CA 1993 SC400 White/Tan 187K Mi $4,500
02-14-10, 11:34 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
1993 SC400 White/Tan 187K Mi $4,500
For Sale: 1993 Lexus SC400 187K Mi. White/Tan $4,500 Located in Irvine, CA 92618
Please take a look at the “heck with mods” thread below to get a feel for the history of this vehicle (6 year old thread, see below for updates):
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...-like-new.html
6 years have obviously taken some wear and tear on the car, but it is in pretty good condition with a few items that need to be addressed that are primarily cosmetic. I am only posting this on CL for now to give this community the first shot at buying the car. I will ONLY sell to local buyers. I will not ship the car, etc. For serious buyers, I’ll will be happy to take the car to a mechanic to inspect the vehicle if you wish (I would recommend Dynamic).
Okay here are the good and bad parts of this car. I’m trying to represent it as fairly as I can, but there is no substitute for your own (and a mechanic’s) inspection. I think the price is very reasonable from what I have seen in the market. It represents that there are several (mostly cosmetic) issues that need to be addressed, but there has also been a lot of recent mechanical work which makes it somewhat of a bargain.
The Good:
My bad luck is your fortune. Within the last year, the following have been replaced:
Timing belt, tensioners , water pump, power steering pump, alternator, and spark plugs. Basically, the water pump started to leak, and once you are in there, it only makes sense to do the timing belt, etc. Then the power steering pump leaked into the alternator – I took the car in a few months ago thinking the charging issue was the battery and had to replace these two things.
Overall the car drives very well, it looks good for its age, and it is in sound mechanical condition (legal disclaimer: I’m not a mechanic, but I sure did spend a lot on it mechanically and it sounds and drives very well in my opinion). It has new (Jan) tags and was recently smogged.
The Bad:
Front bumper paint
As you will see in the photos, some of the paint is peeling on the bottom front of the car by the air dam. About a year after I had all the work done on my car, my prior mechanic scrapped the nose of the car pulling it into the engine bay. I have ended up using a different paint shop and the front bumper paint is just not holding up as well as the rest of the car. I would recommend repainting the front bumper.
Headlights
I have condensation in one of my headlights. There are many articles on CL about fixing these. If you want to do it right, replace both lenses so they match.
Instruments and Electrical
I’ve got the same issues everyone has experienced with age on these cars. The two small needles (temp and gas) are usually out and the two big ones (speed and tach) have multiple bad spots and flicker. The AC unit works great (as does the AC), but it is mostly black on the LCD. The Nak radio display is fine. The stereo system works, but the CD changer is sensitive on which CDs it can play – I think this is typical with age. Occasionally I have heard a crackling sound from the rear center speaker – perhaps a wire is loose – I don’t know. The rear defroster wasn’t working and I had it fixed, but I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it was either very slow or not working again.
Wheels
The chrome varies a lot on these wheels. Some of the wheels look okay, others are really showing their age. I highly recommend replacing these with something 17” or larger. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and have a fair amount of tread. However, about a year or so ago I got a bolt in the front passenger tire and America’s Tire Store (where I bought them) put in a plug. I have found that this tire requires air every few weeks which is much more frequently than the others. ATS also told me that when the chrome on the wheels starts to age, the seals on the tires will not be as good and you will need to inflate more frequently. Lastly, at certain speeds when turning I have heard a subtle noise. This has existed ever since I redid everything on the car. I thought the re-chrome might have been done poorly slightly thrown off the balance or something. Recently Sun at Dynamic drove the car (he just did the plugs a few weeks ago) and thought the sound as a wheel bearing. If you notice this and it concerns you when driving the car, please have someone like Sun inspect it more thoroughly. Bottom line though, is that I highly recommend that you replace the wheels.
Interior
The wood varnish has many cracks in the finish of the American Stitches wheel. If you want to drive this vehicle many more years, I would have this fixed. The leather in the back seat has come apart in places. The good news here is that I have plenty of extra leather that goes with the car and an upholstery shop should be able to use this and some stitch work to make it look great again.
I’m sure there are some minor things I may be missing. When you come out to look at the car we can go over everything in detail. I believe the price I’m offering it at is a real value. I’m looking to sell the car to someone who will fix it up and hopefully restore it to its former glory. It would be great if someone could add a post showing what they did.
