KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I love seeing articles like these. This car could use a detailing but the mileage is fantastic. 2JZ cars keep on going and going

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...-520000-miles/

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I read this one a few days ago, amazing for sure. exterior looks very clean also.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

great find, I always will love the supra/sc300, they can last forever.

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

Hey now, so can the SC400...

xspsi6

iTrader: (31)

Ive seen 1uzfe cars in the 700k mile range without being opened up my wifes ls400 has 432k on it and it runs as if it only had 50k on it everything still works!

mikef

iTrader: (3)

90s Toyota was ahead of engineering and still is to this day, look at those 4runners is a fine example. Toyota has some amazing engineering team. Lexus team is even better when it comes to quality fitted parts and interior. I would never own any other brand, hands down. I had many other brands in the past and its all junk.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

My question is how did the owner not die of boredom driving an NA 2jz for that many miles..... Was teh car a lazy auto as well?

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I always find the brand loyalty with vehicles to be very odd. I've owned Toyota/Lexus, Honda, and Mazda, and they've all got their respective pros and cons. I see no significant difference in build quality or longevity between them, either. And if I had to pick one of the three that has held up the best, from personal experience, it wouldn't be Toyota/Lexus.

Brand loyalty is like religion. Everyone swears their's is the best and everyone else's is the worst. They can't all be right.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Brand loyalty is one thing, talking out of their *** is a different thing. I respect anyone who can say "I prefer Brand A, but it has its shortcomings,etc.". Some people will literally swear by a car and never mention any of its gremlins or that it might be a straight up POS all around. Had friends like that, that kind of attitude is very childish.

You cannot tell me there's a Honda or Mazda product on par with a Lexus LS430 because there isn't.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I totally agree. I have my preferences, and I don't fault anyone for having their's. I like to think I'm open-minded enough to give any brand a shot. Although, I saw a Daewoo at the junkyard last week with absolutely nothing wrong with it other than a couple spots of bad paint, and was reminded of a friend who used to have one that he left in a parking lot out of state and donated, rather than get it fixed, and couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone who drives one.

Well, first you'd have to define what you mean by "on par." Are we talking engine/drivetrain longevity, raw performance, bang for the buck, driving enjoyment, luxury/refinement?

If you're going for the refinement angle, then Acura would be a fairer comparison. (Mazda never got their luxury line off the ground. See: Millenia.) I drove my friend's Acura MDX and was extremely impressed. If it weren't for the badging, I would have believed it if someone told me it's a German car.

I tend to think Toyota makes the longest lasting engine/drivetrains, although Honda isn't far behind and angles more toward eeking as much out of a small engine as possible. Mazda isn't known for the most durable engines, although the Miata engine has been referred to as the cockroach (i.e., unkillable) of the combustion engine world, but they make up for it with the best transmissions and drivability. I tend to look at Toyota as building engines that handle mileage with ease, but vehicles that suffer from age more. The downside of over-building everything is more mass and related stresses on everything else. To me, that's good but not great engineering.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

on par with build quality, noise isolation, driving experience, reliability, etc. you know what I am talking about here lol cmon now. Was not talking about Miatas. Nobody beats Lexus from Japan. Not Honda, definitely not Acura (surprised they are still in business as they literally have 2 (TWO) good selling models).

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I'd have to disagree with you on several points there. I had a 1st Gen Camry, back when it was still relatively new, and it was the worst ownership experience I've ever had. I've owned two Mazdas and they were both far more reliable than the SC. Who's to say how much of that can be chalked up to previous owners' maintenance, though?

I'll grant you noise isolation, but that's a very minor consideration to me, as I'm in the "information over isolation" camp. I always find it amusing that we want loud engines and exhausts, but not any road noise.

Driving experience, I couldn't disagree more. I'll take Mazda every time. Toyota/Lexus goes for the plush, over-built over the light, nimble, and fun. The SC door hinges are a perfect example of over-engineering / build quality and reliability not being synonymous. They're built like a tank and still can't stand up to the stresses of all that unnecessary mass and long lever arms hanging off them. Now, if you want to steer the conversation toward safety, Toyota likely shines. But, I like to drive my cars, not crash them.

Acura has a bad reputation here on CL, but I dare you to drive a new MDX (I can't speak for any of their others post-Integra) and not be impressed.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

What exactly is so u reliable about your SC? Please make a list and we can categorize your problems into 2 groups, one being wear and tear from old age, and group 2, issues due to bad engineering.

I guarantee you most of those issues will fall under group 1. Some will have more issues than others because of owner neglect and being from unfavorable areas of the country (any salt belt state vehicles will have far more mechanical issues than southern cars, southern cars that weren't garaged will have issues northern cars don't like failing paint, interior cracking and weathering, so on and so forth.)

If you have a clean SC with the scheduled maintenance done I cannot believe you that's it's unreliable, that would not make sense. Most people that ***** about it are the same people who are too cheap to even buy decent tires and get alignment done on their cars, yet they will complain all day how bad the ride quality is.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

You over-extrapolated. In 30 years of Mazda ownership, I've had virtually no mechanical or cosmetic issues. The only things that come to mind are a broken interior light cover, a jammed keyhole door cover, and a dead fuel gauge after a winter of storage. Nothing's going to top that, so my saying Mazdas are far more reliable in my experience is not the same as saying the SC is unreliable.

However, I've had all the usual maintenance culprits: ECU, front and rear control arms, three door lock sensor failures, cracked center vents, numerous crumbled engine bay sensors and interior plastics, etc. You can dismiss them all as old age, but the same has not been true for my Mazdas of similar age. I look at that as quality of engineering in the overall platform, not just the drivetrain.

Good tires and annual alignments for me.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

97-SC300, I can't be certain but I thought I read somewhere else that it is an NA 5-speed model, not an automatic.

I tend to think that the only three things that keep an NA 2JZ interesting are: manual transmission, LSD and 4.272:1 gearing. Maybe he got his NA with the ultra-rare Torsen option?

As for build quality, even the SC has a few blemishes with interior cosmetics... but look at how long it's taken for most of those flaws to show up? Decades after they left the dealer lot. I nearly bought a 2005 Pontiac GTO a few years back and with only five years on the car there was significant fake aluminum trim literally PEELING off many surfaces. Not all Lexus cars are perfect but something like the 1998+ LS400 and LS430 practically are. Have to agree with you on that, 97-SC300. Design choices such as the way the upper interior door surrounds eventually crack and putting plastic A/C vents against wood are really the worst of it on SC's.

The SC300/400/Soarer (and original IS300/Altezza) have some minor flaws but they really aren't much compared to how the rest of the car holds up. The hinges I have to disagree with you about, t2d2. After 20+ years some of them, depending on use, may need service... but for all they are designed to do it's pretty amazing mechanical engineering. I've earmarked sourcing a set of hinges as backups but mine are still fine after twenty-four years of use.