Buying 2004 Sc 430

[kenny2682]

am going to be buying 2004 SC430 this weekend and I was wondering what I should be checking out for? Is this a good deal?

This car is located in independent dealer, the price is $34,000 with 27,000 miles....this is my first time buying a Lexus and wanting to get SC430 for the longest time. I dont know what to look for or what to ask the dealer reference to the car other then ( any accidents and carfax report). Any suggestions will be apperciated. Thanks...

[Jer]

am going to be buying 2004 SC430 this weekend and I was wondering what I should be checking out for? Is this a good deal?

This car is located in independent dealer, the price is $34,000 with 27,000 miles....this is my first time buying a Lexus and wanting to get SC430 for the longest time. I dont know what to look for or what to ask the dealer reference to the car other then ( any accidents and carfax report). Any suggestions will be apperciated. Thanks...

I'm in the exact same position. I just yesterday paid for a 04 with more miles, but $1000 less price. For me the list of items to check included:

- carfax. The more history the more confidence you can have on it's treatment over its childhood.

- wheels and tires. Are they satisfactory or do they need changing. I had to change pie plates out, so having found a car with aftermarket wheels saved me $2000. And that they have Toyo Proxes (non Run Flat) tires saves me another $1000 that I would have spent.

- dvd all working?

- floor matts in good shape?

- keys. does it have at least two master keys, and hopefully a valet key (although in my 45 years on this earth I have yet to need one).

- warranty - in service date. This is a biggie to me. If the car has some warranty left I feel I have some protection. And if its still under warranty you can buy a lexus extended warranty for a reasonable price . (PM me for details if you're interested and I'll let you know where they're 30 - 45 % off.)

- seller. Are they a little broker or a large dealer. I have more confidence buying from a Lexus dealer than some small lot auto broker in Parsippany. :-)

Jerry

[andreic]

am going to be buying 2004 SC430 this weekend and I was wondering what I should be checking out for? Is this a good deal?

This car is located in independent dealer, the price is $34,000 with 27,000 miles....this is my first time buying a Lexus and wanting to get SC430 for the longest time. I dont know what to look for or what to ask the dealer reference to the car other then ( any accidents and carfax report). Any suggestions will be apperciated. Thanks...

I'm in the exact same position. I just yesterday paid for a 04 with more miles, but $1000 less price. For me the list of items to check included:

- carfax. The more history the more confidence you can have on it's treatment over its childhood.

- wheels and tires. Are they satisfactory or do they need changing. I had to change pie plates out, so having found a car with aftermarket wheels saved me $2000. And that they have Toyo Proxes (non Run Flat) tires saves me another $1000 that I would have spent.

- dvd all working?

- floor matts in good shape?

- keys. does it have at least two master keys, and hopefully a valet key (although in my 45 years on this earth I have yet to need one).

- warranty - in service date. This is a biggie to me. If the car has some warranty left I feel I have some protection. And if its still under warranty you can buy a lexus extended warranty for a reasonable price . (PM me for details if you're interested and I'll let you know where they're 30 - 45 % off.)

- seller. Are they a little broker or a large dealer. I have more confidence buying from a Lexus dealer than some small lot auto broker in Parsippany. :-)

Jerry

Hi,

I just signed up to this board and I think I'm not allowed to send you any PMs. I was planning on getting an SC430 soon and I wanted to know about that extended warranty. With the dealership I was told it's about $3000.

Any idea where else I could get such warranty in Canada (Montreal)?

Thanks!

[gcurrier]

We bought a used 2004 about 2 years ago. The things I would recommend are:

If buying from a Lexus dealer, see if the car is a Certified Lexus Used Car, which gives you additional warranty protection. Also see if the dealer will upgrade the Navigation Discs at no charge since they will be 4 years old and possibly updated.

As the earlier poster stated, tires are important. Ours came with the standard run-flats and we had to replaced them w/in 10,000 miles. After much research, we decided to replay with the non-runflats and got a much better ride. We didn't get the spare tire option, as this would eliminated any trunk space with the top down, so if we ever get a flat on the road, we will have to call for a tow.

Finally, the SC430 is notorious for having a paint job that is subject to chipping. Make sure the dealer touches up any blemishes before you buy.

[Burny]

We bought a used 2004 about 2 years ago. The things I would recommend are:

If buying from a Lexus dealer, see if the car is a Certified Lexus Used Car, which gives you additional warranty protection. Also see if the dealer will upgrade the Navigation Discs at no charge since they will be 4 years old and possibly updated.

As the earlier poster stated, tires are important. Ours came with the standard run-flats and we had to replaced them w/in 10,000 miles. After much research, we decided to replay with the non-runflats and got a much better ride. We didn't get the spare tire option, as this would eliminated any trunk space with the top down, so if we ever get a flat on the road, we will have to call for a tow.

Finally, the SC430 is notorious for having a paint job that is subject to chipping. Make sure the dealer touches up any blemishes before you buy.

A lady I know has a 2003 SC with 40K miles. She said it is certified and has a 100K warranty. She is asking $30K. Does the warranty have a number of years associated with it or just good until car reaches 100K miles?