Im thinking about buying a Lexus SC and one thing that Im worried about is the high mileage that I see when searching for a SC. I wouldn't like my first car to end up being a money pit.

any advise as to what to look out for, other than accident damage excessive wear on certain parts?

 

The best thing to can start out with is to find a car that has documented service. Documentation is always a good thing when trying to figure out what has been serviced. I wouldn't worry too much about a car that has higher mileage if all the major maintenance has been taken care of. I purchased my car with a bit over 170k.

 

ask about if the control arm bushings are worn out, needles tend to wear out, trunk lifts or w/e, its pretty much a bulletproof car, if it runs well get it b/c they will last you a long time

 

A well maintained 2JZ will last quite awhile.

 

stuff like that isn't a major concern, im more worried about the engine failing while im in the middle of nowhere (road trip),. I also work at AutoZone so things that will be changed soon after.

 

Interestingly enough I have found several threads that mention head gaskets going on the GE motors. Its funny, since you rarely hear of a boosted GTE popping one.

At any rate, I think my stock GE may have a BHG too lol. Thats one of very few points of failure I have personally heard of with the 300.

400 I have no clue with the exception of seeing several overheating threads. I think the nose design makes the V8 predisposed to running hot if everything is not in top working condition.

 

The GE has a very thin headgasket, the GTE is much thicker- the GTE is thick enough where if you swap in a GTE HG onto a GE it drops the compression ratio a whole point.

As for money pits- the 2j will be much easier and cheaper to work on. I own both a 1uz-fe SC and a 2jz-gte supra. The supra is way easier to work on

 

299k still counting

 

My SC400 has been a nice car. I did all of the maintenance myself. Just look for wore out bushings, needles, lcd, tie rod ends, sway bar links, struts, door hinge popping, and ball joints. These are common wear problem but can all be fixed on here. Jmo. Good luck with your decision.

 

You know, after I posted I was wondering if the GE also runs an MLS gasket like the GTE. If not, that would also account for the reduced durability.

 

so whats best? 2JZ swap or change to GTE head gasket?

 

When I was looking to buy the sc400 (or any car I buy which sometimes is every six months lol) I always do a quick google search for "sc400 problems, sc400 reliability" etc type stuff. Since I lost my company car I had to sell my weekend car and get something that would be cool but useable. One of the things I noticed was on the searches, the sc300 and 400's come up with very little (try googling northstar and others). Of course if you search forums you will find much more, but that is where everyone that enjoys cars comes and posts the trouble with them. So the forums will look as though there may be more trouble, but is not necessarily indicitive of actual amount of problems. It does show the more common weak points though. I purchased my car with the feeling that as long as I maintained it, the major components of the car could last an extremely long time and I would primarily have to deal with smaller type problems.

 

come to NY & test drive my SC,..... smooth as butter!
just so happens, it's for sale too!

 

Best is a bone stock sc300, no swap or anything. Biggest piece of advice I can give you- do NOT mechanically modify your daily driver, especially if it's your first car. Wheels, MAYBE suspension, and that's it. Intake and exhaust doesn't really do anything meaningful for these car's non-turbo so it's a waste of cash. Just enjoy the stock luxury of it, trust me you'll love it! I love my sc400- I wouldn't modify a thing on it except wheels and suspension. If it came down to where I only had one car though? SC300 all day- easy to work on, enough power stock to be fun, sounds good, looks good, and good gas mileage.