jimbo409

Well I picked up my new to me 2002 sc 430.It is red with black interior it was a one owner car and the woman that had it took it to Lexus for every service every 5000 miles without missing.It has 89000 miles and she just had the timing belt and 4 tires from lexus.You don't want to know what they charged this poor lady.I got a great price and the only thing wrong is the trunk area had mice or racoon droppings or something she never drove this car. I vacumn and simply green and super clean and everything else I could find .It is much betterIi am airing it out now.
1.My question is can I buy a new trunk cover the piece that you pull out before you put the top down and how hard is it to install.It has stains and looks nasty
2nd question is the side molding has the paint chipping off and it is white under neath,i think this was because she had a large dog or maybe raccoons were trying to get in.The interior is fine just dirty after a few days I will post pictures.It rides great like all lexus cars do
3.
one other question when the lexus dealer did the timing belt they didn't do the water pump which I think is strange also the radio works and cd works but I cant program any stations by pressing and holding the button no beep.I am going to disconnect the battery and leave it over night and see what happens
4.Does everyone use unleaded premium in there cars.Gas is so cheap here it really doesn't matter but I would like to know.
Thanks love this forum I am on it all the time Jimbo

Remy

Welcome aboard Jimbo.
I'm a new proud owner also of a 2002 sc430. Love the damn car!!!

I would be very cautious of the timing belt change. That is really stupid they didnt do the water pump.
The only thing I can think of is, since the lady has no hesitation taking it to the dealer everytime, the dealer decided they can extra charge her for having the water pump done also.
My personal opinion, I would have the water pump changed asap cause that's a big disaster if that goes out.

As far as the gas, I wouldnt take any chances and use premium gas.
I remember reading several discussions about this, and some people say they didnt have any issues...and some people say they eventually hear knocking which made them switch to premium.
Gas is so cheap at the moment, why take chances?
Manual specifically emphasizes premium, so I personally would just stick to that.

TarheelNic

Jumbo:
For Q1 above: I think Lexus refers to it as the retractable "Tonneau" cover, and they're available on eBay. Two bolts attach it to the vertical section of the truck deck. The bolts are hidden behind two round plastic caps that pop out with a screwdriver.

Here's an example, though probably not the best price:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-SC430-G...FVsz~x&vxp=mtr

_____________________________
2007 SC430
Pearl/Ecru
Vais SLX w/XM;
NavTool 3.0-HDMI for AppleTV,
BU Camera & BlindSpot Cam.

GmanSC

Welcome to the CL. Enjoy the ride of the SC. I am.

Retroplay

I can concur that when I first bought mine, I was using regular unleaded gas just like I did in my prior V6 (every user manual says to use premium only and normally it doesn't matter) and it wasn't right away, but over time I noticed some 'ticking' coming from the motor.

After reading the debate here, I decided to run fuel system cleaner and ocatane booster through the car as well as fill up with premium. No more ticking.