willydoit

Hi jeffrey, Thanks for your input, still havent decided what to do, take on board your dealer comments just thinking that it should be the best of all options but the proof of the pudding etc. Will let you know how we get on.

It would be very worthwhile to hassle the dealer to do cambelt now, nothing to lose and remember they really want to get the car of their forecourt! Well there's no harm in trying, will probably use it as my giving a decision tool, at the moment because of the distance, salesman issues and higher mileage I wouldn't be heartbroken if it goes in the meantime so I think it will be a case of if I go for it it would be on the proviso that bodywork matched their description when we do view and cambelt and water pump are changed to eliminate immediate expenditure and full peace of mind, they can only say no As mentioned I dont know how much they already have invested in the car or what the guide value is on a 2007 car with 90k miles, prices on SC430's seem to be all over the place so hard to draw comparisons. Toyota dealer has a 2006 silver one with 46k on the clock 2k more expensive which may be a consideration, but no lexus warranty although they have offered a 3 year 4* warranty via wms group for £850 but that warranty tells you what they only cover and the Lexus warranty mainly tells you what they dont cover so on the face of it I am assuming that Lexus say everything is covered except what we have told you about which to my mind makes it a better peace of mind option.

Hi Neil, this is where my knowledge is a problem as I cannot find anything which gives definitive information as to what changed when. I was under the impression that the post 2005 models had a facelift to the sat nav way beyond just a disk update. I thought they had a higher res screen and also included voice commands for sat nav, blue tooth and audio system and I would rather purchase one with these changes than sit back afterwards wishing I had maybe waited or spent a bit more and got one with them, sounds as though the six speed is worth holding out for too. I suppose there must have been a reason for Lexus spending the money to change it after all. I suppose if I hold out for all these items I then at least know I have all that I could have got on the car and I assume that the Black 2007 (registered 11th Jan 2007 so effectively 2006 model I assume) will have all the changes made to the vehicle up to the end of production.

Hi John, Thanks, I have seen that but it is a 2004, I was particularly wanting one with the bluetooth and later sat nav and if possible the 6 speed box although I have been told that there is little if any difference between the 5 and 6 speed versions (dont know if that is true) so have considered some late 2005 cars. Have been scouring autotrader, pistonheads and ebay almost hourly over the last few days, it has got to the stage where the wife and I can start to provide some car details and the other can tell you where it is, price, colour, year and mileage . Oh happy days... Saw one last night on autotrader, newly advertised close to me 2005 with 48,000 miles full service history in silver, slight concern over it being a bog standard family run second hand car dealers but thought it would be worth a look. Rang at opening time this morning to find someone had the nouse to call them out of hours last night went round and bought it. Who says these cars dont sell easily :) . Oh well back to the pondering.

Thanks all for your input, I have an LS400 which is in virtual showroom condition which has done just 55k and that has been bullet proof, it is now on its 3rd cambelt (changed at 6k and 40k) cambelt, services, 1 battery, 4 tyres, and new set of pads and a few wiper blades is all the car has cost me in 10 years, am hoping to find the same reliability in a used SC430 hence my concern over buying one with almost 90k on the clock :eerrrmm:

Hi Colin, You are probably right about the salesman, will mull it all over during the rest of the weekend, Salesman that I am dealing with at the moment seems honest and helpful enough. Have made costly mistakes in the past by being too trusting which is why I am attracted by the opportunity to by from a Lexus dealership. Probably me being too suspicious. Thanks again for your input and advice.

Hi Colin, Thanks for that, that does help a lot, perhaps my thinking of asking for it to be done as part of the sale is asking a bit much if it wouldn't normally be due until next year. Thanks for taking the time to help out with my concerns it is really appreciated. What is the normal service requiremnt at 90k? major or minor service?

A vehicle of that age would have 10k service intervals, therefore the timing belt would be due at either 100k miles or 10 years, whichever is sooner. If a service is due within 3 months or 3,000 miles I'd expect them to do it as part of the sale, otherwise they wouldn't. Do you know when it was last serviced? We could make an assumption that it was done at 80k miles and therefore one is due soon but things often aren't that clear cut. Not sure but will clarify on Monday, someone has already complained about this dealership agreeing to service a car prior to sale, I assume a major service was due on the car but they new owner found out later after inspection at another lexus dealers that only a minor service had been done. There are always two sides to each story so have to take it with a pinch of salt. I dont want to spend what will amount to14K on a car which I will have to spend another £1k on in a short space of time. I dont think its unreasonable to ask for the belt and servicing to be done prior to sale, after all costs to them are going to be much cheaper than it will be to me. Or am I being unreasonable? I dont know how much investment they have in the vehicle and margin available to play with as the car has already been reduced.

