idrivea9 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Hey guys, My girl and I bought a 2000 RX300 and now I have the Lexus bug bad. I got to test drive a 2008 IS-F while at SEMA, and must have seen a dozen SC400/300's on the streets of Las Vegas. So am on my local Craigs List and found several 1992-1995 SC400's ranging in price from $3000-$6000.00 Before I go off to test drive them, kick the tires, what should I be on the look out for? Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexSC400328 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 some things that seeem to go wrong with every SC every made..lol are dimming guage needles, blacked out climate control LCD screen, fuel injector ticking, altenators.. basically, depending on the miles, you will want to check for a timing belt job..just to see if its been done..when i bought my 93 SC400 for 4,500..it had a timing belt done 50k miles ago so i think im all set...but just make sure it runs SMOOOOTH...let it idle and accelerate slowlyyyy! cause mine just blew a head gasket and it runs rough as hell and the mech. says it was gone when i bought it... check the tires...they tell a story...if theres any un-even wear on them you can decide what type of front end problems it might have...check for rot of any kind under the car, under the rug in the trunk, and under the hood beside the engine...check the climate control unit to make sure its functional...(big or small problems if it isnt) listen for exhaust leaks, otherwise its just the basic stuff to watch out for...such as fluids and what not. check the oil to see if there is any coolant mixed in with it..(hopefully not!) these cars are absolutely beautiful machines...they treat you well if you treat them well. as old as they are, they still turn heads as if it were an 08' model. the 4.0 and 3.0 are perfect engines, both fuel efficient and beastly. let me know which one you pick out! Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idrivea9 Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Derek, That is what I was looking for :)... Okay, guage needles, climate control LCD, injector ticking and alternators. Check! Rust in these cars? Didn't think they would do that with all the zinc and undercoating they put on them nowdays. Have my first appointment on Thursday... will let you know. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwallbball10 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Derek,That is what I was looking for :)... Okay, guage needles, climate control LCD, injector ticking and alternators. Check! Rust in these cars? Didn't think they would do that with all the zinc and undercoating they put on them nowdays. Have my first appointment on Thursday... will let you know. Brian I believe we are in the same boat! My girlfriend has a 2000 RX300, and I own a 1993 SC400. The SC400 is a great car, and I have never had any problems besides the minor ones Derek mentioned. My car has had a "Salvage" title since 1999 when it had 96,000 miles, and there have never been any problems. The car now has ~158,000 miles. Make sure you "Get on it" when you test drive, because you can see if the transmission has any hesitation, fuel problems. Make sure you get a good history check, and check to see if the car was RE-painted. I ended up getting a great deal on my SC400 and paid $2400 Tax, Title, License. Since I bought it for so cheap, I found a parts car for $500 that I have at my Step-Fathers house. If anything ever goes wrong...That's pretty much my warranty. Although I haven't had to touch it yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idrivea9 Posted November 12, 2008 Author Share Posted November 12, 2008 That reminds me, are there any Lexus Bone Yards? I know in my Porsche community we have about a dozen bone yards that I can call around to when searching for parts. I found an SC400 that has front end damage for $1300.00, the idea of a part car may scare off the GF LOL I just finished up a 1973 Porsche 914 project in which I picked up two other parts cars... they lived off to the side of the house while I worked on them. See didn't like it to much LOL then again she doesn't like my cigar collection either...but she loves me :) Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cwallbball10 Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 I know there are a couple of good places here in San Antonio, Tx. I was thinking of finding some parts cars for cheap, and fixing them up too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexSC400328 Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 hey brian im just wondering how the appointment went today if you did end up going to see one on this thursday? if you did im assuming you loved it :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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