JCAgSC430

Hi Folks,

I'm new to the forum and a new owner of a 2003 SC430, silver with black interior, about 95k miles on it. It is in reasonably good shape, best I can tell. I'll put a picture up soon. The CarFax was clean and it runs good and everything appears to work so far, but there is so many features to "figure" out. I have a couple of wheels with bad curb rash that I'll get repaired.

The used car dealer I got it from in Charleston, SC, had put the later model year center caps on the wheels (I read on the forum that many of you seem to do that) and I also got the original caps which are all in good shape except one that has a long scrape on it.

The dealer also put on new tires, not run-flats, so I have no spare which I need to get I suppose since the car apparently had run-flats originally, so there was no spare with it. I have already used the forum to help me decide how to eliminate the speaker vibration in both door speakers and have ordered the foam repair kit and spoken to a guy in Wilmington (I'm in Oak Island, NC) about installing the repair kit. He thinks it should work.

The car did not have manuals, so I got a nice set from eBay and was looking through them and noticed something in the manual that I do not have on my car as far as I can tell. The manual talks about something called Lexus Link which appears to be a cellular connect to Lexus in case of emergencies and it shows a small button panel in what appears to be the top compartment of the middle console. I do not have these buttons---or at least they aren't in that console compartment and I don;t see them anywhere else. There does not appear to have been anything in that space...i.e. no adhesive residue or wire holes or any sign that there was ever anything there. So here is the questions? Was that Lexus Link an "option" that just might not have been installed in my car, or is the button panel somewhere else (they don't really tell you where it is, it just appears in a picture that looks like it is in the top compartment of the console). Any light you could shed on this for me would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to interacting on this forum and appreciate it being here because I am an old guy with very little mechanical skill and need all the help I can get. And as I share my experiences, I'm sure some of you who know what you're doing will get a good laugh.

Whenever I am working on a car, I consider it a success anytime I do something without breaking anything or making it worse than it was. On this car, I suspect almost everything will be "done" by someone trained to do it, not me.

This SC430 is a "late-life crisis," uh, I mean "clarity," car for me. I did several various hot vehicles at mid-life crisis time back in the mid to late 80s and I guess I wasn't quite finished after all.

Thanks,

JC

mrblister

That was an option that was discontinued . I know it was not offered in the 2005 model because that is when I bought mine. I think the option was installed by the dealer when it was available. The manuals you got what year sc430 were they for

JCAgSC430

Thank you for the response, mrblister. It is a 2003 manual and I have a 2003, but I haven't checked my VIN # to see whether it is a late 2003 model or anything, so it could have been discontinued before the car was assembled and the manual just didn't get updated. I just thought I'd thrown it out there to see if anyone knew right away what the answer might be before I spent a bunch of time trying to figure it out. (Which I may not do, since it's mostly just a curiosity question, not something that I expected, need or want. It really isn't important, as far as anything goes, it's just me wanting to know why it differs from the manual. Thanks again. for your help.

JCA

Retroplay

It was an option, meaning not all cars had it even when available. But, it was based on analog cellular service anyway, which doesn't really exist anymore. And as mentioned, the service itself was discontinued.

BTW, I also have a 2003, no LexusLink installed either.

JCAgSC430

That makes me feel better about it then. Thanks, Retroplay.

JC

Bgw70

Here ya go!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_Link

JCAgSC430

Thank you all for the information on Lexus Link. I feel good that it just didn't come with this car and that the car wasn't "molested" in any way. Onward to fixing the speakers and some curb rash on a couple of the wheels and probably going to get some door edge guards Stay well, JC

Bgw70

JC, I did the speaker repairs myself and they sound GREAT!

Did you purchase from this company?
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/lexus-...er-repair.html

Also, I know there prices are less on eBay.

JCAgSC430

Bgw70,

Yes, I did purchase from Simply Speakers thanks to the info I found on this forum. I was able to get the kit for $25. I haven't received it yet, but it should come tomorrow.

I found a car stereo guy/company who seems pretty sharp that will do the installation. I don't want to mess with those complicated door panels. He can do it he thinks for about an hour a door. ($65/hr). I have no confidence in my automobile skills----which were minimal as a younger man and are even less now with the computer/electronic driven systems of today's cars, especially these Lexus'.

I do like to "play" with old cars as a tool-holder and gopher mostly, but I can do minor things, mostly body work, for my best friend who is the mechanical/cosmetic guru when we get into a "project" car. We have done several together and may be entering into another one soon....a 65 Ranchero.

I love learning from him as he directs me on what to do, and I provide lots of comic relief for him when I do stupid things. For example, when doing some floorboard repair on an old Corvair we were working on, I cleverly drilled into the fuel tank (luckily little gas and no fire), a brake line and the bottom of a battery which were among some of my more celebrated screw ups. What's nice is that he has the space, the equipment, the willingness to let me get involved despite my ineptness and he has the know how to get things done right. His primary business until a couple of years ago was professional auto body work, but he can do mechanics too...on older cars. It is a fun thing to learn, but in the final analysis, it also costs money which now that I am not working anymore, and also now have a new "toy" in the Lexus to pay for, I'm not sure I can afford any more projects.

