Considering A Purchase.

[chillin245]

Hi everybody, i posted this on the ls400 boards too but i felt it would be just as relevant too because i have a few questions about the sc400.

I posted here a while back but never bought a lexus as i didnt need a new car for a few more months.

Basically i have a few questions about the ls400 and sc300.

Im trying to spend under 6 grand on either a ls400 or sc300

I like the SC better but my concern is , with so few around it may be really hard/expensive to get parts if something breaks.

Im gonna be doing a lot of highway cruising so i needed a car good for that, and i love the old lex's, i have a question also about the sc300's suspension. Is it really stiff or would it be more simlar to a luxury cars? I hate having a bumpy ride.

Thanks.

[Tomj8]

Hi everybody, i posted this on the ls400 boards too but i felt it would be just as relevant too because i have a few questions about the sc400.

I posted here a while back but never bought a lexus as i didnt need a new car for a few more months.

Basically i have a few questions about the ls400 and sc300.

Im trying to spend under 6 grand on either a ls400 or sc300

I like the SC better but my concern is , with so few around it may be really hard/expensive to get parts if something breaks.

Im gonna be doing a lot of highway cruising so i needed a car good for that, and i love the old lex's, i have a question also about the sc300's suspension. Is it really stiff or would it be more simlar to a luxury cars? I hate having a bumpy ride.

Thanks.

There are lots of good used parts available online/on eBay, etc. Lots of folks out there catering to older Lexus owners - try doing an online search for Lexus parts and I think you'll be surprised how many turn up. Lots of people/companies doing repair & refurbish for these as well - I recently had no trouble finding a source to get the climate control module rebuilt for my "95 SC400, for example.

[Brendon Bosy]

For $6,000 you could probably pick up a nice low mileage early SC300, or a high mileage late SC300. I was able to get my 97' SC400 with 103k miles for just $6,500, which was a bargain even for private sale. Reliability wise, the JZ engines were built like a rock. I wouldn't expect much repair work on that and it'll last you well over 300k if you maintain it. New parts on the SCs are just as expensive as on the LS. If you're looking for replacement parts, remember the 1st gen SC was produced over a 9 year span. According the Lexus' official production numbers, in total 82,538 SC300s and SC400s were produced, so they're not uber-rare. Most of the SCs were produced in the first few years. Production numbers were 27,887 total in 1992, and 16,755 in 1993. After that, their production numbers went down sharply.

As for the suspension, its probably not as soft as an LS400, but its definately a luxury ride. My SC400 is a little too confortable if you ask me. Right now I'm running my tires at 40 psi and it still provides a really soft ride. I'm probably going to upgrade to 18" rims and lower the suspension an inch or so to give it sportier handling.