Pleased to share a purchase of my new used SC430

[Nico72]

Hi everyone, 

I am super excited to be owning this SC430 2001 model, which will be a keeper in addition with my other 2 existing cars (NX300h and ES300h). I had always dreamed to have this car one day in our home, as I find it really special and iconic with its hard top that comes out elegantly. What a machine I must say! As soon as I bought it, I took it out to Lexus Edgware Road for a full check up and service and all is very good indeed. Whoever owned this car had purchased it from this Lexus dealership so they know the car quite well. Good to know... I have a project in mind, which is to upgrade the sat nav screen and I would be quite happy if anyone would be able to recommend any retrofit specialist willing to do the work. I am interested in getting a more up to date sat nav screen with a better resolution if possible... Meanwhile, feel free to see photos!

[scudney]

Congratulations on you new acquisition, on the subject of upgrading your sat nav I would suggest you do your homework/research first and see what your options are,  as this is unlikely to be a cheap or straightforward fix. Hopefully someone who owns a SC might be able to help/advise accordingly 

[Peter1208]

Congratulations Nick on buying an SC430 and a good idea to make it a keeper.

I too purchased a 2003 SC430 two months ago and am also considering a new Sat Nav, however, as John said this can be a rather expensive retrofit.  I have been quoted up to £1,400 so far.  If you do find someone to undertake this work, [at a reasonable price], perhaps you could inform the group please. 

[Nico72]

2 hours ago, Peter1208 said:

Congratulations Nick on buying an SC430 and a good idea to make it a keeper.

I too purchased a 2003 SC430 two months ago and am also considering a new Sat Nav, however, as John said this can be a rather expensive retrofit.  I have been quoted up to £1,400 so far.  If you do find someone to undertake this work, [at a reasonable price], perhaps you could inform the group please. 

Thanks. I am doing some research and will let you know if I find anything cheaper. £1,400 is definitely way too much...

[Nico72]

3 hours ago, scudney said:

Congratulations on you new acquisition, on the subject of upgrading your sat nav I would suggest you do your homework/research first and see what your options are,  as this is unlikely to be a cheap or straightforward fix. Hopefully someone who owns a SC might be able to help/advise accordingly 

Thank you! Believe me, I have been doing quite a bit of research on this and found a few posts about retrofit but many don't really appeal to me. I don't want to have 2 screens with one at the top and one at the bottom. I simply want the top one with a more decent sat nav. So I am looking and I have made a few enquiries. Will share when I know what my options can be...

[Tomtit]

The black leather and maple wood look superb. An excellent contrast.

[Malc1]

us  owners of elderly cars .  and mine not having sat nav screen anyway,  95 Mk3 Ls400 .......  find Google maps .  Waze etc    much better than any in built screen sat nav ...... that's never up-to-date anyway

( that's the case with my 2006 Honda Legend  )  

Good luck finding what's seemingly going to be nigh impossible to source 

Malc

[2ddesign]

Hi SC430Mods.com, will be selling to UK SC430 owners, their replacementSat Nav system (only available in USA at the moment).

Worth waiting for see .....

https://www.sc430mods.com/product-page/nav-radio-replacement

[Neil E]

SC430Mods.com is a good option if you want a higher resolution screen. It's been done many times using simple add-on kits like Naviks to the standard Nav screen but it's not such a simple piece work to swap the actual screen.

[Nico72]

3 hours ago, Tomtit said:

The black leather and maple wood look superb. An excellent contrast.

Thank you!

[Malc1]

6 hours ago, 2ddesign said:

Worth waiting for see .....

and in summer this year for export from USA they say on their blurb ....  and it's only US$ 995 .... . in the USA of course  .........  I'm sure Customs& Excise will give you some idea of the VAT and Import Duty etc .........  carriage and insce won't be huge ...........   maybe all-up @ 1.25 US$ / £ 800 + 100% uplift if you're unlucky .  to £1500 or so ............  Go4It  😉

Malc

[2ddesign]

Purchased the throttle controller from SC430Mods no Vat or duty asked for... great product and a must have mod for SC430 owners👍

[Lexiguy]

Hi Nick

It's good to see you on this forum and a big welcome to you.

Congratulations on your acquisition it looks great on the pictures except for the one with the big guy stood in the way 🤣 

I have contemplated this upgrade since I purchased my car but deciding whether to upgrade the current pop up screen or have a Tesla type screen to replace the sound system and the switch panel above, see below.

I would buy a head unit replacement from SC430MODS.COM. He has a good reputation and some YouTube videos that are very useful if fitting any of his products.

The full Tesla type units are from AliExpress and it is an expensive purchase from a unknown Internet company like them. On a positive note, I know two people who have taken the plunge and all went well and they have had good service from the units and we're highly delighted.

All the best and keep us informed.

I hope you are able to join us for the annual SC 430 meeting near Coventry in June.

Regards, Anthony 

[Nico72]

8 hours ago, Lexiguy said:

Hi Nick

It's good to see you on this forum and a big welcome to you.

Congratulations on your acquisition it looks great on the pictures except for the one with the big guy stood in the way 🤣 

I have contemplated this upgrade since I purchased my car but deciding whether to upgrade the current pop up screen or have a Tesla type screen to replace the sound system and the switch panel above, see below.

