Opinions on NSX market values

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Hello,

I would love to hear your opinions on the NSX market and values please. Preferably anyone that has first hand knowledge or know of recently sold NSX values. Otherwise, I am open to all opinions.

what years seem to be most sought after currently?
color premiums, year, miles, conditional prices, in need of service vs. serviced, etc...

Thank you.
 
97-01 are most desirable IMO. Although, many will also say 02-05 are up there too. I personally think 2001 would be the most desireable since its last year of original design with the bigger motor and other goodies. Prices will vary based on mileage, color, condition etc obviously. But I think you could get a real clean NSX 97-01 with 20-50k miles in the 50-60k range right now and a bit more for a clean 02+. I have seen a few 02's and 03's go for mid to high 50s as well.
 
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Low mileage = high bucks. Lower mileage the more added value.
Maintenance mostly comes down to lowering the value by the amount that maintenance overdue or soon due will cost.
I agree with 97-01. There is definitely a noticeable bump in the price curve from 96 to 97.
White seems to command a premium. Ditto for Imola Orange.
Automatics give up a grand or three depending on base price.
Coupes from 97 on are especially rare and many will pay a premium for the NA2 with a fixed roof because it is considered a more ridged platform.
For pricing, check out the NSX's For Sale ads here on Prime for an idea of ASKING prices. There is also a thread somewhere on Prime where people have posted actual selling prices. Hagerty also has a valuation tool http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch
 
I've been watching the market pretty closely for the last year. I agree, I think 97-01 are strong sellers because you get the iconic pop up light front end plus the superior 6spd and 3.2 not to mention all of the other upgrades the car got as an NA2.

Prices have soared upwards. I started a thread about this not too long ago seeking feedback. Frankly, my opinion is that the sports car and collectible car market in general is on fire and more or less the whole rising tide thing... Question is...is it sustainable? I believe it is not. I think what we are seeing is a result of the record highs of the stock market combined with real inflation. I think there are people parking money into collectible cars (I have even seen auction ads in magainzes suggestion that cars are a hot investment right now). Combine that with the easy auto loans and low-ish rates AND the fact that the Gran Turismo generation is now in their 30s and they are making enough money to buy the cars that they lusted for in their teens.

I believe there will be a correction and I believe it is coming in not too long. Call me crazy, but we are due for another recession and when that happens the cars aren't going to be a big priority.
 
I believe there will be a correction and I believe it is coming in not too long. Call me crazy, but we are due for another recession and when that happens the cars aren't going to be a big priority.
Count me in as a co-believer.

With that said, I think that there is still a solid window for a good NSX purchase at the moment assuming you are looking to hold the car for 5 or more years. I think the strongest appreciation of the NSX is still several years away.
 
I've also noticed that more and more OEM parts are showing up as discontinued and some have doubled in price since I first started owning NSXs about 8 years ago. I tend to think this is going to have an impact on NSX owners in the not-so-distant future. The question will be...what sort of impact? Will it take buyers out of the game because they become too expensive to keep in physically good condition? Sure, the drivetrain is solid but lets not forget there are numerous interior pieces that wear out due to time and sun etc... and multiple OEM electronics that can only be repaired so many times before they have to be replaced.
 
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I think we will be ok on critical parts for a few years. What Mother Honda does not offer will most likely be provided in the aftermarket. I do wish I could still buy a new OEM coupe engine hatch liner, though. I just ordered all the speed nuts for about $25 and a liner, only to find out the liner is no longer available...anywhere. So that's $25 I'll never get back.
 
thanks for everyones feedback so far. I've been out of the scene for a while and I've owned my car for almost 11 yrs and I hope to never sell it.
 
that's your best bet, don't sell it.

I don't think the prices will come down past what they are now. NSX's are getting more and more rare these days. miles go up each year, and cars get crashed from time to time. since they're out of production, there will only ever be less from this point on. the appreciation may slow down soon though, but I think it's a great car to hold onto if it's stock and clean...
 
Don't be shocked if prices dip in the near future. Not saying they will...but there are two sides to the price equation. While it is true that supply will go nowhere but down, demand is far less predictable.
 

Cool article. The Long Beach show has been on my bucket list for awhile now.

I don't think we will run out of parts for the NSX.
Here's a source of MG parts and you can just about buy a whole MG in parts here and at other sources.
http://www.mossmotors.com/sitegraphics/index/MG-Parts.html
It seems wherever there is demand someone will come up with supply.

