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These cars have pretty good factory paint. In order to repair a panel or paint the whole car, it is necessary to remove the clear coat. That is one of the reasons modern boyd work costs so much. In order to have a satisfactory paint job similar to the original quality it takes a lot of labor. $7-9 K is in the ball park for a quality paint job. Doing a front fender is around $900.

One of the best mods you can make. Get some that are adjustable. I had the Megan Racing EZIIs installed. Ride height is slightly lower. The firmed up the car. After 4 wheel alignment the car tracks like it is supposed to .

Ford F-350 one ton diesel. Same truck since new in 2002. It does everything well. Record mpg is 23.8.

It is easy to look up late model Lexus cars on national used car sites. You should be able to figure out what the car is worth easily. Next you have to evaluate how well the car was taken care of. It is best to put it on a lift and have a mechanic look at it and drive it. You can't do that long distance.

Consider a Toyota dealer. I have received great service from one in Nevada. Their prices were competitive. They got a lot done in one day and they treated the car like I was a celebrity.

Today I got 24.0 for the first time.

You can make a case for the 2010 as the best 430. The 2006-2010 had the 6 speed, better LED lights and few other small changes.

thank you. 430s love to go fast. If there is vibration something is amiss.

Some engines seem very sensitive to having their valves adjusted. The 430 is not one of them. The subject seems to never come up even in high mileage cars.

Now I am getting about 23 mpg, which goes up a little with all highway driving. It is quite acceptable for a performance car.

These cars need alignment fairly often, front and rear. It will help your tires a lot.

timing belt and water pump and suspension components are the big ticket items if the car drives okay. If i had it to do over I would look for a totally straight body with no scratches. Look carefully at the dash and interior. Try everything. Only after I owned the car did I realize that the horn doesn't work (can be expensive to fix), needs new antennae, etc.

Does anyone know where to find a new spring clip for the rear view mirror on a 430sc? Mine is bent up and does not work very well. The mirror vibrates which is irritating. 2006 model. Hard to find so far. Any help would be appreciated. Found it on Lexus Parts Now for $7.50 and ordered two.

Megan Racing makes some really good coil overs that I had installed at a Toyota dealer. The shocks are adjustable and you can also adjust the ride height. The car handles much more like a sports car. It really likes 80-85 mph. The vibration in the front end really went away after having all 4 wheels aligned.

Thanks Marty. I guess my point is that I love the car, and do not really care what others think of it. I looked at C5 Corvettes for a year. They just seem like too much speed and too much trouble in comparison.

I have had a 2006 model for a few months. At first I felt sort of uncomfortable about it. I wanted to update the wheels. I thought of it sort of as a "chick car." After driving it for a while, my feelings have changed a lot. I really like the car. It is fun and something to look forward to. It is a Japanese hot rod. I love the roof line especially because it looks like it was chopped. It is not a car for everyone,. That is part of the appeal. I am now very comfortable in the car and have great appreciation for it. Wondering if anyone else has take some time to appreciate the car.?

Some people live in canyon country. They drive pretty fast. Good quality sticky tires last about 20,000 miles under those conditions. Same with brakes. Some people are easy on brakes, some aren't. Being a Lexus leasee puts you in an usual category. Most Lexus owners think long term. Lexus cars have straight forward maintenance and they last. The biggest reason everyone in my family seems to have at least one.

The factory two tone silver and bronze wheels are starting to grow on me. Good for now. New rims update the car. Old rims are classic. Take your pick.

I would not let the timing belt and wp stop you. I bought a 2006 with 96 mi that needed both. I used it as leverage for negotiating. You can do the same with the tb and the brakes. Negotiate hard on the price. These cars do not move that fast. I paid $12k for mine.

This appears to be a common problem. It is often the cable in the steering wheel cover. Anyone else have experience with a horn that does not work? The relay appears to be good as it is the same circuit as the light switch. The lights work fine. Could be the horns themselves.

All sources suggest 33 psi tire pressure on 430s with standard size tires. Maybesome people pump them up. Michelins have a max pressure of 51 psi.

So far I am getting around 21 mpg, mostly highway driving. Some people report up to 29 on their 430s. I am running the car more in regular Drive, and have a K&N air filter. What mods or habits are good for mileage on these cars? Hard to believe anyone really gets 29 mpg.

The locks wear out. It is not that hard to replace them. I have replaced two on Fords with no issues.

I got a new key from McGard. Two shops offered to cut them off with a cold chisel at $100 per hour. Bad idea.

These are sophisticated and long lived cars. Buying one with 300 k miles could be asking for trouble. Why not spend a little more and save yourself a lot of problems by buying one with fewer miles, say 150 k miles?