Leaderboard

Hi all, after years of soft-top convertibles I decided to get myself a hard-top and quite a bit of researching led me to decide on an SC430. Last week I drove home my new car, a 2008 model in Cadoxton Grey metallic with Ivory interior, 80k on the clock and full Lexus service history with the last one being supplemented by a new cam-belt and water pump. It was a bit of a leap of faith for me as I'd never driven one before, but many years ago I had a LS430 and the good impression it made on me helped! And my impressions of the SC has lived up: a smooth, powerful drive and the quality feeling of the build on the drive home reinforced my decision, even if the three hour return was spent in continuous heavy rain... R

Thanks all. I changed the battery (and reset the windows) and we are all good again. Not encountered battery dying like this before.

It certainly look like you've got a nice car there. I bought the second one I ever drove (the first was on sale conveniently close to home, but not the right colour combination for me and it was in any event a bit over priced). This once has been mine since the summer:

Track pad still useable as is everything else big write ups on RCF USA sites...mines being shipped out at moment

Hi Guys & Gals Just wanted to make a post on here to let people see how bad the rust with the sills can be. I have 2 at the moment that I will be welding up, so 4 sills in total I have just cut up one at the moment and have some pictures to show. Im not much of a welder so using a good old cheap flux core mig welder that should do the job 😄 I have some pictures of what its like and what my plans are, the area's are a bit tight to get the grinder into to grind away the rust … so just going to cut it all away! Let me know what you guys think, if you have any photos of your rusty sills/boot etc Have the cold but should be doing this within the week or so 😄 Looking forward to it !! So plan is to cut out all the rust, replace it with new metal, primer it where I cant reach after welding, plug weld ovr existing good metal then seam along the sill etc, also though I might as well do the rear arch while I am there.

Hi my name is Kat and am about to buy my second is250. We owned the first one for 4 years but unfortunately someone may have used it as a battering ram and the body work ended up a major mess, it wasn’t serviced properly and then the dreaded check vsc came on- so she is sat on the drive. She was replaced with a Volvo s40 2.0D auto. what a pile of absolute rubbish. After 6 weeks we cannot survive without a working Lexus in the household. Have sourced a 2007 one with 115k in mint condition, that just needs the seats swapped out from the old one (leather heated and dvd screens) with the basic cloth. so that is what brought me to you. So thank you for all the help you have provided so far. happy driving kat

just bought my first lexus changing from jaguar

I bought and fitted a condenser and compressor to my old ls430 bought from Paul Frost except the after market condenser which I bought from ebay usa which was £65 with postage included and even a life time warranty not that thats going to be of much use... but the job went well and even regassed it myself an easy job after someone on the forum told me about halfords selling the kit to do it. It does sound like the garage are trying to pull a fast one though. The aircon specialist (yeah right) I took mine to tried to charge me 1500 for the work and said there would be no guarantee and more work might have to be done, the car cost me 1600 so.... what harm could I do if I did it myself i though. I always thought that the aircon system was not to be touched by the likes of me but it turns out that its not that complicated.

I am interesting in buying another LS430 (another story). I am a little picky, but saw more or less exactly what I was looking for on ebay so gave the guy a call a week ago, - expecting a friendly chat with a fellow LS enthusiast (as he's owned the car over a decade!), - I wasn't overly impressed with his knowledge of the car considering it's a bit of a specialist ownership and, the long time he's owned it. I was polite when I spoke to him, but I did ask a number of questions about the condition and history, - of which I found his response a little defensive.. at the time I wondered whether he had recieved a lot of calls and timewasters, so put it down to that. Anyway, I said I will contact him this weekend to come and view the car. True to my word, I have rang his phone (no answer) and left a message (no response). A day later, and out of pure curiosity I called his number from a different phone and hey presto, he answered straight away. At this point I concluded that he's not someone I want to deal with, perhaps he's a car dealer (he claims the reason for selling is that he's brought another Lexus, yet he's offering to part exchange your car (??)) It's frustrating as it looked like the car for me, - I am a genuine buyer with cash on the hip. Do you think trusting your gut in situations like these is the right thing to do?

