Should I buy?

[Fractaltrader]

I’ve just been to look at a 2002 sc430, with a view to buying it. The car drove well, looks fantastic in and out, and has done 64,000 miles. Past MOT history fine. Carvertical report fine. But - there is no service history whatsoever. The seller’s husband died 4 years ago, and she doesn’t know where the paperwork is. First thing I would do, before even driving home is to get the timing belt and water pump changed. The price is fair in my opinion. But, who should I use to get it checked out - the RAC, the AA or clickmechanic - or is there someone even better?

Am I mad to take the leap of faith? 
btw the service was not done by Lexus after the warranty expired, so they cannot help.

One final piece of info, the owner has been the same since April 2007.

[scudney]

Take a gamble and go for it 🙂👍

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, Fractaltrader said:

The price is fair in my opinion. But, who should I use to get it checked out - the RAC, the AA or clickmechanic - or is there someone even better?

Why not take it to Lexus for a health check?

I think my main concern would be the rubber components esp in the suspension, CV boots etc, but that's to be expected in any car of this age if they have not been replaced.

[Localhero]

1 hour ago, Fractaltrader said:

I’ve just been to look at a 2002 sc430, with a view to buying it. The car drove well, looks fantastic in and out, and has done 64,000 miles. Past MOT history fine. Carvertical report fine. But - there is no service history whatsoever. The seller’s husband died 4 years ago, and she doesn’t know where the paperwork is. First thing I would do, before even driving home is to get the timing belt and water pump changed. The price is fair in my opinion. But, who should I use to get it checked out - the RAC, the AA or clickmechanic - or is there someone even better?

Am I mad to take the leap of faith? 
btw the service was not done by Lexus after the warranty expired, so they cannot help.

One final piece of info, the owner has been the same since April 2007.

With one owner for 16 yrs and if the mots match up, i wouldnt worry about it , has his wife searched the car itself for service book, anyway if you visually check it over maybe have a look at the oil on the dipstick  and airfilter condition that should give you a clue are all the mots at the same examiner?  His wife must know where he had his servicing done, at 64 k personally I would take a punt on it, especially if you are happy with the price👍

[Fractaltrader]

50 minutes ago, Localhero said:

With one owner for 16 yrs and if the mots match up, i wouldnt worry about it , has his wife searched the car itself for service book, anyway if you visually check it over maybe have a look at the oil on the dipstick  and airfilter condition that should give you a clue are all the mots at the same examiner?  His wife must know where he had his servicing done, at 64 k personally I would take a punt on it, especially if you are happy with the price👍

Oil on dipstick was golden, looked like it came out of the can

[Peter1208]

20 minutes ago, Fractaltrader said:

Oil on dipstick was golden, looked like it came out of the can

That a good sign of a good and solid car, buy it, you will not be disappointed, the SC430 is the best car I have ever owned and driven.Take the leap of faith - Lexus cars built to last and loved.

[Boomer54]

Personally, if the MOT history was deep enough and data consistent I would be inclined to put less weight on the absence of service history. Indeed, for not lot of money you can put any other reservations to sleep by having the vehicle checked out as you suggest. I wouldn't scrimp on that though.

[Bob King]

Lexus would be able to tell you any servicing done by their dealerships…pop into your local one and ask them.

[Fractaltrader]

1 hour ago, Bob King said:

Lexus would be able to tell you any servicing done by their dealerships…pop into your local one and ask them.

Independent servicing sadly

[Sundance]

33 minutes ago, Fractaltrader said:

Independent servicing sadly

Nothing to be sad about Andy. All my cars over the last 20+ years have been serviced by a trusted independent, not an exorbitant Dealer stamp in sight, and in my experience providing regular servicing can be proven there should be little or no effect on resale value.

Of course those with younger and more expensive cars may well disagree but then they have a greater degree of depreciation to assimilate, an aspect of motoring of which I tend to steer well clear.

Golden oil, long term ownership, clean MoTs and general appearance should tell you all you need to know about a 21 year old car.  Regular annual mileage, however small, is another tell tale of a well kept vehicle, even more so if the owner had the benefit of a garage.

If you can tick most if not all of the above boxes then a leap of faith, as you put it, is absolutely justified. Go for it.

[Illogan]

If his widow was prepared to check his/their bank/credit card statements. there would almost certainly be clues there whom had serviced the car

[Glyn Jennings]

I think the way you have described it if the price is right it should be fine. In 2007 it would have been pretty expensive so you would think that the cost of repairs etc would also not be a problem so would have been done when necessary. My purchase was a similar situation in that my 2004 had only ever been serviced at the dealership in 2005. It was one owner from new and the husband died and his widow kept it for a couple years before selling it to me via a family friend who sold it on her behalf. I have no idea if it was ever serviced after that but assume it was done independently as the family had many cars, some very expensive as they were wealthy land owners. It only had 7400 miles done when I bought it 2 years ago. I was fortunate that they had it looked at by Lexus who changed various age related items before selling it.

At the end of the day you have to weigh up the pro’s and con’s before buying any car to try to negate any risk and be prepared even if you find the best one out there it could still need something done because of how old they are now. The pleasure of owning one of these cars for most owners is so good you can forgive the fact you might have to spend so money on the car at some point.

I think you also get a feel about the car from the seller ie is it a nice house, are they a nice person etc.

Good luck and I look forward to hear about your journey in securing the purchase of one of these great cars.

 

[Malc1]

Go4it …… take that leap and ENJOY your new toy …… inevitably there’ll be some minor flaws, it’s an old car ….. you’ve checked lots about it, the price is right and if you look very very carefully you might see a sticker somewhere telling you the cambelt and waterpump have actually been changed …….. if not and the waterpump isn’t leaking then I would suggest there’s possibly little rush to do this job ….. Spend your dosh and ENJOY 

Malc 

[Localhero]

On 20/09/2023 at 11:05 PM, Sundance said:

Nothing to be sad about Andy. All my cars over the last 20+ years have been serviced by a trusted independent, not an exorbitant Dealer stamp in sight, and in my experience providing regular servicing can be proven there should be little or no effect on resale value.

Of course those with younger and more expensive cars may well disagree but then they have a greater degree of depreciation to assimilate, an aspect of motoring of which I tend to steer well clear.

Golden oil, long term ownership, clean MoTs and general appearance should tell you all you need to know about a 21 year old car.  Regular annual mileage, however small, is another tell tale of a well kept vehicle, even more so if the owner had the benefit of a garage.

If you can tick most if not all of the above boxes then a leap of faith, as you put it, is absolutely justified. Go for it.

Totally agree with the above IF you can find a trustworthy  independent or a garage that knows its way around all cars, we like to think our Lexi are very special, which of course they are, but larger dealers might not give it the attention it deserves, I know Lexiguy has his car serviced at Lexus Leeds and swears by them, but not all the same👍Stew

[Malc1]

Andy good morning .....  are you buying her today then  ?

Malc