1998SC400

So I unloaded a late model Accord as it no longer fit my needs- it was a car I was obliged to purchase for a corporate job and as the job went away so did the reasoning for the car. Left with readies in hand after the sale of the Honda I thought to myself 'what car is going to speak to me beyond being a good point A to B car and gets me to a place that satisfies the soul'? Well, it did not take me long to figure out a SC was just the ticket. Feels great to drive, good ponies, all the creature comforts, and is styled right. I always loved the look of the SC's and I have certainly found out here on CL the infinite ways to customize this platform- man, there are some beauties here on CL.

I found what I think is a good one: 1998 4.0 liter, decent shape on the exterior and what appears to be great shape motor wise, 151,000 miles on the clock when I bought it. The old Nakamichi unit was not functional, and when I had a look I soon found out what was likely the largest contributing cause- the drain plug right underneath the amp was clogged and there was a lot of water in the wheel well. I reckon this shorted the unit out. I fiddled with the drain hose and grommet and took care of that little problem.

I thought let's get this baby on a road trip so I popped the key in for a speed run from Portland OR up to my folks place in Canada, about 1600 miles round trip. It was a little hard to not do this with a functional stereo so I took my Ipod along to provide a little sound. I wanted to make sure all the mechanicals were fine before I laid in a new sound system.

Car ran like a top and really impressed me with the power and comfort and it is really planted in the steering- nice! I don't really have anywhere to work on it so after my shake down run to Canada I took it to Toyota to drop the fluids. They had some OK specials on so the bank was not broken, but it does reinforce the desire to get a suitable place with a garage so you can do your own work yourself. The tech also pointed out it could use some sundries, like a new serpentine belt (and only $159 to install this no-tools-required $30 belt) and $1500 to install a barely leaking exhaust gasket. Makes the brain hurt to think they are getting people to pay this kind of money on a daily basis, but it just makes me want to get into a crib that has a garage where I can do a lot of my own work on my own car.

Finally, feeling good about the car I went into a local car stereo shop today and had a good system put in. And then I spent a couple of hours just driving around listening to good tunes through the still good OEM speakers, and thinking I am happy with my Lexus SC400 (that now has 153500 miles on the ODO). And how I traded in my Honda and now have a nicely preserved Lexus that I love along with $10 K in the bank. Life is good

LEXXIUM

iTrader: (1)

With sc life is great!!! I love my ride as well, it will only bring you joy.


Фок the civic man you got a Lexus!!!

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

Glad it got you there and back. The 1UZFE are near bulletproof if you do a little maintenance on them. They are known to get around 400K on them with very little compression loss.

Welcome to CL.

Glad to see you have gotten rid of the old Honda. LOL

bigwes

Good pick up. Do u have any plans for this car, since u have extra money from the Honda?

Maserati

iTrader: (1)

Damn dude, just upped and hauled ***, i should do that in my car! Awesome Pickup, have you checked the service records on my.lexus?

SCstone

welcome to the world of Japanese muscle! you're in for a treat especially with some dough from the honda. once you really get to know this car you'll wonder why you didn't get it in the first place. I've owned quite a few honda's in the past so I know exactly how ya feel

be careful of repair shops they love seeing . $1500 for an exhaust gasket is just down right crazy. what about the other one? or the rest of them?!? any service records? should try and find out if the timing belt and water pump was replaced last tune up,gaskets...ect on a downside they have chronic crappy oem bushing failure just like a honda so that will be very familiar haha.

1998SC400

The previous owner(s) were good about keeping basic records of maintenance performed, and the timing belt was replaced at 90000 miles. My plan for the car is to keep it stock as it will be my daily driver, and to keep right on top of maintenance requirements to get the 400000 miles Mark mentioned it is capable of. Seeing the builds he has performed does make you respect your Lexus and to keep it as nice as you can.
Thanks for the comments.

scENFORCER

I've had 2 '99's and they've been by far the best cars I've ever owned. My first one was completely stock, but my current one has some nice mods that really have turned it into a beast. I look forward to driving it everyday.

Finding a trust worthy mechanic is key. These cars arent any different to work on than any other car of its era, but as a previous poster stated, mechanics just love seeing the Lexus badge roll into their shops.

Shoot me a PM next time you're up in Vancouver, wouldnt mind checking out another 98+ SC - there arent very many up here.