jasone36

Alright folks, I'm wondering how many people consider their SC430 to be their "daily driver"?

I have been "daily driving" my high-mileage 2002 SC430 for nearly five years. I drive it during every season, almost every day. Even with about 3 inches of snow, it does okay... unless I'm on a steep incline.

The car does fine under all circumstances as a year-round daily driver, however the only caveat is when the temperature dips below ~20 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, the rubber seals on the hard top start making all kinds of wacky noises and squeaks (which I can live with until it warms up).

Now that older models (2002 - 2005) of the SC430 are getting thoroughly into the low-cost range, it's going to start "competing" with the super-economy "*****boxes" like Kia's and Daewoo's, in terms of price.

Anyway, I just wanted to see how many folks here daily-drive their SC430 through harsh conditions.

I'm hoping to get many more years out of mine, and hopefully it's initial "exclusivity" (relatively low production numbers) will keep it looking unique for a while longer.

Please share your thoughts.

JohnnyCake

My guess is most have the SC as the daily driver (except in snow, of course).

The reverse question might be even more interesting -- whose SC is the biggest garage queen? My guess is Mister Blister -- I think he puts 100 miles a year on his car!! It is flawless. I've offered to buy it from him, but he's not selling.

Coleroad

Mine in 2015 only got just over 900 miles put on it

mrblister

7603 miles when I put it away for winter in October . I get to sit in it a lot . I have two garages I rent since I have no garage at home. One garage has two motorcycles in it the other has my sc430 in it. My daily ride is a 2004 gx470 Its in the garage when I take the sc430 out in only top down weather.

Harold57

My 2002 has always been my daily driver or at least since I bought it in 2006.

Prasha

SC430 is the only car I owned since 02

grabber2

The SC can be a daily but I would not want to drive it in snow especially when the road are salty. I don't want any rust. Rust is one of the issue with older car.

GmanSC

It's has been three months since I owned this 07 SC and have put about a 1000 miles on it. Average 300 miles per month or 75 miles per week. On the other hand, I drove my 07 Corolla, 8 to 10 hours a day, approx. 130 miles per day. The odo reads 210,000 and still has no problem (well, except for the little overheating recently which has been fixed). Toyota builds the great cars and I would expect my SC last until the day I can no longer able to drive.
Proud owner of the SC.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

....my 2002 was my daily driver from 2008-2015, but I still managed to put on 4k miles last year

Balr14

My SC430 has been my daily driver since I bought it in May. I put 10K miles on it so far and I do drive it in snow if I have to. I bought it to be driven. I don't know how long I will keep it. I would like something with more power, but I really like it's classic styling; smooth and round with no LEDs. I hate the design of all cars made in the last 7 or 8 years.

bb430

iTrader: (1)

Daily driver on mine. 38 miles go and back from work, maybe a little weekend drive with the wife. About 10k a year. Only bad thing is that I get lots of road rashes and bird drops.

OBP

To OP, maybe you n I were caught in the same snow storm this morning ? I daily drive my SC430 except daily commute duty is shared with the MB CLS550 cos it is one long drive - 61 miles one way so 122 miles per day. I switch between both cars once a week.

I drove through the surprise NY/NJ snow storm this morning and with Falken Eurowinter tires on OEM rims, the SC did well. Essentially no slippage. Max speed I got up to was 68 mph even as the snow was coming down thick n fast. Most times I was 55-60 mph. There was so much snow fall that the whole front bumper including half of both headlamps were covered with packed snow/ice when I reached my final destination.

For road salt, I have an angled hose adapter and regularly spray underneath the cars to keep salt corrosion to a minimum.

86,900 miles and still going strong. After how the SC performed today in snow, it will be hard to let her go. Looking forward to more time with the old SC.

ShawnOk

iTrader: (1)

Mine is my daily. 2002 bought in June of 2002, Single and only owner. 56k miles to date. I use my car in rain, snow, shine, sleet, you name it. Upgraded domiciles last Sept which now has indoor parking, but have parked outside for the two years previous. I've lived in the Chicgoland for the last two and half years, which has experienced bad winters up to now. Polar Vortex two winters ago which produced 16" of powder in one night, and -30 temps for a week. I HAD dedicated hand-me-down 18" Blizzak winter tires on the OEM TRD rims for the last two winters but tires wore out so dumped the 18"s. I upgraded to a cheap set of used 20" U2 chrome rims and brand new Venezia all-season tires for dedicated winter use so road salt can eat them up; no biggie. Luckily, this winter has been tame and I've had absolutely no problems. In summer I run very nice, nearly new 20" Roderick RW2 staggered rims and all season Toyo tires.

Poqman

My '06 is my daily driver. I got hooked on the SC when I bought an '02 and drove it for 3 years. After selling it, I missed it and waited for a one owner with perfect maintenance records to become available. While waiting, I bought a RC350 F Sport, which has now become a garage queen. Top up or down, it's hard to beat the SC. I will never understand Top Gear's hate for this car!

Harold57

Wow Shawn, only 56k on a daily driver? You must live close to work!