fruhling wrote:I'm not sure that there is a correct forum for this topic, so I'll just continue to post on this thread.
I took a look at a 1993 SC300 today, from a post on craigslist it looked great online, but when I went to see it, it was in shockingly poor condition. The first thing I noticed was the terrible condition of the paint, upholstery, speaker covers, and passenger door (which was falling apart on the inside). The AC/audio display was broken, and I couldn't turn on the AC. I took it for a test drive anyhow. The engine sounded labored, and it felt sluggish. I stopped to look under the hood, that's when I noticed the bad smell and white smoke pouring out of the exhaust. Although sparklingly clean, I think that there was something severely wrong with that engine.
Nevertheless, I loved the styling of the car. it's the first SC I've seen in person, and I was very excited to see how beautiful the lines are. Although this particular car had been criminally abused, the original quality of the interior components was still discernible. Additionally, while the engine was in bad shape, the car was still fun to drive. I can't wait to take a look at SC400s and 300s which are in slightly better shape.
Has anyone had any similar experience when trying to buy an SC? Is it really hard to find one with ~150k miles which needs no more than $1000 worth of work that needs to be done? How long do people usually have to hunt before they find a good car? Lastly, how hard is it to replace cosmetic interior components so that I'm not constantly staring at broken plastic?
This forum is fine for the time being. This forum is quite new so we're still moving things around and getting it together.
I have 2 SC400's and both were in the similar condition as that one. I've had one for about 2 years now and I'm still working on getting it to 90%.
To be honest, it is quite difficult to locate an SC that has less than 150k AND in good condition...unless it is a one owner/owner that knows what he has and takes great care of it. Most of them are bent, bitten, and broken (for lack of a better term) Something else you gotta know, these cars aren't cheap to fix. Mechanically (like the 1UZ, 2JZ engines, AE340 trannies, other major parts are not so expensive. It's the interior parts that pack the heat. Good door panels cost 400 bucks a piece USED, window trim interior pieces are 500 in good condition USED, the cluster is about $150 to have it sent off to be rebuilt, the center vent on the dash is over 1k to order online, VERY hard to find one that's not cracked, both of them on my SC's are in fact cracked. You will learn that these cars aren't some fart can Honda. Lexus parts aren't cheap.
The difficulty isn't replacing the interior parts, as aforementioned, it's the price. Or rather, even finding the pieces you want to replace. That's why when an SC is being parted out you jump on that like it's going out of style and grab the pieces you want/need without any procrastination presiding.
Don't get me wrong...these SC's are extraordinary, they are for enthusiasts. IF taken care of, they are more reliable than a 2 year old Chevy.
They were about 15 years ahed of their time when they were released. Amazing cars.
If you are out here in the west there are a good amount of cheap good SC's in Texas, California, Nevada...GL on your search!