Frustrated in my NSX search

ThumperAC

ThumperAC

Contributing Member
Joined
25 August 2005
Messages
208
Location
OH
How long did you search for your first NSX?

I have been searching seriously for about 2 months now and have not yet pulled the trigger.

Certainly a hot topic, but I have come across many cars that only have 20k or 30k miles since TP and WP service, but the age of this maintenance has ranged from 5 to 11 years. Others have clutches with 60k+ miles on then that concern me. As a buyer I am willing to pay a premium if this service was completed within a year, maybe two. It seems like many cars were owned for a few years and sellers are trying to unload before having to pay for this service. Maybe I am being too picky, but as I read more and more on here if the maintenance is not up to date, you will quickly be out $5000.

The couple of cars in good condition, priced fairly, with TP, WP and clutch recently performed have sold very quickly before I could act. While there are others with deferred maintenance and/or higher prices that seem to sit for months and months.

thanks for listening to me rant
 
I think your being wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to picky with this maintenance stuff. Honestly if you find the right color, with a clean history and no major problem then go for it and do the maintenance yourself..seriously i think people make this whole maintenance BS alot bigger than it is. My thing has always been if you cant afford the maintenance then you shouldnt be buying that car (whether its NSX, ferrari, porsche, ect).
I was looking for GPW and when i found it i didnt care about any deffered maintenance (eventhough mine was uptodate) cause i knew they dont come along that often. Another thing about this whole TB/WP is that people make it out to alot bigger than it is...its a potential failure yes...but how many have you heard of having that failure under nontrack enviornment ? probably little to none. Sure anything is possiblle and you maybe that unlucky guy who ends up with a huge engine repair bill...but serioulsy its not that big of a problem. I think your better of finding a car that you want and worry about routine maintenance later...lets face its not as if there are 100's of NSX for sale every week!

zaid
 
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The problem for you is your location. There are plenty of NSXs around FS, but not all of them are on Prime or Auto Traders.

What year and condition NSX are you looking for?
 
I am looking for an early NA1, prefer black on black or black on ivory, must be manual, prefer under 100k miles. Mods do not scare me, but not willing to pay a huge premium for them. As mentioned I would prefer maintenance up to date.

I saw Ken's ad, obviously tremendous maintenance history, but I would really prefer a black car.

Location, yes I agree, not a lot for sale around here. Seems like many on the west coast.
 
Most folks maintaining the cars do so because they are keeping them. Most buyers on this forum likely either bought new, or sucked it up and bought a car with deferred maintenance and then had the work done.

Once you own the car you're going to need to do it anyway at some point, unless you plan to join the ranks of "buy and flip" types you're describing :)

The way I figure it is if YOU have it done then you KNOW for sure it was done.

If I had waited to find a car with documented TB/WP, in addition to the year/color I wanted, I'd have been waiting forever.

There werent a lot of NSX's made.
 
Whats with everyones huge MAINTAINCE concern. ITS A HONDA. Up to like 100k all it needs is like an oil change and only documents it needs is tb/wp service. Everyone keeps complaining like i wouldnt buy a car without even the car washes on paper, gesh. I bought my blue car with 37k and a few random receipts. Had it inspected up north, got some info from shad, and ramon said its good looking. Hence, its fine.
 
I would say you have to be ready to travel, and not mind putting a little money into a car. At least then you know it is done.
 
All three of my NSX's were shipped outside the U.S....you need to broaden your horizons and be willing to take a car with deferred maintenance for the right price.
 
NSX's are rare beasts, only about 10,000 were sold in the us with 2/3 of the 10,000 being sold in the first 4 years. You are looking for a car from a pool of 16 - 20 years old cars. I would guess at least 1/3 of the early cars are gone, wrecked and junk or just junked out. Its just a numbers game.
 
I searched for about 2-3 years for the car I bought in June of 2011. A 1991 manual with 25,000 miles. It needs the maintenance done but the condition and price were right so I pulled the trigger. I drove it home and it has sat in the garage since picking it up. I'm now planning my winter upgrades and it will have the major maintenance issues taken care of next spring. No car out there is going to be perfect. You just have to decide what you can deal with and what you can't.
 
You seldom can have your cake and eat it too.
Either you pay a higher price for the car with the maintenance done, or your pay less and spend the 5k to get the maintenance done. Like BrianK stated. You do not have many to pick from and you have not looked very long. You aren't buying a chevy. You have about 150 cars available for sale at any one time. (In North America) (that number might be high)
I paid a premium because:
The car was low mileage (19K miles),
I bought from the original owner.
All receipts for all maintenance was provided.

I knew what I was buying, no surprises and it cost me more $ to do so. I would do it all over again.

BTW, I wasn't looking all that hard. It eventually just became available.
 
