B in Montclair

THULE ATLANTIS 1600 CARGO BOX = PERFECT FIT ON RX400h

I ended up with the Thule Atlantis 1600 box (16 cubic ft.) Mounted it today as far forward as possible on the Lexus factory rack (unlatch and slide front crossbar all the way forward) and it FULLY ALLOWS THE REAR DOOR TO OPEN. I mounted it a bit off center for easier driver-side access, and the gap between the fully open/raised rear window visor and the Thule box is 2mm. No joke, just 2 millimeters! Beautiful.

The Quick Grip clamp system has rubber-coated clamps to minimize scratching the roof when installing. There were some negative reviews in 2008 about the Quick Grips breaking too easily. Thule rep assured me that they upgraded them for 2009 and they have no complaints (but he IS the company rep...).

Bought it through Rackattack.com for $495 delivered (no tax or shipping added)--showed up about 12 days after ordering it. They order it and ship it directly from Thule in Illinois, who charge $550 on their website.

Sykfish,

Thanks for all your help. One more question. I'm considering the Skybox Platinum 16s (Yakima says "it's the shortest they make"), but realized it will stop the rear hatch from opening all the way. Could the mod you did to your Space Cadet also be do on the 16s, so it could travel forward about 5 inches? It seems like 5 inches is about the amount it hangs over the rear. Thanks for any input on this..

All very useful guidance. Thanks!

Anyone have experience with either Thule or Yakima cargo BAGS that go on the roof? Seem to range from 13 to 17 cubic feet, "weatherproof" features and of course a lot less aerodynamic.

Any comments? Thanks...

http://www.thuleracks.com/product.asp?dept_id=11&sku=867

When I bought my Rx400h in February, 2009, I checked both Costco and Overstock.com. Overstock arranged 3 quotes really quickly based on my zip code. Worked out nicely. I let the 3 dealers just reach the lowest price and ended up at approx 39.7K I'd love to know what people are paying for the RX450h. Dealer today (I was killing time and stopped by Ray Catena in Freehold NJ) said "around 52K" would be the price with the usual luxury package.

In February 2009, we paid $39,700 for a NEW Rx400h, in the color we preferred, that listed around MSRP of $51,000 in Northern New Jersey. That car plus 5000 miles should be somewhat less than $39,000.

Thank you both for the info. I'm going to try to stay pretty low-tech. I have heard on this board that the Vaistech is pretty good, will investigate it more. Again, many thanks!

I'd also like a bluetooth method to stream iPod music to stereo in my 2008 RX400h...

any recommendations???

Does anyone know if this type of bluetooth transmitter will broadcast into the car stereo of Rx400h so I can wirelessly listen to iPod? Thanks.

Rumor is FM transmitters have tons of static...

http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/217/.../productID/1623

Anybody have recent price paid for 7 year/100K mile extended Platinum warranty?

Ray Catena Lexus in central Jersey will go to $2700 on my new RX 400h.

Thanks if you have any info.

Ended up at Tri-County in Totowa, New Jersey.

MSRP near 51k, out the door at 39,700 at end of February (and they threw in the all-weather mats--$109 usually) + tax/registration/usual NJ DMV fees.

Would've like to split the referral fee! Thanks for making the kind offer.

small error. They are offering 40.8K for that model.

Phil,

May I ask which dealership? You did very well. Thanks. Prestige is offering 41.8K for the same model.

We paid 8K off MSRP for our 2008 and 3K off of the Invoice. I think this is mostly due to bad car market right now and it is year end... We shopped around between NYC and NJ... and found that NJ has way better deal than in NYC. To be expected...

Wow! We're currently in the market for a new '08 RX400h, also living in North Jersey. Do you mind mentioning which dealership you used for your purchase? Thanks.