Seattle SCone

It's getting obvious to me. When I'm out in the SC 430, people drive up and smile at it or even pull up alongside, honk, wave and indicate their approval. On the other hand, I had a very different reception on the road when I "borrowed" the boss' Porsche Boxster when she was out of town. Cars were super aggressive cutting across my lane or came awfully close to my lane. Every hopped up Honda had to blast by as loud and close as possible. Mind you the Boxster was a driving instrument which cornered and handled amazingly, but it simply wasn't relaxing at all to drive when I had to deal with all the craziness of other cars feeling testosterone crises. I don't see that happen around the Lex with either top up or down. Basically, traffic seems to behave nice around the SC 430 and really mean around a Boxster. I guess the SC 430 isn't as threatening a vehicle and people just enjoy seeing it rather than wanting to challenge it. I don't think it's just me feeling happy behind the wheel, but a real difference in how other drivers behave towards the vehicle. That makes for a lot more relaxing a drive even though I know can (and have) kept pace with a truely chagrined Porsche driver.

LexusSC430

All am I going to say about this is Lexus should be paying me to drive the thing around. I feel like a salesman wherever I take this thing. Nothing but good things to say about it.

1NICESC430

Yup ...

On two different occasions, young college guys yelled out to me as they drove by, "NICE CAR!!"

A NYSEG truck driver pulled up next to me at a light, looked down at my top-down SC from his very high perch and said, kinda longingly, "Nice ride."

Two guys driving through their green light stopped dead in their tracks and looked at me while I was waiting at the red light, "Wanna trade? What a beautiful car!"

Last Fall, while I was trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get two big pumpkins in the car without putting the top up, the clerk said, "Nice Mercedes."

Kinda made me wonder what make of car the other folks thought they were looking at.

Phu

Had two different people tell me it looks like a porsche and two older guys telling me it looks a lot better than the merc.
I can't understand why the car mags say that the styling of our SC430's are "love it or hate it", all the people that I've talked to absolutely "love it".

alfa2600

Now at 15000 miles and 1.5 years of ownership, my red car with black interior is always much admired, many ohs and ahs, it does not seem to excite the resentment-of-the-rich sour looks that 500SL owners sometimes inspire !!!

antigeek

Just when I think that Dallasites are getting bored with it, I have somebody with their window rolled down ask me a question or make a nice comment about it. Nice.

Not everyone has been nice to my car when I'm not there, though. I still have 2 door dings (which I plan to have removed promptly), but I haven't had any since the Byron Nelson in May. Not bad -- only 2 in 8 months. Hopefully, that is all.

Now if I only had put Xpel on the nose when I got it, the rocks those trucks throw at me on the highway would have only resulted in plastic scratches.

Seattle SCone

I guess there is no one more friendly to your SC 430 than a fellow owner. Had a marvelous time this morning when another silver 430 caught up from behind me on the highway. I had my top down. His was up. I waved a thumbs up and he slid over to the right most lane as I stayed in the left. Totally fun to drive in sync with someone who obviously liked looking at mine as I did looking at his. Kind of like getting to see your car while driving it. The two of us were grinning as we overtook cars which were in the lane between us. It turns enough heads when one goes by, but being passed on both sides simultaneously by a pair must have been a real surprise.

Later I put the top up at a red light. I was the first one stopped at the light so there was plenty of time. People pointed from the crosswalk. Drivers where stunned. The light turned green a few seconds after the mechanical show so I took off. Should have seen the big grin across the driver's face behind me. I guess it was mesmerizing enough to the other drivers. I was half a block down the road before anyone else seemed to have moved.

1NICESC430

While at a red light (top down), a black SL500 (top down) pulled up next to me and, being a gentleman, I said, "Nice car." To which he responded, "I was going to buy one of those, but they wanted $20,000 over sticker!"

I'm not sure where he was looking for a car, but none of the three dealers within the 150 mile radius had offered me the option of getting a car immediately for 80K instead of waiting and paying sticker.

Did anyone experience this during the time period when there was a waiting list?

Roofless

Was buried downstairs back in a corner of a Barnes and Noble looking at some books after parking my SC 20 minutes earlier. A stylish, attractive black woman in her mid-30's came around the corner with a look of recognition on her face as if she knew me. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen on a car when you put up your top." She had been looking for me all over the B&N to tell me that.

Last night I was at the Manhattan Beach Women's Pro Tennis tourney watching Jennifer Capriati play. Afterward I was showing a friend my new ride in the parking lot. Two well-dressed men (one was mid 40's, the other late 60's - looked like a father and son) walk by us and say, "Do you have any weed?" The only thing my friend and I could figure out was that an SC430 at a MB Tennis Tourney was now equivalent to a VW Microbus at a Dead concert. How times have changed.

It's all good. And funny.

Tonyjda

I enjoy all the looks and nice comments from admirers. Anyone else notice that when your stopped at a light, the people in the car directly behind you are explaing to each other with hand signals how the top works? Raising one hand as the trunk opening and using the other hand to simulate the top dropping into the trunk? Pretty funny.

MagusFuria

I was on my way home from NJ and was goin through my town when i passed another SC430 after a light turned green, on the other side of the double yellow. I grinned and have the gold sc owner a nod and he responded likewise. I was just curious if he's registered here at club lexus, a middle aged man with a goatee that went through Suffern NY today? in any case, its always a pleasure to find another pleasant lexus owner.

Jayson

I don't quite have the funds yet to purchase the new SC430 such as yourselves, but I have had similar experiences with fellow owners of the SC400. All of us love your cars, but I don't think any of us want your insurance payments! <GRIN>

Owning a Lexus has been an extreme pleasure. Everyone from the dealer, to the Lexus owners in the coffee shop, to you all have been extremely courteous. I went over to the MB enthusiast site, MBworld.org (or is it .com) and the people in the AMG section are the cockiest bunch of people I have ever heard in my life. Very different crowd here than over there. I am VERY glad to be over here.

Phu

Actually the insurance is not that bad. I dropped my '92 Acura legend off the policy and added the Sc430 and it only added $125 per year to my policy (full coverage).

alfa2600

Jayson has just explained why 500SL owners don't dare park on the street.