Neil E

And mileage, though a good indicator, isn't everything. It does depend on how the car has been used and driven. By the way, an amp can be a quick fix as they do come up on ebay for £200 or you can send them to a company in the North East to have it fixed. I looked for a long time, travelled far and wide before I found my SC just a few miles away and it was cheap. I bought it before the dealer could find time to smarten it up so got another £1000 off.

Ah, okay, just read your last post re high mileage Lexus. My first GS 430 had 220k + miles on it and still drove really well when I sold it. My 04 LS430 had 120k and drove perfectly. An earlier 1991 4 litre Soarer had 230k miles on it and it would outrun an SC430. Yes a Lexus can still be excellent with high mileage. BUT they were all maintained to a very high standard and that's the key to whether or not a high mileage car can run like new or as it should. Mine had nearly all original parts or improved parts where custom work was done. It doesn't mean it has to be maintained by a main dealer but genuine stamps in the book should give peace of mind. I have a local expert that I trust and we only use Toyota Lexus for parts and specialist diagnostic stuff, My SC430 has more than £100k on it now. It has a full Lexus service history but was showing a few signs of neglect when I bought it last year. We know that mechanically they are very, very strong so it tends to be the usual service parts, suspension bushes, brakes, exhaust, battery that need to be replaced. As long as I can see that regular servicing has been done and the cam-belt and water pump service is done by 100k miles/10 years I would be happy with a high mileage car, at the right price of course.

Colin is right about the 6 speed, it is worth having so too are the AFS lights and I think the front of the later car looks better. I don't agree that all dealers are sharks but I understand that the salesmen are in business to make a profit. My experiences with Lexus and Toyota have only ever been very good. When I owned Soarers, Toyota were particularly helpful. I do agree with Jeffrey that you should not expect any issues with a low mileage SC, they are good fun and very reliable. I've used the 6 speed in my GS430, LS430 and SC430 and I had the 5 speed in an earlier GS430. They were all really smooth, as were the 4 litre and TT Soarer's gearboxes. The 6 speed just gives you that little bit more. I don't worry too much about a warranty. I am happy to inspect a car, make a judgement and live with it but I can understand that if a car costs £13k+ then it's nice to have a main dealer to return to should something go wrong, say an ML amplifier. I've just fitted an experimental rear spoiler to mine and was out on the road with the top down testing it this afternoon. Hope you find the right one soon. Just like the LS, it's a great car, it will make you smile.

I would look for the six speed too, the enhancements to the later cars do make a noticeable difference but the earlier versions are still very good cars. Sat Nav disks can be swapped for updated maps and Bluetooth, reverse cameras, USB connections, etc can be added. It may be worth thinking about if you find a really good early version at a good price.

I would say buy whichever car you prefer, you should be on safe ground with a Toyota dealer, after all, they do make them. In Japan the SC430 was called the Toyota Soarer. There are a few subtle differences in the model but it's the same manufacturer. I have a 2006 dark grey metallic SC430 and the paintwork appeared to be to the same Toyota/Lexus standard as usual.

They look very nice indeed but I would be concerned with that degree of stretch for any high speed or aggressive cornering. I can see air ride to follow with suspension/camber help from Figs Engineering.

Yes agree, the cam-belt should have been replaced by now. Cam-belt, tensioner and 2 pulley wheels. Water pump Drive belt Genuine Toyota parts will cost around £350 After that it depends on the previous maintenance schedule but consider.. Engine and gear box oil, brake fluid flush, filters, spark plugs, etc, etc. and you can see how easily it could become £1k+ including labour.

It's a while since I looked at the LS and IS CD mechanism but I recall having to take the jammed CDs out and then winding the CD sleeves down to the bottom on one of them and that fixed it.

A few SCs have been broken in the recent past so I think you should be able to find a source of second-hand parts on the big auction site or by searching the breakers/used part suppliers. Either swap the whole cluster or swap parts over on to your original cluster but it would be best to establish what the fault is before going too far.

The 6-speed cars are 55 plate onwards.

If it's a late one with 50K miles or less that hasn't been abused then you should be on very safe ground. A quick trawl through the boards will tell you what to look for and what owners think of them. Unlike the other makes mentioned, the SC is very reliable with few weaknesses. The excellent smooth changing 6 speed box is worth having as is all of the other minor upgrades like the AFS lights, Bluetooth, LED rear lights, etc but the earlier 5 speed SC is essentially the same design. I bought mine as I have had Soarers in the past and promised myself I would buy a Mk4 Soarer SC430 as a project. I was convinced I would tire of it quickly but soon grew to enjoy and appreciate it very much. The Soarer was way, way ahead of its time and remains an engineering masterpiece with cult status. The SC430 is a slight departure but I think it does, in most respects, carry on the Soarer tradition. If you like or can live with the styling and don't need to carry anyone in the back it's a great car to own and drive.

Did the new fuse blow as well or is it okay?

It does sound like a particularly stubborn one. A local specialist car hifi shop would probably quote for doing it? Is Warrington Car Audio near to you?

It just needs sufficient bravery to use enough force. Try pulling very slightly up and down (in a wiggle motion) as well as outwardly pulling on the heater control module, try one end of it and then the other. It's wedged in, feels tight but it's just a press fit with lugs. Otherwise purchase a set of the plastic pry tools. You can't remove the whole centre console before disconnecting the cabling so I don't think that's an option.