Personally, having done it, I would seriously consider a recent import Celsior, you'll get low mileage and no rust, plus some unusual extras!

I bought two strutts year and half ago off a chinese site and they came within three weeks quick fit and still working great £25.

You could use one of the 'up-rated' halogen offerings? https://www.osram.com/am/am_com_ledriving_campaign_4.jsp

If the bulb housing is meant for a halogen bulb, then anything other than a halogen bulb in it is an instant MOT fail, so I think you'll just have to get used to it.

Welcome Ralphy. You have a wonderful looking car.

Congratulations and welcome to the LOC,hoping you find it informative and educational as well as enjoy your new purchase,nice looking car👍

So As you can see most of this was done in the dark with a few lights. I had planed on doing it thought the day but my pal needed help with his exhaust. So next day I managed to get the bellow done, not too happy with the outer sill, really happy with the join with the wheel arch but not so sure about the curvature of it … What's your thoughts guys ? I will be using some body filler and then seeing how it is after that 😛 I have another 2 to do as my other car neds it quite badly. If everyone wants I can post about this here too ? Here we have the finishing product ! 😄 Still need to plug weld the Sill bit, Forgot to do this at the time but I can easy enough go round with my drill and fill it in with weld. Cut the Pinch to the same level. Im quite happy with how it turned out, kinda. Where the new Sill meats the old sill im going to need quite a bit of filler for that 😞 messed that bit up. Where the rear arch comes back, not sure if this is the correct curvature or if it matters, WHATS YOUR GUYS THOUGHTS ? also need to bend it back so its not a sharp edge.

Hi Guys So … Kinda all done, need quite a bit of filler but I think it will look alright :s I did make a few mistakes hopefully that I can coverup. The biggest was I was trying to grind the welds away and well I ended up grinding away good metal so thin that it just cracked (right under the door) so had to cut that away so I could replace it with more metal 😕 In full tho… really good fun, just rather difficult to get into at some points and stuff. Ill post some of the during then make another reply for the after . So as my pictures above, Ive created a panel to cover the (think its called a Gullet ? the big O cut out's) holes and welded them up. these weren't the finished product welded a lot more, made sure there were no holes but didn't grind them down as its on the inside. underneath, I cut away some of the pinch weld so started to form what I had taken away. along with the bit on the right which was for the plate in the wheel arch to plug weld to. 4th picture down you can see that box section trying to continue it all the way along. (I like this bit, feel that I done Good there) You can also see my mistake. on this photo and the other 2. So I had put these plates in thinking about how I would do the outer sill and thought id grind it down to see how it looked etc.... and ended up screwing it up as you can see the bit of good metal just at the bottom of the door sill bit 😞 wasn't happy at myself ! lol Overall the inside was a mess … not so much anymore 😄

Good answer 😂😂

also maybe Amayama ..... the price if available will just about double with carriage, Customs Duty, VAT and fees Malc

the problem with my Menu screen display has now been sorted by the garage . It was a problem with the fuse. thanks for the replys

@The Bodyman that looks stunning!

Yes, fairly rare with the same V8 as the LS. I did try an 05 GS430 before I bought my 300 but in all honesty the power didn't seem vastly different. I think your spoiler looks fine, it works well and suits the car. I recently fitted one to my Celsior but it's only very small.

Google his phone number. Does it pop up repeatedly on car adverts?

Picked my 55 plate up a couple of weeks ago to replace my damaged 2000. It has extensive lexus service history with only a couple of independents, one being a Toyota dealership. 129000 on the clock and never failed an m.o.t. The guy was offered £3000 in part exchange for a Nissan elgrand and decided to list it on eBay for £2995 just so the dealer didn't make money on it - happy days! Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk

