a very big gamble. I'm certainly not a stock guru, nor I have the time to pay attention to it, so you know what they say..."If you don't know how to do it, it is better to not doing anything at all" (may not be the exact quote but you get the idea).

Good for you that you donated most of your income to charity. I don't think I'm there yet, helping people is rewarding, but I'm still young and there are A LOT of things I want and need to secure for my future. Maybe when I turned 50 like you and making 6 figures, then I willl :-).

Attached, below, is a link to the redesigned RX for 2010, as a concept car, displayed at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. The name for the new RX is the Lexus LF-Xh. Once you click on the link scroll down a page and you will see a YouTube video on the vehicle. In addition, there are other links on the page which will give you actual photos. I, for one, love the redesign, save for the front, which I think is bulky and doesn't fit, and the interior, which is a little stodgy and somewhat radical. Reading the commentary from Car magazine, it appears that the Lexus people are not happy with the interior. I concur. Plus, the steering wheel is rather large and appears to be difficult to grasp for women and some men. However, overall I like the redesign and hopefully this will be the new Rex for 2010, which will go on sale in the spring of '09 "with" some changes.

http://thepassionatepursuit.com/category/lf-xh/

Per the attached below link, more photos. Very nice exterior:

http://www.zercustoms.com/photos/Lexus-LF-...-Xh-13.jpg.html

The exterior looks hot, but the interior looks unrealistic, something you would only see in I-Robot. By the way, what is LF-XH? Is that a more upscale version of the RX or they just change the name?

Not mean to mind into anybody business, but since we are all anonymous here, anyone mind sharing their annual income or household income.

The reason for that because I read somewhere that Lexus targeted its owner to be around:

45-55 year-old with an average income of $145,000.

Is that true? I am WAY below that, I wonder if I chew more than I can swallow.

Me:

25 year-old

65K per year.

My Fiance:

23 year-old

55K per year.

We both got steady jobs and make a considerate amount more than our peers, but still, 145K a year? Something I would expect from a Doctor/Dentist/Pharmacist or I would made in my mid 40's.

Are this statistics assume people paying off the car right away? We down 20K, paying off in 36 months.

Just to play the devils advocate.

Most engine block heaters probably use about 1000-1200 watts+ of electricity. I haven't done the actual math, but the cost of running a high wattage electric heating element for 1 1/2 - 2 hours just to allow the car engine to heat up a few minutes faster, probably doesn't save any money. The electricity rates are very high where I live so I suspect that this is is quite cost ineffective.

You might be right about that jrober, the electricity where I live is through the roof. Plus, I usually warm my car 2-3 minutes before driving during the winter months while putting on my shoes and jacket, so there is no need of this device if it requires 90 minutes to warming up.

But someone'selsetookmyname may be correct if another purpose of the device was ALSO to keep the engine from getting cold while driving, then it might be cost effective. (FYI: Here in MN, when the engine warmed up, it doesn't stay warm automatically, it needs a lot more fuel just to maintain at the right temp because it is FRIGID cold here, SAD!)

My wife and I are looking to get a new RX400H, and I'd appreciate people's opinions on whether to get the AWD or FWD version.

Best as I could tell the AWD has slightly better acceleration, but the FWD gets slightly better mileage. Anyone know if the AWD make a significant difference for driving in snow, ice, and rain??

I got an AWD, where I live in MN, the AWD helps BIG TIME when driving in the snow and ice. If you live in location where you don't see snow or ice, I think you can get a FWD to save a $1000 plus 1 to 2 mile MPG. But most SUVs these days have AWD (Murano, MDX, FX45 etc...), if you can afford a Lexus, I don't think the price different between AWD/FWD matters, just go with an AWD because it is MUCH BETTER driving.

The Prius is about 50-50 city highway, most of the time with a car pool person.

By the way, for Cold weather driving? Get yourself an Electric Block Heater (EBH), you'll never regret it. The EBH install isn't so complicated that you can't do it yourself, with limited tools & mechanicle skills. If you have decent skills you can knock it out in less than 2 hours. They'll REALLY boost your mpg's in the winter, especially on short trips, like when your average trips are under 10-15 minutes. Plus, the EBH will let your cabin heater come on extra quick as an added benefit. Nice on those sub ZERO days!! They're only $70 or so from Toyota (interchangeable with the Hy-Hi SUV) Dealer, and on line maybe a little less. Put it on a timer for maybe 90 minutes before your trip starts & you're good to go.

Enjoy

Thanks for the tip about the EBH, it's the first time I ever heard about it. Is it only for hybrid vehicle or any vehicle is fine? How much better MPG does it gives (approximately). I usually take long trip, 30+ miles, and try to avoid short trip as much as I can during the winter. And what do you say about a timer? You mean I have to warm it up before using the car? I'm confused. Do I have to take it off during the summer so it won't over heat the engine?

