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Lexus SC 430
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Comments
lol...explains everything.
The SL costs more and gives you way more, it's not much of a contest.
M
As for the wheels, I was working for Toyota when the SC430 first came out, and Jim Press, the CEO of Toyota USA, was driving one right past me one day. I emailed him about how good he looked in it, and he said, "Yeah -- but it needs some hot wheels."
Amen.
The chromies in the previous post look great. I've seen a couple of different aftermarket wheels on them, and most aren't successful. The stylnig of the car demands something smooth and substantial looking.
And to state the obvious -- I'd take one over an SL any day. But not once the new one comes out -- it's beeYOOOOOtiful. Much more rakish than the current version (which has always been one of my wife's favorite cars, by the way).
I honestly didn't like the looks of the car when I saw the pre-production models in magazines, but it's grown on me. Thankfully, they're still rare enough (at least in Arcadia) that they still loko fresh to me.
Sure would be nice to have a real back seat, too....
The shifter pattern took me almost no time to get accustomed to. Any change is new at first; don't write this off from a brief first encounter. Besides, you don't really use the shifter all that much, but when you want to shift down for engine braking on a hill, the shifts are clear and easy. No problem.
With a spare in the trunk and the top down, the golf clubs will have to go in the back seat. That's the major if not the only reason for the run flats. I have had no trouble there so far.
The car is easy and fun to drive, and draws attention wherever you go. And it is a rocket.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Don't be "suspicious about the effectiveness" of the little plastic wind breaker. It's all aerodynamic and tested by people smarter than us, and it works fine, although I have not taken it out to see if there is any difference. If the Lexus engineers put it there, that's good enough for me.
They put little straps in the rear "seat" to secure the belts because, I read, one of the few complaints made in early, pre-sale testing, was that they would make noise when you picked up speed with the top down. I think that they are elegant and effective, and since I don't have many people riding back there, it's no problem.
I've seen those CLK's and BMW's with the big windbreaker behind the front seat, and think they look pretty dumb, but they are probably necessary because of the large back seat area. My observation is that the high window line and the windshield shape and rake contribute to such a thing as unnecessary in the SC430. But you'd really have to ask Lexus why it's that way. I find that whatever they did works very well, and that's good enough for me.
Finally, I did test drive a dealer's car without the run flats, and then immediately test drove one with the run flats. There's not a big difference except that a solid bump in the road is not absorbed as much by the run flats due to their harder side walls, but this is rare. I've driven this car through 6 or 7 states on two vacations so far, and have no complaints.
Everything's a trade off, but you can trust the engineering decisions made by Lexus. These guys can put together a swell car.
If I spring for the SC I'll insist that the dealer send you a piece of the commission, you've been real helpful. I actually prefer the CLK style, handling and every day performance to the SC, slightly, but am not pleased with the quality of construction. There's almost always something acting funny on mine and my friend's 2000 model is in the dealers driveway more often than his. My wife's Lexus seldom sees the shop and when it does we're usually pleased with the service.
I had been looking at convertibles for some time, and one of the major reasons I went for the Lexus SC430 was my prior experience with Lexus service (I had a SC400 for almost 10 years, and other family and friends own various Lexus cars.) Nobody ever seems to have anything bad to say about Lexus service. First of all, you hardly ever need any. My SC400 was far and away the most reliable car I have ever had.
And when I did need service, mostly scheduled services at 15K, 30K, 60K, etc. they could not have been nicer. I have never been treated so well by a dealer anywhere. The service is a little on the expensive side, but that is to be expected.
I stayed away from MB because I have heard just the opposite regarding service. Many complaint about the extraordinary high prices, and my impression is that MB reliability is down from what it used to be. These are good cars, and I have friends who have SLK and CLK convertibles, and I do not prefer either of them to the SC430.
Get the black one.
The wind, when driving at speed, is about the same as other cars with the deflector up. But, it's so much more convenient to have the deflector permanently mounted.
I recommend buying a car without the runflats if possible. You can always leave the spare at home when you need the space. The combination of runflat tires and 18" wheels leaves the ride too harsh. You don't notice this on short test drives, but after a couple of long trips, you feel beaten-up.
You must be driving some rough roads. I've had my car with the runflats on several long trips and, although I notice a harsher ride than in an SC400 or in an LS, I certainly do not mind it.
I, for one, would certainly not want to remove the spare tire every time I wanted to go to the grocery store with the top down.
All of these factors are trade-offs, but I feel that the runflats are an excellent compromise. They also help the car corner like a rat in a snakehole.
Nothing but fun.