Frankly, I am also looking to sell the car to someone who will make the process easy for me. I have posted as much info here as possible because I don’t want to get a ton of email questions on the car. I work 70 hours a week, have 2 kids, and am selling the car for not much more than I have spent on it in the last year or so. If you are a serious buyer and live in the area, please contact me and we will set up a time for you to check out the car.
Thanks,
Ryan
rvhill@***.net
Please take a look at the “heck with mods” thread below to get a feel for the history of this vehicle (6 year old thread, see below for updates):
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...-like-new.html
6 years have obviously taken some wear and tear on the car, but it is in pretty good condition with a few items that need to be addressed that are primarily cosmetic. I am only posting this on CL for now to give this community the first shot at buying the car. I will ONLY sell to local buyers. I will not ship the car, etc. For serious buyers, I’ll will be happy to take the car to a mechanic to inspect the vehicle if you wish (I would recommend Dynamic).
Okay here are the good and bad parts of this car. I’m trying to represent it as fairly as I can, but there is no substitute for your own (and a mechanic’s) inspection. I think the price is very reasonable from what I have seen in the market. It represents that there are several (mostly cosmetic) issues that need to be addressed, but there has also been a lot of recent mechanical work which makes it somewhat of a bargain.
The Good:
My bad luck is your fortune. Within the last year, the following have been replaced:
Timing belt, tensioners , water pump, power steering pump, alternator, and spark plugs. Basically, the water pump started to leak, and once you are in there, it only makes sense to do the timing belt, etc. Then the power steering pump leaked into the alternator – I took the car in a few months ago thinking the charging issue was the battery and had to replace these two things.
Overall the car drives very well, it looks good for its age, and it is in sound mechanical condition (legal disclaimer: I’m not a mechanic, but I sure did spend a lot on it mechanically and it sounds and drives very well in my opinion). It has new (Jan) tags and was recently smogged.
The Bad:
Front bumper paint
As you will see in the photos, some of the paint is peeling on the bottom front of the car by the air dam. About a year after I had all the work done on my car, my prior mechanic scrapped the nose of the car pulling it into the engine bay. I have ended up using a different paint shop and the front bumper paint is just not holding up as well as the rest of the car. I would recommend repainting the front bumper.
Headlights
I have condensation in one of my headlights. There are many articles on CL about fixing these. If you want to do it right, replace both lenses so they match.
Instruments and Electrical
I’ve got the same issues everyone has experienced with age on these cars. The two small needles (temp and gas) are usually out and the two big ones (speed and tach) have multiple bad spots and flicker. The AC unit works great (as does the AC), but it is mostly black on the LCD. The Nak radio display is fine. The stereo system works, but the CD changer is sensitive on which CDs it can play – I think this is typical with age. Occasionally I have heard a crackling sound from the rear center speaker – perhaps a wire is loose – I don’t know. The rear defroster wasn’t working and I had it fixed, but I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it was either very slow or not working again.
Wheels
The chrome varies a lot on these wheels. Some of the wheels look okay, others are really showing their age. I highly recommend replacing these with something 17” or larger. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and have a fair amount of tread. However, about a year or so ago I got a bolt in the front passenger tire and America’s Tire Store (where I bought them) put in a plug. I have found that this tire requires air every few weeks which is much more frequently than the others. ATS also told me that when the chrome on the wheels starts to age, the seals on the tires will not be as good and you will need to inflate more frequently. Lastly, at certain speeds when turning I have heard a subtle noise. This has existed ever since I redid everything on the car. I thought the re-chrome might have been done poorly slightly thrown off the balance or something. Recently Sun at Dynamic drove the car (he just did the plugs a few weeks ago) and thought the sound as a wheel bearing. If you notice this and it concerns you when driving the car, please have someone like Sun inspect it more thoroughly. Bottom line though, is that I highly recommend that you replace the wheels.
Interior
The wood varnish has many cracks in the finish of the American Stitches wheel. If you want to drive this vehicle many more years, I would have this fixed. The leather in the back seat has come apart in places. The good news here is that I have plenty of extra leather that goes with the car and an upholstery shop should be able to use this and some stitch work to make it look great again.
