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Point the key fob at your head look straight at the car and push the button...

Sounds good....

It works because its 'Magic' .. unlike other cars the 430SC has it built in as standard. Life is too short to drive a boring car............

I thought Real Oak furniture was modern ?

£700 a pair ?? For O2 Sensors? I have all my bills here ready to sell my SC430 I have my car serviced by a professional well qualified engineer who runs his own business and garage. He does all the work himself ex leader of the Toyota World Rally technical team. He has done two O2 sensors for me Cost : £224.68 for the two sensors and £28 for the diagnostic scan £138 labour. £390 Total and he says he isn't cheap.. wont use anything but the best parts etc work guaranteed. These dealers deserve the bad name they have... The overcharge at every opportunity.

Well it looks even better polished (just gave it a quick wash) Inside is in very good condition. Very few marks as I had all stone chips dealt with a year or so ago. I should really change the number plate as someone tried to take off the English flag !! I don't like EU plates.. I think these cars are about the best value for money you can get in a used car. That's why I bought it and its gin=ven me so many more reasons with ownership. You can even get mk1 s for around £6000 these days. Life is too short to drive a boring car..

I have been wondering what to do with my SC430 this winter. Don't really want to use it much or tax it. Noticed the mileage was on 70300 (I bought it with 56000 on) and it surprised me. So I think I will SORN it at the end of this month. We have two cars and just don't use them. As we want to go down to one car and my Jag is getting old we will probably get a new or new(ish) car next spring. The SC430 just doesn't fit the bill although I would like to keep it. Not enough room in the boot for our luggage when going on holiday and the back seats are now just uncomfortable for my daughter (who has grown amazingly) .... Just in case I decide to sell it (and reluctantly I suppose we may do) I took some pics today while the sun was out. Should have spent more time on it but..... Its a MK 2 6 speed Nov 2005 but low tax (it must have been one of the first Mk2s). That should be attractive if I do sell it. Love this car.. Had it two and a half years and never realised how good they are when I decided on impulse to buy it.. Its had very little wrong just some O2 sensors and a new back exhaust system and finishers. Spending time with my daughter cruising around the Yorkshire moors with the roof down has been memorable.. Great car. It deserves a rest.

:driving:Two good points well made... but my memory isn't failing and old ladies look better without make up even if they don't feel better without it..

Personal plate !!!! Oh dear.... I am proud of my 55 plate... The car is an example of its time in fact it was well ahead at the time... So I think trying to cover up its age is a bit like putting make up on an 90 year old woman.

Tyre pressure warning system is a waste of time after 3 or 4 years old. Each battery will run out in turn and each will cost a few hundred to fit and code in. I just turned mine off after the first one went.. Its very simple to unplug the unit puts out the light and disables the warnings. Instructions are on this forum just search takes 10 minutes to do and no special tools needed. Funnily I did have a tyre problem a few months ago but I could feel it straight away in the steering checked and the tyre was down to 20 psi. To change all four and code them on my 2005 SC430 (6) it was quoted Over £800 by Lexus and I have to travel two hours round trip. etc etc. Lexus try to make sure only they can do the coding even though anyone can fit the new sensor/ inflators.

These days most cars are very reliable.. but the SC430 certainly has a good record. Of course if you do have problems it can be expensive and there are not that many dealers around some of which have to make as much money as they can from every customer. I don't like soft top convertibles so I wouldn't have a Jag as a convertible that leaves the Germans who do have e very wide base of specialist dealers in the UK and consequently its easier to get support . In the case of BMW parts cane be ridiculous so I would think a Merc would be more suitable for you with only reliability as a criteria, with a budget of only £15000 though that puts you in the area of Merc's that were a bit iffy on build quality. I have the SC430 for its smooth ride quality build and because there are not so many around. Life is too short to drive a boring car! But I only do about 6000 miles a year in it. Problems with the SC430 include tyre pressure sensors after 3 or 4 years they are a pain. Normal warning lights to do with O2 sensors. Battery drain if not used regularly. (it has electric motors for just about everything). HID Headlight drivers sometimes go before the lamps. Speed sensors that integrate with the computer and Sat Nav can be faulty. Also the Sat Nav itself is Toyota and its not good. Engine and transmission are very reliable. Economy for a 4.3 V8 is unbelievably good if that's important. The 6 speed auto box is simply the best I have driven and twice as good as the equivalent BMW one. The ride is excellent road holding is average. Look around some Lexus dealers charge well over the top. But it does come with a full Lexus warranty. £15000 will by you one of the best ones available and you may not even have to pay that much. Good Luck.

Apparently the rich retired Jewish ladies of Florida fined the SC430 irresistible and of course 49 out of 50 are sold in the good old USA by all reports gold is their colour of choice. Not sure about arab's I think they prefer flip flops.

Yes its very wrong brown looks like a polished turd and gold has to be driven by Jewish ladies in Florida with blue rinsed hair.

