Hi, I'd like your thoughts on a potential purchase. It's a:

1996 Lexus SC300 - $4800 123,875mi,

2 yr owner, purchased with 105,000mi. Original died around 2002. Maintenance was done at Jim Falk Lexus in Beverly Hills.
PDI: 6/24/96.
Date of first use: 10/13/96.
Many service entries, until the last service recorded by Lexus: 5/30/2002 -54,743mi
It sat for a few years until purchased by her grandson’s friend who commuted. His dad owned a car lot and kept it running well.
Current owner is 62yo, purchased it 2 years ago with intentions of keeping it, but now wants a new black GT Mustang. Had leather seat covets applied. Rear seat has a defect on top which has been glued & smoothed. Car has always been garaged. No accidents.

FROM THE AD:
"Beautiful low mileage SC300, silver with rare black interior. I am the third owner. All stock, no performance modifications. Always garaged, adult driven, all maintenance done as scheduled. Everything works, A/C nice and cold. Tires have good tread. J2Z engine well known for longevity. Drives smooth and handles like a sports car should.
Items replaced and serviced over last 15k miles:
Timing belt (107,7xxmi) and water pump,
Serpentine belt
New valve cover gasket,
New radiator and radiator hoses,
New spark plugs, spark plug wires and distributor cap,
New battery,
Brakes,
Transmission service, New transmission pan gasket,
Rear differential service,
New driveshaft seals,
New Silver Star headlights and new bulbs for fog lights.
Plus: New leather upholstery for front seats, custom black with red stitching, matching steering wheel cover and console,
New triple chrome plated stock wheels,
New Pioneer stereo, stock speakers and amp (had Nak w CD changer trunk).
New window tinting, back and rear side windows,
Custom made Coco floor mats, black and red,
Rare mud guards from New Zealand (Toyota Soarer),
Custom aircraft aluminum engine shields to replace crummy plastic ones.
Clean title in my name."

Two concerns:
1) There is no alarm or key fobs. Current owner says an alarm is present on car, but he uses key to lock/unlock door.
2) The interior release for the trunk does not work.

Please tell me your thoughts!
Blessings,
Trvlngnrs

 

It looks good in the photos and the maintenance description sounds good. I'd want to see documentation of all of it.

Beyond that...

It really depends on how much you like/want it.

What is your intent for the car?

What does your used car market say about the availability and pricing of similar condition SCs?

Do you have the funds to purchase it outright and are willing to spend the money to keep it up?

 

Hi, thanks for your thoughts.

It'll be a 3rd car for my wife and I. She has an Accord and I have a Tacoma. Likely put less than 8,000 miles/year on it. I'll pay cash for this and then sell my current 3rd car, an 2005 Acura RSX Type S with 79,000 miles.

The town I live in has only 1 SC 300/400 for sale. It's the same price but cosmetically pretty beat up, so I don't mind spending couple hundred dollars to fly out, look at this and maybe drive it 350 miles home.

Spoke to the owner again last night, the only problems are the gas gauge needle is dim and the trunk release with doesn't work.

Thanks again for your thoughts!
Trvlngnrs

 

Sounds to me like you should go for it. It's a good color combo(IMO) and, for what it's worth, black interiors are much harder to come by and desirable(again, IMO).

The front seats look like they might have been reupholstered with ebay sourced replacement covers. That isn't necessarily good, or bad. It's bad because it's eBay and quality is questionable, plus resale value could go either way if someone wanted an all original car. It's good, because if I'm right as to where they came from, the seller also has rear seat covers that match and you mentioned the rear seat having some blemishes. Of course, where they came from is a total guess. I just know I've had my eye on them as my SC is red and I thought the black leather with red stitching would look good.

The trunk release shouldn't be a terribly difficult thing to fix. Might even get lucky and it's just locked out at the button panel...but I assume the current owner has tried that.

The missing key fobs are a little concerning. What does that mean, that there is an alarm on the car? Are they talking about the factory alarm, or an aftermarket? If aftermarket, it could have been wired to include the trunk popping and that could possibly be an issue as to why the trunk button doesn't work. Either way, you'll have some diagnosis and repairs to make there.

 

Good eye, the owner said the covers are from eBay. Said they are leather, not vinyl... we'll see.

I don't believe it's an aftermarket alarm. My understanding from reading the forum is the key should have a lock unlock function for the doors. I'm not sure what this car has. I'll find out Monday!

Overall, these are minor things for a car with 123,000 miles. I can live with them until I correct them.

 

Yes, the key should have a small button on the side that locks/unlocks the doors. My 95 SC400 does. They're pretty common to fail as the keys get banged up over the years.

All in all, you are right, the issues mentioned are minor for a car of this age and what appears to be very well taken care of, otherwise.

Good luck, and keep us updated if you choose to buy it.

 

Will do, I'm headed out on Monday.

 

I think its a pretty good deal if you want an automatic and just want to keep it stock for a while for reliability. IF you want a manual or plan to build it up you might find a better candidate that is closer to what you want in the end

My only concern is the fact its gone 17k miles in 16 years give or take. So take it for a nice long test drive then inspect everything for leaks