Bgw70

1trkpny

Things you know:

Carfax?
Detailed Records
Inspection?
Test Drive?


Other thoughts:

Newer model might be enjoyable for the slight differences
I like the lower mileage on the older one

As people with more SC430 knowledge chime in, remember that what matters most to you means the most.........

Lesly1

With the 2003, ask if they have a photo of the rear bumper damage. Also after it was painted to see if the color was matched well. As far as I know, White is the hardest color to match.
With the 2008 "IF" it was bought for the wife in 2014, & seeing that they have had it for 3 years & she's never driven it, that means the average mileage at the time would have been 18k per year, which would make it almost
3 1/2 times as many miles traveled as the 2003. As far as I know Your '02 & the '03 are identical. With the '08 more gadgets, & more headaches when things go wrong. At the end of the day your money, your choice.
Just curious, do you plan to sell or keep your "02?
Best of luck with your decision.

Chris.......From OZ.

RichardMor

I assume you saw the replies to your question on the other post, right!

Now that you've heard from a few of us, tell us your thoughts and which way you're leaning. Have to agree with 1trickpony - this will be YOUR car, having an SC brings with it a whole lot of good emotions. Go with your gut.

Lesly1, I either don't understand or accept your mileage concern....."...make it almost 3 1/2 times as many miles traveled as the 2003." I understand your math logic, but does it really matter WHEN the miles were compiled? He could just as easily say the 2008 is FIVE years newer so would bring less age related wear. And since I am partial to the 2006 and up "gadgets", none of them are gadgets nor any more complicated than what's on the 2003 model - just updated and/or better versions of the same feature. With the asking price so close, the purchase decision may lie with which one is willing to negotiate more.

Cheers,
Rich

jzdulexus

Why would that be a concern? In fact, its good news IMO. A car driven at 60miles/hr has less wear and tear than a car driven at 18miles/hr, even though the former may end up having 3 1/2 times as many miles in one hour than the later. So, six years of 18k miles/yr vs fifteen years of 4.7k miles/yr, to me its a no brainer in terms of wear and tear on a car. Of course the real condition of the car has to be appreciated during a test drive.

jonas's RX

Gang

I happen to own an 02 WGC ( Gold Crystal white)
and I can tell you white is a very nice color
with the SC but the Pearl white is one of the
hardest color to match if you ever got into
an accident

I actually paid high retail for my 02 45K WGC
but I wanted all original paint.

Once a pearl white is repainted, it rarely matches

Here is my 02..

Harold57

So Bgw, what is driving (pardon the pun) this desire to replace your 2002? That may help you make the decision.

IMHO, the mileage difference between the two cars is negligible. As you well know, once a car gets older, a certain amount of miles on the car is probably a good thing. A 15 year old car with low mileage may have problems related to not being driven much, such as water that stays in the exhaust system making it ripe for rust, fluid systems that collect moisture because it was serviced based on mileage rather time, etc. I think that the 2008 with 11k or 12k miles a year is decent (not a lot but not exactly a garage queen either). So from a wear standpoint, I suspect that you could count the two as close to even.

Along the lines of wear and mileage is just the Father-time issue. Time does become an issue with the various plastics and rubber used around the car that will just age out rather than wear out.

So the next thing to look at are the features. You are well aware of the feature difference between the two vehicles. Which of the feature sets are more desirable to you?

Then of course, there is the price. Money-wise, the two are fairly even until you take into account the 5 year difference.

That's my 2˘ worth.

Let us know how it goes.

sixonemale

Both cars are nice. You've owned an '02 and are very familiar with all of it's features, so buying an '03 would be zero change minus your mod's. Albeit minor changes I would opt for the '08, six speed transmission, convertible top is six years newer, etc. Lastly, since you are in the stage of "thinking about purchasing another SC430", take your time, based on shear probability you will probably be able to choose from more than just two cars over the next few weeks or months.

riknchar

I would definitely be leaning towards the 2008 model, unless there are "disqualifying" things you discover about its history as you dig in. I've owned several SC430s, and have a strong preference for the ride in the 2006+ models. The suspension changes in 2006 yields a much smoother ride, I believe (based on my experience).

I also really dislike the old-style gauges in the 2002-2005 models; the electroluminescent gauges in the 2006+ cars are quite a bit nicer to me (I do realize this is a personal thing, and many probably could care less about how bright their speedometer is).

Good luck!

kevin3344

Both cars look great, it's really personal preference. One thing I miss on my '02 SC that my '99 GS has is manual transmission mode. Believe it or not I use that every day and it makes a difference (to me at least). So I may move up to an '06+ SC at some point, but I'm in no rush. I love my '02!

GmanSC

Since both cars are same price , I will definitely take the 2008 model . It looks nicer and has more upgraded features. Think about what you have to do to upgrade to the 2008 and the cost of upgrading.

grabber2

2008 all the way..........

lexixel

Sounds good; hard to go wrong

kevin3344

Looks good, maybe offer 15,500 and see if he will meet you there? My '02 has 107,000 miles now and no issues whatsoever...love it.

jzdulexus

It looks really good! And I would say the price is not bad either. If everything checks out this is a very hard to pass purchase.