Hi Everyone,
After admiring the SC430's for several years, I drove my first SC430
Saturday. It was a black 06 with appx 45,000 miles on it.
I initially went to look at a Crossfire Convertible but it had very little
headroom. I asked the salesman about the SC and he said a lady just
traded it in for a Jag XK (My dream car) and said it was one of the cleanest SC's he had seen.
It was very cold outside here (Nashville,Tennessee) so my wife and I
decided not to drive with the top down. I did operate the top just to watch
it work and was impressed.
During the test drive, I was unimpressed with the tires (I believe they were run flats) ride. It was a little "jittery" and stiff. I found out that at least one of the tires was out of balance, after getting it out on the interstate, so that could be part of the problem with the kind of harsh ride.
(I drove an 07 LS460 and was also a little unimpressed with the ride but it did ride better than this SC)
I WAS impressed with the performance. This car is quick!
I read many reviews of how it was not quite as quick as other cars in it's class and that may well be true, but it is plenty quick for me and I am a "old school" (late 70's) street racer. This is a very nice car!
I also like the updated look on the 2006 and later models.
The other advantage is the 4.3 engine and transmission are very durable and long lasting. In fact, of all the cars I can think of, none have a more reliable engine/tranny combo.
I have read the LS430 with 17" wheels has the smoothest ride of any Lexus, but have not personally driven one.
What do you guys think? The performance looks very similar between the
LS430 and the SC. The SC can go topless but the LS can carry 4/5 people. Do you think the ride of the LS is far superior to the SC or just a little better?

Thanks,
Brian

 

If your 06 had run flats, then the ride was rough. Most owners quickly ditch the run flats and go conventional. The ride of the LS is superior, but you are comparing the apple with an orange. My SC is the best car I've ever owned (36 and counting). If you own an SC, you will get comments from others during your entire ownership experience, not so with an LS. I've had an LS, ES,and RX, nothing comes close to my SC. Good luck with your decision !

 

Whats the pice on the SC?

 

On dealers lots, every car was just traded in by a little old lady LOL

Make double sure you are happy with the performance of the car, because there is little you can do, other than sell it, if you end up wanting more performance. it's a luxury cruiser, not a sports car.

The 06's had a number of upgrades though, and is a good year model to begin your search.
good luck!

 

Considering this is my exact car and miles, I too wonder what the dealer is asking.

 

I too wonder. Mine is an '05 but I'm thinking of selling...just trying to get a ball park figure....I dont like blue book numbers.

 

If you can have only one car, and you choose the SC430, then you need to think about what you will do when you need to transport more folks or stuff. We solved that problem by buying both as we needed two cars anyway. Note that our two cars are the oldest of the 4.3 engine models. We choose to have two clean older cars rather than one car that was not a Lexus.

 

If I remember correctly, the price was $35,500 before any negotiation.

TROMLY, Your advice is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

RCPETERS, Good Idea....

To be honest guys, I like all models of the SC. To me,The biggest visual improvement of the 06 is the headlights. I also like the 6 speed but not sure if it is as durable as the old bulletproof 5 speed auto, but still well made.

I was thinking of replacing the wheels with 07 GS 5 spoke wheels and having them chromed.

Thanks for the responses,
Brian

 

In my opinion the SC has many faces. It's a smooth hard top coupe, sleek and stylish. In regular driving conditions, non-power, VSC on in automatic drive, it actually has a similar feel to a luxury sedan. It can be fast (manu-matic shifter in power mode with the VSC off) when pushed, but not Porsche or SL55 fast. Drop the top and it's another dimension. To me, it's like two or three cars in one. Once you drop the run flat tires, it's 300% better, trust me. I've never had issues with room in the SC and my four year old frequently rides with me.

If you've got another car that can be more utilitarian-GO FOR IT! If you are depending on this car to haul 1+ people and gear/groceries or anything more than clubs and a sports bag you better think about it.

Make no mistake the LS is wonderful, but can be rather boring. The SC gives you options!

 

Update: The car I test drove only had 25,721 miles on it and it was in
fact $35,500.

scdroptop, Funny you mentioned the SL55. I was seriously thinking of a SL500
(sat in one and was very impressed) and then a SL550 for the hp increase. I decided against it because if you are one that gets "blessed" with a engine that drops a valve, it cost you tens of thousands, not just thousands, to replace.
The only other car I seriously consider is the 2007+ XK. It's performance (not the
XKR) is on par with the SC and it is an absoulutely gorgeous car. It's reliability is impressive (still not to Lexus levels in my opinion) and also 8 to $10,000 more than the 2006 SC's I've been looking at.
In the end I think the SC is the best daily driver. The factory wheels really take away from the beauty of the car and having a cassette deck on an 06 is WAY behind the times, but those are my only real gripes.
If anyone wants to see the car; go to Cars.com and look at the 06 black onyx one from Global Motorsports, inc at Cool Springs. Just use a 30 mile radius search on zip 37210. Nice car, if you like black. I personally like the White or Matador Red best.

