lexus vs toyota question on diagrams, manuals and parts

[fenixus]

hi guys,

I have been offered today with a good deal on '00 Lexus RX300 SUV and am trying to figure out how easy/hard those lexuses are per maintenance when compared to toyota camry based models (avalon & solara included). rx300 lexus caries a 3.0L 1mz-fe engine.

1. are there online places where you can get cheap OEM Lexus parts just like for toyotas ?

2. are there any free Lexus factory diagrams with parts listings just like they are for toyotas ?

3. are there free Lexus factory service manuals (describing all systems, maintenance and diagnostics) just like they are for toyotas (camry mostly) ?

4. and last, how much would you pay for '00 Lexus RX3000 with highest trim, @ 74k miles ? do you think it is worth to going with 10yr old lexus per future maintenance or I should rather stick to camry

thank you for your opinions.

P.S. that lexus would replace my old '92 buick, i'm still keeping lovely solara, so don't worry hehe

[bigbird]

most non mechnical parts are priced as any luxury brand would be, but engine and tranny stuff would be about the same as a toyota.

[projektvertx]

Toyotapartszone has their Lexus counterparts:

http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/

As for price, assuming it's in good condition, I would pay the "good" Private Party value on KBB. If you think the car is really a snag, I would consider maybe paying somewhere near excellent.

Also, I know Toyota dealerships do inspections (at a price, which I can't remember of the top of my head). They will find everything and anything wrong the car. I would try to look for a similar deal with Lexus

[fenixus]

thanks guys

thanks for parts links, so far i found only those:
http://www.irontoad.com/
http://lexuspartsstore.com/
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...?siteid=213808

i still have serious doubts as i cannot find ANY factory manuals or part diagrams for lexuses ...

price i got (non-lexus dealer in my area) was astonishing if i paid cash (but i don't have it), around $4,500 (cash paid) or they offered me some good deals regarding 48months financing (at different car price of course) depending on the voucher i got from them ($2,000), my down payment, trade-in value and so on.

I want to come back to them tomorrow as they offered me some crazy trade-in value for my old ride (worth like $500-800 per KBB). want to make sure they really want to pay me $3,500 for my old ride (and then adjust lexus price for that haha) or it was a gimmick. at some point I had to back off as they started giving me so crazy deals that i could barely resist them (and i didn't want to buy the car, just wanted to test drive it LOL!).

i may simply get it only for the trade-in money they offer me on my old ride LOL
besides i wanted something with 12-24 month financing, need to make sure.

anyways i test drove that suv and engine runs quiet and smooth as butter, tranny seems good too shifting nicely, coolant level was on mark, no sign of leaks, leather interior (highest trim), new brake pads, rotors resurfaced, no visual damage, etc.
carfax doesn't show any accidents and seems that 2 prev owners serviced it at lexus dealerships (in various states) often for scheduled maintenance in first years.

thinking about it still ... maybe i should take it ... or maybe not (no FSM, no part listings) ...

[fenixus]

nah, i think i will pass on this one. no cash at disposal kills the deal and i cannot afford financing (this implies collision insurance package which is expensive like hell in my area) in our current family situation. besides i prefer passenger cars and wanted to stay with camry

SUV is too high for me, handling is different on bends, also I would need higher jack for that car hehe (another good excuse LOL)...

i would probably took the deal if it was a passenger lexus with same engine though hehe.

anyways, if someone wants to take a look, it's here:
http://www.nutleychevroletbuick.com/...ails/717728903

they are holding some annual event over there and are eager for some hard core negotiations, i think they thought i was negotiating very hard on it, while i really didn't want the car, so funny ...

[carsrus]

74k on a 10 year old car sounds fishy.

Digital odometers can be rolled back without a problem. Ive seen it done. If you meant they wanted 4500$ with no trade in then their trying to sell a junker.

Carfax is a dealer tool, I wouldent trust it to much. A real inspector can visually point out just about anything.

[fenixus]

i think that $4,500 cash value included my old trade in which they wanted to take in for $3,500 (guy said he can sell it "overseas" because he was also a bank liquidator, have no idea what he meant, but i didn't really trust it) and I had a voucher for $2,000 towards any car in their lot. they have some annual event going on over there until July 17th.

I agree 74k miles sounds a little fishy, but look I have 10yr old Solara with almost same mileage though mine has a salvage record and that SUV was clean.

you can check carfax report of that car following the dealer link I posted above. odometer seems real. IMHO that SUV is good and in mint condition.

besides they offered me '06 avalon with highest trim package first which I noticed had a bad engine only 54k miles,, but it had very low coolant, slight engine ticking and vibrations at idle, uneven engine speed at 2,500rpm, possibly a blown head gasket, and i could smell oil in cabin when engine was running. of course I told about it out loud in front of other people (other customers included LOL, i'm bad).

this one here had something wrong with the engine (they said they will take it to toyota dealer ship for repairs), it's still covered under some warranty.
http://www.nutleychevroletbuick.com/...ails/739157203

then they started offering me with that lexus SUV, i really couldn't find anything bad about it, was looking and feeling perfect.

[projektvertx]

[QUOTE=carsrus;3258470]74k on a 10 year old car sounds fishy.

Digital odometers can be rolled back without a problem.[QUOTE]


I am from Montreal, the guys who created digital odometer rollback techniques, so I prob. shouldn't be talking But my dad's '97 RL had 22K miles in 2006, when it finally became a daily driver. My mom's '98 Avy had 21K miles in 2005, until it became a daily driver. It happens on rare occasions.

[Jason.MZW20]

Free manuals? Probably not, but for $15 you get 2 days of unlimited use on Toyota's Tech site.

That includes manuals, TSBs, and any other relevant information. You can save the PDFs, but if you want to create a complete repair manual, you'll need to merge all of the files and create bookmarks within the new PDF.

http://techinfo.toyota.com

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by Jason.MZW20

Free manuals? Probably not, but for $15 you get 2 days of unlimited use on Toyota's Tech site.

That includes manuals, TSBs, and any other relevant information. You can save the PDFs, but if you want to create a complete repair manual, you'll need to merge all of the files and create bookmarks within the new PDF.

http://techinfo.toyota.com

thanks. that's an idea always.

yeah, i think this is what my brother mentioned, he was using that for his business (aftermarket and custom a/c systems for all cars/suv/vans/etc) whenever he works on toyotas/lexus (in Europe)...

i passed on that lexus though. what holds me with camry based cars is plethora of information on those cars for freeeee