One big difference: Production volume. MG made almost half a million MG-B models alone between 1962 and 1980. In that same period Triumph knocked out 400,000 Spitfires. Meanwhile there are probably less than 7,000 NSXs still on the road and most of the parts are not shared with any other model. A few years ago I owned a nice Kensington Grey Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Somebody else beat me to the last new carpet kit ON EARTH by a few weeks. Bigger market means companies like Moss can afford to pay a fabricator to tool up and crank out out-of-production parts. Another difference: Most of the parts made for older British sports cars are relatively simple to manufacture compared to the more complex and exotic versions that go into an NSX. And even at that, every long time British sports car owner can probably tell stories of parts they had to get made by a machine shop at significant expense.

I think we will be able to get parts one place or another for years to come. I expect this to be especially true of parts needed to keep NSXs on the road, as it where. But in some cases (like the oem coupe engine cover insulation, coupe sun visors, spare tires, etc.) non-critical parts may simply become virtually unavailable new or like-new used.
 
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One big difference: Production volume. MG made almost half a million MG-B models alone between 1962 and 1980. In that same period Triumph knocked out 400,000 Spitfires. Meanwhile there are probably less than 7,000 NSXs still on the road and most of the parts are not shared with any other model. A few years ago I owned a nice Kensington Grey Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Somebody else beat me to the last new carpet kit ON EARTH by a few weeks. Bigger market means companies like Moss can afford to pay a fabricator to tool up and crank out out-of-production parts. Another difference: Most of the parts made for older British sports cars are relatively simple to manufacture compared to the more complex and exotic versions that go into an NSX. And even at that, every long time British sports car owner can probably tell stories of parts they had to get made by a machine shop at significant expense.

I hadn't realized that many MG's were made so that explains why so many parts are available.
Thanks for the info.
 
Meanwhile there are probably less than 7,000 NSXs still on the road

I wonder how many NSX's are still around today... how many were produced? 21k? 25k?

I've always dreamed of owning my car and the Ferrari F355. I have the chance to buy one at an amazing price but I cannot afford both at the moment and I am worried I'll never be able to buy the 355 at the price I can today.
 
they made a little over 18,000 NSX's worldwide I believe.

you may be correct. most Ferrari's prices have been headed north recently as well, so that's a tough one. 308's, 328's, Testarossa's and others have doubled in value lately, and 355's and 360's are going up at a substantial rate.

a Ferrari is a vastly different kind of car. if you want one (and you're familiar with it) and have never owned one, I'd highly recommend you do...
 
I think we will be able to get parts one place or another for years to come. I expect this to be especially true of parts needed to keep NSXs on the road, as it where. But in some cases (like the oem coupe engine cover insulation, coupe sun visors, spare tires, etc.) non-critical parts may simply become virtually unavailable new or like-new used.

I agree. It will be interesting to see the scale down of parts from Honda. I still shake my head that Honda has stopped producing so many parts already.

Thanks to the fabricators for filling gaps!
 
No bias here from the 97-2001 guys. haha :tongue::tongue::tongue:

My opinion- GENERALLY SPEAKING... the newer the car, the higher the value. Zanardi aside, I don't see any 97-2001 cars going for MORE than a 2002+ (with similar miles).


I think what you are observing here is a remnant of the "normal" depreciation cycle. It's just common sense that in the "used car" market, newer gen is always trading at a premium to the previous generation(s). It can be observed in just about any car market, really. Whether you are talking about a Prius or a Porsche this will hold true on a normal depreciation curve. Perfect example would be the Porsche 993 vs. 996. It wasn't very long ago that the 996's traded at a premium to the 993's. Of course it's entirely "obvious" now that the 993 ABSOLUTELY should be trading at a premium to the 996, right guys??

The NSX is in a very weird place now and in my opinion, is just starting to turn over into collector's hands. Collectors value things a bit differently than that of a vanilla used car market. Essence over age, rarity/desirability over mileage. I personally believe, (and sure, many might disagree) this is the sole reason the 02+ gen is currently the highest price segment. Over time, I think "tof" is absolutely spot on in his assessment that the 97-01 gen will end up being the most desirable. It's a combo of the scarcity, higher output, and in some cases lighter weight Zanardi's and fixed roof coupes while maintaining the aesthetic of the pop-up headlights. I happen to love the look of the fixed roof on the 91-94 gen over the color matched top of the targas (and some pre-97 coupes). To me that captured the essence of the NSX look that I fell in love with way back when it was in concept mode.

