gcal

I have a 1997 SC400 with about 120k miles. I got it in late 2000 with 59K miles on it. It has been taken care of by an Authorized Lexus Service shop here in Birmingham. I trust the shop completely and am very fortunate they are within a mile of my home. The only major repairs have been an alternator and starter replacement. All scheduled service was completed except I did not change the timing belt at 90K. About 2 weeks ago the check engine light came on and the pulled code indicated an Oxygen Sensor failure. The car began running rough and gas milage increased dramatically. I will be 61 this month and have already decided that I will keep the car forever provided it does not get into any major accident. I got the 120K completed this week, plus the timing belt, water pump, idler assemblies, dist caps, rotors, plug wires and new wipers. It cost me $2084. Replacing the Bank 1 O2 Sensor was $292. The suspension checked out okay but I know that I need to start saving the money for that work and hope it does not occur for the next couple of years. Now if I can just find the time to paint those damn center caps.

I need a sanity check. My wife drives a 1997 LS400 Coach sedan with 147K miles and I drive a 1997 SC400 with 105K miles. Both cars are in excellent condition. I have done enough research to believe that I will need to put $4000-$6000 in each car in the next year. That should take care of all the engine tuneup and suspension renovation that I believe is required to enable another 150K maintence free miles. The reason for the $4000-$6000 per car is that I am not skilled to do the work but am lucky to have an excellent independent shop here in Birmingham that is authorized for Lexus, Volvo, Toyota, and Infinity service and has techs that I trust completely. We believe that we want to keep the cars for another 10+ years. We are in our mid to late 50's and actually think that we might drive the cars forever. I recently took a look at a 2005 LS430 and was almost shocked at how much better I liked our LS400. I also love my SC400 and really can't see another car that I would rather drive. How much chance do you think we are taking putting the money into the cars? We are looking at retirement in a few years and really don't want to have to put another $5000-$10000 in the cars, 5 years from now, just to keep them running. Any comments will certainly be appreciated.

The LED integrated into the OEM Spoiler for my 1997 SC400 needs to be replaced. I have been unable to get a replacement lamp without purchasing a new spoiler. Can anyone help?