Hi. I’m new here and I know this topic has come up a lot over the years. I’ve read a lot and watched a lot of YouTube videos. But I have not reached a solid conclusion and I have some specific questions.

I am looking at buying a 2005 SC430. But my main drawback is the stereo interface. If I can’t enjoy my music, then it’s hard to enjoy the car.


- Is there an aux input anywhere? I do not want cheap or tacky solutions to this problem. Specifically, I’d prefer not to have a loose cable dangling from my glovebox.
- I see BMWs have a pretty good modification community. They make nice OEM-style screen replacements, so you could have CarPlay installed. I don’t know where the cable end up dangling from though. But my point is, does the SC430 have a similar option, where the screen can be replaced with a touch-enabled CarPlay unit, but looks like it’s OEM? I would want the top screen to be replaced, while leaving the stereo-unit and the ac-unit as is. I’ve seen a YouTube video where some guy replaced his stereo-unit with a CarPlay screen, but I find that to be very tacky.
- If there are high quality solutions to these problems, does anyone know where (a) to buy them, and (b) where to take them for professional installation in the Los Angeles area?
- As a nice bonus, I would love to add a reverse camera once all of the above features are addressed.
- And I know there is Naviks and at least one other company that makes units which might work. But after visiting their websites, I have no idea on what I am buying, what the compatibilities are, and where to get them installed. So overall I am looking to see if anyone has figured out nice, sleek, **reliable**, relatively-easy, solutions. How how much these would cost.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the club. First, if you can, buy an 06+, it has some cosmetic changes and with 6-speed transmission. Back to your questions, most of us here (except me) have upgraded the ML stereo with new and modern touch screen unit. This is the easiest route, inexpensive you can go. Some of us replace the NAV with either after market touch screen unit or Garmin Navigation Unit. This modification requires to modify the housing that hold the original NAV. The cheapest way to have music play from your Iphone or Samsung is a FM transmitter. It offers USB so you can pare and play music from your phone. If you do an advance search on this subject, you will have plenty of infos.

 

Not really what you are asking, but here is my solution…let us know what you decide.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...007-sc430.html

 

I recently tackled a similar project. Post #2 in this thread summarizes the relevant threads and products I found. There a many ways to upgrade the infotainment system. I think you need to start with figuring out what features you 'need' vs 'want.' For AUX, I don't think you'll need a cable dangling anywhere. You could mount something like this in place of the cigarette lighter:

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

I’m not sure if the dual-screen method is right for me. I’d prefer only replacing the top screen with a carplay system, as I like to keep my cars as stock as possible, or use very OEM-style methods. I’ve just never developed a taste for car mods that change the look and feel. But it’s not out of the question since it is also a practical solution. That’s the main thing I am looking for, practicality with class.

in any case, I just walked away from an SC430. It’s beautiful, but it costs over $21k out the door (after tax/title). It’s a 2005 with about 90k miles. It’s had 1 accident and 1 “damage incident” as the dealer prefers to call it. I call it 2 accidents. No frame damage, not salvaged. The interior does look clean, I’ll give it that. But the price just feels like I should be walking put the door at $15-$16k.

Anyone else have any thoughts on that?

I am also looking at 2016 BMW 4-Series convertibles. They are about $30-$33k out the door with 70k miles. Quite expensive for an old car with high miles. But also gorgeous.

Pretty much everything is feeling overpriced and I can’t seem to figure out a solid solution.

 

$21K sounds high. For reference, I paid ~$12.5 for a 2003 with 92K miles. It had a few minor problems that I fixed myself (bare tires, jammed CD player, twisted battery lead, loose trim piece, broken door lock actuator). It also benefited from some ‘refreshing’ (refoamed speakers, refinished leather, detailed paint). Even if all that had been done, I don’t think it would have been worth another 9K.

That said, used car prices are crazy right now. CarMax bought my 2016 Mazda3 with 25K miles for $12.5K. Lord knows what they turned it around for.

 

Not to deter you from purchasing a BMW but I would stay away from it for maintenance and repair cost reason. I never owned German cars but I heard lot of complaints about their reliability and repair cost. There are many nice SCs out there, just take your time and be patient. One will come your way.

 

Again I appreciate the replies.

yeah, used prices seem quite high, and none of the cars I’ve seen feel like a score. So I might be back to the waiting game.

cheers.

 

They are out there. I got a very high mileage (180k) one in pristine condition for $9k from a dealer. Saw it on the lot and grabbed it before it was even listed. Even got them to throw a new timing belt on it. But that was as far as price negotiations got.

 

What’s year? 02-05 it’s good price, 06+ it’s great deal.

 

'04. I'd have liked to have the 06+ Tiptronic, but just didn't see that happening in that price range and this nuts car market right now. I'm sure I'l be mighty happy with such a pristine '04. Had my mechanic check it out and his reaction was that it looked like it had far fewer miles than it did. New radiator too. Only likely big-ish repair down the road that hasn't been dealt with as far as I can see from Lexus Dealer records is Power Steering pump and hoses.

 

Check out my 08 in the other post. IT IS a rebuilt title but would be asking significantly less than 21k. Similar miles as the 05 you were looking at. 93K. The damage from the rebuilt title is HAIL only. DM if interested.

 

Hi again. Following up on this, I haven’t bought anything yet.

My opinion on the solutions in this thread have come around.

If I do buy one of these cars, does anyone know of a good place in the Los Angeles area that can do installs? Ideally, I want these:


- remove original stereo and replace with carplay. It’s okay to remove the mechanical panel. I like the side brackets that make the new screen look flush. (As per reply #3 from Bgw70)
- replace the top screen with a modern navigation. Preferably a carplay component (ie, have an Apple map on top screen, and spotify app on bottom screen. I want the 2 screens to be independent, not identically mirrored).
- replace the cigarette lighter with an aux input (hopefully can feed into the new stereo) (as per reply #4 from 430in303)
- install front/backup camera
- install toggle switch for the antenna to go up/down. Or have other solutions that essentially keeps the antenna down (maybe even replacing it with a mini one). Ideally without losing am/fm capabilities.
- refresh the foam on the speakers

I don’t want to do all this work myself. Depending on price, I’d like to have these done by a pro in the Los Angeles area.

Any ideas?

 

The pioneer 4600 avh unit and a beat sonic 13l will allow the ml stereo to wake up and give better controls and car play is on WiFi.

 

Thank you. So far there’s a lot of items checked off my list. But some aren’t quite yet. Here’s where I am.


- still hoping to find a nice SC430 that is (a) the color scheme I want, (b) 2006 or above, (c) good condition, (d) the right price. It’s been quite hard finding one with (d) checked off. but I’m patient.
- when I do buy one, I’ll replace the Mark L head unit with a Pioneer touchscreen (plus a nice bracket so it looks clean). (I do hope that the steering wheel controls will be able to adjust the volume on the radio rather than the input-gain on the amp.)
- I’ll install front/back cameras and a microphone.
- install an aux-usb input via the cigarette lighter (though I haven’t seen anyone’s install of this yet)
- I’d like to install a garmin system in the top screen. But the 2 problems I’m seeing so far are (a) instructions on doing so seem to be thin, and (b) I want to retain the Lexus OS so I can see system diagnostics, but I think the garmin (or any other screen replacement) would eliminate this. Does anyone know for sure?