I recently (last week) purchased a 2002 SC430. Absolutely Red with the baseball glove looking leather (not sure what that color is called, someone please correct me). 78K miles. I've named her Audrey, she came with all manuals and the original window sticker which shows the following options: rear spoiler, run flat tires (will be replacing those), cargo net, trunk mat, and wheel locks (all of which are there). I'm very content because I paid way under book value and everything works as it should! Plus no paintwork

Audrey has at least one typical SC430 problem, the antenna will not retract all the way. I did search and found how to replace the mast, which I will be doing soon.

There are some other things though, cowl shake seems to be ever present over rough sections, I am going to replace the RFTs but it seems a lot compared to the previous convertibles I've had (Z4 and miatas). I drove a couple other SC430s and they are all about the same, so I guess this is the norm.

Suspension feels floaty, but she tracks straight as an arrow, maybe I am used to sport suspension BMWs so that may be why. I am guessing coilovers will help, so those are on the list also.

That about sums it up. I'll post some pics when Houston is finally ideal enough to wash and wax her.

 

Congrates and Welcome to the forum. Sound like you picked up a beauty! I believe you have saddle interior ( same as ours) I think you'll find that once you change out the runflats the car will seem like you have bought another vehicle. At least that's what we found when we finally did it.

 

Welcome. Looks like you did your research. Coilovers and non-runflat tires will definitely improve the ride. One other thing you might consider are larger wheels. I've noticed that even with coilovers, when I had stock wheels on my car, the steering felt much less precise. With 20" wheels, you have less sidewall, which translates to tighter handling. One caveat is you'll want to go with high quality wheels (which are expensive). Cheaper aftermarket wheels often lead to vibrations and steering wheel shakes.

 

Congrats on the car and welcome to the club, i think the color your looking for is ecru.Post up some pictures.

 

Actually, I think Eddy is correct and the baseball glove look is saddle. I though Ecru was lighter.

 

Welcome Mr Bimmer to the Group.

 

Welcome to the group Mr Bimmer. From someone who has had a 3 series coupe (E36) and a 5 series sedan ( E39), I am happy with Lexus build quality and reliability. Had to have the ECUs changed out on both my bimmers and they stranded me off and on, requiring a tow truck to get me to the dealer quite a few times. This has never happened with the SC430.

I have the ecru ( off - white or cream ) leather interior but I do wish I had the saddle ( brown ) like you. Ecru is tough to keep clean and just is more work.

Good luck with Audrey and keep us updated on how your mods and fixes go.

 

Welcome to Lexus from the dark side of BMW!

In addition to the coil overs and run flats, changing to Daizen Bushings will do wonders for the handling.

 

Welcome to CL BimmerGuy, enjoy your new car.

Best regards

Steve

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. Sweet, it is the saddle interior, thanks!

I have a few wheels in mind. I didn't want to spend too much, so I've narrowed it down to SSR Professor SP1, SSR GT3, or used Trafficstar/SSR/something else. I am also looking into Forgestar, I like their designs, but rotary forged is really still a cast wheel.
Thanks very much for the input.

I will this week sometime. It rained most of the day here. It's still wet out.

Yep it's saddle!

Thanks!

I've had numerous BMWs, none of which had left me stranded. It's always hit or miss with those cars though, my mom has had 2 misses. I've had an E30 325i cabrio, E28 533i, E46 325Ci, E46 325i, E36/8 M, E85, and currently my E46 touring (H&R PCS coilovers, HREs, and some other mods).
I love the ecru interior, but I can see how much of a pain it would be to keep clean!
Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yep I am going to add those bushings to the top of the list!
Thanks!

Thank you Steve, much appreciated!

 

Here is a quick pic I snapped on this cold, wet Christmas morning. You can see some scratches on the front bumper from steep driveways, I think a front lip may hide those scratches.

Also my driveway needs work. I bought this house in 09 and am slowing working on it, the inside is pretty much done, so I will be focusing on the outside now. It's slow going because I moved to an all cash lifestyle, but at least I own the house outright.


Here is her stable mate Tia:


This is my latest project for Tia, refurbing my old wheels refinished from original silver to Jollypop blue with a silver basecoat with a lot of flake and a candy topcoat, the barrels are next to be powdercoated (gloss black):

 

The car looks excellent. Out of curiosity, how much did the SC430 cost you?

Many of us here have 2002's and wonder what the "street value" of them is.

 

Welcome. The SC430 is def one of the best cars I've owned.


I have a fresh minty full saddle interior sitting in my garage

 

Thanks!
14900 OTD. IMO I managed to steal it

The grand master of SC430 VIP I believe you! I look forward to a long affair with my lady.