alibabu20

Hi guys,

I got the itch to buy a SC again and looked at few cars..I was hoping you guys can tell me if its fair price for those cars..

1) 99 sc300, 70k miles, black with beige interior..had 3 owners..car looks clean n drives good...seller was asking for $9k


2) 99 sc300, 82k miles, gray exterior..had 2 owners..havent looked at the car yet as its like 3 hr drive from me..seller says car runs good except passenger side door not working and asking for $6800..

3) 94 sc400, 80k miles, white with beige interior, one owner car...drove the car and it runs smooth but interior was in bad shape...seller is asking for $5700..

I am not looking at modding the car and this will be used just as daily driver...right now I am debating between 1 and 2 ..its just that i havent looked at number 2 yet and wanted to see if $9k is good price for number 1...Plz let me know ur thoughts on this...

Thanks
babu

ZeRoSe7en

I would open up door #2, 9k is a little high for a car that old, especially if its not tastefully modded and all stock.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

every state is different with prices. I look at it this way, whatever you pay just make sure you can get it back

texan_176

iTrader: (5)

Get the one that has all stock parts and does not ride on X-brand tires. It indicates a car the owner took pride in and maintained properly. Walk away from any car that has ghetto brand tire on it no matter what. If it has a Lexus OEM battery seriously consider buy it factoring all else in. Such cars went to the dealer for everything and did not have budget mechanics doing budget repairs on them.

BeaksSC

iTrader: (1)

I would look at the second one. I'm not 100% on what passenger side doesn't work means, but I'm going to assume that you're talking about the power stuff like the window. Mine had the same problem but we didn't even have to replace anything. Our problem was in the wiring bridge from he master switch to the inside of the car. Some of the wires were broke so we reattached them together and reconected everything else. Took us a while to figure out what was wrong but didn't take too long. Good luck with the buy.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

What type of grey exterior? Also what color of interior is number 2?
Number 3 doesn't sound bad either!

Those are some low mileage SC's!

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

I think all those prices are high. The car is old, $9K for a car this old needs to be completely mint, and even though the mileage is low, it's at that age/mileage things need replacing just because. For that kind of money I would aim for a 99/2000 SC400. They are out there, maybe higher mileage, but worth having, and restoring anything it needs. Keep searching.

alibabu20

So I drove couple of hrs to look at the second one...it was gold exterior with beige interior...I would rate the interior 5/10 and it looked like it wasn't kept clean even though it had low miles...passenger side was not opening from outside..we had to open it from inside the car...overall didnt get a good feel of this car compared to option 1 even though this one was $2k less than option 1.

for now, I am thinking of going with option 1 but reading that $9k is little high makes me think is it $1k overpriced or $2k overpriced? if it's $1k I would be fine with that coz low mileage, clean cars are hard to buy...plz advice.

also, any other things that I need to check/inspect before buying the car? I am thinking of taking it to a mechanic for inspection but not sure if I can get a lexus specialist as today is Sunday...

Thanks.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I generally figure people only sell cars when there's something wrong with them. Not always true, but it pays to be cynical in these matters... With your three examples, I would make sure they've all had their major tune-up done at either 60k or 90k miles. All three are right in that range, so I could see them being sold because that's a big cost relative to the value. If they haven't had the major servicing done, then use that as bargaining leverage, since it's putting you in a cost ballpark similar to cars with double the mileage.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

id go with number 3 , try to get him into the $4000 - $4500 range and your a happy camper.

alibabu20

Here are some pics of the car...to get better idea of it....

alibabu20

some more...

carfax history doesnt say much about service records...all it has was registration renewal records...

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Did the SC switch to perforated leather at some point for the back seats, or are those replacements? Non-original could be another point in your favor for bargaining leverage. Overall, the car looks very clean.

iridebmx

iTrader: (6)

that car is stunning! the seat back nets are even tight. I'd say try to haggle him down to around $7800. You pay more now pay less later if its that well taken care of.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

its a super nice car but if your going to spend 8 grand you might as well put a couple more on top and get an sc430, or some other newer car of your liking.

I couldn't see myself paying more then $5000-$6000 for a low mileage SC300/400 of any year