Their is a big difference between a MK 1 (5) and a Mk 2 (6) they are not the same car. Not even close. It doesn't sound much, slightly different suspension, 6 gears with pre select, Bluetooth, LED rear lights etc..etc .. But its a completely different car and the real improvement is the gearbox for sure. Auto boxes are usually crap, slow, thirsty and average. But the 6 speed box on the 430Sc is a delight. In terms of fuel economy or flexibility its a dream. Came back from Light Water Valley today had to overtake on A roads and it made it soooooo easy. Love this car... PS just done 410 miles on this tank full... Brilliant.. car.

I find the 6 speed box terrific to use and the Snow and Sport control is very useful. I didn't realise the Mk 1 car didn't have the ability to manually select or sequentially shift. I was always a manual fan and wouldn't consider an auto box but this one has changed my mind. I expect the L on the Mk1 box is just for 'Locking' it in lower gear to hold an overtaking move.. I found the snow button very effective in stopping wheel spin on slipy conditions and the 'Sport' control really speeds up throttle response when you want to floor it and overtake... Its well tuned to the cars performance. Of course you have to be someone who overtakes to appreciate it. These days most people don't seem to bother its like watching paint dry.

No I don't think so, gears are numbered up to 6 on mine. ie 2 3 4 5 6 I imagine you have lost 5th which would explain why your only on 19mpg.. Mk 1 should be down about 1.5 mpg on a Mk 2. I would have difficulty getting mine down less than 18 mpg. I have measured it by the on board computer and by filling the tank..

Sports mode is definitely much more economical.. You can leave it in 6th (or 5th if its a MK1) and the car has more than enough torque to still feel responsive down to quite low speeds. But if you leave it in drive it will drop gears according to the speed of the car and you really don't need that. Eventually even in 6th Sport it will drop too but it hangs on.. leaving you in a high gear less revs means less fuel. The great thing about the 430SC is the ability to do 80mph at around 2000 rpm. I am so impressed with the economy of this car. Try using sports mode whenever you can and if your concerned with how fast its moving just nock it into drive with the back of your hand. Also use engine braking when slowing down in sports mode by dropping rapidly to 3rd. Often in traffic you don't even need to touch the brakes at all just move up and down the gearbox in sports mode. Its a lot more economical. Yes I take your point about my trip...... early morning no moon heavy rain nothing on the road yet I went off !!! One both my VSC lights were on because of a faulty O2 sensor but not sure if would have made a difference. I know the SC was designed with a boat in mind but it was like a submarine that day.. I was liberally submerged!! all the run of from the fields had blocked the drains and the A64 and I wasnt the only one to leave the road that morning. I had no warning at all.

On line at www.lexus-mapupdates.eu but its hardly worth it up to 2013 they were still rubbish.

Well to be fair most of the pig farms are about 8 miles away from Malton.. But I often drive to Scarborough just 20 miles away and never get less than 25 mpg even overtaking traffic...One very wet morning I hit a river on the road and ended up with the pigs in the field. I don't know what I would have to do to get it down below 20 drive at less than 15 mph probably and keep it in drive not sport. I get up into 6th using sport mode at every opportunity and its very economical much better than my 3 ltr Jag... As for insurance costs I am nearly 70 so that helps and of course your right Leeds isn't the place to own anything if you don't want in damaged stolen or vandalised. The best thing about the SC430 in my view is its large fuel tank getting over 400 mile a tank full is relatively easy.

My SC430 does over 25 MPG and I drive the ***** out of it. Last run to Portsmouth (285 miles) I averaged 28.2 to the gallon. But I do so few miles really the fuel costs are not important to me.. My insurance for my SC430 is £245 full n claims no points etc. £720 insurance is more than I have ever paid on three cars. My Jag only costs us £185. Maybe I should stick to two cars?? :msn-oh:Its possible repair and serving costs of a Bentley that would concern me.

I must be deaf then because we think the sound is great cant fault it....

The wheels do suit it they look good. I am surprised there are so many Mk1 SC430s around with such low mileage.

I use a transmitter and have it contacted in the centre arm rest 12 v It plays my SD card MP3s through the FM radio and I tune it in to No 5 button. Perfect reception and easy to control. It costs about £15 from Amazon. Last trip I put it in the Cig lighter socket and my daughter controlled all the music from the back seat with the remote control that came with the transmitter. I really don't see why I need to fart about with the best music system ever to provide another way to play MP£ tracks.

I have a 2005 November Mk 2 (6) its got voice control Bluetooth traffic etc but not MP3 I am quite happy playing my tracks on FM with a transmitter.

That's exactly what I was thinking... I haven't made a move on it yet as I am enjoying the summer. Also we want to go down to only one car as we hardly use either of the cars we have ... and I am not sure my wife will be happy with the Bentley.. I wouldn't consider it normally but I do have a great auto engineer who does all my repairs and servicing and it makes running a Bentley reasonably affordable.