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2 months is not that long. Alot of people here have searched for 6 months - 12 months. Just keep looking. If you're in the hurry for the perfect car...then a "fair" price is moot and very subjective.
 
Like was said by others:

  • Perfect car, hard to find and will cost you. There are very few perfect cars period!
  • Good car, some what easier to find, you will spend less but include a contingency to make it perfect.
  • Certain colors and years will have an affect on availability.
  • Unless you are lucky, plan on six months.
  • The 2001's are hard to find in any color.
  • Then there are the 2005's. There seems to several of them for sale, but at a high cost (65-75K).
 
We understand your frustation.

I searched for 1 of 45 cars that exist. Took about 5 years, really...
Criteria: (2000/2001 red/tan 6spd with low miles and near mint condition)

Started kinda seriously looking into getting one back in 2001 and have wanted one since they came out in 1991 .

Five years ago, began seriously searching everyday, everywhere possible, and it became an obsession. Have flown across the country a few times to inspect cars and considered purchasing at least 4 times before I finally found the car that now sits in my garage.

The irony: bought it from another Primer less than 5 miles from my house.
 
fastaussie said:
i feel your pain, i've been looking for over 6 months now. and it seems the year/model/colour combo i'm looking for is the hardest to find. such is life...
Click to expand...

My search after i titaled tge black 02 took 2 weeks. I crashed, i found, i bought. Then said yea, that just happened ;)
 
Just pull the trigger, remember your buying a used vehicle and no matter who or where you buy it from it will need something for sure, stop wasting all the time in being picky and start enjoying the ownership benefits.........driving
 
There's PLENTY of nice nsx's with great history, DEALER maintained, one owner and "virgin" ... you just need to BUMP UP YOUR BUDGET .. very simple .... or, HUNT for the "right one" .... 2 months honestly is nothing for this type of car, it took me a year + to find me and a 10K extra ...

I am so thankful I didn't buy a silver 93 (with horrible history but I almost got it) for 24K ... neither a 91 with "weird" lights and lack of power @ 30K, neither a 94 @ 36K with horrible wheels and no records .. neither another 93 with no "power" @ low 30's ... etc etc etc ...

I wanted black, end up with red.
I wanted 91-94, end up with a 97
I wanted 30K or less, end up @ 40K

Reality IMHO is that:

IS CRAZY that still nowadays this cars can be more than 40K and 14+ years old.

IS CRAZY that such amazing hand made and gorgeous cars can only cost 40K.


Oscar
 
I agree the service up todate is bigger than it should be.

found mine is 2 weeks cuz i was not picky

I got my 1992 NSX with not a drop of history( clean Carfax though), 100K miles, no A/C drove it from South Carolina to Tampa, foggy windows cuz it was raining, almost bald tires and drove the shit out of it intill I saved up to get all the stuff done. all for 21K$

not including

new rims,
05 TL Acura Navi System
complete 02+ interior upgrade including new carpet
6-speed transmission
rear 02+ lights
rear 02+ lower Valance
02+ headers
02+ Complete doors
02+ Complete trunk and spoiler
02+ air intake vents
all I need is the 02+ side skirts and i am done with my mods for now(waiting on smoores ):smile:


but i did this over 2 year period so not to hurt my bank account

But now I look at my car and she is MINTTTTTTTTTT

like others have said find a color you like a clean Carfax and do the TB.WP yourself and just drive it.

cuz you WILL get the upgrade bug like every single person on Prime
 
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I believe you and I have spoken several times on cars I had for sale.

The area is a hinderance but only to a certain extent. The key is to act VERY quickly when you see one of your color choices come up for sale.. Do not the maintenance scare you. Your not that far away from our shop. That $5000 number gets smaller at that point. Another huge plus to doing it all when YOU buy it is you know its good, you know its done. AND if you decide to sell it in 1-2 years guess what? Now YOUR car is the one everyone is looking for. Up to date on maintenance and ready to go. Right?

Brian
 
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The key is to act VERY quickly when you see one of your color choices come up for sale..
Click to expand...

^^^^This. That's why I snapped up my car quickly from this guy without even seeing, test driving or PPI the car !!:smile:
 
rusky said:
I am still searching for mine and I am already 300 in the hole for 2 ppis :)
Click to expand...

That was money wisely spent....

I watched for years... mostly just watching the market until I was ready to jump in... actually, I was just watching when mine came up. I really wasn't planning to purchase at that time, but the car and price was right, so I jumped on it. No regrets here.

Like others have stated... it takes some patience... then deciding on the budget, what you are willing to do.. continue to wait or jump in and begin enjoying the NSXtasy driving experience.

Good luck and enjoy the hunt... I had to fly to Reno, NV to pick up mine.
 

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