riknchar

Club Lexus Friends: After owning and trading two different SC430s over the past 3 years (and currently being without an SC), I'm thinking about jumping back into the SC group via purchase of a 2002 SC430 I recently discovered.

Just looking for advice/opinions from the community on the following deal I located in Yakima, Washington:

2002 SC 430, Silver exterior, Black interior. 43K current miles. Appears bone stock from the photos. Has a bit of an odd history according to the CarFax report and the detailed info I found on the MyLexus site. The car was sold in Seattle in 2002 and was driven regularly and appears to have been well cared for by the Lexus dealer from 2002 - 2006. In 2006, the car was sold with around 41K miles, and the service history basically ends.

From talking to the salesman, this car was supposedly traded in by the second owner on a new Honda SUV. The second owner, I'm told, is an elderly gentleman who bought the SC430 in 2006 (with 41K miles) and basically kept it parked in his garage for the majority of the next 9 years, driving very occasionally and only putting around 2,000 miles on the car in 9 years.

The current selling dealer changed the oil and gave the car a (supposedly) thorough inspection, giving the car a clean bill of health. The salesman sent me a few close up photos showing only one minor scratch near the fuel door -- other than that, he said the exterior was glossy clean and the interior was well taken care of. The tires appear to be fairly new.

The current asking price is $16,531, which seems to be decent for this car if everything is as stated. Here's a direct link to the details on the car: http://www.bobhallauto.com/VehicleDe...-WA/2576182653

I know purchasing this car and having it shipped to me in Nebraska sight unseen involves some risk. I also know that the car should probably be thoroughly serviced, and the timing belt should probably be changed simply due to its age, which will add cost to the deal.

So based on what I've said, I'm looking for opinions from the forum. Does this sound like a good find for this price? What would be a fair price to offer the dealer in this case? I know the dealer has sat on this car since June, and is probably starting to fear having it sit on his lot all winter since summer is now about over. Anything else I should be concerned about regarding a car that has had so few miles for the past 9 years?

Thanks!

MrMark

iTrader: (3)

Just buy mine for $27k and call it a day !

JohnnyCake

It could be a great deal or a horrible deal. My suggestion would be to find an independent mechanic in Washington who could actually inspect the car. Otherwise, you really have no idea what you are getting into.

tromly

absolutely, a car basically in storage can have numerous problems. I would change all the fluids if you purchase.

jonas's RX

Dang that is a great deal

I wondered if the guy has not driven it for close to 10 yrs what
it would do to all the rubber though

riknchar

UPDATE: I was able to convince the dealer to allow me to speak with the previous owner (so I could get a better idea of how the car was used/cared for over the past 9 years).

The previous owner (Alan) was happy to talk to me, and told me all about his experience with the 2002 SC. He said he had spent quite a while in 2006 tracking down the perfect SC -- he wanted silver with black, one owner, and immaculate condition. He said he is 68 years old, and soon after he purchased the SC he was diagnosed with a medical condition that made him limit his time in direct sunlight, which limited how much use he could get out of the SC in the summertime. He owns several cars (mostly Porche's), but always loved the SC for the smooth, quiet ride.

He kept the SC all those years in the garage, and did drive it whenever possible in the spring and fall months in the evening. He said he was a very particular owner, and had the oil changed every year in the late fall before he put the car into storage for the winter months. He said he had never had a single problem with the car, other than replacing the battery two times in the 9 years (he kept it on a smart charger most of the time). The tires currently on the car were the ones on it when he purchased it in 2006 (Toyo's).

The problem he ran into was that there is no Lexus dealer in Yakima WA -- the nearest dealer is in Seattle (2.5 hours away), which explains why the service history had no entries from 2006 - present. He said he hadn't had the Air Bag recall done yet, simply because he was not physically able to drive the car all the way to the Seattle dealer for the work.

All in all, Alan was very convincing that this is a pristine car that has been extremely well taken-care of since new.

I'd still want to have the timing belt changed (simply due to the age of the car), and would probably look into a new set of tires (again, due to the age of the current tires). The asking price of the car has dropped slightly ($16,281).

Based on what I heard from Alan, I offered to purchase the car for the asking price if the dealer would cover the cost of shipping the car to Nebraska (around $850, I think). I think this is reasonable, and I think I'd be getting a great car for a very good price at this rate.

Hopefully, I'll be rejoining the SC-owners club soon!

Rick

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

.....listening to the story, sounds like the car has been in good hands. I personally would ask for the timing belt service to be done,instead of the shipping, because of some issues I've read here about shipping. Buy a one way ticket there & enjoy the trip home,in your new car

Harold57

It sounds like you'll be getting a great car. Congratulations. It is always good to know the history of the car, especially when it is as good as yours will be.

riknchar

Great idea!

I actually have an even easier solution... My son currently lives in Seattle but will be moving back to Nebraska in 3 weeks. The dealership that I'm buying this car from is about 2 hours out of Seattle, and my son will be driving right past it on his way home. I can have him (or his fiance) drive the Lexus back to Omaha for me for just the cost of the gas (around $200 I figure).

The only downside I see is the 1500 miles that will be put on the car, which shouldn't matter too much. I'm not actually sure that the Timing Belt can be easily changed in Yakima WA... There are no Lexus dealers anywhere near. I suppose a Toyota shop (or good independent shop) could do the job, though. Not sure if the Honda dealership where the car is being sold would even attempt it.

One related question for the forum: Should I go ahead and have the Water Pump and Pulley Tensioners changed when the Timing Belt gets replaced? That's the normal 90K mile service, but I'm not sure it's worth it on a well-cared for 2002 with only 43K miles... Thoughts?

Thanks! Rick

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...yes have everything changed, it will only cost a couple of hundred dollars more for parts, but no extra labor should be charged,since they have to remove those parts to replace the timing belt. Also it would just give you piece of mind knowing all those parts are new, even though the old parts have only 43k on them,they are 13yrs old. I bet the Honda dealership can handle the job,especially if they want to sell the car and a Toyota dealership wouldn't have a problem servicing the car also. I had an "indy" do mine & spent about $700 (parts & labor). The downside won't be the 1500 miles put on the car, the downside will be,someone else enjoying "your car" for 1500 miles before you do....lol

kjcole

This sounds like a great car. I'll second getting the pulleys and tensioners changed -- it is so easy once you are in there and at a miniscule added cost.