gcrookston

May I ask why you bought this car?

Because usually young people hate Lexus and Toyota a lot.

People are going to give you a hard time just because of that car.

I know that for sure because I work at a car dealership where most people are in their 20's and they all hate my car.

Even the Vw certified mechanic there gave me wrong advice on maintenence for this car.

You're an Ex honda guy.

Why didn't you buy an ACURA.

The tsx is nice.

Audi's are nice too and VW's both the Passat and Jetta have small economical engine but they come with a turbo for good performance.

The Passat cc is a good performance car.

It has a lot of power.

This car has been tested on the autobahn in Germany.

It has a lot of power and handles extremely well.

But what where you thinking when you bought that?

Now people are gonna give you a hard time and the Lexus name is gonna be trashed a little more and you're gonna get rid of this car at least in 3 months or a shorter time period.

Because you're a Honda guy and Honda guys hate Lexus.

Again I'm asking.

You're a Honda guy why didn't you buy an Acura?

I believe the SC400 to be an exceptional car and the one pictured here to be a current and future classic Japanese Super Car. I see no Super cars in the Honda/Acura lineup.

You fail to support your argument and your conclusions are fraught with logical fallacies. English is not your first language, no? Not to mention, Audis and VWs are hindteet... having owned them both (VR6, S8), I can say from experience they are exceptionally fun to drive and cost more than the pleasure in repairs... I'll take an SC400 any day over the newest German Fixinbreakenfarfromrunin. <_<

2008 Ford Taurus SE (company car) great car

2007 Ford Taurus SE (company car) crappy car

2006 Grand Marquis LS (company car) road sofa

2004 Ford Taurus SES (company car) so-so car

Was laid off in April and a client of mine had his mother's 1995 SC400 for sale for some time... I needed a car, a one owner, garage kept, dealer maintained, with 89k miles for $3,500.00.... I was looking for Toyota reliability and thought I was going to go look at a 4 door... LS, but no regrets. But after driving it in snow/ice I am now looking for a 90 series landcruiser or LX470

I have a 1995 SC400. Is the rear differential limited slip? It does not have the traction control option.

1995 SC400

RH Rocker Panel

Windshield

Valve Cover Gaskets

I have a 1997 SC 400 and honesetly it all comes down to how you choose to treat your car. Using 91 gas is like eating healthy for yourself even though it is a little bit more expensive vs. 87 gas is like eating junk food all the time. You probably wont notice any difference (besides in acceleration a little) but over time could cause you some problems. Always go with what the recommended octane is. Could save you some repair cost in the future but just my opionion.

P.S. I hate paying for 91 too but hopefully it will even out with less repairs in the future. Tried to go cheap before and had to get my entire fuel injection syystem cleaned out and repaired in another car i used to own

The octane rating will have nothing to do with dirty fuel, gunky injectors, clogged fuel lines or polluted gas tanks. Very simply: It relates to the ignition temperature (Heptane, iso-octane, blah, blah, blah). The higher the octane rating the higher the ignition temp (i.e. 87 burns at a lower temp than 93). High compression ratio engines typically have a higher head temp, therefore the gas ignites before the chamber is sealed, blasting the valve train, causing pinging (valves being forced shut). It is also not an energy measurement, so you won't get better MPG with higher octane.

If you drive hard or with the car under load you may notice pinging, or "pre-detonation" with low octane fuel. The SC400 1UZ-FE engine is 10:1 compression ratio, which is pretty high. Your pedestrian sedans run typically around 8:1. If you are a leadfoot speedracer, you'll probably benefit from a higher octane rating in the SC400. I'm a very reasonable daily driver type, so 87octane does me just fine.

I do recommend buying brand name gas to avoid polluting the system. I have no favorite, but feel comfortable with Shell, Texaco, Chevron, BP, etc, but am uncomfortable buying from no-branded convenience stores and Bob and Malinda's shop and go...

