Thanks again for the reply.....

I guess what Im confussed about at this point, without having drivin the SC yet, is the fact that the salesperson (friend ?) says the ride will be better than my E. I'm confussed since all reports that I have read so far say it is (can be) a rough ride with the RF. I do no want to put on reg tires because I do not want to loose any more trunk space.

 

I'm confused too, and I've been driving an SC430 for four years now.

I have heard about the rough or "hard" ride, but it must all be relative, because I find the car rides and handles extremely well. (For years, I had a Jeep Wrangler -- that was a rough ride.)

The only thing I have noticed is that a sharp break in the pavement, like a nice size pothole, does not get absorbed by the tire sidewalls, since the sidewalls are not tall and they are made stiff. But this is rare. I have taken many long trips in the car, up to 11 hours in a day, and it is not tiring.

A large sedan with higher profile tires will have a smoother ride, as those tires will absorb more impacts. I concede that runflats should be harsher than convential tires of the same size, but in day to day driving, on this car with the suspension it has (which seems pretty sophisticated), I don't notice. I have not been motivated to swap out the runflats, although many here have done that, but I don't mind the ride as it is, and I want the trunk space that "no spare" allows.

Drive it and see how you like it, because all of this is somewhat subjective, in that your experiences in the past may have conditioned you to demand a certain level of handling and road feedback. But don't generalize from the relatively few reports you see here and conclude that the ride is horrible and unacceptable. This car would not sell well at this price and would not have the high owner satisfaction reports if it had a ride that would shake your fillings out.

If you swap out the runflats, you will "improve" the ride a bit, I am sure, but you are starting from a point that is already pretty far up the scale.

 

I think you're exactly right. And I don't think RFs are going anywhere as more and more manufacturers seem to be utilizing them.

 

it's definitely relative. the ride on my sc430 stock is way harsher than my gs4, and maybe close to y is300

but compared to the evo viii and the m3 i have driven, the sc430 is silky smooth

 

I have switched to regular tires & without a spare tire for almost 2 years already without a problem. You can always use Lexus Roadside Assistance if there's a problem (or AAA after that expires in 4 years) if you don't do frequent long trips to remote areas with the car.

If I keep the car beyond 4 years, I may install the spare tire kit. That'll cost most of the trunk space, but as everybody already knows, the back seats are not really designed for people, & you can in fact put a lot of stuff in the back seat area if required.

Test drive the car to see if you can live with the runflats, if not, switching to regular tires may not be as problematic as you think either. Any 2 person convertible is not meant to be a practical car that can carry loads of stuff anyway, people don't buy this kind of cars for that purpose.

 

that means you are not sure if you will keep the car?!

 

Who knows ? There's no abosolute certainty what I'll do in the future, & if the next LS is any good, either the G35c or the SC430 will probably have to go by 2008

 

Thanks for the reply,

So are you in the camp to lease the care if you plan to keep it (about) 4 years?

What are your thoughts on the negitive side of a lease?

 

sell the g35 man, period

my sc430 is a daily drive, so will myls4xx one day

 

well lease is especially a good option if you plan to change cars every couple of yrs.

if you are thinking about keeping then car, then ask yourself if you can afford to buy out the car after the lease in 3 or 4 yrs. if so, and you do the negotiation right, leasing is a good thing. if not, then financing the car USUALLY will give you a better deal after all.

when i got my sc430, i figured i should be able to pay off the car after 3 yrs (the residual), and by leasing the car, i will only pay around 2k extra, compared to a lot more if i finance the car for 3 yrs. so leasing was a much better option for me.

everyone's mileage might vary, you just have to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of math yourself. do NOT let the salesperson do the math for you, a lot of times they trick you into unrelated numbers

 

Captmike, wanted to chime in here even though I'm still shopping for a SC430... I previously had a 2000 MB CLK320, my family has had an E300 and an E320, and have had issues left and right with each one. Meanwhile, my LX470 is my 2nd Lexus and 3rd in the family and have had trouble-free ownership with each one. Of course any car model or manufacturer can have issues, but it's funny how some makes are "luckier" than others.... with a new Lexus I think you'll find that you only go to the dealer on your terms.

 

Thanks for your reply, ShadyJC

 

Well my new SC430 came in. The salesman, another one that was to handle this while mine was out said "come and pick up your car".

My wife and I want by to take a look at it....haven't even driven one yet.

The salesman pulled the car out front and we walked out to look at it....black/black.

I suggested that we take it for a test drive. The saleman said that $60,700 would be the price on the car and if I agree to that we would go test drive the car. At that point my wife started to get pissed and suggested that she never heard of such a thing and it was't our fault that they did not have another SC availible on thier lot to demo. The salesman stated that he does not want to put any miles on the car for nothing and unless we agree to the price we could not drive it.

I could have said I agree then drove it then said bye bye.....but I just thanked him for his time and we walked away.

 

I'm confused about the situation, but agree that you made the good move in not driving the car based upon a purchase agreement.

Your first sentence implies that you had purchased the car "My new SC430 came in."

Then you mention that you have not driven one, and no one should sign a contract to purchase without driving one first.

Then when you mentioned you were still talking price, it seems clear that you have no contract, so it's not "my new SC430."

I would guess that you simply indicated a color pref and the dealer called when that came in.

You should get to a dealer and drive one that's on the lot (although most dealers do not have too many on the lot at any one time). All colors drive the same.

Finally, to get to the point, you did the right thing in not agreeing to any price prior to driving it. Agreeing on the price is the last step in the process. Driving one should be among the first steps. This dealer was way out of line -- I have never heard of such a thing.

 

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard (especially from a Lexus dealer). I would have walked away too.

Chance that it's just an idiot / ill-informed salesman and something that can be resolved with a call to the Sales Manager? (Not that you should have to, but...)