jeffgwaltney

first time poster - looking to purch sc-3 - considering 2 i've located
fr private owner, a 97 1 owner all records 28 mi for $18k from orig owner
or fr lexus dealer 98 sc-3 1 owner w/ 34k mi, lexus certified w/ 3 yr up to 100k mi warranty from lexus dlr for $21.5k

both basic same equip, (premium pak, etc.) - neither has nak, trac or htd seats - 1 has factory chrome wheels - 1 white/tan, the other bordeaux(burg metallic)/tan

great knowledgable forum here - would appreciate your thoughts and advice on which is preferable and why

thx in advance - jeff

JohnnySC

I think 98 is the first year with a VVT-i engine??? I might be wrong. One another note, where in TN are you?

jeffgwaltney

i'm in "nashvegas" - wow love your cars! a 99 sc-3 customized and 02 sc430 - let me know if you're too busy to drive both - lol

how do u like you sc-3? any probs. how's acceleration w/ the inline 6 and how's your mpg? -

JohnnySC

Jeff, nice to meet ya! Well, unfortunately, the 99 only has cosmetic mods because I am leary of running into problems with the warranty. I can honestly tell you that the 99 is my favorite of the two cars. I enjoy the styling more and the layout of the interior, it just tends to flow better, imho. I did have the waterpump on my 99 go out and got the timing belt replaced at the same time, this happened about 6 months ago. From a stop, the car will get to speed very adequately, but it seems as if the gearing and the gross weight of the car severely limit the car. One of the biggest differences I have noticed between the 99 and the 02 is in fact MPG. I cruise back up to Michigan on a regular basis and the 02 gets roughly 20 MPG and the 99 gets almost 29MPG (28.6 to be exact).

In regard to your situation, I would opt for the 98. The 98 gets the re-designed interior with the gated shifter and wood shift ****. There are also other updates that make the car more desireable, in my opinion.

jeffgwaltney

thx johnny - that's the kind of feedback i'm looking for - have you seen the "bordeaux color?" - is it deep burgundy metallic? (i'm ok with a "wine color burgundy" - but don't want any color that looks more purple than burgundy... have only seen jpegs of this car from the dealer which is in houston (see attached)

JohnnySC

I am not sure I have ever seen that color. You should try giving Lexus of Knoxville a call, they have a few newer (98 +) SC's on the used lot. Furthermore, Toyota of Knoxville had a silver 98 SC 300 on their used car lot.

JohnnySC

p.s. if you get that one in the pic, those gold emblems need to come off!!!

jeffgwaltney

agreed - how much will it cost to switch out the gold package? (maybe I could make that condition of sale with the dealer)

the 97 is white/tan like yours and my prefernce for color - but doesn't have the 98 model updates like u mentioned previously

i'll cl on cars u mentioned but doubt they can ouch price i've been offered on these other two (or have the pristeen history, or in the case of the 98 in houston, o full lexus certified warranty - good history, low milage 1 owner sc's no teasy to find for $18-21k

bty, how's your hid conversion working? any probs? what did u do and is it easy or an expensive dealer installation (didn't think u could convert to xenons/hids due to it being far more involved than just the bulb - aren't hid's/xenons gas charged, separate entire light fixture, diff ballast, current voltage, etc? does it void the lexus warranty?)

undefeatedsc3

No love for the gold........what has is all come too????