bpoole

I think I would buy a second car. There is no way I would try to drive my SC in snow. I don't even like to drive it in the rain.

My girls (3 and 6 yrs) fit fine in my SC430, although I have to adjust the front seats and steering column pretty far forward when they are in. Actually, after they are out of a carseat (4 yrs old in Florida) they fit even better. I figure I have another 2 or three yrs before my oldest grows out of the car. I have once had an adult in the back set and they were not too comfortable. As far as carseats go, you will have to find on that fits the angle of the seat back, which is more vertical than in most cars. Evenflo makes a line of booster seats that sit pretty vertical and fit real nice.

I bought a 2002 SC430 in Tampa last March. My experience was that no one wanted to negotiate much on price. I offered $50,000 for a 2002 that was listed at $52750, and the dealer refused and let me walk out. The very next day, I found one on eBay that was being listed by a Suburu dealer in Tampa, and picked it up for $46900. This one was in much better shape, although it had a little more mileage. If you want a used SC430 and you don't want to spend a bundle, watch on eBay. I watched for about three months before I found the color, mileage, price, etc. that I was looking for but it was well worth it. Many dealers will get these cars as trade-ins and some (in the case of the Suburu dealership in Tampa) will basically take wholesale for it in order to clear their inventory of a vehicle their patrons simply are not looking for.

Tried the Woolite and was very surprised. I couldn't believe how much dirt came out - and this was after I had already used a commercial leather cleaner. The seats now look brand new again. I also ended up using the 6:1 solution on the seat belts. I used a clamp to hold the belts from retracting and soaked it for 20-30 minutes. They look great also. Thanks for your advice.

The front passenger parking light is out on my SC430. Anyone have any clue how to get to it so that I can change it. Looks like I need to remove a panel inside the wheel well, but I really don't want to start taking things off until I am sure.

Does anyone have any advice on how to clean the seats and seatbelts on my SC430? I have the Ecru interior (basically off-white) and since I usually drive with the top down, I am getting black film in the stiching on the seats and in the seat belts. I would appreciate any advice on how to keep it clean. Thanks!

When it does come time for the new tires, just make sure you shop around. If you stick with the Z-rated run-flats, they are going to be expensive. However, you also need to consider the cost of mounting and balancing. I just put chrome upgrade wheels on my SC430, and Lexus wanted $400 just to remount the tires on new wheels. That price was the same regardless of whether I bought the wheels through Lexus or not. I found the exact same wheels on E-bay for a little more than half the cost and had a custom wheel shop mount them for only $100. In all I saved over $800 off the price at the Lexus dealership. Also shop around for your routine maintenance. Lexus wanted over $700 for my 30,000 mile check up. The best I could tell was that was for all new fluids and tire rotation and a few routine checks. Got the same service from another shop that specializes in imports for half the cost. Don't let Lexus scare you into thinking you can't go anywhere else for your routine service.... I'm sure you'll be happy with your new car - I have had absolutely no regrets with mine. There aren't many cars out there that turn heads like the SC430.

I often burn CD's for my SC430 and I have not had a problem. The user manual does comment about only using 'high quality' CD's - whatever that means. The ones I have used came from Office Depot and are nothing special.

Just upgraded the wheels on the SC430 to chrome plating with the 'sport' center cap. Was wondering if anyone else has had an issue with the fit of the OEM center cap screws with the aftermarket caps. The new caps don't have a counterbore so the screw heads stick up quite a bit. Has anyone run across an aftermarket vendor for these screws? I have checked with several fastener companies, but the fact that they are metric and cosmetic has made them difficult to find. The only solution at this point is to have a set custom machined.... PS Would love feedback on how they look....