Blessings,
Brian

 

Glock-couldn't agree more with you on the SL's dependibility issues and the XK being on par with performance and even sharper than the SC in looks. They are fun to think about the performance of the 55 and the XKR but I would bet my paycheck they'd be in the shop A LOT more than a SC as they age. I think the long term of the XK dependibility will be much worse...that is, 50k miles and over. Right now the 2007's are just getting there at 3 years old. Wait another year...they will be expensive to repair and tons of people will be dumping them and their ratings will fall.

The XKR and SL55 are in a different class than the SC. If the SC would have had a turbo then you could compare. To me the SL55 would only be a great deal if you could get a certified one and could get it for similar price-remember no back seat, so it's half the car! The plain ole' XK is dropping into the high $30k region right now, but honestly I wouldn't touch one compared to a low mileage CPO Lexus 2006 for low to mid $30k.

I think you can get your 2006 SC with low miles for closer to $30k now. Perhaps $30-$32k non CPO at an independant dealer and $35k or so CPO at a Lexus. If you are spending close to $30k on a used SC, my total recommendation is to find a CPO. Three years 100k miles of free roadside, loaner cars, car washes, bumper to bumper coverage.

I almost bought a 2006 pearl white on camel with 52k miles on it for $28,500 in OK. It was on cars.com forever. Really nice car. Only problem is that I couldn't "guarantee" I could buy an affordable extended warranty through Lexus or 3rd party that would cover the top, nav, etc so I passed on it to get my 2005 with 30k miles on it CPO and Pebble Beach rarity made it more appealing to me.

 

scdroptop,
Thanks for the excellent reply! You again have answered all of my concerns.
Pearl White on Camel, Yea, that is my pick...

I like the CPO recommendation.

Have you had any issues with your ML speakers yet? I say "yet" because it seems
as these cars age, the speakers are doomed to deteriorate.
If I were buying today I would make a few changes:
1) Change the wheels to another set of Lexus 18" Factory wheels that look better.
Only 18" because I want to have the "ride" as smooth as possible.
2)Ditch the runflats for some all season Michelins. (Do you have a spare in your car?)
3)Blitz cat back exhaust. I realize there is very little, or none at all, HP increase with
just the cat backs but I like to hear a little more exhaust growl than stock.
I was also going to get the S&S headers with a full custom mandrel bent
stainless exhaust but I think the HP gains would be small compared to the very
high cost and I may even lose some mid range TQ. We spend most of my time in
the mid range anyway. lol.
4) Maybe a Vais Ipod

Do you think the CPO warranty would be affected by the Blitz cat back's?

Thanks Again,
Brian

 

I want to add if you are thinking about buying a used car wait till the last day of the month to buy it. You will get ALOT better deal buying it the last day of the month.
When I bought my 05 in sept of 08 they were asking $39,900 when I 1st went in. After negotiating they would only come down to $37,900 at the beginning of the month. I went home and researched online and I was expected to to pay between $38K-42K for the year and miles on the car. I went back in a couple other times through out the month but they wouldn't come down anymore from the $37,900. I went back in on sept 31 and got the car for $30,000 + more $$ for my trade in than what they offered on previous visits.
Just something to think about when buying a used car. I will NEVER buy another used car at the beginning or middle of the month again.

Good Luck

 

Brian-no probs yet (knock on wood) with the ML speakers yet, but I'm sure I will. I love music and listen to music with some bass in it, as well as have the Vais Ipod unit which sometimes changes the sound coming into the ML speakers so who knows??? That's what my CPO is for, and quite frankly one of the reasons why I chose to buy my Vais unit and have it installed (for highway robbery) at my dealer just in case any problems occur I am covered.

Good choices on the wheel/tire change. You can get Tourmalines or G-Spiders to really have a fresh look on your SC without changing the footprint/size and still look OEM.

I don't think your catback will affect warranty, unless it's an exhaust sensor or something that goes off. I haven't heard of any problems, but then again I am conservative when it comes to mods. My service tech told me that the LuxLink would affect my warranty if I had electrical problems. That's the only mod I asked about recently. I haven't heard about exhaust.

 

SCDropTop ---checking out the forum and have enjoyed your posts. Also live in the DFW area. Just both a 2006 SC430 in Madador Red with 49K on it. Being a woman, its hard to tell whether the dealer is telling you true or not. Have you experienced a 'clicking/clunking' noise after backing up and then coming to a stop after moving forward? They say it is normal but it's way too frequent and noisy for me. Advice? Got lots of questions about this cute lil car. thx
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