Herbie, if Lexus won't play ball, bearing in mind the broken parts don't seem to be on view, depending on how bad they are it might be worth checking whether it's feasible to rebuild them. When I have had broken plastic parts in the past, where space permits I have repaired them in the following way. Apply a fine coat of superglue to hold them together. Then where access is possible use a good size soldering ion to spread the plastic. This does need to be done carefully because it's easy to just make a mess and collapse the parts. (I have done so many repairs like this over the years that I am quite skilled at it and I would not recommend it to somebody who is not familiar with the process. I then smooth down the repair. I also wear a mask because of the fumes produced, In some cases I omit this and support the superglue repair by a sleeve or build up with Milliput which can be drilled and tapped as required, as indeed can JB Weld for those more familiar with that product. However, there is a fairly new product on the market activated by a light. I haven't used it yet myself but will be giving it a try. A thin layer of a sort of gel plastic is applied to join broken parts and becomes set in seconds only after the light it shone on it and once this has been done further applications of gel and light can be used to build up a sleeve or support. Here are a couple of videos showing the product, it's application and result. The kit is advertised on Amazon for circa £15. Hope neither you nor anybody else needs it but maybe useful to know.

Very true. It’s very much a beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As an enthusiast you will always find more value than others do. The only time they really start to come into there own is when like with the stock market, important people start to buy, like car collectors celebrities and the like. The only other time this value goes up is if the cars have a massive power gain advantage and are cheap to tune, like Honda civics, Toyota supra’s and the like. But keep looking, especially if you have the time to wait. As “ You can’t produce a baby in 1 month by getting 9 women pregnant”

Friends Romans Countrymen, Latin scholars too, wherefore art thou ?? Malc

they are indeed, there's quite a few being scrapped each year BUT being rare doesn't mean they have lots of value or even any sensible value that outweighs the cost of restoration, repair etc you will find what you want sooner or later and it will probably be at a sensible price too Malc

Does sound like a dealer hiding and with a very poor attitude to boot. Agree with my friends’ comments above. Walk away I think most owners know a decent amount about their cars...find one that does. There are quite a few good ones on the market.

No harm in asking as I'm sure it will be a mortgage money job

Phil, just when you don’t think you will find what you want, one will pop up. My attitude is, if necessary, pay a little bit more for a really good one, but don’t compromise and buy a something that needs big bucks, to bring up to scratch. Good luck, Roger

You did the right thing - I would do the same. With regards to LS430 values - yes they are on the rise and when a low mileage one comes along the dealers will just price them really high - one example is a 37k miles facelift which a dealer has picked up and now priced at 10K

Hi all, Its great to join this club. I am currently looking to buy GS300h. I am from Dublin and obviously fully loaded cars are in UK, thee is not to many over here in Ireland anyway I am willing to buy one in UK. Szymon

Hope so, I've a 2000 and a 2005 [emoji106] Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk

You are not displaying a gut instinct Phil, you are displaying common sense. Walk away and find the car you are looking for.

Conversation with a garage owner recently; he believes that the prices of (original) LS430s will start to shoot up. Has anyone noticed that are getting rarer over the last, say 5 years, or not really?

Sorry you like a growing number of others have been affected. There are several recent threads on this and at least one gives details of supplier of suitable cat locks

Hi Samantha and welcome to the club. The Instrument Panel J/B is what you're looking for and it's located in the passenger footwell, behind the glove box:

So special it has been reduced a few thousand already... ha!

Buy the condition of the car, not the milometer, I have two vintage 2007, bought the RS400h last year with 400,000 KMs, about 240,000 miles, no history but great condition even on original battery. Enjoy Richard Totana Murcia Spain