Thanks
After reading about six reviews, it SEEMED five reviewers never really timed the car on a track. There's an inference they did but nothing concrete. Road and Track, I believe, said flat out they ran the car and their 0 to 60 was 6.8 secs with a 1/4 mile in the high 15's. Lexus specs 5.9 seconds and 14's for the qtr I think. The other reviewers either used the Lexus spec + or - a few 10ths. Although MB denies retarding the CLK cab, the do spec it as nearly a second slower than the coupe 0 to 60..5.9 versus 6.8. Has anyone actually ran their SC on a track? The car "feels" more like 6.8, but that could be the relative smoothness of Lexus versus MB. And by the way, nearly everyone I know with a newer MB is gripping about frequency of repairs, especially at the 60,000 mile mark when the warrenty runs out! They're also generally unhappy with their dealers and MB's response to their complaints. I've found a good dealer but have to travel 40 miles out of my way to use them. A friend who has never driven anything but BENZ junked his long time dealer for mine and just bought his first Toyota!
Even for an important date, I don't mind if I arrive .8 seconds late.
-Chris
The interior is gorgeous.I am glad I made the switch. Leo-K
I certainly don't think that the SC430 or the CLK are sold as "performance cars" as I understand that term to be commonly used. The emphasis here is on luxury in a convertible, which is a small niche. Performance is thrown in because of the great big engine, and we all know that any Lexus or MB will handle well at speed. I never considered a Porsche for various reasons, and I love the power of the SC430, but I consider that power to be part of the luxury. If I wanted a hot-rod, I could buy a 'Vett or a souped up Mustang.
Zero to 60 is not all that big a deal. As far as I can tell, the car seems to be "speced" correctly and the marketing appears to be right on target.
Maybe the new SL500 would be a better mix of performance and luxury, but the ticket goes way up.
I forget what point I was making . . .
I hope Mercedes doesn't overdo it and crank up the complexity, performance and price of the SL to the point that it becomes unobtainable. Or at least offer it in several states of tune, as before (SL300, 500 and 600, wasn't it?). That way, people have a real choice between "equals".
M
If Lexus introduces a 6 cyl version of the SC430 with a fixed top, I for one would welcome the addition to the line. It certainly would be a different car, but I don't know why all the compromises made to create the folding hardtop (eg: the high beltline, the small back seat, the shape of the top itself) would be of interest to to a purchaser of a coupe only version. It seems to me, and I'm no engineer, that Lexus would have to do a lot of engineering work to make this less expensive version.
Look at the Jaguar XK8; the coupe version is very good looking, and less expensive than the (cloth top) convertible, but I think accounts for only about 10% or so of sales. A coupe version of the SC430 would have all the disadvantages of the folding hardtop design without the big reason for buying the car in the first place: putting the top down.
Maybe it would sell; I hope so, but I don't think that there is much of a market for it. But as an owner of an SC430, I would not object or feel disappointed in any way.
Still, I think the rumor has no foundation.
In fact, the Solara was originally intended to be the ES version of the SC300 and 400. However, the demise of the Supra and MR2 left the Toyota division without a sports or touring car, so they decided to let Toyota have the car, which was then introduced as the Solara. Note the general proportions and insterior detailing -- especially the wood trim that curves across the dash and into the door panels.
Hoever, rather than front wheel drive, I'd base the coupe on the RWD IS platform. I think it would be a home run for sure in the 30-35k category.
IS300 coupe sounds nice. They should scrap the sedan while they're at it because the two back doors don't do anything but add extra weight. I was genuinely surprised that the IS300 had about the same rear seat room as my Prelude despite having the two extra doors. Also, the rear seats didn't fold down - another astonishing surprise. The IS300 coupe could be a fun car, if they lower it a bit, lighten it up, and put some more grunt in there. Does Toyota have an engine? I know they're competitive with BMW and Honda on the high-revving inline 4s and the company also has a series of great V8 powerplants. However, to my knowledge, they don't have any V6 in a production car that matches up with the kinds of engines Honda, BMW and Nissan have been putting out for a while. An IS300 coupe would be nice but I don't know if anyone cars for a 215hp IS300 coupe anymore, when everyone else is pushing 260hp and 240ft/lbs torque.
Scrapping sedan would be a big mistake, and I'm sure Lexus has no plans to do that.
toyotas1: When you say "we're making perfect autmobiles" is it safe to assume that you work at Georgetown? Obviously you're a Toyota employee. No shame in that, and it should really appear in your profile, along with a disclaimer that states that your opinions are your own, and are nmot sanctioned by Toyota.
How do you know that he works for Toyota? Even if he does, how do you know that his opinions are his own and not those of Toyota. For a full fledged conspiracy theorist, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that he is a total shill for Toyota and that he is only on here to put forward their positions to elicit opinion about them, but I kind of doubt it. Seriously, you are certainly entitled to your opinion and can evaluate his comments with whatever built in bias you may have, or even to comment on his apparent (to you) conflict of interest but it is kind of nervy for you to tell him what to put in his profile and the words he should use to do it, isn't it?
I kind of thought I might get some insight into owners experiences with the SC430 as I am considering buying or leasing one, but it seems this has become some sort of acriminous debate on future cars that may or may not ever be manufactured.
