Glyn Jennings

I find it rather annoying that I had to renew my driving license at 70 years old and need to renew every 3 years but it is free. The annoying bit is they automatically remove the categories to drive a mini bus or a vehicle over a certain weight ie a large van. If I want those reinstated I have to have a private medical assessment carried out. That with the fact that insurance companies hike the price of insurance for older drivers seems very unfair. As for holiday insurance lets not go there.

I agree that it is somewhat down to the make and model of car. We all know for instance that Jag’s rust really badly and the good one will be the one that is rust free and maintained regardless of mileage. My RX is now 8 years old and has only done 28,000 mile and is faultless. It has always been under warranty and serviced as required every year. Japanese cars especially Lexus are certainly top of list for reliability and keeping their condition. Good luck with your search for a XK which are a lovely car and very stylish. Whenever I see one the owner always looks very pleased he’s driving one and I think yes I would like one too.

I think I must have been lucky as my low mileage car has been exceptional despite paying way over the odds for. Two and a half years on I haven’t spent a penny on it other than a service snd all the changes I wanted to do to make it how I want it. I do agree over time things will deteriorate but perhaps not at the rate people seem to think they will. Personally I would not hesitate to buy a car again that has had little use as opposed to one used all the time on the basis regular use will be better and mean less trouble ahead. Just my opinion on the subject.

I bought one of these for my garage and home. Good reviews and works well.

There’s a little independent tyre place near me. Scruffy looking and old boys working there but they are great. Four tyres changed over to different wheels £10 each including balancing. Puncture repairs are £10. When I had my BMW with run flat tyres where the major tyre places refuse to repair them and say you need a new tyre they were happy to plug the tire.

The dealer said their online system has no record of it being done and as there is a recall listed that is why they have booked it in. The car was bought in 2004 and only had one service at Lexus in 2005 and not seen again by Lexus until 2021 so I doubt it was ever done.

I have not noticed before the side markers are oval on the facelift models as apposed to square on pre facelift.

I was unable to check whether this had been done on my 2004 car. The Government site says there are no outstanding recalls on the car and the Lexus Website didn’t recognise my VIN number so to check with a dealer. I did this yesterday and there is no record on the system it having being done so it is now booked in for the 18th January. Not sure if they will pick up on the TPMS being discontinued due to the new wheels not allowing sensors to be fitted. Also I have wrapped the wood panel they need to remove to fit the new part.

I agree but so cheap compared to the prices up until a couple of months ago. Trouble is it is so unpopular even if you buy one at a good price you will struggle to sell it on with so few buyers. I have never seen one on the road outside of a dealers forecourt. I guess if you are quirky enough to buy a SC430 you’re halfway there to buying a LC500. If they ever get to £25,000 I might be tempted but by then l will probably be to old to drive.

An LC500 for under £40,000. Prices of second hand cars is really plummeting.

I may be on my own here but why would anyone what a beat up SC430 model especially at £69

I did consider having them fitted to my wheels however I read of other people having the same issue as you so didn't go ahead. I also read that water can collect between them and the wheel causing corrosion as the laquear can get damaged by the clips.

I would leave it as it is as probably the most unique SC in the UK. If I didn’t already own mine I would love to buy it myself.

That's interesting. I have a multi car policy with them for the RX and SC and the SC is £337 with 2 years NCD on the SC. If I hadn't told them about the throttle controller fitted it would have been £317. That was in May this year. The previous year was £220. I am 72 years old so perhaps that is why or because someone keyed my BMW in 2019 so that was a claim with a different insurer although it was said it wouldn't affect my NCD.

When you put the mirror switch in either L or R position the mirror should lower when in reverse gear and return to normal when not in reverse gear. Failing that the mechanism may need lubricating if seized.

Changed mine and here is the post. I did a write up on how I did it but can’t seem to find it now

The issue with the RX probably relates to my own decision to source and have fitted a new tyre developed by Michelin specifically for electric and hybrid cars. They are acoustically quiet and have a low rolling resistance the down side is because of the weight of this type of car they have much firmer side walls giving a firmer ride which I hadn’t realised so I now regret buying them. Unfortunately at £800 and with the low mileage I cover I am going to be stuck with them for a long time. I sometimes think of fitting smaller diameter wheels because at my age I love comfort above anything else but I am not sure of what to fit as it doesn’t seem a common subject for a MK4 RX.

I’m on 9.5j rims 255/35 19” Michelin Sport 4s and 10.5j rims 275/30 19” on the rear and to me it is a really comfortable ride on the standard suspension. I have an RX450h with 20” wheels and I would go as far to say the ride on the SC is much nicer and my wife agrees so it is not just me.

I thought I would just update this thread where I currently am with this issue. I bought an Optimate 40w duo solar panel which I placed inside against windscreen and connected to the battery via a cable to the OBD port as one of the pins is a permanent live and another an earth to the battery. After being fitted now for just over two weeks I can conclude although slowing the battery discharge rate down it is insufficient to keep the battery fully charged. Disappointing as I went for the bigger panel thinking it would be OK. Obviously the windscreen tint, being inside plus the panel facing east so only getting sun for half the day is not enough exposure. So my latest plan has been to purchase and fix the optional sucker pads to the panel and now mount it outside on the roof. Hopefully now with the panel now fully exposed to the sun whenever it is out and for how long it will be enough to maintain the battery level. Fortunately i was able to return the OBD connecting cable for a refund. Having driven the car last week there is no doubt that if you can drive the car for half an hour a week that is enough to keep the battery sufficiently charged. On another note which I don’t think has helped the issue is the Aldi GPS tracker I had fitted with the plastic bag you get to put it in to keep it waterproof was completely full of water. I had it permanently connected to battery to keep it charged which meant you couldn’t fully seal the bag because of the cable to recharge it. I suspect that although small a permanent current would have be drawing rather that that just activated by the motion sensor. The tracker is now completely trashed but it may not be such a great loss as it worked on the 2G network and a lot of providers are phasing it out. The latest now pricier new trackers now work on 4G and only need to be recharged every 120 days so no longer need to be connected to the battery for convenience.

Thats me as well. I fitted front and rear sensors on mine as so used to having them on the RX. You can’t beat sound and vision.

None of the SC430’s had rear sensors fitted from the factory although some had them fitted by the dealership before they were sold. Consequently very few have them fitted which is why many owner’s now go for having a rear camera fitted instead.

I meant ‘Tourmaline’

Nice Tomaline wheels

Anyone use one of these? https://www.amazon.co.uk/OptiMate-Automatic-Battery-Optimiser-Maintainer/dp/B07L3MPCVL/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=D3EOMFI5BDPK&keywords=optimate+40w+solar&qid=1698682309&sprefix=otimate+40w+solar%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-1 Seems to get good reviews whereas the cheap ones get generally poor reviews. You can even buy a separate adapter to plug it in to th OBD port.

It’s true there is no extra space behind the seats and with the roof down there is very little space in the boot. However the majority of sports cars are just two seater with no space at all behind the seats so the SC being 2+2 adds quite a bit of space for luggage etc. A lot more than the BMW and TVR I had some years ago.