Alluring but troubling.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
04/19/2015 at 23:30 • Filed to: SC300

So here is a CL ad for a manual (!!!) SC300.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Let me preface the post by saying I am just browsing CL, not a serious buyer at all, what with my recent house acquisition. But I’ve been teasing the idea of getting a used luxury car as my next vehicle. I still am holding out faint hope for an 8-series, but I thought I’d browse some Lexus (since... well, you know).

A luxurious Supra sounds awesome. And one with a stick! But notice the dealer place-keeper. The seller said he bought it from the original owner, who traded it in. So really he DIDN’T buy it from the original owner, he scooped it up from the dealer. A very shady abuse of the term.

So why would this guy buy this thing from a dealer only to immediately sell it? Simple: He probably flipping it.

It’s nice, but it’s a 22 year old Lexus, not technically an mkIV Supra.

Notice also his screenshot of a recent CarBuying article praising the design.

Me gusta, but me 9k gusta? As they say in Spanish: no.

(still want, though)

DISCUSSION (20)

Milky > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/19/2015 at 23:40

He probably paid like $5-6k at the dealer for it, then threw on his own drift tax.

But damn it is clean.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/19/2015 at 23:43

I wouldn’t like it for that price, but I think he’ll have no problem selling for his asking price. I’ve seen clean SC300 automatics with similar mileage go for over $10k. People are buying these and tuning them now that the MkIV Supra prices have gone crazy. I work with a guy who has added a turbo and done a 5-speed swap on his ‘98 that he paid $12k for with 80,000 miles.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
04/19/2015 at 23:47

I’m reaching the age where any car I was interested as a child or teen is just rare as hell or getting too expensive. I am doomed to drive beaters indefinitely

Milky > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
04/19/2015 at 23:53

… and yet my beater (read: shit condition) ‘92 SC400 was $1500. I’d bet more people will start manual swapping the 1uz soon.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 00:12

Same here for the most part. My problem is that some of the more unreliable ones are hanging out in price ranges that are enticing (think late 1990’s Audi/AMG/Porsche) So I’m probably going to do something stupid and buy one that I can’t afford to maintain sooner or later.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Milky
04/20/2015 at 00:16

Someone actually paid $3500 for my ‘93 ES300 5-speed with 140,000 miles and blown head gaskets in 2008 for reasons that I’ll never comprehend. I assume it was just because it was rare, because the car was a total basket case. I do hope whoever ended up with it managed to get it fixed up and back on the road.

I’ve actually been thinking about picking up something with a UZ engine at some point - was thinking more like like an LS though. I’m guessing it must have been pretty shit condition - I haven’t seen any V8 Lexus that moves under its own power go for less than $3k.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 00:32

sotra related. http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/cto/4937527813… seller emailed for more pics...

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 00:36

This is one of those Miata/E30/S Chassis scenarios where just the fact that it is clean and unmodified makes it rare, and special, more special than one that Joey down the street slapped a turbo, and coilovers on. Is 9k a bit much, yeah maybe, but I’d bet if you kept it clean, and stock, you could sell it for the same (if not more) in a two or three years.

RiceOwl > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 00:38

Nice car, but he’s out of his mind at $8700. An 8/10 condition SC300 with nearly 90k miles like that is worth $5500 tops.

If there’s any SC that will eventually appreciate, it’s a nice SC300 with a stick, but they’re certainly not there yet. Plus, the 1998+ cars will appreciate more because they got some engine upgrades.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
04/20/2015 at 00:41

So the seller is opportunistic, transparent, and possibly correct. Poo.

RiceOwl > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
04/20/2015 at 00:42

I have a 5/10 condition ‘95 SC400 that I’m going to sell soon. I’m hoping to get $3500-4k for it. I can’t believe that people are paying over $10k for SC300 autos, even if they are riding the Supra’s coattails

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 00:45

unfortunately maybe.

here’s an even worse case of the same thing. now this one I think is a bit of an over reach, but at the same time if I had enough income where 8600 bucks wasn’t much money I’d probly but it. I mean I’d rather have it than a 20,000 dollar Sonic RS. Which IMO is the closest comparable new car. also it’s weird when you reach a point in life where the cars you grew up with are now “classic cars” or “nostalgic cars”, and all the sudden start rising in value...