Anyway, I driving around 70 miles per day to work, 5 days a week = 350, plus grocery shopping and church on weekend. I can easily put in 400 miles per week. That's almost 21K per year. I thought it was a waste putting a $50K vehicle in such wear and tear, so I'm looking at a more fuel efficient car just for work and enjoy this bad boy on the weekend.

Morning,

City driving is that which is not freeway driving. In other words, you're driving a road with no stop signs or control lights. Sure there's grey area ... for example near our Montana home you can drive for 20 or more miles on a narrow divided road with no lights or stop signs, but you get the idea. Basicly, under 50ish makes it city driving too, but it's not like there's an official book or something.

Your survey ought to include 2 more elements:

1) WHO'S driving, because there's a 6 mile difference between my spouse (who drives it the most) and I. She's doing better ... getting up to 26mpg, but, making a game out of it, I can get over 31mpg. I'd love to have the time to hypermile an entire tank, just to see what I could get. With practice, in our Prius, I've gotten over 700 miles on a single tank of gas, ie; less than 10 gallons of gas:

But that's with NO freeway driving, just surface streets. Pulse & gliding? I'm thinking you could get between 35-40mph. I'm guessing if I had the time, personally I could possible get over 38mpg, with the AWD version driving the same technique. Freeway / city mix though between my wife and I, 26 versus 31 is what we get.

2) Factor FWD or AWD: I think those of us that have the (quasi) AWD version get maybe a mile or 2 less per gallon.

2006.

CA sometimes & MT sometimes.

This time of year, 38 - 45 degrees in the morning MT, versus 55 degrees CA

Some will say, "JUST DRIVE IT !! " but heck, it it's safe and fun to do, go ahead & have fun with it. Enjoy!

Wow! Thanks for your extended analysis, I guess you must be a big fan to Toyota & Hybrid to own both the RX400h and the Prius.

You are absolutely right about who driving the vehicle. My father likes to accelerate the gas hard, while I like to jerk it just enough so it can slide with just using the battery power (although it's still REALLY COLD here in MN, so the gas engine fires up ALL THE TIME).

I'm having an AWD, it's so helpful here in MN because of the snow.

One thing I forgot to add in, what type of gas are you using? (91, 89, 87).

Btw, do you use the Prius mostly for highway or city driving? I commute 70 miles round trip per day to work (80% highway). I wonder if I should get the Prius or just a Camry 4 Cycl since I use freeway a lot.

Really? Did you someone said the average income for an ES owner was 145K Wow, that's pretty high? I only made 65K and I can still afford it. What happen to a 3 year payment plan? Are these statistics only assumming people pay off right away?

Hey EMP, yep with Nav, panoramic roof, etc. I wasn't sure if I got a good deal or not. But I am happy with the car. You know it's kind of funny...when I say I got a Lexus people say "oooo". But I know people that have Dodge or Chevy trucks all optioned up and no one says that to them and they paid more! Go Figure huh?

I know what you mean. But who would say "ooo" on a Dodge or Chevy these days? More like "eewww" hahaha. I think people started to compare Lexus to only BMW now. Audi, Acura, Infiniti and other luxury brands can't even go toe-to-toe with it.

Maverick,

I recently purchased a pre-owned 07 ES 350 (Smokey Granite) w/ 13,500 miles for $33,500.00, which when it was new the MSRP = $43,989 based on the window sticker, which includes the following options:

MSRP: $33,170.00

• Intuitive Parking Assist: $500.00

• Luxury Package: $5,380.00

o Perforated Leather Trim Interior w/ Memory Driver's and Front Passenger's Seats, Outside Mirrors, Power Tilt/Telescoping Wood Steering Wheel, Panorama Glass Roof, Heated and Ventilated Front Seats, HID Headlamps with AFS, Power Rear Sunshade, Rear Seat Side Airbags, Driver’s Power Cushion Extender, Rain-Sensing Wipers, Bluetooth, 10-Spoke Graphite Wheels with Full Spare Tire

• NAV/Mark Levinson Premium Audio Package: $4,050.00

o Generation 5 NAV system with Rear Camera, Bluetooth, Voice-Activation w/ Destination Input, Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound Audio with 14-Speakers, In-Dash 6-Disc DVD/CD Changer and Cassette Player

• Cargo Net: $59.00

• Trunk Mat: $69.00

• Wheel Locks: $66.00

TOTAL: $43,989.00

The car was very meticulously kept and is having a new “rain-sensing” windshield installed by the previous owner (retail cost is $1,100.00).

I just can not justify buying a brand new car anymore, given the fact that I buy a new car about every 2-3 years as it just doesn’t make for sound financial sense and I am not a fan of leasing due to the number of miles I drive each year.

As for the economy, here are my 2 cents:

The continued and unfortunate negative press regarding our economy is going to continue to wreak havoc on the US dollar, financial and real estate sectors. The recent housing news is just the tip of the iceberg. The "recession" we are currently faced with and the rising price of gas will continue to drive down prices in the auto industry. I also believe that the housing slump created by the subprime debacle will continue to affect the financial and real estate sectors through 2009. Based on some of the info I have been reading/researching, I am placing my money on a 2010 turnaround. I sure do hope that I am way off base on my personal opinions and we start to see a recovery sooner than 2010.

