Bob King

The Red south London car looks good ..although it has a set of Chinese "ditch finder" tyres on it ! And god knows why the rear fog lamps have had chrome trim fitted around them 😮 very desirable colour combination . http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308211052506 Read some of the dealers feed back…very helpful before the sale , then once paid for they drop you like a hot brick !

The old fellow selling it is just looking at prices of others for sale, not the fact his wants paintwork and interior leather refurbished .

The retired mechanic in me can see potential with this car, it’s ‘young’ metal in terms of the SC430 production times. Most used cars have had paintwork done, it just wether the new owner knows it’s been done . my last mint sc430, full Lexus history , 46k on the clock , outstanding in every respect but on speaking to the workshop manager a few months later about sparks should have been changed last service …he said he remembers the car , it had bonnet, wing, both bumpers paint while it was at the workshop !…yet I couldn’t tell . So its okay to get bodywork done, it’s just about how much it cost and how good they are at doing it .

It’s everyone’s free choice to modify their cars, several things to take on board , you’ll never get your money back on what’s been done, and limit the market buyers when it comes to be sold. From knowing a few SC430 owners that have modified their cars, the cost is unimportant as is the resale value, it’s about enjoy the car you have and getting it just how you want it 👍🏻

A new car could have lived it life at the coast, so would have more corrosion that one inland, or lived in Scotland were they have more months of salt on the roads .

Just the damp/mould in the boot would put me off 😳

If course there is another plan of action…..take wife’s car to shops 😁😁

Done that with my previous SC430 👍🏻…..say no to door banging ✊🏻✊🏻

genuine LEXUS floor mat set . https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-sc430-black-carpet-mats/ 👍🏻👍🏻

11 year old timing belt wants to be changed.

My first SC430 in 2016 I done mine at home on the drive, had no history of it being done…once it was all stripped…it HAD been done 🙄 so I just replaced the belt as I’d already bought it .

Just a thought …West Malling Garage use to be a Toyota dealer worth a price from them . www.westmallinggarage.co.uk

Ring up Gatwick ,Tunbridge Wells and Sidcup and get a quote from each, see if you can them to price match against each other . Any well established independent garage would be able to do the job 👍🏻

Insurance Cat D so best kept away from 👍🏻

I thought I was the only one that likes the hunt, more than the ownership 😁😁

Hpi check was all good, so not a right-off or on financed . its had 10 previous owners , 9 number plate changes and he’s owned it 8 months .

Neil on here had done extensive development on his SC430 exhaust, and what they guys had done would only be 5-6bhp max. I had that car lined up to go look at and done an HPI check etc but that’s when it was at 8995.00 ….the price is more appealing now. He ducks and dives and had two other cars for sale ,Mercedes and Range Rover…so I’m sure he wants this SC sold. It’s another local to you, so you could just go and look 👍🏻 You mention blue car ?

50bhp extra…that’s the silver car in West Malling yes ? guy as been trying to selling for months his prices have been up then down then back up again..currently £6995 on a classic car site. It’s had paint work done ..rear badges have been off…should read SC430 but says 430SC !!

Agree colour is everything …only plus with silver, it’s doesn’t show the dirt as bad 😉 Red’s and Blue’s for me are the best colours with cream (Rutland) leather, yet they both look odd with black leather . Although black leather looks spot on with a silver car . So it’s price over condition over colour choice 🤔 My car needs a bit of work yet it was the colour that got me hooked, that and it’s had 1000’s of pounds spent on it at Lexus.….colour is king 👍🏻👍🏻

Time to get yourself off to Essex to take a look at it 👍🏻

Good colour combination..light paint ..dark interior 👍🏻 silver is not over popular and the wheel colour spoils it for me . could be a negotiation point to get them refurbished . if your interested ask them to email you photos of service book …..so many cars have part history …yet dealers just see it as ‘full’ ! got a timing belt sticker on engine but too small to see, so ask about belt 👍🏻

If dealers and private buys have purchased at prices earlier in the year and now the general market values have dropped, it’s not looking good for them getting a sale .

Very few of the £12-14K SC430’s on Auto Trader have sold over the last few months ….I was watching them all 🤔

Being a "tin top" convertible it has all year round appeal, so less chance of being left on forecourts during the winter months 👍🏻

I travelled from Kent to East Sussex to buy mine, it was the closest one about at the right price .