almost bought another SC yesterday
07-11-14, 10:14 AM
#1
almost bought another SC yesterday
Five hours of driving and I came home empty handed. I probably dodged a bullet, but I've got non-buyer's remorse nonetheless.
It was a 2000 SC300 with 104,000 miles and a clean title for $2500. Advertised as sold by owner, talked to the guy and he said he buys and sells cars. Talked to him later to finalize plans and get directions, and he told me it's a business (name withheld here). Red flags aplenty... (As it turned out, the place looked like a front for an alley of chop shops.)
My thinking was to swap all the good stuff over to my '94 -- front seats, side skirts, headlights, tail lights, and lots of misc. parts -- and resell it for cheap as a project or parts car. The pictures looked good, but he told me the passenger door doesn't open. I figured that can't be too tough to sort out, as I've worked inside my door plenty in getting the alarm sensor working on the lock cylinder. The only visible flaws were a big tear in the rear seat and a little something not right on the rear bumper.
In person, it was way, way worse. Body damage and terrible re-paint all over. I'm pretty sure it had been crashed and repaired in a driveway... Rear spoiler and 3rd brake light were missing, tail lights both cracked, one of the rear valances torn off, rear license plate crumpled beyond belief, etc. Even the front lip of the hood was badly dented. I don't know what was going on with the passenger door, but the inner handle was broken and it felt like everything was disconnected inside, so I'm not sure how it could have been opened without cutting through the metal or destroying the inner panel. (The door panels and window trim were in great shape, unlike much of the interior.) The car ran great and felt solid, however.
They were willing to go down to $2300, but that felt like too big of a risk with the addition of close to $300 in out of state title and registration fees. It would have been a tough resell with all those issues. I'm not sure it could have even passed the required VIN inspection without the 3rd brake light?
Did I make a mistake in walking away? I feel like $2000 was the magic number to have been able to get value out of it and not lose my lunch after the parts swap. I question whether it really had 104,000 miles, given some of the wear and tear. Swapping a cluster isn't tough.
It was a 2000 SC300 with 104,000 miles and a clean title for $2500. Advertised as sold by owner, talked to the guy and he said he buys and sells cars. Talked to him later to finalize plans and get directions, and he told me it's a business (name withheld here). Red flags aplenty... (As it turned out, the place looked like a front for an alley of chop shops.)
My thinking was to swap all the good stuff over to my '94 -- front seats, side skirts, headlights, tail lights, and lots of misc. parts -- and resell it for cheap as a project or parts car. The pictures looked good, but he told me the passenger door doesn't open. I figured that can't be too tough to sort out, as I've worked inside my door plenty in getting the alarm sensor working on the lock cylinder. The only visible flaws were a big tear in the rear seat and a little something not right on the rear bumper.
In person, it was way, way worse. Body damage and terrible re-paint all over. I'm pretty sure it had been crashed and repaired in a driveway... Rear spoiler and 3rd brake light were missing, tail lights both cracked, one of the rear valances torn off, rear license plate crumpled beyond belief, etc. Even the front lip of the hood was badly dented. I don't know what was going on with the passenger door, but the inner handle was broken and it felt like everything was disconnected inside, so I'm not sure how it could have been opened without cutting through the metal or destroying the inner panel. (The door panels and window trim were in great shape, unlike much of the interior.) The car ran great and felt solid, however.
They were willing to go down to $2300, but that felt like too big of a risk with the addition of close to $300 in out of state title and registration fees. It would have been a tough resell with all those issues. I'm not sure it could have even passed the required VIN inspection without the 3rd brake light?
Did I make a mistake in walking away? I feel like $2000 was the magic number to have been able to get value out of it and not lose my lunch after the parts swap. I question whether it really had 104,000 miles, given some of the wear and tear. Swapping a cluster isn't tough.
07-11-14, 10:56 AM
#3
Yeah, I was thinking this morning it might have been worth it, despite all the red flags, as a complete part out. Keep what I want and sell the rest, and don't bother with the title/registration fees. I had a list of 20 things I had hoped to swap over, but half of them turned out to be in worse shape than expected.
