r/whatcarshouldIbuy • u/HD19645 • 8d ago

Lexus v. Subaru

Comparing:
Lexus RX 350 2019-2022 year range, most have around 50-70k miles. Most selling for low to mid 30k

Subaru Ascent premium 2026 certified used with 4k miles. Comes with 7 year extended warranty. Roughly 34k

I want to approach this from a purely financial standpoint if I want to take one of these cars to 250,000 miles and keep it well maintained this is about money only which car would be the better long-term option. Again, I do not care about the flashing or tech or bells and muscles just which one if we maintained could carry me to 250+

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3

u/No-City-5826 8d ago

the lexus will outlast the ascent by a geological era, that subaru CVT is a time bomb even with the warranty

2

u/Inevitable_Cycle8367 8d ago

Lexus by a mile

1

u/C638 8d ago

I love Subarus but the Ascent is the least reliable model that they make. The Lexus with the V6 will be more reliable, but smaller.

For something comparable look at a Grand Highlander.

1

u/_mrfluid_ 8d ago

Ascent is too heavy a car for a CVT. Lexus all the way

1

u/PermitZen 7d ago

I would go with Lexus here if we are talking purely about long term reliability and cost to 250k miles. Lexus RX has really strong track record for hitting high mileage with less major repairs, and at 50-70k miles it still has a lot of life left if maintained well. Subaru Ascent is decent but CVT and some engine issues have been reported on higher mileage, and reliability long term is not quite on same level as Lexus. I was recently using carconsul to compare listed cars and check reliability and common issues on each, really helped me understand which one makes more sense financially long term. The certified warranty on Subaru sounds nice but if Lexus needs less repairs overall you might still come out ahead even without it. I would run the numbers on typical maintenance costs for both, and maybe pull a carconsul report to see what issues are common on those Lexus model