Rear View Mirror Loose, Also Need Spare Tire

[DaveinTX]

Hi guys, My wife and I just picked up an 04 sc430 and love it. I read about the tire maint. before purchase and if thats as bad as it gets I'll be doing great. I did have a couple quick questions for the experts.

On another post about the mini-spares it looked like the conclusion was that a rx-8 spare would fit the sc430. I need to find a spare for the small trunk and I am on a budget, any info on where to find a spare would be appreciated. I can't believe lexus would charge over $500 for a spare, thats sure seems high.

My rear view mirror also seems to be slightly loose. I have checked several auto parts store and no luck finding service manual yet, I need to order one. It was easy enough to get the small top part of the cover off where it mounts to windshield but I didn't see a screw to tighten and was afraid to try and remove the bottom cover since I didn't know how it comes off. Any help there would also be very appreciated.

Thanks for any help guys. I like the forum, I have alot of reading to do. I'm not having much luck with the search function, it doesn't seem to get the specific thing I'm looking for. I'm sure I'll learn much more as I read. One last question it sounds like most use the lexus oil filter, is there a reason not to use a good aftermarket (bosch)?

Thanks again guys-Dave

[gordonw]

The spare from the dealer is expensive because its more than just a spare wheel and tire. It also comes with the kit required to install the spare. The car came with run flats, so a spare tire never came with the car, nor was it even an option. Lexus came out with a retrofit kit for a spare tire later. The kit consists of extra carpeting pieces, covers, hardware and the carrier to secure the spare. You may want to keep an eye on Ebay. The kits do appear on it sometimes.

As for the rear view mirror, you may want to bring it back to the dealer. Only reason the mirror becomes loose is it gets damaged being reinstalled after a windshield replacement.

[DaveinTX]

Thanks for the reply Gordon,

The car has about 50k miles, I'm not sure if the widshield has ever been replaced, it had 1 previous owner and was a lease. I'm not really even sure if the mirror is loose, my wife mentioned it seemed to vibrate more than usual, but our car also has the run flats right now so the ride is a little bumpy. When I checked it out it just seemed to have a little more play than I would expect, I really just wanted to look at where it mounts to verify all is tight. Funny thing is after messing with it, the next time my wife drove it she thanked me for tightening it, I really just looked at it but she said it looked better???

I would still like to verify screw is tight.

As far as taking it to the dealer, I'm so tight I squeek when I walk, I just don't like paying someone else for something I can do myself. I am a very mechanical kind of guy, I always do all work on our cars, if I have a service manual I'm good to go, I just don't have one yet.

I still think the price is high for the spare "kit". I decided to try and find a full size spare anyway, I'll just keep it in the garage. I'm not in any hurry, the runflats it has now still have most of their life. Thanks again guys, good to see more posts, I was getting worried this site had been abandoned by all. Later guys-Dave