07-11-14, 12:20 PM
#4
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ehhhhh you dodged a bullet and saved yourself.
yes! 2000 scs are awesome, but a lot of the desirable parts are in no good condition. the body panels are what people really want from 97+.
did you even take it for a drive or anything?
how did the engine bay look?
and would you really want to trust someone shady like that? for all you know the engine could blow up 10 miles down the road and you would never get that money back.
just take your time and don't settle.
its worth paying 7k for a super clean car instead of 2k for a cheap beat up car. It is a lot of work to make the 2k car look as good as the 7k car.
yes! 2000 scs are awesome, but a lot of the desirable parts are in no good condition. the body panels are what people really want from 97+.
did you even take it for a drive or anything?
how did the engine bay look?
and would you really want to trust someone shady like that? for all you know the engine could blow up 10 miles down the road and you would never get that money back.
just take your time and don't settle.
its worth paying 7k for a super clean car instead of 2k for a cheap beat up car. It is a lot of work to make the 2k car look as good as the 7k car.
07-11-14, 12:25 PM
#5
Yes, I drove it and it performed perfectly. The engine bay was very clean, and the oil and transmission fluid looked fine. Mechanically, I think it was a good car, which made it all the tougher to think of it as a parts car. But with how messed up the body was, I can't help but wonder if there was frame damage being concealed.
There's no way I would have bought the car to keep, given the iffy vibes. But for parts, it's still in the back of my mind that I passed on a potentially good deal. Then again, do I really want to go to the trouble of parting out a car just to break even (after keeping goodies for myself)?
There's no way I would have bought the car to keep, given the iffy vibes. But for parts, it's still in the back of my mind that I passed on a potentially good deal. Then again, do I really want to go to the trouble of parting out a car just to break even (after keeping goodies for myself)?
07-11-14, 12:39 PM
#6
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well... I still wouldn't know.
frame damage is hard to check for.
I bought my sc with a salvaged title for super cheap, and wish I would have just found a clean one. body work is super time consuming and costly.
it would be hard to get your money back from parting out what you don't take.
I suppose if it was a full clean mint black interior that would cost you 1000-1400 bucks alone. the tails would add 300 bucks or so. front bumper 300-400 bucks.
but then you would have to find local people to pick up the parts, since shipping body parts is dangerous and more than likely they will break and then youll have a pissed off person demanding their money back.
frame damage is hard to check for.
I bought my sc with a salvaged title for super cheap, and wish I would have just found a clean one. body work is super time consuming and costly.
it would be hard to get your money back from parting out what you don't take.
I suppose if it was a full clean mint black interior that would cost you 1000-1400 bucks alone. the tails would add 300 bucks or so. front bumper 300-400 bucks.
but then you would have to find local people to pick up the parts, since shipping body parts is dangerous and more than likely they will break and then youll have a pissed off person demanding their money back.
07-11-14, 12:53 PM
#7
I had no illusions of prettying up the bodywork for resale. 
The side skirts looked undamaged, but both bumpers were in rough shape and the tail lights were probably unusable. The perforated leather seats were the main thing I wanted (along with the side skirts), and they were only in decent shape; not nearly as good as they looked in the pics.
There are very few SCs around here, which a) makes it tough to find any for sale, and b) limits the options for selling big parts. But, you start adding up things like a gauge cluster with low mileage and all needles working, full working factory stereo, HVAC with no LCD bleed, 3-spoke steering wheel (more worn than I expected from the pics), gated shifter ... you inch toward $1000 in easily shippable parts pretty quickly.
The side skirts looked undamaged, but both bumpers were in rough shape and the tail lights were probably unusable. The perforated leather seats were the main thing I wanted (along with the side skirts), and they were only in decent shape; not nearly as good as they looked in the pics.There are very few SCs around here, which a) makes it tough to find any for sale, and b) limits the options for selling big parts. But, you start adding up things like a gauge cluster with low mileage and all needles working, full working factory stereo, HVAC with no LCD bleed, 3-spoke steering wheel (more worn than I expected from the pics), gated shifter ... you inch toward $1000 in easily shippable parts pretty quickly.