On the kit, I decided to call them to order rather than go online and do it to make sure that I was talking to someone who knew the correct kit to get just in case I might select the wrong one on my own and he confirmed it was the right one I had selected. We ended up having a nice chat because they are located in St. Petersburg, Fl, where I spent 8 years of my much younger life. So we chatted about how things had changed down there, especially with my old outfit, the newspaper there.

Thanks for your help, I look forward to more chats. Your car looks beautiful, I will get a pic up on mine soon. My wife has decided she likes the Lexus more than her car so the SC is now becoming more of "our" car than "my" car, but i am actually glad. When Momma's happy, I'm happy. And I have been suffering from terrible buyer's remorse for getting the SC because it is the last thing we really need at our age and income bracket. But if she is going to get "into it," I can feel better about it. That really just means that we're both a little (or a lot) crazy, it's not just me.

Stay well and thanks again,

JC

mandyfig

JCAgSC430 welcome to CL. We hope you have a wonderful time in owning what we here consider a future classic car.

We have fun in babying our SC's. We continue to get "wows."

And when we ride them, we always get heads turning. Everybody's wondering what kind of a Lexus we are driving.

And Lexus Techs would always say that the 4.3L engine is a great engine, compared to the more recent 4.6's!

Happy driving.

JCAgSC430

Thank you for the warm welcome, mandyfig. I appreciate that very much. These are special cars for sure. The first time I saw one was at the DC Auto show the year they came out and I was awe struck by the navigation screen, the cool styling and the beauty of it all. But I knew it was out of reach for me and didn't think much about them until we moved to the beach about a year and a half ago. I had a pickup truck then and somehow that didn't work at the beach. Then I started to get this vision that became an obsession of a SC430 in my head and wasn't able to clear it out, so now I have one and the pickup is gone. We have a Honda Fit as our practical/utility vehicle for runs to Lowe's for mulch, etc. Hopefully, all will work out. My wife just took off in it with the top down, first time we have lowered it since we bought it and it was so easy...just push the button and wala! She really liked that. She had at one time an old, beat up Mercedes SL and putting the top up and down was more than she could handle so the top either stayed up or down for long periods of time depending on the weather (we had a garage), so being able to just press a button is a big deal to her. I am going to post a picture---as soon as I figure out how--that I took of her just after she put the top down

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Stay well,

JCA

JDaveSC430

JC, welcome and congratulations on your SC. I'm in NC also; 30 minutes north of Charlotte in Mooresville.

I have owned an '02 silver with black interior for over 4 years and it's been trouble free with currently 63K miles.

What part of NC are you located in, if you don't mind saying.

I'm retired also and urge you to enjoy that car without guilt; it's what you worked for, right?

best of luck!

Dave

JCAgSC430

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the warm welcome and the encouraging words. I am slowly getting out of the "guilts," and your note helps me move in the right direction more rapidly. Yes, it is what we worked for I suppose, except, a strong argument could be made that in my case, I "used what I was due" up earlier in life, but, hey, I will subscribe to your suggestion none the less, it's certainly got merit in theory.

I'm in Oak Island, about 30 minutes south of Wilmington. We've only ben here a short time. My wife and I retired from that University in Durham that most everyone hates that wears the dark blue and whose Coach is a legend in b'ball circles and the supreme God on campus. I was never smart enough to go to school there, but was still able to work there as was my wife. DU is a very interesting study for anyone who really wants to delve into how a bunch of good intended dirt farmers from NC started a Methodist university based on the virtues of combining religion and academics to create a high-class educational experience. Unfortunately, those that have come behind them have done some great things, but have also lost there way a bit over the years, but still do many fine things and the kids are awesome, at least the ones that worked with us in what we did (I was the GM of the student newspaper).

I hope we cross paths sometime and you are certainly welcome to come down and visit and take a swim anytime. It is a very nice place, but not too nice and that's what I like about it....so far.

While I believe my SC is in good shape for the mileage (95k), I have considered taking it to Johnson Lexus in Raleigh at some point and let them go through the certification process, just so I'll know if I have missed anything in my evaluation of it. It has had the timing belt changed and the CarFax doesn't show any blemishes (but we know that isn't fool proof) and I haven't detected anything troublesome other than the speakers need re-foaming, I have bad curb rash on a couple of the wheels, the door edges have a few chips in it that they touched up, I'm missing a spare tire because it originally had run-flats and now has regular tires and I noticed that the driver's side mirror has a discoloration spot on it, possibly from the use of the defroster, I don't know. I also noticed a smallish "bubble" in the vinyl piece behind the back seats today when we put the top down. All to be expected from a 13 year old car I think. Everything seems to work, but it may take months to actually check everything out there are so many bells and whistles.

Thanks again for reaching out to me and I hope to compare cars and get to know you sometime. I have plenty of time on my hands and could meet you somewhere in between Mooresville and Oak Island.

Stay well,

JCA

Harold57

Welcome to the forum JCAgSC430 and congratulations on your new acquisition. I agree with Dave, you've got it, so you might as well enjoy it!

JCAgSC430

You're both right, and I will enjoy it, by golly, that's what it's there for. My wife has already staked a claim on it for some use for herself and while I'll need to make sure that doesn't get too firm, I want her to like and drive it too because that will make having it all go down smoother for me.

By the way, is there ever any group "get-togethers" or rallies or whatever of SC owners????

JC