[gameson]

I own a lexus rx 350 2014 with around 80k miles. thinking of upgrading to F15 X5 2017 near end of the gen. i check current value for my rx 350 it's around $15k, for the X5, it's around $20k

so that means i need to add $5k to do this. thinking of selling and buying both privately. and i have cash to cover the X5 first before selling the rx350.

rx 350 has been a real beast in term of reliability. no major repair, basically just oil change and regular maintenance. not sure about the X5.

and another thing is that I am surprised that I am adding just $5000 to get a newer car. I am suspicious on why, maybe X5 has major reliablility issue?

although $5000 doesn't sound a lot, but it is 33.3% of my lexus value.

what do you guys think? should i go ahead and upgrade to X5? or just keep the RX350?

asking here because if i ask the F15 forum, i may get biased opinion.

thanks.

[DanG]

Run a carfax on the X5 and see what maintenance and if it has any problems. That should help answer your question.

[chassis]

Car prices are generally falling, so a good deal on the X5 is not surprising.

[oem.plus_440gc]

Just to give some data for you. Bought my wifes 2015 X5 35i xDrive in October 2020 with about 54,000 miles on it. Just rolled over 108,000 miles last weekend. So we've put on about 54,000 miles in the past 3 years and have had the following repairs:

-Blower motor for heat/AC died. Was about $800 to replace at a local indy mechanic
-Drivers seat control switch died. Was about $300 part and took me 5 minutes to replace. This control also knocked out steering wheel movement control since it must be linked to the memory function in the control panel.
-Oil filter housing gasket/oil cooler gasket started leaking coolant rather quickly. Ended up being about $1,100 repair at the dealership (would have been much more $ but I get a discount with my dealership).

So all in, just over $2,000 in repairs for 55k miles over 3 years. I'd consider that fairly reliable. The oil pan is apparently leaking as well, but i have yet to find any stains on my driveway and it takes less than 1 quart of topping off between oil changes, so i'm letting that go for now.

Gonna need new brakes soon. I'll either do that myself or bring to an indy. Got new tires (the runflats that it came with were nothing but problems) shortly after we purchased for about $800 installed at pep boys with a sale they had.

Since the X5 is old enough with enough miles, we also purchased the 3 year oil change package from BMW for either $150 or $200 (i forget at this point), but we use the F15 quite alot so we've had i believe 5 oil changes for that price already and still will have another 1 or 2 covered.

All in all, extremely happy with our X5. I don't think i'd be able to find a reasonably priced replacement for it right now so we're going to end up putting a few bucks into maintaining/repairing it and keep it on the road.

[pbonsalb]

I doubt a 6 year old BMW is more reliable than a 9 year old Lexus. The Lexus should be cheaper to own out of warranty than the BMW. I have BMWs but tell others who are concerned about reliability and repair costs to buy Lexus.

[kyriian]

Another current F15 owner here to chime in
My 2014 X5 35i had 60k km (37k miles) when I got it in early 2020
It's at 128k km now (80k) and haven't had any major issues

Oil filter gasket was leaking at about 70k km or so, I finally replaced it at about 100k km.
Needed new tires, I had the M Sport bigger wheels so tires was pretty pricey
Both rear suspension air bags leaked eventually, but aftermarket solution was fairly inexpensive and not a hard repair to DIY

Aside from these issues and typical maintenances, the car's been relatively problem free.

I am looking to flush the trans and diff in the spring along with a coolant flush

[SpacegrayMe90]

As a Lexus daily driver, I'm going to with the Lexus. The cost of ownership has been significantly better than my needy X5, which I chucked back in 2020. That was the best decision I made.

Sure, the Lexus can be uninspiring to drive, but that's why I have the M3.

If you budget for repairs and can wrench yourself, then go with the X5.

[tturedraider]

X5. As the previous poster said, the Lexus is uninspiring. And it drives like a truck. I hate trucks. If I was going to own an SUV that wasn’t a Porsche Macan it would be a BMW. I absolutely hated driving my mom’s RX, but she loved it. Of course, she couldn’t have cared less about the driving. She liked that it was easy for her to get in and out of, which is why I picked it out for her.

[Rafichicago]

RX is for people that HAVE to drive. X5 is for the ones that LIKE driving.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

X5. As the previous poster said, the Lexus is uninspiring. And it drives like a truck. I hate trucks. If I was going to own an SUV that wasn’t a Porsche Macan it would be a BMW. I absolutely hated driving my mom’s RX, but she loved it. Of course, she couldn’t have cared less about the driving. She liked that it was easy for her to get in and out of, which is why I picked it out for her.

The X5 drives like a truck as well. At least that was the opinion of my wife and I after driving a 2021 X5 40i xdrive MSport three times. We bought a 2021 Cayenne S instead. Night and day difference. And I love BMWs and have 4.

The guy who has a Lexus and loves it and is worried about reliability and cost of ownership should be persuaded to stick with the Lexus, not buy a more expensive BMW because it drives less like a truck. If he was instead saying he wanted a sportier SUV, there would be something to discuss.

[heavyD^2]

Originally Posted by Rafichicago

RX is for people that HAVE to drive. X5 is for the ones that LIKE driving.

Lexus in general is for people that don't enjoy driving and simply want a fancier Toyota that gets them from A to B.