JTAM128

I went car shopping with my friend yesterday when he's trying to look for a 2002 Maxima or a 01-02 CL Type S... I saw the white 97 SC300 automatic and decided to test drive it... Car ran very nice and comfy instead of any sports car... I really like the car alot but i cant figure out whats the deal with thier trunks... There is like a good 2 feet of space between the trunk and the rear seats... Can someone tell me what is in that area??? Can i possbility customize it with some sub's...

BTW, car had 65,000miles and the dealer wanted $23,900... What u guys think???

Vegassc400

The fuel cell is between the trunk and the back seat. Not much room for a bass enclosure in there. Most people go with a 10" JL free air woofer. I had a custom fiberglass box put in around my 10".
Try pricing it out the car on Edmunds.com. Pretty fair and accurate prices. Good articles on car buying too.

Legends6spd

the fuel tank and a stock factory sub sits right above the tank

i'd recommend the JL 10IB4 - not bad for $80-$120 range depend on where u buy it. it does require a bit of modification thou.

Your dealers' price sounds high. For that price, you can get a rare 97 5speed and a bit lower mileage.
You can't compare the SC to the Maxima / CL-s, those are FWD based on family sedan platforms. Better straight line performance sure, but nose heavy and understeers. I would agree that all three are best for touring with a bit of sport in them - but the potential of the SC (should u want to mod) is much more than the others.

octane300

Definitely too high of a price for a 97, espec w/ 65K on it. BTW guys, where can I pick up that JL 10" Free Air sub that everyone speaks of?

Doug

Jmai22

i thought stick only came out pre 95??

octane300

Jmai22:

No, they made manual transmissions up to model year 1997 for the sc300. Of course, the 97 5-speeds are VERY hard to come by.

Jmai22

cool, thanks for clearing that up for me. I went to the lexus dealer to buy some parts and i talked to 2 different salesman and they both said there is no such thing as a stick shift sc. i kept on telling them there was. so we talked to the tech and he told us there was. and both the salesman were like i told you they were really rare, when i was the one that was saying they were rare. The tech guy said he worked there for 5 years and has only seen 2 stick sc300.

asnatlas

iTrader: (2)

24k on a 97 with 65k miles???? ROFL and not even a SC400........... Damn don't you just love dealers... I will let you right now if they got that on a trade in that the owner was lucky to see 12 to 13k as trade in on that car and I drought even that.... If the dealer wants to sell that car they will have to come down, they are waiting for a SUCKER to come in with cash and plop it down on the sales managers desk and take it off with no questions asked.... I have a SC300 with 84k miles on it and the owner was asking 11k for it and I got him down to 7500. Also with in the 3 months I was looking for a SC, I saw dealers having a 92 300 for 17,900 with 40k miles and I got them down to 12k and to me I thought that was still too much (since I knew it was traded in and that they were luckily to give the owner 7k) but by the time I was back in town the car was sold, O' well was not meant to be............... but then I looked at a 93 400 with 140k miles and the dealer wanted 12k and I got them down to 8k and then they pissed me off and i walked. Then I found the one I have now those are just some of my encounters.... So if you are thinking about getting it then deal and deal hard... I would say you could get it for like 17-18kish... Sorry for the LONG post.......... Hope it helps...........



Later
Shawn

Jmai22

man you really much be good at dealing. any tips?

asnatlas

iTrader: (2)

I just don't pay more for anything that I don't think is right.............. A car is ONLY worth what you are welling to pay for it.............. I am not saying a 92 Lexus SC300 is only worth 7500, but the car I have was......... it was in good shape but was not PERFECT........... So just do your research on the car(s) you are looking at buying know how dealers work and don't let them try to ****** you............. Some good sites are EDMUNDS and KBB KBB likes to on avg higher and Edmunds seems kinda low so what I do it take the middle of them both......... But the 2 sites are good to give you a idea on what you should pay for the car or what the dealer gave the pervious owner on the car if it was a trade in............... Hope this helps a little, I don't know if I have "TIPS" per say, like I said just know what you want, know about the car, and how dealers work...... also if you can wait the ending of the months are best because if the car is on the lot come the next month they have to pay taxes on it........ Also if they say they have a car coming in as a trade tell them to hold it for you and don't do anything to it, clean it or detail it or anything.............. if you like the car look it up on one of the 2 sites get a ruff idea of what they gave for it and then offet them like 1k more (if you think the price is good) and they should take it (not in all cases but, just depends) If you look at it they give someone 7k on a trade in that they are paying sticker for and then you offer them 8k CASH with no trade in then they make over 1k in profit for the car sitting on their lot for a few days and not even having to do anything to it............... You can deal with a dealer more with CASH and no trade in (well it can only help)............... Just a few things that I take into account when I am looking into cars.......... All I know is I NEVER pay what they (dealer or anyone) ask for the car........... I have a 91 240 also that was stickered at 12,900 that I got for 7500.00 was little over 3 yrs ago and had at the time 67k miles on it........... So like I said don't let the dealers ****** you because they will try every chance they get.............. Their PERFECT customer is the RICH dumb ones who go on the lot and pay what they are asking with no questions asked........... and they (the dealers) HATE people like me who will get the car for the price I am willing to pay for it or will walk............. Just rem every day a used car sits on the lot is a day more they are losing money on that car..............


LOL sorry about the LONG post............. I get carried away some times............. also what I have wrote is not right nor wrong this is just the way I see / look at it and I know it works for me ............. Hell in my last 2 cars I have saved close to 9k because I didn't pay what the seller wanted, being a dealer or a owner.............


Later.....
Shawn

P.S. People ALMOST always ask more for the car then that REALLY want, just hoping for that PERFECT person to come along and want the car and pay asking price and not ****er................

Jmai22

good info thanks.

JTAM128

Thanks for the heads up... Altho i did find this 99 SC300 with 20k miles for $26,000 =)... But i didnt test drive it... Didnt even bother asking, gotta figure out what i want to do first before i do anything... But i'll stick around to see what can i learn...

octane300

When I traded in my 97 to get my 99, the dealer initially tried to give me $10K. After much haggling, we settled at $13,500.

Oh, and one more thing. You really should learn to master the art of "walking out". I'll tell you, the results are amazing. I told the sales manager MY bottom line figure. He crunches the numbers and says, "We can't do it. We'll lose money". I got up, extended my hand, and said, "Im sorry I wasted your time."

-"Wait, wait, wait! Now, if we can get you the figure you're asking, will you sign today?"

-"Absolutley"

And just like that, we made a deal. I'm pretty sure they still made out ok