Dtree300

Hey guys I'm new to this forum and any forum actually (so sorry if I didn't use the right thread or whatever), anyway I'm really interested in buying a sc300 5spd and I found one locally for a reasonable price- 7k with 112k miles, of motor and all. It's in pretty beat shape when it comes to exterior but it has an exhaust, box headers and other goodies. He started sanding down the paint to raw metal and told me that he planned on a pearl paintjob. Either way I'm gonna get it dipped or wrapped. I'm not farmiliar with what wears out on a sc300, so if you could tell me what I should make sure he replaced it would be much appreciated. Btw I'm 17, I know enough about cars from reading forums, and I'm hoping this is a car that would be good for me to learn hands on and work on given the extensive supply of aftermarket (I plan on getting the Dave h turbo kit later on. -thanks guys and no disrespect to the owner if your reading this haha if you wanna see pictures pm me cuz I'm not sure how to post them.

scENFORCER

I would offer the guy $2k from how beat the car sounds. For $7k you can get a pretty mint sc300, probably even with less miles.

Toyboxx

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the forums.

The SC is an awesome car IMO to get started with, but you MUST have some cash put aside to pay for anything that may break considering it's age. Things will break as you drive it.

Bushings (Power steering rack, LCA's, Diff, and subframe)

Anything that is powered (Windows, locks, tilt steering, seats, and mirrors will eventually go out on you)

Heater Control Valve

Bleeding Climate Control

Head Unit

Gaskets (Intake Manifold, & Exhaust Manifold, along with any other gaskets)

Gauge Cluster Bulbs

Power Antenna

I'm sure there is more.

Slowly start replacing things that break, then move onto mods.


I'd start first with a full tune up (Plugs, Oil, Trans oil, & diff oil) then move onto replacing the bushings. That will help make the car feel like it did off the showroom floor. You'd be surprised at how big of a difference it feels with just replacing the bushings along with no other suspension upgrades.

Other then that, good luck, and happy modding :thumpup:

Dtree300

I'm afraid there's not many sc 5sp in nj under 160k miles. This ones dropped on coils with staggered rims and a few other things that caught my attention. I forgot to mention he's throwing in sparco Torino 2 seats (red) and the interior looks clean from the pictures. I figured he has everything I would've already put on so it seems like a fair deal. Btw how's the clutch on these? Smooth? I'm checking it out tomorrow if everything goes according to plan

Dtree300

Thanks man that's exactly what I was looking for

AnonymousG

iTrader: (2)

For 7k that car sounds way over priced.

Beat paint, he might've crashed it and possibly hiding it and saying he was planning to paint it.

112k is decently low, but it all depends on how the owner treated the car and it sounds like he didn't.

Another thing to know now, mods don't add value to a car.

Truthfully I would keep looking, even look a little bit more far away.

My car no where near that price and I have more mods, plus a 5spd swap waiting to be installed, along with a stash of parts not listed in my sig.

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

I'd like to see some pictures so we can steer you in the right direction better. Original 5 speeds are harder to come by, but either way at that mileage things start going bad. Like did he get the timing belt done? Does he have proof? If not...that's a pretty big job you will need to handle soon. Factor that into the asking price and your at $6000...factor the paint job costs and you're at $4000....

Unless he has some really good condition well known wheels they probably aren't worth much either, in fact they could hurt the value of the car. Anything with curb rash and imperfections greatly devalue rims imo. Factor in the cost to get the rims refinished or tell him to keep the rims and knock 7-800 off the asking price..

People mod cars to their liking, and unless it's done extremely clean most people won't pay a dollar extra for any given modification. Definitely do a thorough inspection of the car, and bring a mechanic for that price.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

if it has tasteful mods and good interior and all it needs it a paint job, i can understand the price

Dtree300

The link is here http://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4519584855.html. I'm a little iffy about the price still although he lowered it to 6,400
And I planned on changing the rims, not exactly my style, and there spraypainted. -_-

PJSC300

$7000, seem a little exaggerated even though the miles are relatively low and it's a 5 speed. You need to look at the overall picture and consider the cost of mantienence, paint, and the vehicles history.

Dtree300

Is there anybody on here selling a clean 5 speed under 7k?

Dtree300

Just spoke to a friend with a limo business, he can help me out with any body work/ paint- besides that it's a clean title. Hopefully there weren't accidents unregistered. I would post pictures he sent me but I'm not sure how yet haha

scENFORCER

Thats a $3-4000 car if I ever saw one. Wheels are ok, but still on the cheap side (by that I mean they're not Volks, Works, or anything like that you wont have to worry about bending or cracking). But the engine looks like its been worked on by a 4 year old.
You definitely dont want to get into a car thats a money pit or full of problems, and just by looking at it, it looks like it'll be one of those cars.
I bought one of my SC's in Phoenix (I live in Vancouver) because of how rare and amazing shape it was in. So try to wrap your brain around having to travel a couple hours to find a car, and dont let distance scare you.

EDIT: Come to think of it, I honestly wouldnt even pay $3-4k for it, I'd just move on and keep looking.

iridebmx

iTrader: (6)

car has misleading pictures...

Dtree300

I know I have more pictures, I just don't know how to post them on here :/
This was the other one I was looking at http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/cto/4497164376.html