2004 Lexus Sc430: MOT pass rate and reliability

78.4% of 2004 Lexus Sc430s pass the MOT first time, measured across 232 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 91,708 miles.

How the 2004 compares

  • Against all Lexus Sc430s (82.8%, 1,773 tests): -4.4 points
  • Against all 2004 cars (64%): +14.4 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Lexus Sc430 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2004 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Lexus Sc430:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2001 80% 205 101,960
2002 83% 365 100,735
2003 80.4% 276 98,553
2004 78.4% 232 91,708
2005 87.3% 220 88,075

What this means if you are buying a 2004 Sc430

The 2004 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.4 points less often than the Lexus Sc430 average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2004 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 22-year-old car fails on

A 2004 car is 22 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2004 Lexus Sc430 the average at test was 91,708 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2005 at 87.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 78.4%. That 8.9 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2004 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Lexus Sc430 MOT data · Every model