farmergirl

My car came with the lexus mini spare from the previous owner. The spare (w/ cover) fits just inside the trunk down in the well, standing up half under the floor above the jack. The roof can still fit down inside the trunk, but your storage is verrrry limited, maybe room for a couple of bottles of water.

Yes that is something you have to factor in the equation. But I doubt you will ever have that situation again. Duh! You must be a man based on what you said in your statement. One time was enough for me. Remember I was addressing other women, sharing my story making them aware of a potential crises if they get rid of their run-flats. I live in a metro/rural area and I don't want to be limited in my driving wondering whether or not I'll be safe, late at night, when (not if) I have a flat tire. Please understand that me, being a woman, even having extensive martial arts training and a gun permit to carry a gun (which I do) would definitely rather not have to deal with a bad situation than to have to chance getting KILLED because I was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. If we are going to have these cars, a decision has to made when using/not using run-flats based, not just on expense but also SAFETY. This is just my opinion. I'm sure there are many different thoughts regarding this issue(run-flats vs non run-flats). I'm glad this happened because it happened for a reason....... I made it home SAFE because of my car's run-flat TIRES.

Hi Folks, (This is for all the ladies who own a sc430 or wives who drive their husband's sc430) I've written about this about a month or two ago, but never saw it posted. This is about TIRES. I've had my red sc430 for one year and had religiously kept detailed print outs on all the non run flat tires that people were purchasing to keep from using the run-flats. Now what I'm about to say made me throw the file away and forget about ditching the run-flats. Let me tell you the events that changed my mind: I am a middle aged female and was driving home one night at midnight from out of town and was about 200 miles from home. It was super foggy on the interstate & visibility was only about 1/4 of a mile. Because of that, I didn't see something in the road until I ran over it, it was too late to swerve and needless to say, it caused my run-flat to go flat. Sure I also have a spare, but.......I was so scared of stopping on the shoulder to change it, one, someone could hit me because of the fog and two, a bad person could potentially harm me. It was midnight and again, it was incredibly foggy. I made the decision to drive home on that run-flat (it was damaged beyond repair anyway) and guess what, I drove over 100 miles going 50 mph and my car never swerved or fish-tailed or made noise or nothing. I would have never known that I had a flat except for the flashing low tire light and beeping noise. I was sooooo relieved that I was going to be home with my family and be home SAFE. Sure I had to buy another run-flat tire ($450) but I feel my life was worth spending that $450. A can of fix-a-flat would not have helped. It was a huge gash and wouldn't hold air because I tried. If I had switched to the Michelin Pilots I would have been stranded on the side of the interstate out in rural country at midnight and Lord knows what could have happened, I was alone and scared. Now I know that I will never have a fear of being stranded on the side of the interstate because I'm keeping my run-flats.

Hi Sean, I am replying to your story about your indecision about letting the car wash/body shop repair your car. Are you listening to yourself? You are not sure if you're going to be happy and you want confirmation from everyone here at this forum that the car wash owner is competent enough to "fix" your car right up. If it were me, I would sue them for the damages no matter where I took it (it was their fault DUH!). It's your right & their dime to get it fixed where-ever you wish. I would definitely take it to the Lexus dealership, at least they have a warranty and satisfaction garantee. What kind of garantee does the "car wash" guy have? Do you really think the car wash guy is the most qualified guy to be fixing YOUR lexus? Isn't your car worth more to you than that? Mine sure is. I have a red "sweet" baby sc430 and I wouldn't dare take a chance of letting someone "try" to fix it when I'm not completely sure of their ability. Maybe if your car were a worn out Ford with 200,000 miles on it? ha ha. Take my advice, Don't chance it. You'll regret it in the end. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!

Hi Cmartin248, Seems you have much experience with getting your tires just right. I'm a new owner of an 02 sc430 and am making notes about what tires to replace my runflats (Michelin Pilot Sports) when it's time and now I want to make note of exactly what to tell the tire guy to do when he mounts them regarding the alignment. Can you send the exact specs that work best to extend the life of new tires to their maximum? Thank you!

Hi all! Just bought my red 02 sc430 about 3 weeks ago. I love it. Wished I'd done this loooong ago. I see a need on the front grill area for a clear 3m bra cover and would like to find one(install too) without having to go to the Lexus dealership. The tips that many wonderful sc430 owners are leaving for others to read are absolutely PRICELESS. Thank you! Also wanting to know the least painful way to upgrade my gps dvd system to current. My email is happytimesfarm@aol.com. Thank you again for future help! :) Show All

Hi. I just purchased a 2002 SC430 and I love love love my hot red baby! Only problem is the GPS is so outdated that I cannot set up my "home" feature because it doesn't recognize my address. Bummer. Then when I spoke to my local Lexus dealer, they wanted $325 for an update. Seemed to be so high especially after being told that the update still may be incomplete. Does anyone have any updates that I could buy? I live in the Memphis area. Thanks!