my wife wants a sc430 for her 50th. right now a 2003 with 55k miles is at the lexus dealer with the price negotiated down to 23.6 k and an extended Lexus warranty around 4600 for 5 years/60k. I wanted to wait for an 06 but know it will be about 5 or 6 thousand more! I need some expert advice right away. I do know the car had a re-manufactured alternator put in after having a new battery installed and number of tire related services...also saw "rear bumper fixed and paint touched up" but can't find it. Wife had test drove a 2006 cpo with 58k miles going for 29k but now its gone. she didn't seem to notice a difference in the suspension. Should I make my wife wait for an 06 or is it safe to go with the 03?

 

The 06 has a substantial number of upgrades over the 02-05 model years is was the typical Toyota Lexus mid cycle refreshment.
Also, read the sticky thread near the top of our forum covering buying a used SC430...it has a wealth of info and points you should be inspecting before making an offer on ANY SC430. Here is a link to the thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...ned-sc430.html

Oh I agree, dollar for dollar the 06 is a substantial improvement. The price of the warranty is pretty high you should shop on that too.

 

Being a very happy 02 SC owner of 4 yrs, I would scout for an 06+. You sound like your in a hurry and I would caution you not to be rash! On the other hand when the right deal comes along jump on it. I think I did everything right 4 yrs ago. I looked for 9 months. At the time the year did not matter, but 06s were running over $50k, so that was out. I wanted white gold with ecru interior with low mileage. Not only did I find just that, but it had 23k miles on it. I offered asking price based on the fact that it must go to a Lexus dealer where I paid around $200 for a 2 hour inspection. After finding only the trunk struts needing to be replaced- the dealer reduced the price by $500 which is what Lexus said they would charge and ended up paying $26,500 and replaced the struts myself for $50. I was also able to add a 7 yr warranty to the car. If you also plan on doing that make sure you find a low mileage car. Be sure to educate yourself about the SC by reading the great stickies at the top of the forum as well as the search function. This is the best site you will ever find for any car. Very knowledgeable members. Don't be in a hurry until you find the right one. Then do your homework and move quickly-good SCs don't last long on the market!

 

Thanks. I regret passing up the 06. wife more interested in mileage and interior color than "stuff she doesn't understand" I read they upgraded electronics in 06, but what exactly does that mean to a someone who doesn't understand technical things...only thing I can tell her that she understands is NO Bluetooth. is there any other differences in the car? Also, do I dare go with anything other than the Lexus platinum warranty???

 

Let's see...06 has improved head and taillamps, new six speed transmission, electroluminescent dash board, refinements to the suspension to name a few of the major differences. Others are upgrade NAV system Gen 4 vs the Gen 2/3 in the 2003 model. Did you notice you cannot input NAV data when the car is moving? That's Toyota's lawyers are work. You also need to check which version disk is in the NAV ECU the current one is 11.1 the one in the 03 could be 10 years old by now if it's the original DVD.
I have an aftermarket warranty not a Lexus product and it's was substantially less than the money you quoted and it's paid for itself nearly twice now with about two years still left on it. The key is to find the highest level of coverage with the FEWEST EXCLUSIONS ....means you need to really read the contract to see what is specifically excluded. For example most exclude weatherstripping and upholstery.
Regarding the consumer electronics...if you look you'll see even the 06 has a cassette tape deck ...for the hundreds of cassette you have stashed away...no iPod connector, no SAT radio, limited cell phone functionality. I finally upgraded mine this year to 2012 electronics.
The sticky I linked to in my previous post really covers a lot and will help tremendously.

 

The price of the warranty seems very high. You can do much better. Like others have said, don't get into a rush to buy your SC. Take your time and do your research. Also be sure to check the vehicles history report on Lexus.com. Sign-up, go to owners, enter the VIN and see if the previous owner had it serviced reguarly. Good luck on your quest.

 

frankly, if you didn't jump on the deal then you are having second thoughts. you are the one holding the cash, so there is no rush. it took me only 3 weeks to find my car but my only requirements were 06+, low miles, black exterior, and NOT the cream interior. but waited 6 years for the price to drop to where its affordable.

since you are buying it for your wife, "cosmetics" are important and she already told you her requirements. ask her the exterior and interior combo she wants and list out the ones she DOESN'T like and eliminate the candidates.

wish you best of luck.

 

Ditto on the 06. Patience my dear fella, patience.

 

06 is well worth the wait. Listen to VVTiBob!

 

Thanks to everyone who answered my plea for help, ran the vin and only some touch up painting, mostly rear bumper and leather. The only major items was the trd chrome wheels with rites mounted, valve core rebuild for one of the tires, O2 sensor, battery replacement, remanufactured alternator, a battery rreplacement, accessory belts, and seat repair. Only thing strange was they reported they recommendation to replace the timing belt but The car only has 55k... thought recommended change interval was more like 90....or is that due to age in the florida heat? an insurance agent checked for accidents and nothing came up and said if it checks out ok with mechanic, jump on it....But ... after all the great advice here and some searching thru the threads... I convinced the wife to wait... then she realizes later on that she was settling because she is anxious to get one. I knew she didn't want a black one...even if it was stunning! I know we have to be patient and the right one at the right price will eventually be in my driveway.

 

Timing belt goes on mileage AND age.

VW/Audi usually say change theirs after 60k or 4 years - GM (in europe) are similar with their small-block belts.

To have one changed every 100k or 10 years is amazing really - but essential to do.

 

glad you waited because spending over 20k to just "settle" on a 50th birthday gift isn't what people have in mind. you will get the ONE on your driveway.

 

06 CPO 50k miles with Ecru interior and granite exterior. Just waiting on Financing. Interior what the wife wanted and she loves the dark gray paint. Dealer salesman was really trying to help us find the right one. Looks like the first one we saw, sticker shock for a 6 and a half year old car (29k CPO 53kmiles) so we passed only to end up with spending 32k with 50kmiles now. The first one was tan and this one is Ecru that the wife really likes. Everyone was right to wait, thanks for the advice


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I agree on the 06 for the electronics alone.

+1 on this. 20% of the value of the car for a warranty that you might or might not need seems a bit much.

 

For what it's worth, if I were buying today I would buy an 06+ from a private seller. You can buy Lexus extended warranties through a Toyota dealer for much less than they charge you for a CPO. A few people had posted contact information for one that was selling Lexus warranties for less than half what Lexus would charge. As long as you do your homework on the car and have it checked out, you can save thousands.