I've never clocked the 0-60 time but I really don't care about that. I am more interested in the 40-60 or 60-80 acceleration for passing and it is very responsive. When you punch it at highway speeds it has plenty of guts. I get around 20 mpg for local driving and 25 mpg for trips. I use premium fuel as Lexus recommends.
Interior comfort is superb although the ride can be a little hard, I suspect primarily due to the run flat tires. Sound system is very good and the GPS is a neat tool when it is needed (although the voice prompts are hard to hear with the top down). Lots of little niceties that one should expect in a luxury car. The back seat is useless for passengers with legs.
There is an archived thread that has many comments in it from owners that you may find helpful. The Host was not able to resurrect it so this new one was started. Look for it at Town Hall->Coupes, Convertibles & Sports Cars->Coupes, Convertibles & Sports Cars - Archived Discussions->Lexus SC430 (owners and admirers).
Bottom line is would I buy it again. The answer: in a heartbeat!
Actually, I edited my remarks, which may have been a mistake. While working for Toyota, External Affairs made it clear that they discouraged Toyota employees from participating in chat rooms that might compromise Toyota's interests (usually by misrepresenting Toyota's intentions or products). They also made it clear that doing so could be a CLM (Career Limiting Move), if not cause for outright dismissal. Toyotas1 is obviously a Toyota enthusiast, and I would hate to see his career cut short by getting into areas his employer does not recommend or condone.
The reason I though he was an employee is because of his post #136, which said, "We're not making Honda Accords, we're making perfect automobiles, that drive and handle and accelerate with grace and balance." Use of the word "we" led me to believe that he is either an associate or vendor for Toyota. Apparently that is not the case, and this subject is moot.
In terms of writing EVERYONE'S profiles, you're right in the sense that I wish everyone would include enough personal information to give me (and others) an accurate idea of the writer's perferences and perspective. But of course, that is a personal choice. It just seems that anytime a troll comes on board, their profile is blank, whereas those who really wish to engage in thoughful debate tend to be more open and honest about their experiences and prejudices.
Re, "How do you know that his opinions are his own and not those of Toyota. For a full fledged conspiracy theorist, it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that he is a total shill for Toyota and that he is only on here to put forward their positions to elicit opinion about them, but I kind of doubt it," you are absolutely right -- that is probably the first thought that would cross the mind of a conspiracy theorist. However, anyone familiar with Toyota's business model knows that they are far too conservative to engage in such a clever subterfuge.
If you're looking for owner's experiences, I would suggest scrolling back to the beginning of the topic, where you are more likely to find the kind of feedback you're looking for. All topics on this board tend to drift over time, as there becomes less to say about the original topic. Good luck on your search!
Handlingwise it's a compromise, BMW lovers say it's too soft, middle age fat guys coming out LS's say too stiff. I think for what it gives up in handling it more than makes up for in comfort. If you have to have nimble, go BMW.
Performance is generally rated as good. Again, it's not fast, but it gets out of it's own way and if fast is #1 for you Corvette, Porsche or M3 is where you should be.
Reliabilityand quality..it has to be great, it's a Lexus. Complaints in this regard seem linited to minor rattles, wind noise and the like, but these probably come from Lexus owners that have never heard such things in their cars.
Overall it seems a great car for the money, but I decided I'd prefer the quicker, less expensive, more comfortable GS if i were to buy Lexus, a CLK cab if I wanted pretty as the #1 priority, and an M3 cab as the perfect balance if you can get your hands on one. There are just too many choices. God Bless America ( and maybe Japan and Germany)
Do you know me? Good guess if you don't. Frankly, I like the styling, but I fell in love with my wife's GS300 when I first saw it and the longer we have it the more I like it. It is hard to really get serious about buying one since my LS is really great. The major objections I have are related to the dealer base. They really don't know how to treat a customer. They send me accross town to the Budget Rent-a-car stand and give me a Town Car. If I have not had my dramamine, I can't take it so the option is a mustang or worse. It takes almost a half day to drop the car off, get a rental car and get to the office. Returning it is slightly faster, but when I compare that to my wife's experience where her selling dealer (50 miles away) sends another lexus to the house, drops it off, takes hers and returns it when it is fixed, I get very envious. This is for routine servicing and pretty much guarantees that the routine services will get done there rather than in my driveway or over at Jiffy Lube. Just a world of difference in the way we are treated. My wife had her bridgestones replaced (all four) at no cost at 27000 miles because her service writer thought they were wearing prematurely. Try that at the local L-M dealer.
I think maybe your car has a screw loose.
Two questions --
1) can the sc430 go through an automatic car wash. i realize it's not the BEST solution, but it is even feasible? What should I avoid if I have to do so?
2) rear windows -- i realize that they go down when the top is down, but is there any way to program them to go down without the top being down? Can the dealer program this option? My dog would really like to know .
Many thanks, all, for any insight you can offer.