Lexus SC430 - any owners here?

[jhonn]

I posted this in the General Gassing forum, but it may be better here..

I'm in the market for a two-seater for me to spirit Mrs Mac off for enjoyable w/e breaks in the country. I'm not wanting anything overly 'sporty' or harsh-riding, and as I've always had a soft spot for the SC430 have been researching these.
I know that they've been slated (Worst car in the world evah' - Clarkson) - however there's a lot to like and in certain colours I think that they look pretty damn good.

Now, Lexus quality is legendary and is one of the main reasons that I'm considering one - however as I've being doing my research I've come across a couple of issues that seem to have caused a number of owners grief. I know that the internet is going to throw up mostly negative information, but the volume of posts and the difficulty and cost of resolution is giving me pause.

Anyhow, if any of you out there have first-hand ownership experience I'd love to hear from you.

Concerns are..
Battery drain rendering the car non-startable after just a few days (lots of reports of parasitic drain to unknown electrical components).

Issues with the Mark Levinson amp failing (up to £1500 fix apparently! could be linked to the above?).

I've had a look through the search function here but am looking for more up-to-date info.

Thanks!

[jhonn]

Thanks for the pointers! I'm picking up a 55 plate in a weeks time so will watch out for these issues.

Cheers

[jhonn]

Hi there - I've had the car for a few weeks now and done about a thousand miles - enough to formulate a few opinions..

Likes:
Smooth and refined, plenty power - feels well screwed together and a bit 'special'
Comfortable too - I drove it from Oxford to home in the Highlands with no aches
Excellent sound system
Auto-box is excellent
Bootspace is OK - combined with the rear seat area there's plenty room for luggage for two
Visibility is good
Nice to drive with the roof down, not too much turbulence in the cabin - it's the stand-out feature of the car
I think it looks great - reaction from everyone that sees it has been positive - love the interior

Niggles:
Handling - currently not great - it feels unstable and a bit 'squirrely'. However, I've just discovered that the rear nearside shock absorber is not working (no damping) so I am looking at replacing that (about £200 for standard), and am thinking about replacing all four corners with coilovers. I'm confident either option will bring about a huge improvement.
Sat-nav - it's pretty crap (but it is old technology and it's not that important to me.)
The auto-tilt mirrors are playing up (a common problem)
Wind-noise - overall it is very quiet, even at speed - however there is a slight flutter that you can hear above 40mph - it's not a major issue, just slightly annoying as the rest of the car is so quiet
Steering wheel shake - very slight at about 60mph - again a known problem; I've had the front wheels road-force balanced and it helped a bit (need to get the suspension fixed and a full four-wheel alignment done). May have to live with this.

I'm pleased with car and Mrs Mac loves it too, no regrets. I'm delighted that there's been no issues with battery drain and the amp works fine.

There's an excellent forum full of useful info if you want to learn more - http://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc430-2nd-gen-2001...

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Cheers

[jhonn]

Thanks - didn't know about that forum!

I've registered today, just waiting the confirmation mail.

Nice to have a more 'local' forum - see you there.

[jhonn]

^^ Good feedback - thanks!

Just fitted the coilover suspension and it's made a big difference - it feels a lot more 'planted' on the road now.

Off to get it's 4 wheel alignment this week - I've being doing a lot of research on optimal camber and toe angles - interesting!