Time will tell on all this, and as pointed out, the state of the collector car market is (again in my opinion) quite overheated. I see people acting in the car market the exact same way we saw people flipping real estate in 2006. It's apparently people's god given right to flip Ferraris for an instant profit. We'll see how that ends. That being said, when this correction happens, I have no doubt it will bleed into the NSX market as well. At that time, my plan is to pick up a second to handle the DD duties.

Longer term, I am absolutely certain that the NSX will be a "hot" collectors item where the values will surprise many of us. Just please, take my advice on this: hold on to all your original parts if you do any modifications. I can't stress the importance on this enough. Collectors prize originality quite highly. The ability to bring a car back to "stock" is very important to future value.

OH! and to the OP's original question:

For over 18 months now, I've been keeping a running log of every confirmed observable transaction (Prime, eBay, dealers, etc.) Some of you may have even gotten PMs from me :rolleyes:
On a higher level, these are some observations; assuming like condition & milage:
02+ Highest prices
97-01 next (very slight premium for 00-01; people care about perforated leather???)
now for something interesting 1991s and 95-96 trading similar
and 1992-94 are currently the lowest values.
Tells me early collectors are currently placing a premium of 1st year cars.

Over time, I would guess that value chart for USDM cars may look more like this:
Zanardi
1997-2001
1991
02+
1992-94
1995-96

Color doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference as many people seem to squawk about on the boards here. So, yeah, get what you like.

Another interesting observation is that when I started tracking the market, nicely modified cars certainly traded at a premium to stock. A CTSC car would almost certainly trade at a premium to a stock engine. It's been amazing to see over the course of the past 18 months or so that original cars went from a discount, to parity and since about 9 months ago, a steadily increasing premium to modified cars.
 
I have been out of the market for a long time and not keeping update on much but I am shocked to see the asking prices on autotrader as of last night. There were 50 across the US and I thought that their prices seemed high. I know there's usually quite the price difference between the average asking and selling price. I hope I am wrong because I would love to see selling prices like those.
 
Over time, I would guess that value chart for USDM cars may look more like this:
Zanardi
1997-2001
1991
02+
1992-94
1995-96

Hard to really know what spots 2-4 will be. I think we can all agree that Zanadi's will occupy the #1 spot though.

An counterpoint argument would be the Testarossa series of cars: there is the base & iconic model much like the 1991 NSX (Testarossa), then the 1997-2001 "NA2" equivalent with much a much lower production number (512TR), and finally a non-flip up flxed headlight model with painfully low production numbers (512M). Currently, despite the M being fairly agreed as the ugliest of the batch and most divergent from the original style, the 512M commands the highest price tag, with the 512TR lagging considerably far behind. Then again, the Testarossa market is just heating up, and perhaps flying mirror cars will leap to the top.

There is a very good chance that the price difference between a pristine 1991, 2001 and 2005 will be all but negligible in the collector years of the NSX.
 
No bias here from the 97-2001 guys. haha :tongue::tongue::tongue:

My opinion- GENERALLY SPEAKING... the newer the car, the higher the value. Zanardi aside, I don't see any 97-2001 cars going for MORE than a 2002+ (with similar miles).

Have to agree with synth19. Way more 91s out there than 02-05s. You guys ever hear of supply and demand. Not to mention much newer cars and probably fewer miles. It's funny all the owners of the pop-up light versions think theirs look better. I wonder why there are so many going to the "frog eyed" conversions then. Only ever saw one on here that went the other way. In fact I think it's still available, better jump on it quick!
 
Only ever saw one on here that went the other way.

Two now ;)

I actually think both look quite nice, but from a 90's supercar collect ability standpoint popups will be a strong factor.
While there are 2,886 US model 1991s, that is still a very small number in collector terms and the number that haven't been chopped up, abused and simply driven is very rare. The 2002+ vehicles in general have remained fairly pristine due to their high price tag (relatively) and limited numbers. So the number of "Condition 1" collector type 1991s probably won't lag that far behind the number of pristine 2002+ models even though only 825 US model of them.
 
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It's funny all the owners of the pop-up light versions think theirs look better. !
Just like it's funny all frog eye owners think theirs look better. Look is subjective if you have not known that already. Both look good in their own ways. I believe one frog eye owner posted a while ago that popup owners bought their cars because we can't afford the 02-05s. lol. Yeah sure.
 
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