Considering Sc430; Looking For Advice

[rjd2]

hello all, im hoping you might weigh in on a purchase im considering-the sc430.

i have been thinking about a roadster or coupe for a while now. have looked at and/or driven bmw z4, boxster,slk, and sc430. z4 drove great, looks kinda eh. boxster too loud. slk-eh, not great reviews.

i LOVE the look of the sc. it seems to get amazing reviews, and ive always owned japanese cars. but i havent driven one yet. there are 2 available in my area, and im wondering if you guys might have any tips on these two(or the sc430 in general).

option 1: 2002 w/ 62k miles on it for 15.5k.

option 2: 2004 w/ 18k miles on it for 29k.

i will probably be putting about 3-6k miles on it annually. i have read several reviews that said they have driven one up to 100k+miles with just regular maintenance-not a guarantee, but a plus for the 62k miles option. theoretically, i could afford either, but spending 15k on a car is like a "do it tomorrow no-brainer", while 29k would require a bit more thought.

thoughts? thanks alot for the help! -rj

[1990LS400]

Although both model years are beyond the CPO period, the specs for both are still in the Model Library if one modifies the year in the URL:

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/SC/2002.html

http://www.lexus.com/cpo/model_library/SC/2004.html

Lexus cars are quite reliable in general and, based on about 300,000 total miles and 20+ years in a 90 LS and now in a 00 LS, I doubt that much in the way of repairs - other than normal scheduled maintenance - would be needed on an SC until beyond 150,000 miles unless the car has been mistreated or poorly maintained.

I'm not an "SC430 person" for some reason - just can't swallow the way they look but I'll bet that either of the ones you are considering would be more reliable than even a new Z4, Boxster or SLK. Two of my friends have Z4's, my next door neighbor has a Boxster and a coworker has two (don't ask me why!) silver SLK's - one old, one new. For everyday use, the SC430 would likely be more enjoyable than those.

[pj8708]

Glad to hear your considering a Lexus. You could probably answer many of your questions while driving one for the first time. Thats how impressive I feel the Lexus family of products are.

I'm going to depart from Jim here and say I have always liked the styling on the SC430. It is definitely different but, if you want to drive a car that looks like every other coupe on the road, then the SC is not for you. I like the way they sculpted the rear end and when the top is off it looks really cool.

With the very low amount of miles you drive, either one of your choices would probably be OK. A well maintained Lexus should go well into the high 100,000k without breathing hard.

Paul