I8ABMR

Hey guys! My brother and I were car shopping tonight and came along an 05 SC430 for a great price and only hads 18K miles on it. It has the ML system as well. My brother likes the car but we want to see if there are any issues with ownership.

1. what are likes and dislikes??

2. Has the car been problematic?

3. any well known problems?

4. what kind of real world mpg's do you get?

5. Is the insurance out of control???

any suggestions or recommendations would appreciated. Thanks guys.

Yes

1) that's pretty subjective. personally, i think it looks good with a few minor mods and has decent performance. dislikes are the technology is dated. no push button start. ipod isn't integrated. it's a bit underpowered and there aren't many performance mods.

2) no

3) no

4) about 16 mpg city. 22 highway

5) no. i pay about the same or less than friends with jeeps, vw's, nissans etc.

CBG

1. I love my 05 SC 430. It is a real head turner on the road. I have had no dislikes about my car.

2. I have had no problems with my car.

3. No well known problems except with the run flat tires that come with the car. They are known for a ruff, noisey ride so I changed the tires a month or two after buying my car.

4. I know it is still better MPGs than my 6 cylinder SUV was with the 8 cylinder that comes with the car. Right now my average MPG is 21 mpg and that is city and highway driving. They are rated at 17 city and 24 highway.

5. My insurance went up $300 from my 03 Chevy Blazer. I acted dumb when I was talking to my insurance lady and asked her why my insurance was gonna go up with this car and she said it was because the car is considered a "high performance" car.

I say because the car your brother is looking at has low miles and if it is in great condition you should be getting a good car. Just make sure the carfax is clear and he should be getting a great and very fun car to drive. What color ext/int?

Good Luck and keep us posted.

tfischer

By the way, all SCs have the ML sound system as standard equipment.

EJC

My only issue was the run-flats. Hated them and replaced them real fast.
For some, tire wear appears to be too quick

I8ABMR

Thanks for the input guys. The gentleman at the dealership said the car has the new run flat tires on it. My brother will see if they can swap tires out for something more quiet. I stll dont think the tires are that critical. They are brand new, but if the dealership can swap them out for a non run flat tire we will do it. Thankls again.

EJC

IF YOUR THINKING OF LEASING!

You may want to get the car with the run-flats.
Hi-performance tires are not going to last real long
Get the tires locally and store the run-flats
Put the run-flats back on when you turn the car in.

I'm on my 2nd SC and that's the way I've handled it.
My '02 needed rubber about 3 months before turning it back in, I put the run-flats back on and everyone was happy.

I now have an '03 and I'm doing the sme thing. A year and a half to go on the lease and the RFs are just waiting to go back on.

I8ABMR

My brother is really thinking of pulling the trigger, but I heard from another member that he got an 05 with similar low mileage for 30k. I want my brother to beat them up a little

Yes

anything under 32k with that low of milage would be a decent deal. but it can't hurt to lowball. if they won't go down on the price, he could try for a free extended warranty and/or free maintenance. there aren't a lot of buyers right now. so he should be able to get a steal.

Jackalope

I agree. I'd go for that extended warranty instead of trying to get the price down any further. In the long run, that's worth more money. Wish I had tried to do that on mine.

I8ABMR

I think thats the plan. extended warranty will give him peace of mind and may grease the wheel for the transaction to be completed faster

Jackalope

Good luck! Let us know how it works out!