Samcrac

Hello! It's been a while since I've been checking out SC's, but I found an 97 SC400, 2 owners (California and Florida) with 80k miles, and clean as a whistle. I got the maintenance record on it and it has been regularly serviced, all at the Lexus dealer, and has had everything except a timing belt service (which seems amazing for this old of a car). Anyway, the thing really is unreal as far as looks go, but a car this old obviously can have some concerns. I'm very familiar with the LS430 as we have 2 of them in my family, but I've wanted an old SC for a while and this deal seems pretty decent.

What would I want to look out for when I go to check it out/drive it? Also, besides timing belt/water pump (which I have a couple quotes on) what do you recommend I service/replace the second I buy it? Any other advice that comes to mind is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

2jznosht

Um...only things I can think of is rust as fl is humid, signs of it being in a wreck and leaks due to the seals crapping out since it is a baby mileage wise for its age

TheAzn

iTrader: (2)

As for as maintenance goes, assume no prior maintenance was done recently.... Change oil and it's filter, spark plugs, wires, cap, brakes, fluids.... then get into the more scary stuff.... timing belt, hydraulic tensioner and it's pulley, cam and crank seals, water pump, etc. and possibly other various rubber seals.

gtsfire

iTrader: (4)

Look for leaks around the oil pan. Very, very common problem. Look for a power steering pump leak. Also common and it'll cause an alternator failure as well. Look to see if rack and pinion is oily. If so the bushings will most likely be bad. You'll know when you go over some bumps. I love SC400's and just bought my second one last week, a 97 black on black. It had 99k miles on it but all the above mentioned had been taken care of already. That's why I bought it. I have, however, found the 400's to be higher maintenance than both 300's I've owned. Still loving that V8 though.

2jznosht

He said it has the maintenance records all done at the dealership. Sounds like an awesome find

xspsi6

iTrader: (31)

Ugh cars don't rust here unless they go up north, My 97 sc400 has the barcode stickers on the under side of some of the oem suspension components still.

gtsfire

iTrader: (4)

Right. I just bought mine from Jacksonville and drove it home. The undercarriage is so clean you can eat off it.

chiken

That is a huge misconception, why does everyone think all cars are rust buckets down here. I moved from colorado and that's all I heard from my friends and family "Watch out for the hurricanes" and " your cars are going to rust and fall apart" I've worked on car pretty much my whole life and I can tell you that unless the car is parked within a block or so of the beach all the time, Florida cars are some of the cleanest and are comparable to cars I've seen from arizona, ohio, nevada, etc. Colorado was hit or miss because of all the salt they used to put on the roads to melt the ice so you could see a lot of surface rust but nothing as bad as you see on cars from michigan, N.Y., jersey and places around there.

scENFORCER

If you end up buying the car I'd replace the transmission and engine mounts right away. It'll make the car feel like new almost immediately.