Wow, you are buying a new car every 2-3 years? That's a lot! What do you do with your old car? Trade in? The last time I bought a brand new car was 2001, I just bought a brand new RX400h again this year, that's 7 years. But I agree with your about buying slightly used car. Brand new car depreciate WAY TOO FAST!

What is the MPG for your RX350? What percentage of highway & city driving? Temp of where you live?

My aunt has a RX330 and she only managed to 21MPG 30% city and 70% highway. We live in MN, she the cold weather really taken toll in our MPG.

Does anybody know how to temporary turn the sensing wipers off? I go into a car wash and I ALWAYS have to turn off the engine so the wipers can be off as well.

I know people have started this topic already, but the info provided were not complete and a lot of things were not factor in. Perhaps there are some new info people would like to share regarding their MPG.

Please share the following (RX400h/RX350/RX330):

Year:

Make:

MPG:

Location:

Current Temp:

% City Driving:

% Highway Driving:

Average MPH:

Gas Type:

AWD/FWD:

Here is mine:

2008 RX400h

MPG: 25.2

Location: Minnesota

Temp: 35-45 F

% City: 20%

% Highway: 80%

Average MPH: 55-60MPH

Gas: 91

AWD

By the way, does anyone know the speed you need to drive in order to consider city driving?

Hi,

We just bought our Rx400H yesterday.

Full price was just above $53,000.

We managed to get $3000 of the price and another $1500 more for our used car than they were offering in the beginning.

We almost walked out of the dealership when we realised how little the vendor new about the actual car but he did know all his vendor tricks... All of a sudden we started to feel that we were there just to make them money.. which is of course true, but a client should never ever feel that way... then his boss saved the sale by quickly offering more for the used car and discounting the new one... maybe not enough, but it made us feel "clients" again and we decided to buy.

I would prefer to use regular or medium gas instead of premium... any problems?

Congratuations! Wow, your must be fully loaded! Mine was $50,500 MSRP with everything including towing package (except DVD entertainment). My dealership was really nice, they treated me like royal(holding door, call me sir, open vehicle's door, pulling chair, bring me water etc...) that made me ALMOST uncomfortable. I thought Lexus has a reputation of treating customer REALLY WELL in their dealership. Where I live, the BMW dealership treat people like crap, I vowed not to come again!

What car did you trade in? How much? They usually rip you off when you trade in. Why didn't you sell online on your local listing? (unless your car is still worth a lot so the tax credit may worth it).

I have been putting on 91, .20 difference. But my dealer told me it's ok to use 89, don't use 87.

I live in WI. It is water under the bridge now but I bet you could have done a little better if you would have dealt with the Internet Manager and also negotiated with the dealerships in WI (and maybe even in Chicago). If they know you are willing to buy from a neighboring state, they are likely to deal more. With the current economy, these luxury cars can't be selling too fast. Not to mention the fact that they have been out for 3 years and a new Rx model is not to far away.

There are lots of pricing posts here and on the net. Here is post from a guy in Indiana that just paid $46k. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=341153

There is lots of pricing info and strategies for negotiating on this thread. http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ef79a30.ef79a27/423

Thanks for the info jrober. Yeah, I guess it's too little too late now. It just *BLEEP*ed me off when knowing that I was being cheated. It was my first buying experience (I'm 25), I did a lot of homework prior, but I guess I was never taking the real exam so I failed. I must have overpaying 2-3K, that was a costly lesson. Btw, when buying from a different states, how about shipping? Free? Do all models generally have 3-4K average discount? My uncle looking at buying the 2008 ES 350.

How much did you get for your's if you don't mind I'm asking?

Hi,

I just got my 2008 RX400h for $49,000, 2K off the MSRP of $51,205. There are only 2 Lexus dealers in where in live (MN). How much did you get for your Lexus (RX400h, RX350 etc...), how much below/above the MSRP or Invoice?

Congrats and welcome. Did you buy from the Maplewood or the Wayzata dealer? How was your experience. I think they are actually owned by the same owner.

Here are a couple other sources of info.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=187

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef799f5/

It seems from the internet forums that about $4000 off MSRP is fairly typical lately (plus tax and license).

What is you initial mpg with the current weather in MN?

Here is a good mpg thread. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282939

jrober, I bought it from Wayzata, are you from MN too? If everyone here got $4000 average off the MSRP, then I'm a big failer! My MSRP was $51,200, so I got only like 2K off.

By the way, I was looking at a pre-owned 2007 RX400h, with 31,000 miles for 39K, was it a good deal?

Here in MN, my MPG in February was 23, in March about 25.5. I drive every carefully and go easy on the gas. I usually go around 55-65MPH in the freeway.

Anyone has any other experience in pricing, please share. Thanks All!!!!