I’m sure there are some minor things I may be missing. When you come out to look at the car we can go over everything in detail. I believe the price I’m offering it at is a real value. I’m looking to sell the car to someone who will fix it up and hopefully restore it to its former glory. It would be great if someone could add a post showing what they did.
Frankly, I am also looking to sell the car to someone who will make the process easy for me. I have posted as much info here as possible because I don’t want to get a ton of email questions on the car. I work 70 hours a week, have 2 kids, and am selling the car for not much more than I have spent on it in the last year or so. If you are a serious buyer and live in the area, please contact me and we will set up a time for you to check out the car.
Thanks,
Ryan
rvhill@***.net
02-15-10, 12:03 AM
#3
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Thanks for catching this. Sorry, I did not notice there was a separate vehicle section. Moderators - Can one of you kindly move this for me? Otherwise I can post there and you can close this thread. Sorry about that!
02-20-10, 05:52 PM
#7
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Guys,
Thanks for the complements I have gotten from several of you. No, I'm afraid I'm not interested in a trade. I already have 5 cars (2 are vintage), so I'm trying to get down to 4. Here are a few more pictures I got last week when the sun came out. I am also including manuals, service records, and extra leather.
Best Regards,
Ryan
Thanks for the complements I have gotten from several of you. No, I'm afraid I'm not interested in a trade. I already have 5 cars (2 are vintage), so I'm trying to get down to 4. Here are a few more pictures I got last week when the sun came out. I am also including manuals, service records, and extra leather.
Best Regards,
Ryan
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04-02-10, 01:06 PM
#9
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I'm bumping this because I really want someone from CL to buy this car and give it a good home. I also want to deal with someone who knows their cars.
For your amusement, Tales of selling a car:
Last weekend I took it to the car faire at Irvine Valley College. It was sold before I could even get the registration paperwork done. Then I get a call later in the night that the guy's mom doesn't want him having a sports car and he backs out. Okay, no big deal. Next day a guy calls me for a test drive. I go down and he's wearing heavy cologne that is making me nauseous. Then during the test drive he starts getting concerned about gas mileage and complains that he wishes it was a 4 or 6 cylinder car. At which point I'm thinking why in the hell are you looking at buying a sports car if mileage is your biggest concern. Turns our he only had $3K in cash (emphasized "cash" as if I were expecting a financing option at this price point). The complaining was just his negotiation tactic.
I will sell the car to anyone at the carfair for $3,900. If you contact me ahead of time as a CL member who is polite, I will go over everything you could want to know about the car and sell it to you for my absolute bottom price of $3,500.
In contrast, a few weeks ago I had a CL member who came out to look at the car. He brought his dad and brother and they all knew Lexus vehicles well and were very polite. I didn't hear back after (he was also looking at other Lexus models besides the SC, so he could have gone in a different direction). However, he was exactly the type of person I would have loved to sell the car to - very representative of the CL community...
For your amusement, Tales of selling a car:
Last weekend I took it to the car faire at Irvine Valley College. It was sold before I could even get the registration paperwork done. Then I get a call later in the night that the guy's mom doesn't want him having a sports car and he backs out. Okay, no big deal. Next day a guy calls me for a test drive. I go down and he's wearing heavy cologne that is making me nauseous. Then during the test drive he starts getting concerned about gas mileage and complains that he wishes it was a 4 or 6 cylinder car. At which point I'm thinking why in the hell are you looking at buying a sports car if mileage is your biggest concern. Turns our he only had $3K in cash (emphasized "cash" as if I were expecting a financing option at this price point). The complaining was just his negotiation tactic.
I will sell the car to anyone at the carfair for $3,900. If you contact me ahead of time as a CL member who is polite, I will go over everything you could want to know about the car and sell it to you for my absolute bottom price of $3,500.
In contrast, a few weeks ago I had a CL member who came out to look at the car. He brought his dad and brother and they all knew Lexus vehicles well and were very polite. I didn't hear back after (he was also looking at other Lexus models besides the SC, so he could have gone in a different direction). However, he was exactly the type of person I would have loved to sell the car to - very representative of the CL community...
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