alphacat

Just an update on having had the car for about 4 months now. I just love it.. Its been great. had the roof of many times recently including a trip to Bridlington with my wife and 7 year old daughter she loved it in the back and had loads of room. So thats another myth dispelled !! it has room in the back for some !!

My car is late 2005 so its the 2006 model with the 6 speed box never having liked auto I have now come around this gearbox is the best of both worlds. I cant fault it. In sport mode it allows great engine braking etc and is far and away beter than my sons BMW 335. Even he admist it and that wsnt easy. The only thing it does do is roll a bit on the corners and when the roof is down its abit back heavy. Howver it was never meant to be a sports car. Overtaking is so easy and the throttle response control is excellent.

I mentioned that I updated the sat nav with the genuine Lexus 2012 discs I am not too impressed with this. It only allows 3 figure post codes which is a pain and makes no sense.

It also is too focused on POI and fast food and tourist traps . Thats not what I use it for I dont expect many do. Trying to find an address is sometimes impossible and even though its supposed to be uptodate (and it is for many things) it often refuses to allow a particular address to be input even when you know it exists and has for some considerable time. Also if you choose the wrong route, say short instead of quick and realise it later the stupid woman will not take a hint and redirect you. It took 75 miles down the A1 for her to stop tryoing to take me off the main road at every junction.

The difference between short and quick was overall about 9 miles. One good thing is the sat nav can be operated on the move which I understand it cant on some 430SCs.

Speed well its fast and I cant see much difference between this and my Audi S4 which had supposedly 50 more BHP. Also the acceleration is brilliant particuallty 50 to 80+ and on if needs be. Fuel economy is unbelievable if driven for it. I dint buyb it expecting to save money.But..........

I travelled from Guildford back up to Yorkshire and averaged 30mpg and at motor way speeds (which are around 80mph) didnt go to fast as quite alot of traffic at the time. Getting 30+mpg is easily possible the car does nearly 80mph at only 2000rpm. Thats diesel revs !! In fact the diference between my 290bhp (supposedly) 4.3 V8 Lexus and my sons 340 bhp chipped diesel 335 tourer is not that great he gets around 35 -38 to the gallon (we work in gallons dont like the EU) considering his fuel is more expensive than mine how can diesel be more economical ?? it real life its very close. The real good thing is my 430SC is faster than the BMW !!!! Back of the Net. At 67 really should grow up.

Ps I think the reason we dont see many 430SCs around is there arent many to see... Only 2500 in the UK or so i understand. Thats nothing..

Hello

I looked at all the options to update the sat nav including Satnavi online but was put off by some reports that it was just a pirate copy. In the end I went to the lexus site www.lexus-mapupdates.eu ordered it from there. The price was in euros and as the exchange rate is quite good now it cost me £109 in full. Its the full set of all Europe 4 DVDs.

Works great. To my mind its worth the money.

Agree Black and Ivory is a great combination. buying a used 430 SC it isnt that easy to get the colour you want with so few around. Most I found were silver. So I jumped at this one. Had the roof down a few times now and my 7 year old daughter says its just like flying. She loves it.

Looks like the weather is only going to give a few chances in the near future but the good thing about the SC is its a good coupe (with the roof up) as well.

The weather does seem to have a real affect on how saleable these cars are. When I started looking for a 430 SC at the end of April there were about 24 of them on Piston Heads. Now its just 8 I think.

I have had mine 430 Sc for about a month. Its a 55 plate but 2006 spec wth the 6 speed box. Use it once a week and for trips to meetings airport etc. Black with Ivory Hide.

It needs some attention to the paint work and its not been looked after the way I would do it so I am looking forward to improving its appearance. Howver it only needs superficial stuff apart from a new rear exhaust (one of the tail pipes is not good.

Never had a auto gear box before (and never wanted one either) but and this one is a revelation to me. Love it.

Looking forward to the summer if we have one !! But its good roof up or roof down. Just updated the sat nav to 2012 for a start.

Black and Ivory must be the best colour combination (mental note - should have opted for black!).

As I'm looking to update our satnav, would be obliged if you could update us where you got yours - Lexus, aftermarket, and the cost please.

As an afternote, the hood on our 'SC' during May was never up - pity the summer ended!

How much do you want for both ?

Magnets - don't work and never will. You'd wonder why the auto industry spends billions of pounds a year on efficiency if it could be solved by a £2 magnet. The only effect they have is psychological - so save yourself some money and just be lighter with your right foot.

Petrol - supermarket petrol comes from exactly the same refineries as BP, Shell, Esso or any other oil companies. Its not a cheap version of petrol other than the price and if anyone states any different they are talking crap. In fact, due to the high turnover, it could actually be of better quality than some that has been sitting in a tank of a quiet village station for some time. Quality and maintenance of the tanks are key to the quality but it's always the same stuff that goes into them whether it's Esso, Shell or a supermarket (apart from the already mentioned points of additives)

Absolutely right. In fact Tesco premium was so good some main stream providers had to up their RON rating to match it.

Your also quite right to point out the benifits of high turnover in keeping stored fuel clean. I am not sure where 'hondansx' gets his information but i have a feeling its from American web sites. Some of them actually believe this rubbish about fuel in supermarkets and spurious fuel saving devices like magnets. Anyone who even thinks they are going to help fuel economy or power production didnt do physics at school or didnt do it well.

Its often noticeable that those who sell cars dont know much about them. They just know about selling them. I dont know how they get away with it sometimes.

I have been driving for 50 years and I used supermarket fuel whenever available. With no problems what so ever on some very high performance cars including Audi's.. I did have an Alpha too once but it broke down the day after I bought it without using supermarket fuel and I got my money back from the dealer. !!

I just drove my SC 430 on a 520 miles round trip and achieved around 30mpg the tank was filled at Morrisons at the start and did over 250 miles at half a tank. On top of that i had a discount of 12p a litre as my wife did the shopping there.. Bargain.

Very surprised to find a forum for the SC430. Have had mine for approx one month but driving limited to (a) collecting the car from Edinburgh and ( B) a very brief run to keep the battery charged. Initial findings as follows:

Ride poor - I have had several high performance cars during my driving lifetime and this is perhaps the most un-nerving. Any road imperfection will throw the car off track. I suspect that the problem can be traced to the very large alloys/tyres currently fitted (245/45 x 18 and 275/40 x 18). I will be seeking advice from the forum as soon as I have checked the wheels in more detail.

Comfort - not as good as as SL500 which has air suspension but a close second.

Finish - initial impressions good but await detailed inspection following first wash.

Yes I agree with earlier views that they are not common and that a sighting is indeed a rarity.

I look forward to posting more views and asking for advice soon.

PS. Anyone else with an Sc in North Yorkshire?

Yes me.... Malton

I have had mine 430 Sc for about a month. Its a 55 plate but 2006 spec wth the 6 speed box. Use it once a week and for trips to meetings airport etc. Black with Ivory Hide.

It needs some attention to the paint work and its not been looked after the way I would do it so I am looking forward to improving its appearance. Howver it only needs superficial stuff apart from a new rear exhaust (one of the tail pipes is not good.

Never had a auto gear box before (and never wanted one either) but and this one is a revelation to me. Love it.

Looking forward to the summer if we have one !! But its good roof up or roof down. Just updated the sat nav to 2012 for a start.