I would buy a head unit replacement from SC430MODS.COM. He has a good reputation and some YouTube videos that are very useful if fitting any of his products.

The full Tesla type units are from AliExpress and it is an expensive purchase from a unknown Internet company like them. On a positive note, I know two people who have taken the plunge and all went well and they have had good service from the units and we're highly delighted.

All the best and keep us informed.

I hope you are able to join us for the annual SC 430 meeting near Coventry in June.

Regards, Anthony 

Thank you for the info - I really appreciate it! I will have a look at this as I have never seen this Tesla style before! But I also like the old units as they look as it kind of keeps the charm for SC430. But will check it out. I will also try to be present at the annual meeting in Coventry on the 24th or 25th June 23. Will find out nearer to the date.

[Nico72]

Ok, here are a few things that I have so far done and will be doing as part of my project to make the car better than it is now:

Lexus alloys centre caps have been placed and I removed the bland ones that were on the alloys, which looked faded. Now it looks better. I also fitted a rubber on the side door (which costed £2! for the set) so that I preserve the paint work whenever I opened the door as they can open very wide indeed...

Next steps...

I tried to make the current Sat Nav worked with a new DVD navigation that I purchased and sadly, it is not working still. I think the dvd reader in the boot may be faulty. So, I have made a decision with upgrading an audio system with new touch screen sat nav with Pioneer, which will have android auto/apple car play - pioneer own navigation system, Spotify, and dvd/CD player all in one (I wanted to keep that to make it more special) - I am getting this done with audio Auto in Royal Parks and they will also replaced the back leather round tops to 2 new ones as the current rear headrests are damaged. I have the job booked in for Thursday next week, so will be able to send photos to share. By the way, this screen will be at the bottom where the cd music and cassette is as it controls the sounds with speakers. Not sure what to do with the top navigation screen, as I do not really fancy having a second screen mirroring the bottom one. So for now I will keep the old sat nav as it is.

In mid-May, I am booking my car to do some minor repair on the body with respray in a few places, so the car will be looking prestine.

On the 25th May, I am booking my car to do leather treatment and rejunevation so that the leather seats look absolutely beautiful and with no marks. Will share photos when this is done too.

After that, I will be looking forward to doing a few road trips with this car, which I am already loving so much! Really special to drive I must say!

[Ken Timbers]

On 4/17/2023 at 4:16 PM, Nico72 said:

Not sure what to do with the top navigation screen, as I do not really fancy having a second screen mirroring the bottom one. So for now I will keep the old sat nav as it is.

Hi Nick, Nice-looking car—well done!

Have you thought of using that old satnav screen as a reversing camera? SC490mods has a good system at under £200 that can be fitted either by the owner or any good audio fitter. I had mine done in Bromley and find it very effective.

[Nico72]

Thanks Ken! That is an excellent idea regarding the rear camera and use the existing top screen to visualise the rear view. I have now made additional enquiries to look at this option!

[Lexiguy]

Hi Nico 

Your wheels look brilliant now but I shudder seeing the door protector as I have seen the doors of many vehicles scratched or rusting due to them...Good luck.

A good professional seat clean is impressive, I knew mine were grubby when I bought it but the transformation was impressive!

Also when treated regularly they stay very supple just as they should be!

Anthony

[Nico72]

Thanks for the heads up! I am going to get the leather renovated next month so that will be interesting to see how it will look when done! I will share photos for sure. Right now my car is in garage specialist to get the upgrade done with sat nav, rear camera, alloy repairs... I should have it back by mid next week, so will share photos too.

[BartM]

I have replaced the screen on my satnav with a modern satnav.  I didn't take any pictures while I was doing it!  The satnav is a Tomtom Go6200 and it sits on top of the existing circuit board, behind the original bezel.  The tilt and the cover work. The cable runs behind the radio and plugs into the lighter socket.  It was an easy hack and I am confident that it would undo easily if I wanted to make it stock again.

 

[b4u2]

@BartM

INCREDIBLE, HOW DID YOU MANAGE THAT?

I HAD ONE OF THEM TOMTOM BUT STOPPED WORKING

[Lexiguy]

Hi Bart

That appears another option when considering upgrading the sat nav. I suppose it will have many more pixels than the original and it will be easier to see in bright sunlight.

Does the Tom Tom 6200 integrate with the Lexus telephone system and controls?

Which model of 6200 did you buy, there appears to be a few?

Regards, Anthony

[BartM]

9 hours ago, Lexiguy said:

Does the Tom Tom 6200 integrate with the Lexus telephone system and controls?

Which model of 6200 did you buy, there appears to be a few?

 

It is a TomTom GO 6200 Wi-Fi, model 4PL60, I don't think it is still available.  I did this conversion four years ago, it has worked perfectly all that time.  It has wifi so it updates the maps automatically. I posted a picture of the dimensions of the original satnav screen in case anyone wants to do this with a current satnav.  The unit is stuck to the inside of the bezel with Sugru and has a thin sheet of padding between it and the original satnav circuit board.  The Sugru has held for four years, I have used it for other purposes and am sure it will come of cleanly when the time comes.

It integrates with my phone for calls and messages but not with the Lexus system and controls.