Dealer Or No Dealer?

[willydoit]

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.

Thanks Neil, it looks like its a minimum 2006 car that I need then, glad to hear your opinion on lack of issues with low mileage, what are you considering as low mileage.

Just when I was starting to feel positive you mention it being nice to have a dealer to return to if say the amp goes wrong, I think the amp is one of the things not covered in the warranty lol. Thats why I included it in my check list and why I was concerned that the salesman then lied about the car being sold. That said, it does say in black and white that to be eligible to be a lexus approved vehicle all items including sound system have to be working so if they turn out not to be I would have grounds to demand it was sorted.

I am sure I am stressing unnecessarily. Just need to be convinced that a 90k miles Sc430 can still drive and feel like new. If I could find an example with say 50k on the clock it would probably take me 7 or 8 years to get it up to 90k so I need to establish whether you can tell the difference between driving a 50k car and a 90k car. If there is a noticable difference then I know I dont want a 90k one even if it does come from a Lexus dealer.

I just wish there were more available up North so I could get to experience a few but they mostly seem to be down south and to be honest I dont want to waste someones time if I had no intention of buying the car to start with.

[willydoit]

Sorry Neil we were obviously both posting at the same time, thanks for the helpful info.

[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.

[willydoit]

Hi all,

Just to advise that after a 400 mile trip have purchased a grey 2006 with 41k on the clock, have to go down again later in the week to pick it up. Private sale, unwashed covered in dust so a genuine example. Just a small scrape on the nearside wheelarch, not noticable unless you were inspecting the car, usual paint swirls from washing but apart from that everything looks good. Cannot, wait to get the detailing kit out and see what we can get it looking like.

Thanks everyone for your help, will keep you all updated.

[ColinBarber]

congrats :)

[willydoit]

congrats :)

Thanks Colin,

just have to keep fingers crossed that all is okay, seems genuine enough and think the negotiated price was okay at £11,750 for a 2006 with 41,000 miles. Only concerns so far is that bumpers seem to have parking sensors fitted but seller didnt think they were fitted and if they are he doesn't think they work as he hasn't noticed any evidence of them being fitted. Were parking sensors standard on the 2006 models, would they have buttons in the bumpers if they weren't fitted?

Other slight concern but have to trust sellers word at this stage is that looking at old MOT records the car failed a test in 2013 for the following

Reason(s) for refusal to issue Certificate

Nearside Front position lamp(s) not working (1.1.A.3b)

Inner Front Brake pad(s) less than 1.5 mm thick (3.5.1g)

Outer Rear Brake pad(s) less than 1.5 mm thick (3.5.1g)

Electronic stability system warning lamp indicates a fault (3.4.1c)

Advisory Notice issued

Engine management light on

The car was retested the following week and passed and has passed subsequent MOT' all without advisories, seller seems unsure but thought issue was due to a sensor which his garage sorted along with the brake pads.

I didnt see any warning lights on test drive and all electrics and air con etc worked, didnt check voice control system as didn't know how to work it and neither did previous owner so took a bit of a flyer on that as Sat Nav seemed to work fine and havent seen any issues reported with that aspect on the forums.

Interior is spotless but bodywork isn't perfect but it looks honest so reckon weekend with a clay bar, rotary polisher, polish and wax will remove a few swirls and make a huge difference. Then have to decide whether to put into Lexus with a view to getting 24 month warranty, Have plenty of things I would rather spend £1100 on but when you see some of the repair costs quoted on here it's probably better to be safe than sorry. Services since 21k miles have been non dealer so not sure whether Lexus will allow extended warranty.

[ColinBarber]

I didn't think parking sensor were ever fitted as standard, or available as a factory fit option. They were probably available as an accessory from Lexus dealers, either fitted at purchase or retro fit, but they could also be third party.

The SC doesn't have a brake pad wear indicator so if the warning lamp was related then it was probably an ABS sensor issue.

[Neil E]

Wow that was quick and a great colour choice in my opinion. (Blue is my favourite but I was very happy with metallic grey)

Yes agree with that Colin and nothing on the advisories list would concern me. The rear bumper parking sensors seem to be a common dealer fit. There were some on my original rear bumper that traced back to a cheap looking module in the boot. If memory serves, there was a separate Lexus document that referred to it and I think there is a switch in the boot to turn it off/on.

I was always going to fit a camera so haven't bothered to further clutter the bumper with 4 sensors, much as I miss the excellent LS parking aids.

[willydoit]

Thanks guys, will take a closer look when i pick the car up on Thursday, have to wait for the purchasers of our SLK to collect it tomorrow as we need their funds to pay for the SC .

Was just a bit worried when I saw the mot failure just in case there was a way of disabling the warning light, hence my post on the error code readers.

[BIRMAN]

My car has done 29000 miles in 6 years. The only costs have been one new Battery from Halfords, 2 new front tyres, a replacement amplifier for the radio, and the usual service, MOT and tax disc. So I would say it's a reliable car and does around 24 mpg. BIRMAN