Does the Lexus SC Deserve Collector Car Pricing?
Club Lexus member spots a pair of high-dollar, low-mile Lexus SC examples. And those finds spawn a fascinating debate.
We’ve reached the point where one could confidently call the Lexus SC a bit of a classic. After all, it’s been a full eight years since the last one rolled off the assembly line. And yet, at the very least, the first-gen cars have a bit of a cult following. The second generation? Well, they have a less stellar reputation, but that hasn’t stopped collectors from trying to extract maximum value in the past. And it sure isn’t stopping one dealer that Club Lexus member maarp found from doing just that, either.
“This place currently has two SC430s, one priced at $32,900 and one priced at, wait for it, $49,900. The second one has 780 miles on it. Which begs the question, was the original owner also on crack? Why would you spend $60K+ on a car and park it for 16 years?
And, to anyone foolish enough to spend $50K on it, I would think every fluid, every gasket, and every piece of rubber on it will need to be changed before it can be driven. And then, you’re going to drive it and lose tens of thousands of dollars instantly? Or, are you going to park it as well and also lose tens of thousands of dollars anyway without the fun of driving it? Maybe I’m the insane one. Is this a rich person’s problem, one which I surely don’t understand?”
A pretty passionate plea, we’d say. but the OP makes a good point. And it’s one that pretty much everyone else agrees with, despite their affinity for the Lexus SC.
“The listings may be legit but to buy one at that price would be insane,” said iolmaster.
Still, Goldwinger thinks that there may be a case for these sky high prices.
“Low mileage Lexus SC that is not molested. That meaning ORIGINAL cars are starting to be collector cars. Any of these under 5k miles bring top dollar at the wholesale auto auction. That’s the place where a dealer buys and sell. In April ( 2018) a 2002 with 1,900 miles sold at auction to a dealer for 42k plus the auction house fees and transport fees. Closer to 46k just for the dealer to get her in the showroom. Move up to 30k miles and the price drop to about 28k. This is clean original cars. No mods, no accidents.”
Jabberwock agrees, and adds to the discussion with some excellent points.
“No surprise to me that a collector would pay $50k for a potentially collectible high-end luxury sports car with 800 miles on it. A pristine SC430 with less than 1k miles is extremely rare as people tended to drive them at least a few times a year. That SC will almost certainly be purchased by a collector and very likely will never be driven.
I have a good friend that collects vintage show bike quality motorcycles. Some have less than 10 miles on them. First thing he does to most of them is drain all the fluids and remove the battery. Less than 30k mile SC430s are getting harder to find, but there are still plenty out there if one is patient.”
Sifting through all these responses, it’s rather clear that this is a pretty hot topic. So we want to know what you think. Head over here and let us know if you think the Lexus SC has reached collector status, or if you’d have to be on drugs to pay top dollar for one!
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