Buying 2003 SC 430 - Good Deal?

lexus!!!!! · 10-07-09, 02:05 PM

I have this offer for a 2003 SC430, with 72,000 miles, black ext., tan int., the dealer offers $19,400. Is it a good deal?

The vehicle was a coporate lease for 6 years (the only owner). The exterior and interior looks clean, clean carfax. But what about the engine? Should I order an independent inspection?

Please advise on what to look for when buying and whether this price is good. I live in MN, so basically I'm buying this car now because I love the color and thoughts it was a goo deal, I don't think I can even drive it with the top down for another 6-7 months.

jason702 · 10-07-09, 03:29 PM

you can get the maintenance records from lexus with the VIN. make sure the scheduled maintenance has been done, including the timing belt. other than that, the price is about average. you can probably get them down another $1000 or so.

tromly · 10-07-09, 03:54 PM

Was it leased out of MN, lot of snow and chemicals, check the under carriage, 18,500 is all the money, good luck !

lexus!!!!! · 10-07-09, 08:25 PM

To jason702: Timing belt has not been changed, when it is necessary to have the belt change? Around 100,000 miles? Looking at the service record, it seems they only have the service done once a year at a lexus dealer, for example, the car hit 13,000 miles when it first performed a 5K service, then another 12K miles before the next service. They had 45K, 55K and 60K performed on schedule, but after that no service at all until now at 73,000 miles. There are some tire rotation, front axle, front/rear body, distributor/headlight, accessory, etc in between those services, but are so vague, I don't know what it actually meant.

To Tromly: It was leased from Pennsylvania for a corporation. I am worrying that it was abused by so many drivers.

BTW, where did you all got the $18,500 figure from? I checked kbb, trade-in $17,600, private $20K, retail: $24. Is the value from KBB is not accurate?

scdroptop · 10-07-09, 10:30 PM

I would stay away for several reasons.... # 1 maintenance (you want a full, contiguous pattern of service, not a spotty one) and # 2 it's a snow car. You are already living in that area, why wouldn't you want to buy a southern car? We have tons of these 2002-2003's with 60-80k miles down here for under $20k. The price is "good", not great and I personally think you could do better. There are a ton of black on tan...assuming it is ecru not saddle?

Tires are a beast to replace-and especially since you need great tires for the area you live in and brakes too. Battery would be another consideration. Lexus batteries in the SC last approx. 3 years or so. Brakes, Tires and Battery could set you back $2k. If you need those soon on that car, I would hit them even lower and work your way up.

Look at: Craigslist, Vehix, Autotrader, Cars.com and eBay and compare. You will find a ton of black on tan. I am in the market right now, just let me know I'll be glad to help.

lexus!!!!! · 10-08-09, 08:47 AM

To scdroptop: Buying a car in the south will take even more effort, for example, in your area I have to fly down to Texas, and then a 15 hours drive back. I'm not sure if the savings worth the effort. But yeah, if you could, let me know if you see any 03-04 SC black/tan around $15K-$18K, that would be great.

So in your opinion, how much should this car be? Offer was $19,400, Around $17.5K or $18K?

tromly · 10-08-09, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexus!!!!!

To jason702: Timing belt has not been changed, when it is necessary to have the belt change? Around 100,000 miles? Looking at the service record, it seems they only have the service done once a year at a lexus dealer, for example, the car hit 13,000 miles when it first performed a 5K service, then another 12K miles before the next service. They had 45K, 55K and 60K performed on schedule, but after that no service at all until now at 73,000 miles. There are some tire rotation, front axle, front/rear body, distributor/headlight, accessory, etc in between those services, but are so vague, I don't know what it actually meant.

To Tromly: It was leased from Pennsylvania for a corporation. I am worrying that it was abused by so many drivers.

BTW, where did you all got the $18,500 figure from? I checked kbb, trade-in $17,600, private $20K, retail: $24. Is the value from KBB is not accurate?

You can throw that book out in this economy, the only real values of cars is the actual winning bids you see on Ebay. A northern car is worth 1000-2000 less than a Texas or FL car. Do you really want a PA car that's been on those snowy roads?? Suggest you watch Ebay auctions for a couple of weeks to get a sense of the bargins out there. Good Luck

scdroptop · 10-09-09, 12:55 AM

2002 SC430 Black on Ecru 81k miles in sunny rust-free Plano Texas for $17,900 asking. My bet is that you can get for $16k.

