Help Me Decide

[Jack95sc3]

Never mind :) Rich is correct and I am sort of a perfectionist. I priced it low and have someone coming to look at it tonight. I really just don't have the time to even drive lately although I got to yesterday and this morning and it was still a nice feeling. I have debated over this issue for a year and if I didn't work 80 hours a week I might have kept it. I did the same thing with a 69 chevelle SS about 15 years ago and will most likely look back on this as a mistake heh. Thanks all

[JohnH]

I have had or still have some of the issues you stated. It's just the nature of the car. The pluses way out weigh the minuses though.

But what you should look at is, whats the Blue Book of the car. Mine is a '95 also, and Blue Book is about $8k.

So before you put $10k into it, you have to decide if you love the car that much.

I only have 120k on mine. With 170k+, you might want to really think about putting more into it. Engine and Drive Train could be next.

I've loved this car for 12 years, and have not put more than $6k worth of tune-up and repairs into since I bought it, (I've been very fortunate).

Problem is.... They don't make them anymore.

I keep waiting for something major to go wrong so I'll have an excuse to get an IS or something.

Maybe in its 13th year.

JH

So I have had a 95 sc300 for about two years now, I bought it for 3200 with 170k on it. It did, and still does today, drive and ride like a brand new car. The laundry list of problems is what gets to me and the expense associated with everything you do to it. Here is what is wrong with it.

Interior- Seats are a mess. Previous original owner never took care of them so they are cracked and split with the insides poking out.

*Carpet is pretty well stained; I think she was a heavy coffee drinker.

*Speakers work ok at low levels but a few are blown. I admit I like to turn it up once in a while sitting in traffic and you just can’t do it with these.

*Speedo needle is out with the rest headed down that path. Climate control is blacked out but hey, who needs it when your heater core is bypassed due to a leak. Various lights out on the radio too.

*The auto adjust is off since the steering wheel becomes stuck in the up position. (I saw an easy fix for this somewhere..)

Exterior- One headlight will not stop getting condensation in it (had it out of the car for 3 weeks trying to fix it). Really looks bad to only change one so I would want to change both if I did it. One tailight is cracked where someone must have said hello in a parking lot.

*The paint is in bad shape and I am not to keen on the color. I had planned to get it painted until the heater core blew.

*Continuously having trouble with keeping the light bulbs correct. Changed out the fog light bulb with what Napa had given me only to find it's the wrong one and sets off the dash light. What a pain to redo.

*My driveway tore up the underside plastic molding fairly bad and drags on the tranny pan. It developed a little leak before I caught it and started parking it on the road.

So to fix, or have fixed, all this varied stuff is getting up there in price. I am sure it also needs the timing belt/water pump done too.

When to say enough is enough? So far I have replaced the battery and radiator after only putting 3k miles on it in two years. I can't park the thing in my garage due to the hump in getting down my driveway so it's basically sitting in the street rotting at this point. It's not my daily driver since the heater core blew last year but I need to do something with it.

Give me your opinion; is it worth it in the long run to drop 10k+ into a car of this age just to get it back into shape? I like the car (wouldn’t have bought it if I didn't) and it was more of a toy then anything. I am mechanically inclined to do all the work myself except I never have any time to do it. What would you do?

[richflip]

I'm not trying to be Dr. Phil or anything, but I agree with JH - you have to figure out if this car is for you.

I had looked at getting my sc3 for a while before I decided to buy it - fully knowing that although Lexus is top quality, it's also damn expensive to fix even if you DIY. Because I'm from Canada and they're a lot rarer up here than in the US, I paid a bit more than what most people south of the border pay for theirs (I'd JUMP at the chance to pay less than $4000 for a newer sc3. I paid just over $11,000 US for my '91...that's right, a '91). But I love the look, the performance, and the potential. And to me, fixing up issues is totally worth it as it's the car I've wanted for a couple years now.

Honestly though, what do you expect to get paying $3200 for luxury a car that, brand new in the early 90's was tens of thousands more brand new? And by the sounds of it, a good portion of your issues are cosmetic. I'd say just deal with it if you really like the car. If these issues really upset you that much then make it a priority or sell the car to someone else who can truly appreciate it, especially if it is your second car. But I'd say you'll certainly not regret spending the time and money to fix your ride up. It's more than worth it.