Hi Colin, that on its own isnt the concern, its more the fact that if the car has been there a while, or if they are difficult to move why lie to me about it still being available when asked to check/confirm certain items on the car, and if there was a misunderstanding at the dealership as to whether the car had been sold, why not contact me afterwards? I was and still am what should be considered a hot prospect for a £13k sale . If the salesman worked for me and lost me a £13k sale he would be looking for another job, either the salesman is terrible at his job or something isnt right and I am finding it difficult to shake the concern that there could be an issue with the car that they dont want to admit to or lie about when asked outright and maybe prefer to wait until the next punter comes along who may not ask that question. Honestly it is only the theoretical safety net that should accompany a lexus approved used car from a dealer with the chance of 3 year parts and labour warranty that is keeping me interested, any other garage and I would have walked away straight away.

Hi all, Have read this thread with interest as am considering purchase of a 2007 SC430 with 87000 miles from a lexus dealership. When i asked if they would be replacing the cam belt prior to sale I was told that the cambelt did not need changing until 100,000 miles. Suspect if I rang them asking if I should change my cambelt at 87k I would be told better to do so but thats me being cynical. Anyway, I was sure I had seen the change recommended at 90k so a quick search on the net and I found that the lexus.com website has a service schedule page which allows you to input your model, mileage etc and it produces a list of the services you should have. It states that the 90k service is a main service and includes timing belt. You can check this out at the link below or search lexus service shedule on google if the link hasnt copied correctly. https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/info/my-lexus/service/maintenance-schedule.do So the question is, if these are exactly the same vehicles and after all the US was the intended market for the cars why do they recommend 90k when in the UK they seem to be saying 100k? Why the difference? Am I right to expect the dealers to do the major service and belt change prior to purchase of a 87k mile car or am I being unreasonable?

hHi Neil, Thanks for that, would much prefer to deal with a Lexus dealership to get all the reassurance that should come from that but there have been just a couple of issues that concern me, for example I was originally corresponding with one of the Lexus dealers salesmen about the car, and he agreed to check some items on the car for me as they are around 200 miles away from me. I sent a list of items that people have reported issues with such as speakers and amp, bubbling on roof, water ingress into the boot, trim condition etc, admitedly there were about 25 items but nothing that wasnt easy to check or that, I wouldnt check myself if able to. Two days later got an email saying the car was sold by someone else while he was checking it for me. Now I know they have had the car quite a while and are even thinking of moving the car to another of their dealers to try to sell as they have been unable to sell it so far. It also seems the car has been reduced in price over the past weeks, if that is the case you have to wonder why it hasnt sold. Long story short, turns out that either the salesman lied or was just rubbish at his job as the car hadnt been sold at all as a couple of days later my wife not being aware that I had been discussing that car, contacted them, spoke with a different salesman to be told yest the car was still available. Call me cynical if you want but I am concerned as to why the original salesman lied to me when asked to check some of the known issues on these cars? My concern is that the car may suffer from one or more of the known issues and I will be either wasting time and money going to see a car that isnt right or worse still buying it and finding there are issues which arent covered on the warranty. Even giving them the benefit of the doubt that his being told the car had been sold was a missunderstanding, why not contact me again to resume the potential sale once aware that the car was still available? A £13k sale may not be much to a lexus dealership but I thought the idea was to sell the cars to the customers. The car in question has done almost 87k which is higher mileage than I wanted and when asking the new salesman about their doing cam belt change before sale he said it isnt due until 100k yet lexus's own website states clearly that 90k service is major service which includes timing belt replacement. I honestly feel that it is like dealing with a back street garage and having to watch for all the strokes they might pull rather than feeling relaxed and confident that everything must be okay because its a Lexus authorised used car from a Lexus dealers. Admitedly, if purchased I wouldnt be needing to rely on them for servicing, warranty work etc and I am assuming that if there were any issues with the car which meant that it shouldnt have qualified as a lexus approved vehicle that I would have some amount of redress through Lexus GB but I am getting too old to have all the hassle. Anyway, sorry to go on about this, logic tells me that buying from a lexus dealer Should be the preferred choice and provide troube free ownership with no hassles. Is a Lexus approved used vehicle from a lexus dealer with three year Lexus warranty a bulletproof way to by a Lexus SC430? have people bought from Lexus themselves and still ended up with a problem vehicle or am I just being overly cautious and paranoid? As I have mentioned before, its not my preffered colour and mileage is higher than I would like but I am willing to make these concessions to have what I previously thought was an advantage of having a lexus approved car with warranty. Others opinions and experiences would be most welcome.

