I think you dodge the bullet Kevin . I hope whoever the sucker is didn't pay more than $3000 for it. Oh well, he could be showing up on this board with all the questions...

 

Absolutely! I knew just where to come when I saw the car. This board!! It's a great idea to fly and drive the car back, too. I may do just that

 

Good to hear that, looking forward to when you find a good one.

 

the nice thing about these cars is that a lot of them were kept as "weekend/summer cars" and hence there are a lot of very low mileage examples out there. You will pay more for them, but you won't have much to do on them and you will have a lot more confidence in the car you get. It took about a month to find mine, an '05 with just 38k miles and it makes me smile every time I drive it

 

I suggest avoiding the neglected cars especially if you plan to keep the SC for a while. Great condition low mile cars are getting hard to find but they are out there if you are patient. I bought a 2004 with 27k miles on it in absolutely mint condition in Oct 2016. Paid a premium price for it but it is such a pleasure to own and drive. We get so many complements on this car, people stop and check it out - several have said it is the best looking interior they have ever seen on any car.

 

Keep looking and you will find one with low mileage. As Jabberwock said, you may pay a little extra, but it will be well worth it. Bought mine in July 2016, 59k miles, a 2006.

 

Wow, those are great examples thanks! You've convinced me to wait for a better low mileage SC430. Like my GS400 I don't plan on ever selling it. I'll keep you posted when I find one

 

Just wanted to let you all know I will be purchasing this 2002 SC430 with a little over 105,000 miles from a Toyota dealer in Florida. Left a deposit on it today and will be sending a cashiers check for the difference on Monday. I am having it shipped at a separate cost to me in North Carolina (about $429 on uShip.com). Total cost was $11,800 including shipping, title and some dealer fees. The sale rep I've been working with all week did a video walk through of the car with me on Friday. Seats are in great condition and the top works as intended which is what I was looking for. From a maintenance standpoint, the car is mostly dealer serviced, comes with all 3 keys, and a clean CarFax. The timing belt was changed in 2013 and had new tires put on in 2016.

http://www.royalpalmtoyota.com/detai...-16061383.html

What's funny is I'm also looking at a lower mileage SC430 in Florida but the elderly gentleman doesn't want to ship it to NC. If we can agree on a price I may fly down to get it (and sell this one at a later date). So I could own two at one time! lol. At any rate, I'm just looking forward to getting this one. I love the SC430 (been test driving them for years) and can't wait to get it and put the top down now that the weather is nice.

 

Love the colour! how much did you pay for it, if you dont mind me asking?

 

Congrats on your new acquisition Kevin.

 

Congrats! Post some pictures when you get the car.

 

Looks like you have good condition Conti DWS tires on your new purchase. Not bad. I ran on Conti DWS non RFTs after my RFTs finally became intolerable. Was a decent ride. Should be good for at least 25 k+ miles.

 

The wholesale value of the badly-maintained car mentioned previously in this thread is under $2,000.

CarMax would probably quote somewhat under $1,000.

Just a point of reference

Glad you found something better!

 

Thanks everyone! I will definitely post pics the second it's off the truck. I should have it in a couple of weeks (depending on shipping).

I noticed that, too. I currently have a set of Continental DWS on my GS400 and they are awesome! I've been reading up on the SC430 and everyone is saying there is a much better ride after moving from the RFTs.

 

Paid 20k even, 59k miles on it when I got it.