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/4965673987…

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
04/20/2015 at 00:52

Well those true civics are just wonderful, but good lord, not for that price.

Also don’t underestimate your conformity: if you could afford to drop 9k on that glorious hatchback, you would probably at that point not be in the market for a ‘91 civic. It’s a weird sort of self-criticism. Like, if I could afford to have 10k cash dropped into a vehicle, that would probably be a byproduct of a comparatively superior income to what I have now, so I could use the 10k for a down payment and get a nice new car. Basically if you had more money, you probably wouldn’t be “you,” all the way down to your taste in cars. For the record I’ve only had one beer.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 01:25

I totally understand what you mean. If I had more money my whole life or possibly even just now, I might now love old cheap cars so much. I probably never would have learned to love simple cheap Japanese cars the way I do.

However f I suddenly right now could afford to drop 10k on a car I totally would buy that specific Civic, but perhaps mainly because of the nostalgia that my old 91 Civic holds for me. Man I absolutely adored that car, in fact I still do. Her name was Jane, as in Mary Jane, I’m a huge Spiderman fan, and I figured if my girl was a redhead she might as well be called MJ. We usually called her Jane tho so parents didn’t think it was a week reference lol. She was far from prefect but I never really cared, despite the, lack luster 80 some HP, the way it used about 1qt or oil every 300 miles, the barren interior, the broken windshield wiper stalk(I whacked it off while “drifting” in a snowy parking lot), the crusty decaying vinyl front seats, the warn wobbly shift linkage, even the roof that was dented trying to jump over the car on numerous occasions and succeeding a few, the way she’d take almost any key, seriously I started her with a Mazda key for two weeks once, through all of that, and everything I had to fix across the 38,000 miles and 2.5yrs she was with me, I adored my Jane.

I don’t know if you watch Regular Car Reviews, but in the Dodge Challenger video Mr. Regular talks about how ever guy has a “Summit Girl” the girl upon which all girls after her will be judged against. For me my 91 Civic is my automotive “Summit Girl”, it might have as much to do with the period of my life in which I had her, but She brought plenty of her own character to the table as well. And ever car that has tried to replace her has failed. I don’t think I’ll ever love another car the way I love my Jane. also I wish I had taken more, and better pics of her. I didn’t even own a cell phone or camera though out most of the time I had her lol. Now I fee like I couldn’t live without my 75 dollar a month smartphone plan.

Kinja'd!!!

Also because that Civic does look brand spankin’ new, the steering wheel and shift knob would need to go tho. they are all right, but seem out of place, even a bit “ricey” in that car. The biggest problem is I would be tempted to modify it.

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 07:12

Heh, you’re shopping the cars of my uncle. He had an 8- series new. Didn’t keep it long, because it was always in the shop. He replaced it in the early 90’ s with a new SC, which he kept for something like 13-14 years. He makes a boatload of money, and could certainly afford new cars as often as he wanted, but he loved that SC.

Milky > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
04/20/2015 at 10:16

Interior was rekt, exterior had some rust and it had 189k miles. Ran like a top though! It was also for sale in some shady used car lot in Dearborn MI, aka Murica car central. The dealer didn't know shit about it, just thought it was a LS coupe.

TotallyThatStupid > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 14:50

Test drove one of these years ago. I liked it because it was kind of weird, but not enough to own it - an E36 3 Series is more fun. Still, neat cars and certainly rare, especially in that condition.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > shop-teacher
04/20/2015 at 16:34

My dad had a good paying job but DD’d a rusty Scout (which I loved). You can’t put a price on good taste in cars!

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/20/2015 at 16:39

No doubt! He replaced the SC with a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, which he’s now had for about a decade. Not a vehicle I’d choose, but he loves it, and he’s quite the interstate speed-demon in that.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Milky
04/20/2015 at 16:55

189k is a lot, but they are hard to kill. I feel like the Detroit region must be the best place in the country to get a deal on a foreign marque.