Hi Colin, That's worth knowing, thanks. Will look into that, with it being a Toyota dealership they may have contacts to be able to arrange that, if they do it prior to sale then I dont have any worries about Lexus "finding issues" they want to fix before allowing the warranty. Have emailed the Toyota Dealer so will see what they come back with as there is still the consideration that the Black one is a year newer, two grand cheaper and would have a total of 3 years warranty. Probably find that by the time I make a decision they will both have been sold :-(

Hi Colin, thanks for the reply, The silver lower mileage car is at a Toyota dealership so there may be options re warranties, the lower mileage car is older being 2006 but is listed at £2,000 more than the 2007 model at the Lexus Dealers, I have been advised this morning that on the 2007 vehicle from the Lexus dealer the warranty can be extended by a further two years for around a grand. The possibility of 3 year Lexus warranty and peace of mind really is making me consider making compromises on the colour and mileage knowing how expensive these can be when things start to go wrong. That said we would be lucky to cover 15k miles in three years but that said anything can go wrong at any time. Lexus dealer has advised that some paintwork has been done to the car, I dont know to what standard but assume it has to be spot on to qualify as Lexus Approved otherwise I assume I have some redress via Lexus GB if the car ultimately turns out to have issues which would not qualify it for Approved Lexus used car status at the time of sale. Feedback from anyone with a black SC430 with over 90k miles would be appreciated especially in respect of how the bodywork has stood up to the tests of time.