You can ship from Tx to most parts of US for $500-$700 depending on how good of a carrier you want.

If all things check out (carfax, maint, etc), don't you agree this car is a great example of a good deal on a southern car?

See our point? If you are serious about this car, or others I can find, this is my backyard I would be glad to check one out once you decide that this is the car for you. There are a TON of these...name your color/price.

Silver 2002 46k miles $20,900 very nice too. See link for black one.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

tromly · 10-09-09, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scdroptop

2002 SC430 Black on Ecru 81k miles in sunny rust-free Plano Texas for $17,900 asking. My bet is that you can get for $16k.

You can ship from Tx to most parts of US for $500-$700 depending on how good of a carrier you want.

If all things check out (carfax, maint, etc), don't you agree this car is a great example of a good deal on a southern car?

See our point? If you are serious about this car, or others I can find, this is my backyard I would be glad to check one out once you decide that this is the car for you. There are a TON of these...name your color/price.

Silver 2002 46k miles $20,900 very nice too. See link for black one.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

+1, great find, hope he takes you up on it, SCDROPTOP, you're a credit to CL !

lexus!!!!! · 10-09-09, 10:18 AM

To Tromly: I guess living in the midwest all my life, it never occurred to me that vehicles in snow regions are viewed differently, but thanks for the advise. I'll keep that in mind.

To scdroptop: My first choice would be black/camel, second: black/ecru, that's it. Price range $15-$18K, this is just going be a weekend car, have another new car for the weekdays work, plus I don't think I will keep this more than 6/7 years, so that seems to be the right amount of $$$ to spend.

Thanks for the offer of checking out the car, that's would be AWESOME!!! I'll try to get the price down first and let u know. In the mean time, if you see any other cars fit my criteria, please let me know.

tromly · 10-09-09, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexus!!!!!

To Tromly: I guess living in the midwest all my life, it never occurred to me that vehicles in snow regions are viewed differently, but thanks for the advise. I'll keep that in mind.

To scdroptop: My first choice would be black/camel, second: black/ecru, that's it. Price range $15-$18K, this is just going be a weekend car, have another new car for the weekdays work, plus I don't think I will keep this more than 6/7 years, so that seems to be the right amount of $$$ to spend.

Thanks for the offer of checking out the car, that's would be AWESOME!!! I'll try to get the price down first and let u know. In the mean time, if you see any other cars fit my criteria, please let me know.

Hey Lexus !!!, keep looking on Ebay, right now there are some choice jewels i n your price range, go for the FL cars, they are the best. Good Luck

scdroptop · 10-11-09, 07:38 PM

Do you mean Black on Saddle? Saddle is the burnt orange color, Ecru is the super light tan (almost off white) and Camel is the khaki colored they added in 2006. They made Ecru and Saddle all the years, but just started Camel in 2006 so I think that year is out of your price range.

If you do like saddle, here is a really nice one for $19k asking....black on saddle, 2002 really clean interior spotless newer tires in Arizona.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-...item518d227549

Here is another pampered 2002 Black on ECRU from an individual in San Diego with 108k miles, but it has chrome wheels too! Personal seller would be nice and the price is already at $17k...you may be able to get him down to $15-$16k? I'm assuming that in your price range, you don't mind the miles? Gonna be hard to find a decent one with your color restrictions with under 100k miles.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

*****THIS CAR IS STUNNING if you like cars that have been modified slightly-wheels can change pretty easily, but these are really nice upgrades. Car has 118k miles on it though, but he is only asking $16k and is in Florida. Nice nice car. You may be able to get for your low range, $15k and do some updates/upgrades to it. Interior looks amazing and the black wheels are a nice upgrade and $$$$...newer tires too.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

scdroptop · 10-11-09, 07:44 PM

Wow! This is my # 1 vote out of all the ones we have talked about.

2002 Black on Ecru. 81k miles, chrome wheels. Looks like in great condition! Dallas car. I can look at it for you if you are serious about it. Can also pull the maint history too if you are serious. Let me know.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Harold57 · 10-11-09, 08:26 PM

Gee scdroptop,
You'd almost think that you'd been looking at SC430s recently.

scdroptop · 10-12-09, 11:23 AM

When a new one pops up on autotrader, cars.com, ebay or craigslist, I am ALL OVER IT! I don't check vehix or yahoo or msn autos that much, they are redundant.