Glyn Jennings

I wanted to use Hagerty as I believe they have a good reputation but they won’t insure a car if it is kept on the street.

Very nice. Glad it worked out for you.

I thought it was agreed straightaway when I purchased the policy however I now find I still need to upload photos of the car for confirmation and I won’t get the car back until tomorrow as it is having it’s airbag done. So provisionally the value is £17000 with an excess of £700. I realistically think the car is worth £15000 but it’s always down to what someone will pay. It’s one previous owner and now done 10,000 miles. I bought it 2 1/2 years ago at 7,600 miles for £12600 which at the time people thought it was at least £3000 under priced and I had a valuation of up to £19000. I’ve spent another probably £6000 on it but know that doesn’t really add much value. if ever it was written off or something else I don’t really expect to get it’s true value but the market value is a joke.

So after having sorted a new insurer for RX450h because LV and others are now saying they won’t insure them because of the amount be stolen the SC insurance has not been straightforward either. I reinsured the SC with the RAC through Moneysupermarket giving a value of £17,000 (optimistic I know) on their site. On checking this with the RAC they will only pay out the market value for the car which is £1-2000 private and £3-4000 forecourt. That is no good for me so l have had to cancel that policy losing £25 even though it is within the 14 day cooling off period and doesn’t start for a couple of weeks. I have now gone for an agreed value policy through Adrian Flux for basically £200 more so can now relax that hopefully if the worst happens I am not going to lose £1000’s.

So after a four month wait the air bag part is now in stock and the car is in today for two days. I had to explain to them all the extras fitted with the additional wiring plus the TPMS is disconnected and that the blessed headlamp leveling system is playing up again. Hopefully every thing will go well.

Don't you mean the wheel nuts should be M12 if the SC studs are M12? i am no expert on this but If the Maserati is M14 and a M12 nut is used there will be a little play on the wheel bolt hole and maybe a fraction less metal to metal contact on the cone or taper. I am not sure if that matters or not, otherwise surely it would need the hubs drilled out to take a M14 stud.

It’s a bummer getting old. I went to last years meeting and had sciatica at the time so couldn’t stand for long. This year I am now walking with a stick because of my knee and a couple of weeks ago my sciatica returned. As least I can still get some enjoyment driving the SC if ever we get better weather.

That could be true but that means most people may be losing out when using comparison sites although I have not seen any evidence on this myself. I think companies have a fair bit of scope on pricing. For instance if you are an existing customer you can never get the same deal as a new one. It is a very competitive market like most things and it is about them getting your custom while still making as much profit possible. What I personally find most annoying is paying out what they say is the market value which is never the same as what it will cost you for a like for like vehicle.

If you can make it I believe at the SC meeting on the 22nd June is when help is available to help with installation of products and issues people have with their cars. I am not planning to be there myself on the Saturday but hopefully will be on the Sunday

If you have the SC430 mods reversing camera kit it is pretty much an easy install as it just plugs into the sat nav unit in the boot and then just two wires to the camera. That one is designed specifically to fit to a SC430. A video on YouTube shows how to do it. If it’s just a reversing camera the installer is going to have to work out how to fit it and modify the wiring accordingly.

That's the thing about wrapping. It is easily removed with a hot air gun and you would never have known it was there. I always wanted to preserve the originally of my car so every thing I have done is easily reversed except for the reversing sensors excuse the pun. I appreciate a lot of people want to keep their cars standard. and that's great. Personally I think it will only ever be a classic until when there are not that many left on the road. The truth is most of my older friends are into British classics and younger ones into fast BMW;s etc. The SC does nothing for them and they would never buy one. I love mine but confess if I hadn't bought an RX first the SC would never have been on my radar either. Thankfully I did and think it is a wonderful car that is way under looked and under rated like a lot of Lexus models like the IS and F versions.

I like the dark wood as well but really dislike the yellow looking wood finish mine has hence the reason for wrapping it. I don’t like the pie plates either but I know a lot of people do like them.

I did mine in carbon black there is a knack to it to be honest as well as the challenge getting the panels off.

Some more photos

Two of the rings go here as in the photo and the other two go opposite on the back panel behind where a spare wheel would go.

Life especially when retired can sometimes seem a bit the same every day and poor weather doesn’t help. However I am thankful for this in that no big life threatening issues are happening and hopefully summer will arrive soon to go out for a nice drive with the top down.

I would agree aesthetically 20” wheels do look better as well as the lowered look. The downside is reduced comfort and being more prone to damage from pot holes, etc. I guess it is what is more important to you as it is your car to do what you want with it. I have read posts in the past where people in the UK have gone for 20” but then went smaller because of the ride. Interesting outside of the UK 20”’ seems to be a popular choice, perhaps the roads are far better. Personally I went from 18” to 19” and to be honest I haven’t noticed any difference in the ride.

The OBD port definitely has a live connection to the battery as I originally connected my solar panel using that connection. It is a bit of a fiddle to keep plugging it in though as it is not in the best position. I did this in October last year and I found the panel didn't get enough sun inside the windscreen due to a combination of lack of day light hours and loss of light through the windscreen. Mine is now on the outside of the car and it now works very well and keeps the battery fully charged despite the voltage drain on the car. The panel is quite large being 40W.

Wish I was. Probably will be unaffordable in 2026. Should have read 2016.

After LV saying they won’t renew my 2026 RX450h I have just renewed through Money Supermarket at Churchill for next month at £715. Thats with 9 years no claims and parked in the road outside my house so I am well pleased. Bizarrely I tried going to Churchill direct and it was £200 more. I also tried Ageas but they wanted £1800 for the same cover. There just seems to be no logic for the wide range of pricing out there.

I had one as well for 3 years and loved it as well. Sold it in 1974 to put the money towards getting married and buying a house. Down graded to a Singer Chamois I paid £30 for.

I am probably a Philistine when it comes to wine unlike you guys however I really like this wine from Aldi.

Haven’t bought anything for the car for ages so couldn’t resist these and pre ordered. Always fancied daylight running lights.

Tried a CD in tray 2 (SC430 mods CD is in tray 1) today and can confirm you can still play CD’s. Obviously when not playing the silent SC430 CD you lose the mobile phone Bluetooth connection.

The other option is to just refoam the speakers. The 6 x 9 in the door is particularly prone to disintegrating over time. Kits are available for not much money from the US. One of mine had gone when I bought my car so I did both and two and a half years later they are still fine.