Hi all, Am looking for a good example of a late 2005 or newer sc430 that I can try to maintain as new a condition as possible as we will be keeping the car for a number of years hopefully and will probably cover onlybaround 5k miles a year? A bit of advice would be appreciated. Faced with the following options which would you recommend please. 1) black 2007 car with 90k on the clock from lexus dealership with 12 months 5+ Lexus warranty Or 2) silver 2007 car from a non lexus dealer with half the mileage of the above car with full lexus service history but probably no warranty beyond statutory 3 months provided by UK Law or a standard used car warranty with limited coverage. The dilemma, is it better to have a higher mileage lexus approved car with warranty or a much lower mileage car from a non lexus dealer with possibly no more warranty than the statutory 3 months provided by UK law. The sc430 seems to have far more potential failure issues than my ls400 which hasnt cost me anything beyond tyres, pads and a battery in 10 years so I am wary about potential future huge bills. Advice from the experience of sc430 owners seems to be invaluable at this stage. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Hi all, Has anyone had any experience with lexus Croydon? Am looking to purchase a 13k 2007 vehicle from them with Lexus 5+ 12 month warranty. My concern has been raised by the fact that when enquiring about the vehicle I sent the salesman an admitedly lengthy email of checks I requested on the car to ascertain whether it was the right car for us before looking at a 400 mile round trip to view and likely purchase the vehicle. The check list was a number of items that appear to be issues with that particular model, bonnet/boot strut weakness, shock absorbers speaker and amp failure, water ingress into the boot, paintwork bubbling issues on the roof, bodywork etc. the following day I received an email from the salesman advising that while he was checking the items for me another salesman sold the car. Although the car wasn't our preferred colour and had higher mileage (86.6k) than I would have preferred I was dissapointed that the car had gone as I felt that the car having full dealer history with a 12 months warranty from a Lexus dealer would provide substantial peace of mind that I wasn't going to end up with huge repair bills after purchase. I did have my suspicions over whether the car had been sold and it turns out that my suspicions were justified as an enquiry by another family member via a different sales person confirmed that the car is still available for sale!!! The new salesman has sent photographs and is supposed to be calling me tomorrow to discuss the car. This worries me considerably, why was I lied to by the first salesman? Is it that he just couldn't be bothered to check the vehicle for me and preferred to lose his employers a 13k sale or could it be that there are issues with the car that were on the list I requested checked which wouldn't be cost efficient to put right prior to sale? If that was the case then why not just tell me what the issues were and be honest rather than lie? I appreciate that perhaps a sale was made that subsequently fell through but if that was the case surely any sales person worth their salt would have re-established contact to resume thisnpotential sale. Something stinks somewhere and I am hoping that it is just the original salesman rather than the dealership or the car. I am now questioning just what the Lexus 5+ 12 month warranty is worth as I assumed any issues would be covered by this so wasn't too worried so far as mechanics and electrics were concerned, however if the car has issues that were on my check list and the salesman considered it was better to lie to me rather than be asked to rectify the issues due to potential cost could it be that the issues if not spotted before purchase may not be covered on the warranty? What are other owners experiences both with this dealership and the 5+ warranty? Could I end up buying a fsh car from a dealer with a warranty and still end up with a poor car, big bills and issues? Finally the car has 86.6k miles on the clock, this car should have a cambelt change at 90k, would it be normal practice for a reputable dealer to change the cambelt and water pump on a car with this mileage before sale? Would it be unreasonable to request this before parting with 13k of my money. If they say they cannot replace the cambelt and pump within the purchase price ( looks as though car has been reduced from 14.5k before I saw it advertised.) is the car and immediate expense still worth buying due to the benefits of purchase from a dealership and the 12 month warranty? Any info or advice would be gratefully appreciated, I appreciate that when talking about a Lexus 13k may not seem like a lot of money but it is a lot of money to us and we cannot afford to end up with a preverbial pig in a poke. i already own a 1998 mk4 ls400 with 55k on the clock that in 10 years of ownership hasnt cost me a penny beyond tyres, new pads, a battery and windscreen wipers so rightly or wrongly am assuming that all lexus models supply the same build quality and reliability providing you get a good one to start with. Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Hi Maria, thank you ever so much for your very kind offer. Thanks to a member in Malton I have managed to view one of the cars up close which was very helpful. I havent yet driven one but am awaiting an inspection report of one at a Lexus dealership down south, only concern is that it is black and I can be more than a bit OC when it comes to looking after my cars and black can show every imperfection so wouldn't be my perfect choice but there are so few of them around which fall into my requirements list that having to make a couple of concessions seems unavoidable. Thanks again for the offer your kindness is appreciated, hope you have a good day out at Knaresborough, I think the weather is forecast to be good and it is a lovely place to walk around when the weather is nice.

Hi Peter, Did you sell the car or do you still have it? Am possibly looking for one and am just up the road from you.

Hi all, While still looking for a sc430 I am trying to ascertain what revisions were made in which years and their benefits. I want to buy the best version I can within my budget. I am aware there were suspension and gearbox changes which I assume made a substantial difference to the vehicle so would prefer a vehicle which is post these changes but am unsure as to what year these were introduced, some sites say 2005 some say earlier. Is there a definitive answer? Would a car with a six speed box always have the revised suspension? Rightly or wrongly the only cosmetic updates I would like to ensure I get is the bluetooth addition, when was this introduced and was it a standard fitment or an optional extra. There are reports of rust bubbling on the roofs of some models and also internal door rust, was this an issue which was rectified in later models if so what years do I need to be considering to avoid these issues. If I do end up with these issues how are lexus dealing with them, do you need a full lexus service history to be eligible for repair under the corrosion warranty? As one would expect there is a premium to pay for the later registration vehicles, 2006, 2007 etc plus the disadvantage of double the annual road tax. Is there a benefit to considering the higher mileage versions of these years that would make the extra road tax burden worthwhile? Ie were there any changes after 2005 that make them more attractive as a purchase. I have for example seen a couple of 2007 models but with 165000 miles, if they have full lexus history and look okay cosmetically am I being foolish to not consider them or am I likely to be taking on a lot of forthcoming repairs at that sort of mileage despite the vehicle being a bit newer? Sorry to ask so many questions but as you know there arent many of these vehicles about and I suspect the number of potential buyers arent that high so I dont want to make a mistake and have to try to sell one if I get it wrong. We are also likely to keep the car for a number of years so again dont want to be wishing we had purchased a later model or lower mileage version for whatever reason in later years. Thanks in advance for any assistance provided.