So a few months back I bought a Lexus 2005 SC430 which was a UK model, nice but wanted to add my touches to it. The cost of what I wanted to do to upgrade the most desirable items soon grew with a cost, rear LED lights etc not only proved hard to get but really outstripped the benefit and cost. Having drove the car for several months I had that itch to look of what else was available. I was fortunate enough to win this Jap Import SC430 on Ebay that was 1st registered this year, it had all the items I wanted and the car cost exactly the same as my UK model. It was a win win situation and the car is just amazing, right colour, certainly the right wheels and quite a few items of electronics fitted. So the first thing I did on day one of receiving this car was to fit wheel spacers front and rear, the difference to the stance is just night and day and without doubt so very worth it. Whilst having the wheels off I have taking a few pictures, its just so clean and almost as good as a car a few years old. The road tax is just £266 for 12 months. My old SC achieved 32MPG and more on a good run with an OBD chip fitted so it will be interesting to see what this present one will do, I would much rather better MPG over any marginal performance gains so I have a choice of two OBD chips now to see which one suits my driving style. I did have red original front mats fitted but it was just too red so I swapped out to black which breaks it up and not so Red! Stainless Cat back exhaust. Engine Strut Brace. Induction air filter. Rear widened 30mm, Front 20mm Strengthened rear cross members. OBD engine tuning. Additional Engine earthing. Hi- Vision HIT770 tv tuner Reverse sensors Rear LED Lights and ECU So now the important thing is to make the radio and Sat Nav to UK standards, a few buttons are in Japanese so I need advice on whether simply swapping out the Jap Nav screen controls to a UK unit and whether installing a UK sat nav DVD will be all I need to do. I can live with a few buttons in Japanese as long as I know what they are for! Not even sure if the car as it is can be selected to English but not worked that one out yet as its a different setup to my old SC and everything on the nav screen is in Japanese.. Because this has fitted a Hi-Vision tv tuner to display on the upper screen, I want to know if I can also patch in a rear reversing camera input that will come on automatically when in reverse without selected the tv button on the control panel. Have searched for an English translation of what the HIT7700 can do but that's proving hard, help needed there. To be honest I would prefer camera over tv but still nice to retain both if I can. I am tempted to install a double din radio/DVD unit as I already have the conversion kit and the cost of buying a UK SC radio unit really would sway me to just but a double din and have DVD, Nav and camera etc. Last few pics of the car with spacers fitted, first dew are without.

Lexus quoted 51 quid for 5L dont know if it can be bought cheaper anywhere?.... remember due to GBP to USD collapse prices of parts have gone higher

Well done Peter, I like your thread here. I like these wheel spacers too. Tell me more about Induction air filter, does it make a difference to performance? Also, lets see your LED rear lights. 🙂

I'd stick to Toyota Type IV. As we know, Toy/Lex don't make things like brakes, wipers, batteries and suchlike so I have no qualms about buying aftermarket parts from local motor factors or such places. However, auto transmission fluid is chemically very complex and contains all sorts of things to do all sorts of jobs, amongst them being friction modifiers and lubricants. Inside the transmission are various rubber seals and things and the fluid and seals have been designed to be compatable with each other. If an aftermarket equivalent ATF has just one chemical or just one aspect of it that's slightly different it may wreck the transmission, which would be a very expensive mistake. IMHO, it's just not worth trying to save a few quid on this, plus it's not that expensive anyway. I think I got 10L for about £70 from my local Toyota main dealer.

Shes on the road again. One bonnet all ready the correct colour.£100 labour £100 Bonnet catch £20. He has worked on her before and said he always enjoys working on an LS as they are so well screwed together and that makes it easy to work on. I'm a happy man.

I also washed the car, probably this is last time this year I have done it this way, I used tar cleaning, clay bar and polish resin on top, then applied water repellent/polish that works really well! Also attached 2 bumper corner protectors/guards.

Just given the old girl a clean before our trip to the Cotswolds! If you see a Champagne coloured LS 400 driving around the Cotswolds, it might be me!

Thanks boys for all your kind words. It looks worse than it is. The worst is the bonnet needs replacing as well as the front bumper. Both wings are OK as well as the grill. Headlights are OK. The cross member the bonnet catch sits on needs some sympathetic hammering to push it back. As others have said the insurance co want to write it off but they don't have any chance. I have sourced all the parts apart from the front bumper. The guy I am getting all the parts off says he is having a black one in in about a months time but I will keep hunting for a green one to save on a respray. Cant wait to get going now and get her back to her fine looking body again. Thanks again chaps.

Lexus beats the Germans for reliability and the infotainment is not difficult to use after you’ve altered the sensitivity of the pad and gotten used to it. You have to get used to any car. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Even if I live to be a hundred years old I'll never be able to afford a brand-new car, but then again, I'm not sure I'd want to anyway even if I could afford it, given the huge depreciation hit they suffer in the early years. Buying a secondhand car and never really knowing how the previous owner has looked after it, one of the first things I do is to have all fluids changed and that, of course, includes transmission fluid. It may only be of psychological value but I like to know that everything is starting fresh under my ownership.