Wheel Dr

The O2 and o3 also had top speed of 156 (limited),that dropped to 136 (limited) for a few years, and then went back up to 149 (limited),go figure.The early models also had 300 hp,which was dropped to 288hp for the later years.Word of advice,the lighter interior looks great but also shows more dirt and cracks,I have it, the only advantage is it stays cooler with hot weather.Best deals are to be had with the early models, make sure the timing belt water pump have been changed(6 years or 90,000).Belts are like tires they wear out even if you only have 20000 miles on your 2002. Change your timing belt,or better yet have the seller do it at his local toy,lexus dealer, good luck with your search, their great autos.

Harold57

The drop in the hp rating in the later years was not an actual drop in hp, from what I've read. The rated hp drop was a result in a change in the method that it was measured.

xfea

Thanks much to everyone.

I always assumed that the under the body the SC was nothing more than an LS.
Engine, tranny, suspension....

So the SC is all unique?

Wow - what a lot of work.

And now the SC has come to the end?

I read that there is no 2011 model.

VVTiBob

That's correct... a "replacement model", or maybe the next generation (3) of the SC line around 2014? That's the rumor, or story that Lexus/Toyota is sticking to and will neither confirm or deny it.

xfea

It just looks like Lexus miss-managed (neglected?) the SC all along.

The second generation came out in '01 and sold almost 30,000 in the first two years (01 and 02), and then with no upgrades to speak of let it wither on the vine so to speak selling all of about 6,500 for 07, 08, and 09 COMBINED.

I mean going from 15,000 / yr to 700 in 09?

I thought this was supposed to be a 'flagship' of sorts.

VVTiBob

Nah the "flagship" is the LS... our cars were really designed to compete with Mercedes SL, BMW and Infinity... sadly, as you mentioned, they neglected the line leading to the Gen2 demise.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the GEN 3 and when the get around to it in 2014 the WOW factor will be back.

KaiserSea1

More of a halo car then flagship. It is the first Japanese production car of it's type, and the name given the last run, "eternal jewel" Gives an idea how much pride her builders felt for her. I was living in Thailand when they came out and the ambassador from Japan refused his limo, to drive his SC. They did see it coming when they did the update in 06, which was the start of the sales drop. Articles about the 06 speak of the drop in HP with the new tranny, which was well before the change in ratings, that year could have used a 100hp bump instead of dropping 12hp.

The 1st gen did not look fast so good performance was a nice surprise. Putting a near exotic body on the gen 2 was a promise of speed the car could not deliver. True enough the target buyer wanted comfort over performance, but you look at the thing and expect to be blown away. I am guessing since Lexus never gave us a juiced up version, it was just too much out of her DNA to make her compete as a sports car.


I have the last of the ls430s and the second year of the sc430. Lexus does not do substantial upgrades to the product line, success or not. good for my SC which is 95% of the 2010. Bad for my LS which lacks a lot of simple upgrades found in any other 06 of it's class. Both cars have a tape deck and no iPod adapter. My 06 Rav 4 had a aux plug and played mp3 CD. How do you put better tech in a rav4 over an LS. Who knows brands like Pontiac did special editions all the time. Didn't save them!

tromly

love my 04, will miss the handmade aspect when I upgrade to a 06 PB !

thelopez

I bought mine last month in SoCal and went to see all below 22k in craigslist and auto trader.
What should I be looking for? Consider AAA inspection service for $99. People take air out of the tires to test the tire pressure sensor, but have some way to inflate the tires again, or budget $500 for new sensors. VSC/ABS light, there is DIY posted fix to turn off the light or it could be a bad sensor, a sensor is $250, if you can bring it somewhere to check for frame repairs do it. Check speakers. I've seen the seat backs loose on a lot of these used SCs on the market, I was wondering if it is due to hitting the rear seats.

Any year to stay away from? People who say, they don't know if the car has been in an accident, if you can't see/feel when a panel has been painted, bring someone who has. With the exception of the 02 with the ML option NAV option, confirm please, every other one is sold the same way. There is some TSB about some bushing on the 02 also rough riding or something.

What are the changes over the year? Transmission posted already, I've read in earlier post that there are different TSB on different years for the suspension, but I don't have any real confirmation. Hopefully someone can confirm GPS override was removed in 06. But I haven't seen an 06 in your budget anyways. Color options changed in later years, you can get dark work with light interior, also added an interior color.

What year(s) should I focus on with a $25K budget? 05 max based on your budget, but most people don't want to do the 90k maintenance due to the high price , so they get rid of them, the idea of spending 5-10% of the price of a vehicle for maintenance bothers people, but I don't care. Budget $1500 for the 90k services but a few hundred for other things they didn't want to spend money to maintain. Maybe someone can quote a brake job. High mileage 02-04 with curb rash wheel, scratch body parts, from a smoker of Mr. Cologne, is $15000. I'm not a dog, I don't want to smell the former owners. The floor has been 15k. You can change the color of a car and remove and paint every part for $4000, or $200-400 per body part for same color. $200-400 for a windshield. All the cars come with leather, which is something I could care less for, I actually want seat covers The leather sears are the only thing in the car that shows are and wear. The engine and tranny will go forever, so really for like $6000 you can change the car from a Red to a White have a new water pump and timing belt, get some brakes and the car will look and run like new until you decide that you want to change the suspension. Buy the color you want and save $4000. New tires start at $800 for a set and go into the thousands for a new rims and sport tires. Mine came with 20", I'm going to put the stock 18 to see if I like them better, if I do, I might even try going down to 17s , the THUD sound can be really bothersome to an old person like me. Maybe I should just turn down my hearing aid.

All of these prices are on the high side since I live in LA but probably wont be different for you in NorCal

Sorry if my grammar and typing made this painful to read

xfea

WOW

Much thanks to all - thelopez - you'r grammar is 'spot on'.

OK - so I'm going to bust the piggy bank and move into the $30k range.

Sounds like with that I'll be in the '06 and up market.

If we stay focused there - any particular advise?

Cliff1F2

I was curious just how much car you could buy for your money, so I built a small data set consisting of all used SC 430s from the years 2006 through 2009 listed with a sales price on AutoTrader. The results are summarized in the tables below. So now you have a good idea of just how much SC 430 your money will buy (on average).

KaiserSea1

Would it have been that hard to factor in color, mileage, and break it down geographically indicating the standard deviation based on population centers and climate. Cliff if you are going to be this lazy in your analysis you are better off posting on a Honda board. Geez

Cliff1F2

I think I'll leave that to you...you seem to have a lot more time to waste than I do.

KaiserSea1

Would if I could. You math guys not too much for sarcasm. I was probably the kid behind you copying your answers in math class. Great post

Cliff1F2

Well, I'm a sociologist with a heavy concentration in statistics, but I come here to relax, not to work. I would do the analysis you suggested, but the data gathering is a PITA. However, I'll make you a deal; if you want to gather the data into an Excel file, I'll do the stats.