McGuire's sells a polishing kit that works well with a drill. I used it on my '95 when I bought it earlier this year. Made the lenses clear as new...

155 in my stock 1995 SC400 between Green River and Little America Wyoming this past July... The Corvette must have been doing 170...

Most mechanics will tell you unless you're speed racer there really isn't a need for the highest octane. I've owned a number of cars over the years that the mfg's recommended 91 or 93 (3.0 Audi Avant, L6 BMW, Mustang Cobra), but as long as their isn't any predetonation (pinging), the lower ratings are fine. I've been running 87 in my 95 SC400 without a problem. The only vehicle I ever had a problem with was with a 3.3 911 Turbo. I'm a pretty mild driver but noticed pinging upon heavy exceleration with that car using even 89oct.

Other common problems are side view mirrors control unit (in the steering column, not the doors), Rear trunk hold-open cylinders, trunk mounted cd changers. The Drive train is about bullet proof. I purchased mine as a 2nd owner with 92k on it. I went ahead and had the timing belt/water pump done at 100k. I now have 130k on it and have noted only the above issues -- and they were there when I bought it. These seem to be fairly common and minor problems with the car (in addition to those noted above). My car was garage kept it's entire life and the interior was not a problem (the leather is known to have issues when it gets about 10 years old). Mine is a 1995 that saw faithful quarterly service from the original selling dealer until I purchased it. I fixed the mirrors, upgraded the cd changer, other than that I've driven and enjoyed it without issues. The clouding of the headlamps was easily addressed with the McGuire's lense polishing compound...

I wouldn't hesitate to jump in this car and take it anywhere. It's my daily driver. I think they are a great value and a wonderful car.

In 1995 I was coming south out of Amarillo at dawn in my 1995 Mustang Cobra. I wanted to see how fast it would go. I got up to about 138 mph, 4th being too short and 5th being too tall... along came an SC400 and passed me doing at least 160... ever since I've wanted one. finally have it.

From what you all are telling me, seems I'll just keep mine stock... thanks

I'm thinking about converting my headlights and fog lamps to xenon for fits and shiggles. I see listed direct replacement bulbs for High/Low (direct swap for existing halogen), for under $20.00, but the complete kit including the fog lamp lenses is around $180.00.

Then I also see direct bulb swap kits for all three (high/low/fog) from $40.00 to $400.00. All kits claim to be direct swap outs, but some are just bulbs while others include what I believe to be capacitors of some type.

I looked into doing this a few years ago for my Harley and it was about a $500 deal and just short of major brain surgery (never did it).

What are the best Xenon lights out there or should I just forget it and keep the factory halogens? :(

1995 SC400

I am the 2nd owner

Original Sticker price: $50,800.00

Purchased from original owner for $3,500.00, Doctor's wife with 95k miles on May 13, 2009 with all regular service documented having been done @ Lexus of Chattanooga except for the Brakes which were done in 2005 @ 77k miles and the Tires which were done in 2003 @ 68k miles. A new battery was installed recently by the dealer prior to sale.

The following "issues" were noted at the time of sale:

Trunk lid spring appears to be either broken or disconnected

Keyless doesn't work (installed new battery in key - works fine)

Power side mirrors don't work (probably a fuse, I'll figure that out this weekend)

12 CD changer is jammed up, probably just worn out.

A few dings and scrapes here and there, most noticeably a good dent to the bottom of the passenger side door.

Car was garage kept it's entire life and other than being a little grungy the original white paint is in excellent condition (car appears to have never been hand washed or hand waxed). The original interior is excellent.

Records indicate no major repairs but a timing belt replacement and valve adjustment were performed by the Dealer in 2007 @ 90k miles

Except for the 1996 Grand Ole Opri parking sticker there are no mods to the car.

I'm 46 and pay $502/yr for insurance.

I've been wanting one of these since that time outside of Amarillo when I couldn't catch one in my then new 1995 Mustang Cobra.