Hey everyone...newbie here....I've been trying to find a SC300 that I like, and I think I might have...I'm checking it out Friday. (fingers crossed) Just wanted to get people's opinions...not sure if what he's asking is a good price or not...here's the details:

95 SC300
clean title - no accidents
everything is stock
138K miles

The owner said he's had it dealer maintained - everything done right on time (i.e. oil change every 3K, etc.) What's a decent price that I should pay for a car like this?

 

5k - 7k? can someone verify?

 

how much is he asking for it? It may not be too far out of the ballpark. Is it an original owner? Just a few more things to think about... in the end its a used car and it depends how bad you want a SC too.

I agree, somewhere around 5-7k sounds fair if its as cherry as you say.

 

He's asking $7,200...but I was thinking of offering a little less...like $6,500 or so...he said that there is a little shopping car ding on the back right side, but he also said he had an estimate done, and it was not too much to fix (a couple hundred...)

As for how bad I want one.....I've been trying to find one in my area (Southern Cali) that has decent milage and is a decent price for the past 6 months....granted I've been busy w/ school as well, so I haven't been TOO avid in searching, but I have been looking atleast a couple times a week...and more so recently.........I really hope this car works out

Also, what are the main things I should check for...in other words, w/ the SC's, particularly the 95's, is there anything specific I should check for? Any specific parts that normally give problems, etc.??

 

hopefully this helps
sc300 faq

check on power steering, how hard the car was run, etc.. the faq should help

 

I haven't dealt with a Lexus SC before...where's the power steering pump located? And what's the best way to check for leaks when I'm checking the car out?

 

$6,500 sounds about right for the 95 sc300. Is it a auto or manual?

 

Auto

I just ran a CarFax on it, and everything is clean, but it has had 5 reported owners.... Should this be a matter of concern for me?

 

carfax said my car was clean of anything bad...well turns out its been hit in the rear before..pretty extensive damage.

 

I just purchased an SC300 and the carfax reported a clean vehicle. After further investigation, I found out it was repainted on the driver's side. The previous owner said it had no accidents. You can't really trust carfax and sometimes the previous owner will not disclose some info. just to make the sell. Make sure you have it checked out thoroughly. I learned the hard way.

 

Carfax only knows what goes through the dmv, police, and your insurance.. they wouldn't know if the previous owner had crashed into his own garage and paid the local body shop to do repairs.. a few things you might want to check out is....

feel the edges of the hood, doors, and every exterior edge you can put your hands onto to check... if its smooth, it should be good, if not, it might have been resprayed... most of the time paint jobs are done w/o painting the edges fully and body parts aren't removed to do a thorough paint job, so you can feel where the paint gets cut off... (usually rough at edges)

another thing you should check, which i always do when i'm looking at a car is to check to make sure all the windows are OEM. In our case, look for a TOYOTA imprint all all windows: front & rear windshield, side windows, smaller side windows.. a replaced window can be signs of an accident, or just someone with hatred towards the previous owner.. when you see a window thats not OEM, and the owner says there has been no accidents, you should check the body next to that window.. inspect it from the bottom if possible or even the inside.. a non-OEM window can be a finger pointing to where previous damage took place

also, when you stick the key in the ignition, don't start the car, but turn it 2 notches.. (thats when all warning lights will be lit) and check to see if all lights are lit up on the cluster... check engine light? air bag? sometimes.. when those things fail, the owner takes out the bulb from the cluster so when you check it, the warning light doesn't get to you..

hope that helps.. theres alot more things you should look out for, but i gotta get back to work now.. good luck!

-Ken

 

Thanks for those tips Ken - I'll be sure to check those things that u mentioned...

 

YEAH!! I found a car!!! It's actually a SC400, but I think it's a great deal. Here's the details, you guys let me know if I got a good deal or not:

Year: 95
Color: white / tan
Miles: 82K
Others: spoiler, moonroof, gold package, stock chrome rims, 12 CD changer, clean leather, clean title, no major accidents (couple of VERY minor body imperfections, but mostly on the lower side panels, which I will replace w/ body kit anyways - can't see it unless u'r under the car)

I checked the power stearing pump, windows, gauge lights, etc. And everything looks good and in working order. No rust underneath nor on exhaust...

The total price (which includes new smog, new Dec 05 tags, AND tax) is $10,850....

Please let me know if this is good or not...thanks everyone!

 

$10g seems a bit high. Plus there's not many performance mods you can do to a SC400

 

What mods can I do? I've heard that I can do intake, exhaust, headers...is that true? Is there anything else?