antigeek

Today, after 5351 days (14 years, 7 months, 25 days), I have said goodbye to my first new car: the 2002 SC430 in Midnight Pine with Saddle interior. With the help of this amazing forum, I fully enjoyed it -- perhaps too much. I have debated posting pictures of its issues, the most obvious being the split driver's seat and shrunken rear headrests -- victims of a majority of top-down days in the Texas sun. Now a project car for someone else, it was a true joy to own, and still exudes a style that has not gone stale -- a fact you all know, and no other convertible could even think of saying.

It's replacement (if you can call it that): the 2017 M-B C300 coupe in Brilliant Blue with Saddle interior (M-B Tex this time). The S coupe caught our eye first at the Fort Worth Auto Show, and the C displays those same great sweeping lines...at a more reasonable price. I can only hope to love it as much as I did my SC, and pray that it gets even close to the reliability I experienced.

My thanks to all of those who helped with so many DIY projects, from the Vais install to headlamp replacement. You guys are the best: passionate, resourceful, and willing to help fellow owners. The MB forum pales so badly in comparison, I can only hope to prop it up a bit.

I leave you with a couple of last pics and the new ride.
Thanks again, and keep this great forum strong!

rudyH

It is the end of an era! The time to move on comes. You made a good choice. The end of an era statement statement has more of a meaning for me though. It makes me very sad that Lexus has nothing for me to move to after I tire of my SC. They make some great cars but none of them are an SC replacement. Even it's named replacement doesn't seem to do it for me. We'll see how it goes. In any case enjoy that German rocket. Mercedes makes some of the best fun cars out there from any company. You have a full warranty so no worries!

FLYCT

AMAZING! I didn't know it was possible to own a car that long.

Best of luck with your new purchase.

416tt

iTrader: (1)

Nice car!! congrats

Harold57

Sorry to see you go. I was hoping that we'd have another Dallas meet up again with the original gang attending but it looks like that won't happen. It sounds like you got your money's worth out of it, definitely enjoyment-wise.

I'm right at 4 years behind you, ownership time-wise. It will be a sad day indeed when I have to turn it in though because I know that there won't be anything out there comparable.

Enjoy the C300 and all the electronic upgrades that it must be bringing to the game.

jasone36

Good luck to you!

Out of curiosity, how much did you get on trade-in value (assuming you traded it in)?

Lexeffect

Sadly, I too will be selling my 2008 Lexus SC430. In September of 2000 AND NEVER!

ShawnOk

iTrader: (1)

haha good one. I was about to get all sad... "but why is everyone selling.?" haha. got me.

antigeek

I did trade it in. Prepare to cringe: $4700.
That's below the low end of the KBB fair value, but it's not entirely surprising.
Keep in mind that this was my only car, so I drove and enjoyed it daily.
I guess it's disclosure time...

While it only had <121K miles on it, the top still went up and down 90+% of the time (stupid package tray sensor), and it had no _major_ mechanical issues, there were several problems that turned it into a project car:
- driver's seat torn in many places, and rear headrests shrunk
- front bumper completely torn from fender on both sides: lost the bottom mud guard many years ago (stealer didn't put it back on?), which may have contributed? All have bumped a curb or 20.
- rear bumper scratched and faded
- paint faded (especially the rear spoiler)
- multiple dents, dings, and scratches
- engine seals starting to leak (duh @ 14 years -- tightening heads helped)
- nav DVD not working
- head unit display not working
- telescoping steering wheel...didn't
- driver's side auto-up auto-downed (thanks, jackass teen who broke my window last year to steal a $30 Bt receiver while leaving my Maui Jim sunglasses -- and stealership who didn't get the replacement window set right)

All points of shame, sure, but (of course) I believe I was the exception. While I didn't treat the leather and paint enough, I didn't keep it garaged for weekend drives. There are plenty of glorious stories of wear & repair, like how I was working on my second go-round of speaker replacement. I took every opportunity to enjoy my SC, and I did. I got my money's worth, and I STILL got recent compliments that it looked good, up to the last week.

And yeah, I wish I had treated it better. Despite endless ribbing from fools who called it a "woman's car," it has a style that is still timeless (for failures, see: Audi A5, BMW 6-series, M-B CLK, SLK, and SL (older)). It has also, regrettably, been abandoned by Lexus / Toyota, especially at the price point the SC was in.

Treat your SCs well, my friends, and continue to enjoy them. For me, it was time to move on.
And yeah, it was hard to do.

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

Harold there are still a few of us here....lol...even if we only meet up for a drink or 2 or 3

antigeek

If you'll accept a former owner who can only reminisce, I'm in.

sblevins

Awww, it was lovely. But the new one is too. Mercedes makes wonderful cars, I've had a few (3 SLKs and a CLK) and I'm sure you will love it. Congratulations.

Harold57

Well actually, three of us met up early on before that meet that you attended with about 8 or 9 cars. But we should still plan to do another in the fall when the weather cooperates! (Actually, there was another meet that occurred before I joined back in 2006 also. I think that there may be only one of those attendees still around the forum though.)


We absolutely will! It is all about a shared interest and after 14 1/2 years of ownership I think that we all know that you have an interest! (I don't think that I still have your phone or email contacts though. Those disappeared with my last job and associated cell phone.)

I gather from your description of the car seat that you and your wife decided against replacing the leather (as discussed in one of your last threads).