kroorda

My 2003 has 3400 miles on it. Do you think it's time to change the oil yet?

Balr14

My 05 has 47k. I have had it less than 1 year and I am not impressed by it's reliability and repair costs. It may last many miles but it won't be in my driveway.

SC430fun

I am wondering if you happen to have one of the few "exceptions" out there for this car.

One of the more expensive repairs, is to take care of the roof mechanism.. Parts are pricey but usually easy to get, but it depends on what you need. Most really are not that bad compared to other cars.. Replacement wear and tear parts are pretty decent, like brakes, engine components, etc.. If your headlights need to be changed and you want OEM (including the fixtures), they are very pricey for example. In all fairness, my Lincoln was the same way, which was essentially a glorified Tbird on airbag suspension, and with the Teksid engine which was the 32v 4.6 variety - they used those later on, in the Cobra Mustangs, and the new 5.0 and 5.2 today is built on that.

Aftermarket parts of high quality are not too too bad. The aftermarket parts for my Tbird and my Mark VIII were actually even more expensive. You can get high-quality aftermarket drilled rotors and pads for example, for cheaper than OEM parts.

If you do the labor yourself, it does not seem too bad.. I was surprised to find a lot of wiggle room to work with under the hood of my SC, and its pretty easy to work on the rest of it, for the most part.

My 06 is a rebuilt title, and was just damaged pretty badly in an accident. I got it last July. Other than the oddities it had (which were a result of the rebuilt/salvage title) it gave me absolutely no problems, and I put over 14k miles on it in that short amount of time. I took it everywhere, which I am now regretful of that, and wish I drove my Honda for work instead. I did enjoy it very much, and it probably was the most solid car I have had to date, and I was driving in it on the harder side (about 2/3 of the time) as well. I can tell mine would have easily made it to 300k and easily
beyond just like my Mark VIII did. I love all cars, but I am usually more biased towards American cars, and this Lexus really changed my stance even more towards the Japanese cars. The engineering is solid, and I feel that I can have my cake and eat it too. I avoided the Mercedes, BMW, Audi (of similar and different types as the SC) since I knew I would be constantly chasing after them for repairs even though they generally offered "hotter" performance. This SC, I can actually enjoy it, and the money I spend it to fix it up.

I am looking at replacements for my car with 50k to 130k miles across different years, although I am aiming at 06 and up, if I get a good one, I have a car that can last many many years, and be just as reliable as many NEW cars out there.

Balr14

Apparently, I do have one of those unfortunate "exceptions". I purchased my 05 with 37K miles 10 months ago. It had a broken cup holder, paint chips on the edge of the drivers door and needed new floor mats ( the previous owner was a female doctor who wore high heels and just ruined the carpet). Other than that, it was solid and in good shape. Since then, I have put on 10K miles and have had lots of issues. One of the rear struts sprung a leak, the steering wheel controls and horn went south, the outside mirror controls quit working, the drivers side door lock only works with the key, and the headlight leveler quit. The biggest issue is throttle response is simply awful. I can only speculate it was designed this way to make the car safe for 90 year old drivers. Now I know what the captain of the Titanic felt like sending commands to change engine speed.

These may seem like insignificant issues, but they cost a fortune at a Lexus dealer. Except for the headlight levelers, the other problems are with items I also have on two other cars that are the same age or older and have well over 100K miles. Neither of those cars has ever had these problems and they were cheap cars (Saturn and Subaru).

SC430fun

If you don't mind me asking.. How much did you pay for yours? 37k is very low!!

Bgw70

Do you think the car had 137k before you saw it the first time?
Did the car fax and the Lexus site confirm the car was a 37k car?

Balr14

I paid $24K for it and it was confirmed to be a one owner 37K vehicle. It was owned by a Chicago area doctor and was her daily driver. Her commute was short, but slow. The local Lexus dealer has assured me the throttle response and performance is perfectly normal. They have gone over everything several times and found nothing. I still find it hard to believe, since a 2004 Subaru will leave it in the dust.

ShawnOk

iTrader: (1)

Balr, you can do a battery cycle to clear the ECU which stores driver "style." Unplug the battery for 15 minutes. The ECU adapts the throttle response over time. If she was a slow and steady driver, the ECU learned that style and has stuck it to you. Try a battery pull for 15 minutes and see if you feel any difference after the ECU is cleared. Another way to also increase the throttle response is to do the Trans Pressure Mod. It's on this forum if you search for it. I changed mine from soft to firm, and it's quick off the line now.

Balr14

I do the ECU reset every 2 or 3 weeks, as most of my driving is in heavy traffic. I will definitely do the trans pressure mod, though.

Ned Vo

2002 with 234k running strong ✌️

OBP

My 2005 had some of your issues when it was a lot younger - between 25k miles to 35 k miles in 2008, I had a rear shock replaced, headlight levelers replaced, one side mirror motor quit and was replaced, stereo volume controls faulty . But I have taken good care of her and now at 88k miles, she drives and looks great and I think reliability is wonderful. I think the previous owner was careless and maybe your previous owner did not care for the car very much. Give it a little more time and you may like the SC better. I had all my repairs done under extended warranty in 2008-2010 so maybe it was easier on my wallet than yours.

jlstofer

I've got over 300K on my 2002 SC430. My son sold it to me when he was with Westside Lexus, here in Houston. His name on the "Salesman" sticker inside the driver's door. Recently, I had the leather replaced on the console and both front seats, had all body work done, repainted (original color) along with painted pin stripes. The car looks great. However, with that kind of mileage, there are quite a few mechanical issues I want to address. The A/C is out, I've got a power steering pump leak, the timing belt has to be replaced and I need to do a lot of suspension work. The car is not worth paying $8-10K to have everything done. Can anyone recommend a trained technician in the Houston area that moonlights?

Thanks. And all the best to all Lexus lovers!
John

MikeSC430D

102,586 miles, 586 are mine in the last 2 months. Water pump, Belts, tires, replaced in last 3K miles. Nav system and Nav door repaired, left door speaker repaired. Mechanical checkup calls for rear strut replace (will likely do front and rear at the same time)

Sundog49

My 02 has 178,000 on it.

DylanFan

My 2003 SC430 has 174,000 miles. Since I purchased the car two months ago I have had the radiator changed and the timing belt changed because the Carfax had no mention of the timing belt having ever been changed!