Help decide what to buy

[rain ridge]

Hello, im buying a car this month and i can't decide between the 2 choices i ended up on, budget 30k usd before taxes/fees and the cars are a 2018 lexus rx 350 AWD with 50k miles or a 2022-2024 toyota rav 4 AWD with 30k-40k miles, my dad insists on the toyota but i really want the lexus

[final sinew]

the rav4 is cheaper and newer, the rx 350 is more powerful and comfortable.

[rain ridge]

I wouldn't say cheaper cuz the ones im going for are both between 28k and 30k

[final sinew]

in general rav4 is the safer, cheaper long-term pick

[rain ridge]

Well damn so the rav 4 is more reliable?

[final sinew]

I mean cheaper in not only buying

maintenance on a rav4 should be marginally better

you’ll get that slightly upcharged maintenance price on the Lexus just because it’s a Lexus

[rain ridge]

Oh

But the maintenance on the lexus is minimal right?

And is it true the v6 engine on it is way better than the turbo 4 cylinder on the rav4?

[final sinew]

Yeah, its still a Toyota motor

[final sinew]

It’s more enjoyable to drive

[rain ridge]

So the engine isnt more reliable?

[final sinew]

Not necessarily

It would be close, the Lexus isn’t any more reliable than the rav4

[rain ridge]

Thats hella interesting i thought turbos meant less reliability and i thought bigger engine means more reliable cuz less stress

And the lexus engine has been perfected while the rav4 one is fairly new

[tribal field]

Toyota has stuck the same motors in most of their vehicles for like 15 years now tbh

[final sinew]

turbos can reduce reliability if abused, but modern rav4 4-cyl turbos are very robust

[rain ridge]

Any idea how long the lexus will last me without major issues?

[final sinew]

turbos were designed and made for efficiency and can be used to make cars MORE reliable

[tribal field]

I would say if its a daily, the rav4 is probably the way to go just for like everything you can do. the lexus is kinda just a car

[rain ridge]

Cuz i cant have my dad be like "see i told u u shoulda bought the rav4"

[tribal field]

well taken care of, the lexus would probably make it 200k mi p easily

[final sinew]

it’ll keep going to 250k-300k if you take care of it, it’s a Toyota

[rain ridge]

Wdym the lexus is just a car

Isnt it supposed to be hella reliable

[final sinew]

Hella isn’t the right word

[rain ridge]

So should i go for the lexus

[tribal field]

like its faster but the rav4 has more room, probably rides higher so better for snow, roof rack i assume. more versatility in the rav4 as a daily

[rain ridge]

Damn really? I thought toyota and lexus were king of reliability

[final sinew]

Nobody is the king of reliability anymore unfortunately

[rain ridge]

But the lexus weighs 1k lbs more so isnt that better for snow

[rain ridge]

Well the car is a 2018 sooo

[final sinew]

In general it just depends on what you wanna do

[rain ridge]

I just drive

[final sinew]

If it was me I would just pull the trigger on the rav4 and that’s me saying that after being the biggest Lexus guy ever, it’s newer. 2018 lexus is alright

[rain ridge]

But I also dont wanna spend all my money on a car that i might hate in a few years

Cuz im expecting this to last me a decade

[rain ridge]

Whats wrong with the lexus then? Everyone been telling me its great

[final sinew]

if my dad was telling me to not get the Lexus and to get the rav4 I’d get too scared for something to happen to the Lexus then my dad not paying for it, but I’d drive the RAV4 how I wanted because he wanted me to get that car

but if that wasn’t part of the question I’d probably want to own the Lexus I guess, you undermine how much of a great car the rav4 is tho

[rain ridge]

But isnt that lexus good enough for me to trust it

Plus wouldnt the rav 4 lose alot more value cuz its newer

[final sinew]

Both true

[rain ridge]

Shit i might go lexus then

[final sinew]

Compare features on both the cars and if the Lexus is something you like more then just go with that

[rain ridge]

How reliable is it tho

[rain ridge]

Well i dont really care about features its more like reliability, interior and exterior looks and build quality

And i already know lexus has insane build quality but not sure about the reliability

Cuz ur saying lexus is "alright" is making me sus

I could care less about tech

[tribal field]

reliability and build quality are equal imo. lexus is always gonna be nicer interior and exterior bc its a luxury brand

[rain ridge]

Is build quality really equal tho? I feel like lexus should be superior

If reliability is about equal then i should defo go lexus, is 50k miles considered alot?

[tribal field]

not at all for those cars. and yeah build quality is equal surprisingly. what they build is different but not how

[rain ridge]

takumi craftsmanship disagrees

The peeps working on the assembly line for lexus are much more experienced than those on toyota assembly lines

[sick lynx]

buy an even older lexus RX350 it's not like it changed that much year to year. 2008-2015 RX350 with the 2GR-FE is fine too. Later model years have some revisions that help work out the issues with stuff like oil cooler hoses

[rain ridge]

Nah im good i just want help deciding between the 2 choices i sent

Im leaning towards lexus more tho, just wanted opinions with actual knowledge behind them

Like a real reason to skip the lexus, otherwise ima go lexus

[sick lynx]

my honest assessment is 80k miles is not even remotely a big deal on modern cars. Change all the fluids and do the plugs on the Lexus and it will probably outlast the rav4 considering how fucked the pandemic was for build quality

[rain ridge]

I already knew a few pros and cons between the 2 cars, but i aint no expert

[rain ridge]

Where did you get 80k miles from

[sick lynx]

the fuel economy on the rav4 is better but it's a slower car and the 2GR is already not much

[sick lynx]

lmao I misread. 50k is fine too

[rain ridge]

Yeah the lexus takes premium gas and consumes more but im ok with that

Im also aware of the $800 spark plugs at 60k-90k miles

[rain ridge]

Aight bet just making sure

[sick lynx]

learn to do it yourself or some shit honestly pulling the upper manifold on a 2GR isn't that hard

if you can't be bothered though yeah pay up lol

[rain ridge]

You need to pull out the whole engine to reach the 3 plugs at the bottom

No way i can do that

[sick lynx]

you do not have to pull the entire engine as someone who has done rear bank plugs on these V6s

you pull the cowl and upper manifold. If you aren't the careful type then yeah just pay a mechanic that will do it right

[rain ridge]

But it says that even a mechanic with all the knowledge, experience and tools will take 2-3 hours to do it

[sick lynx]

yeah it definitely takes me probably a whole day to knock it out

[rain ridge]

I mean ill watch a video on it and decide for myself whether im capable or not, cuz i dont have tools like that either

Then im good lmao ill pay

But like other than that and more expensive break pads / tires should i be worried about anything

Will my dad say "i was right" in a few years assuming i do basic maintenance and dont cheap out

[sick lynx]

no, it's a glorified v6 rav4 with some leather built in japan instead of the US

[rain ridge]

I mean that aint true but yeah

Theres alot of differences between the two cars you making it sound insignificant, and the fact that it weights an extra 1000 lbs should say alot

[cobalt pike]

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