HotWheel

I recently found an '02 SC430 for sale at a very reasonable price, and was wondering what questions I should ask the dealer about it. It has 193220 miles on it, so it's definitely up there, but I heard that these cars have fairly good reliability even into the higher mileages (please correct me if I am wrong). What type of maintenance should have been done to this car?

Pardon my inexperience when it comes to vehicles, I'm not much of a car person.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...the first thing I would ask about is the timing belt, at the mileage posted,it should have been changed twice. I personally think this would be the most important maintenance for this vehicle,at this time. I would get the vin # and try to get a carfax report or check it out on the Lexus site. The car has 193k on it,so anything could go wrong unfortunately.I would take my time & give it a good visual, looking for any leaks or wet spots in the engine bay.If you have a buddy that's into cars,take them with you,they may spot something that you overlooked. My Sc has 222k & I have had no major issue.I've replaced a radiator & just did the a/c compressor a month ago,everything else has been normal maintenance

kjcole

High mileage cars that are working on their second decade of life are always a crap shoot. Unless you are a gambler, or can do the inspection yourself, I'd have it inspected by someone who knows how to inspect an older vehicle. By 200K miles everything and anything is on the table.

tromly

Please do not pay more than 10k for this car! There are so many 02's out there with much fewer miles.

DiggerJim

Lexus vehicles do tend to have higher reliability and longer lives. But that's because they (generally) have higher quality initial build (parts, assembly, etc) and owners that then take care of them better because they cost more in the first place. So if you've got a low mileage Lexus it's a pretty solid bet you can make it live to be a high-mileage Lexus by doing proper maintenance and taking care of it.

With a used car you don't know what the maintenance has been like. At 193K and 14 years old, a lot can have been put off in terms of maintenance and that could catch up to you. On top of that is the age of the car says most anything could break that would break on any car - lots of age related part failures on cars from hoses (rubber cracks over time, not a quality issue), to bushings, to plastic that gets brittle (radiators on these have a plastic top section), wiring (especially plug wires, etc). None of it is a reflection of the quality of the car, just that any rubber or plastic or wire that's 14 yrs old and been in the sun or ozone or whatever is potentially tired.

Or they could all be good because the prior owners replaced them and they're not as old as the car. That's how airplanes last for decades - the parts get routinely replaced.

So, this would be just like any used car - suspension, fluids, tranny, belts, leaks, hoses, electrical gremlins, shocks, a/c, timing belt, water pump, etc should all be checked.

I'll have no problem driving mine well into the multi hundred thousands of miles but that's because I'll be doing the maintenance and I know what the prior owner did. You need to find out what the current state of the car is to decide if what's needed for repairs is going to be worth it on top of the price. As others have said, there's a fair number of low mileage 02s or later out there for pretty reasonable prices because people tend not to drive them a ton - often just as a toy/summer car.

Harold57

Be sure to read the stickie at the top of our forum regarding what to look for when buying a SC430. It is stocked full of information.

makecopies

I think the car he is speaking about is in Fredericksburg for 6995k I would not hesitate buying that car I had a LS400 with 300k miles changed the timing belt and that thing just kept rolling! My knickname for the car was tank
Even if the car is crap you should be able to resell it for what you pay for it.

kjcole

DiggerJim's post hit the issues right on the money. The comparison to aircraft longevity is perfect.

gospursgo

I'm piggybacking onto this thread because I had started a similar one a while back.

I've found a 2002 with 113K miles that appears to have been pretty well taken care of and has no cosmetic defects.

If the Carfax confirms services, does $12K sound like an OK price?

Thanks guys!

mandyfig

We like to be experts in advising you about pricing, however there are so many variables to consider to give a reasonable advise.

If you go through the stickies, you will find all sorts of GOOD info on how to decide on a used SC430.

Like this:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...ned-sc430.html

gospursgo

Thanks mandyfig — I've been poring over that info... Very helpful! I know what to look for when I see this one in person...

mandyfig

Good luck to you. You will feel it when it is right. The SC430 is nearly a classic. Consider upgrading to the LED tails to bring level it up a bit. Best $600 that I invested.

gospursgo

I'll definitely keep those in mind if I pull the trigger, although the first money I'm going to spend will be on a CarPlay audio system. Thanks again for your help! I've been thinking about this vehicle for good while and I agree that it has classic status, or will.

kuWuPt

iTrader: (13)

I bought an SC430 earlier this year with almost 180k+ on it. I'm a stickler for maintenance though and as long as I saw that the major components were working I didn't hesitate. Of course the price of the car reflected the amount of miles and the time of the year I bought it. I have a build thread on here with all the maintenance I have done on the car, maybe that will help.
As for price, ~7k is a good price for the car considering it is summer etc and this is when demand for them are the highest. I bought mine in winter so was able to get it a little cheaper. This is a seasonal car really so price fluctuates depending on time of year.
Good luck on acquiring one.