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07-11-14, 04:37 PM
#8
I just did the same thing last week. I purchased a 97 cheap with 241K on it. It runs well but needs brakes, the seat won't move up on one side (those little caps probably), the drivers window won't open and the AC does not blow cold, but it's platinum with a black interior (same as my 400) and has a KILLER aftermarket stereo system. It felt really fun to drive home as I have BC Racing coils on my 400 and a slightly worn stock suspension was a pleasure to navigate the NYC bumps with. Also THE CLUSTER IS BEAUTIFUL. So bright, perfect needles even at 241K. The front end also feels GREAT but it needs tie rods. The body needs a repaint from fading and some type of swirl marks all over but still looks OK. It will be hard to rip it apart, but that makes the most sense. I don't want to sink 1K into fixing a car with 241K on it and then turn around and buy the needed parts for mine. I am also looking at a 94 5 speed this week with a grey interior, I may swap it out for the black. How hard or time consuming is it to swap the interiors of two cars? Next week, I may have 3 running Sc's.........
I have the fever!
I have the fever!
Last edited by Studiogeek; 07-11-14 at 04:41 PM.
07-11-14, 05:09 PM
#9
Swapping interiors shouldn't be tough. The seats come out fairly easily, the door panels are easy, and the carpet isn't bad once you figure out the various pieces that overlap it. The center console is the main piece I'm unfamiliar with what needs to come apart, but it's probably just a few screws.
I did up a quick list of the main swap/sell items off yesterday's car and it came to $2240, not counting engine and tranny. Some would be easy to sell, others would take time. Being right at the purchase price, that supports my indecision on whether it was smart to pull the trigger.
I did up a quick list of the main swap/sell items off yesterday's car and it came to $2240, not counting engine and tranny. Some would be easy to sell, others would take time. Being right at the purchase price, that supports my indecision on whether it was smart to pull the trigger.
07-11-14, 06:26 PM
#10
Swapping interiors shouldn't be tough. The seats come out fairly easily, the door panels are easy, and the carpet isn't bad once you figure out the various pieces that overlap it. The center console is the main piece I'm unfamiliar with what needs to come apart, but it's probably just a few screws.
I did up a quick list of the main swap/sell items off yesterday's car and it came to $2240, not counting engine and tranny. Some would be easy to sell, others would take time. Being right at the purchase price, that supports my indecision on whether it was smart to pull the trigger.
I did up a quick list of the main swap/sell items off yesterday's car and it came to $2240, not counting engine and tranny. Some would be easy to sell, others would take time. Being right at the purchase price, that supports my indecision on whether it was smart to pull the trigger.
Thanks for the interior swap info. Good luck on the next one!
Use this site for your surrounding areas:
http://www.searchtempest.com
07-11-14, 06:35 PM
#11
I'd never seen searchtempest.com before, thanks. Although, it doesn't really help here because there simply aren't any SCs for sale at reasonable prices. (Very few, period.) Zero results for SC400s within the default 300 mile range on eBay, and only three on craigslist. AutoTrader and various other local directories never have anything.
It's not so much a waiting game here as it is a getting lucky game. I was originally planning on buying a parts car in conjunction with my '94, but it sold the day before and the ad was never taken down, which threw off my timing... I tried waiting it out for a while, but no other parts cars came along, so I've since bought most of the items individually that I needed.
It's not so much a waiting game here as it is a getting lucky game. I was originally planning on buying a parts car in conjunction with my '94, but it sold the day before and the ad was never taken down, which threw off my timing... I tried waiting it out for a while, but no other parts cars came along, so I've since bought most of the items individually that I needed.
07-11-14, 07:52 PM
#12
YA, I have the same problem in my area. missed the only part car in the county (he didn't know I had one) & when I got to the junk yard where it had been taken they'd crushed it already! Scrap guys got a problem with that, cars are just metal to them. OWW!
07-12-14, 12:22 AM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