Sorry that's wrong, Lexus ML is not nearly as good as you think it is and it is a very long way from being the best. I would concede that the earlier LS models had some good kit in them but standards have slipped. The very latest ML, Harman, JBL combination may prove to be better but I haven't heard it yet. In our SC430s the audio components carry the ML badge and whilst it is working it produces a very acceptable sound quality for factory fitted audio but it is not robust and it doesn't compare favourably to many components that cost a lot less.

It's always a bit harder to take a apart when it's the first time. It does take a fair bit of force to remove the control panel and it helps if you use some plastic audio/panel removal tools to gently lever the top but it can be done without them. Consider using tape or foam to protect the surrounds. It's easy to mark the wood or the leather when removing some of the components. The Ipod car kit interface you tube video is correct and easy to follow but I do have a few pics from my archive that may help. The audio head unit is secured by 4 x 10mm bolts. The bottom 2 are easy to access after removing the gear surround and the ash tray panel. the top 2 have to be unbolted after the heater / control panel has been removed. Move the head unit door to help gain access. see pic. The heater control panel is a press fit. Try one side and then the other at the top and at the bottom. It will pull out towards you to reveal the connectors. They are also tight so may need a little flat screwdriver to help gently push down the tabs to release them. Then you can remove the head unit and unplug the connectors to that. With it all removed from the dash you can then begin to access the unit itself. I suggest indoors on a desk or bench with plenty of room and trays or small boxes for storing bits in order as you remove them. I separated the door mechanism as I fitted a double din unit in place of the head unit. I think you will need to take it off to get to the CD unit. I have taken apart the LS model and IS model units and they are not too difficult but you need to be very careful not to trap or cut any of the exposed ribbon cables. With the lid off the CD player you can gently fix any issues with the CD tray mechanism. It sounds a bit daunting but it really isn't if you take care and be methodical. I fixed one unit simply by manually winding the CDs up and down to remove them and then made sure they were all aligned correctly. When you are ready to put the unit back in just connect it up to see that it loads correctly before you put everything back together again.

Well I shall take mine apart and have a look as soon as I can find a few daylight hours. The amp itself works okay when it's connected but it loses its link connection to the head unit so it could be a fault at either end. I do have a spare SC ML head unit as I swapped it for an Alpine double din unit so if it uses the same connections I may hook that up to the RX to confirm it is the amp that has the fault and not the signal/link cable from the HU. £700 is far too steep if they know where the faults lie. I would be interested to talk to the UK company to find out what they do for that. Hard to believe Lexus could charge £2k for a small amp but I know the SC ML sub costs around £350 from the dealer. It's a pretty poor bass driver. I haven't enquired about the amps. If my SC amp goes the same way I shall invest further in proper components, switch to 4 ohm drivers and ditch the ML kit completely. I'm sure I will cure it one way or another but the important message in relation to the battery drain is that because of the fault, the audio amp can remain on when the car has been switched off.

Suspension is my next job. I've acquired a bigger front GS anti roll bar and will fit some MeisterR coil-overs shortly. The ISF rear anti-roll bar is on the shopping list too but I need to do some checks regarding the links in relation to ride height. I want to drop it but only a little and how much has a bearing on the anti-roll bar links.

It takes about 10 minutes to remove the audio head unit and CD player. It's a little harder to take it apart but if it's done slowly and carefully to avoid damaging any of the ribbon cables it should be possible to check the mechanism and remove any jammed CDs. Alternatively a good car hifi shop should be able to repair it. It's Pioneer/Fujitsu Ten so most will be familiar with it.

I wouldn't be concerned about the suspension too much as it's the one thing that really needs changing whether it's an early or late model. High mileage or low. Coil-overs and bigger anti-roll bars are the way to go unless you fancy air-ride.

Well here's a new one for you to consider. My RX has started to suffer with significant battery drain. It doesn't have a tracker and is top of the range standard with no aftermarket gadgetry so it must be in the 1% category. It didn't take long to trace the fault to the audio system amplifier not switching off when the car/head unit is switched off. It seems to be another weakness with the poor build quality of the 'Levinson' equipment. I'm really not a fan of Fujitsu10.

Hi Jeffrey PM sent. On the subject of battery drain, I left my SC for 17 days whilst on holiday, 'garaged' but in cold conditions. On returning to the car, I unlocked it, closed the doors, left it for a few minutes for the voltage to settle and then measured it at a disappointingly low 11.71 volts. The battery is only a few months old and was fully charged when I left the car. The engine turned over quickly without any hint that the battery had drained significantly and it started up just as it always does. I don't have a tracker or anything else fitted to it that I would expect to cause any additional drain. It's not the best scientific test but lots of experience with Lexus suggests it is similar to every other Lexus I've owned.

Nice write up Craig. Sounds lovely.

Have you looked on the Japanese auction sites? If it's a Soarer you would need to consider a radio swap/conversion but it's no big deal.

I have seen pictures of a rhd black SC430 with red leather but it is not a combination I've seen in the UK. It might be worth asking a professional car trimming company to quote to re-colour / re-trim the interior of a black car with a black interior to your specific requirements.