Thanks

Hi all, As you may be aware from my other post we are considering the purchase of an SC430 to replace (with the best of both worlds) our existing SLK and possibly our LS400. The problem is that we havent had the opportunity to view one up close and would prefer to view one without any temptation of letting our heart rule our head and rushing into buying the wrong one just because its the closest. We would also prefer to see a genuine example as opposed to one which has been prepared specifically for sale by garage professionals if possible. To this end I was wondering if there are any SC430 owners around the York/ Hull area (we live in Driffield) who would be kind enough to take the time to allow us have a look at theirs and discuss the pros and cons of ownership. We wouldnt expect to drive the vehicle obviously it's just so thet we can get an idea of the practicalities of whether we feel it would be suitable as a replacement for both our current cars. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Paul, Thanks for that, as we tend to keep our cars for a long time and look after them We would prefer to start with a low mileage version that has also been looked after as it makes life much easier rather than trying to maintain the looks and mechanics of something which has suffered a bit of neglect. As yet we still havent seen one up close or driven one as there arent any close by. I dont want to travel miles to get my first look or risk allowing my heart rule my head and end up buying the first one we see that we think we may be able to afford. I think I will start a new post asking if there are any owners in or around the Hull/York area who wouldnt mind letting us have a look at theirs and having a chat about the pro's and cons. We will then at least know whether the SC430 will meet our requirements. So far our only reason for considering one is we enjoy the roof down motoring when the weather permits but after the SLK want something with the same reliabilty and build quality as our LS400.

Thanks for that, good info about the bluetooth, it is one thing I miss on the LS400 so worth looking out for a newer model. Were there any other changes that make life a little easier that means the newer model is a better purchase? do they have ipod docks or connections for example. Thanks again.

Hi all, We currenTly have a 98 ls400 in almost showroom condition with 55,000 miles. We have owned it for 10 years and it had 7,500 miles on it when purchased. In 10 years it hasnt given me any issues. We also have a 2004 171 model Mercedes Slk 200 Kompressor with 46,000 miles on it. We love convertible motoring but The quality of the merc isnt a patch on the lexus. We are therefor considering purchasing a sc430 to get the best of both worlds. We havent had chance to get our hands on a sc430 yet however I have a few reservations that I am hoping you may be able to help with. I had considered getting rid of both cars if the sc can match the ls400 for quietness and comfort as in theory it could give the best of both worlds. However I hate excessive road noise, with poor road surfaces even the ls400 can start to get noisy (to my ears but I am picky) how does the sc430 match up to the ls400 for noise levels? Another concern is that even with the roof down you can still get a good supermarket shop in the boot of the Slk. The boot on the sc430 looks severly limited with the roof down although there is the rear seat space which can be used. Could the sc430 be a serious contender as an only car from a day to day usage perspective for such things as shopping etc, what about luggage for holidays and airport trips? As our daughter has grown up and has her own transport there is generaly just my wife and I using the cars so lack of rear seats that are usable isnt too much of an issue except for transferring the odd item which wont fit in the boot. Lastly, any advice you can give on what to look for or avoid when considering a sc430 would be welcome. There seems to be some higher mileage models around which I would prefer to avoid, I know the ls400's were bullet proof but how do the sc430's cope with higher mileage with things such as roof seals, wind noise, general durability and ability to withstand daily use? Thanks in advance for any help and advice provided.

Hi all, I live in the Driffield area (East Yorkshire) and looking for somewhere reliable that I can trust to service my 98 ls400, although getting on a bit it is in almost showroom condition with around 50k miles so I want to be dealing with someone whom I can trust to treat it with as much care as I do and do a proper job. Has anyone any experience of someone around this area that they would be happy to recommend. Also has anyone any experience of the servicingstop.co.uk people who arrange for collection and return of your vehicle and servicing by a local company at what look like reasonable rates? Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi Goldfinger, Thanks for the comments, I probably should explain that that photograph was taken not long after I purchased it which would be around 2005, at that time it only had 7,000 miles on the clock. Since then I had to change the Dunlops as they had deteriorated and started cracking and couldnt find any original spec replacements, also the alloys started to corrode so they have just been painted which was a shame but still better than corroded alloys. Other than that the only thing s that have been changed since it came out of the factory are brake pads all round and two timing belts. As the nicer weather is here it will be due it's annual thorough spit and polish to prepare for the winter, so will post some images then, it will be interesting to see the comparison with the above photo. Unfortunately the car has to live outside so I need to keep on top of the polishing and waxing to keep it looking its best :( Again, thanks for the comments.