91 and 92 nsx money pit from hell!!!

Joined
5 August 2005
Messages
271
Location
Stonewalled, Cali
$2000+ to fix snap ring
$2000 for clutch
$100 trunk and engine strut needs to be reworked replaced
$200 sun visor splitting needs to be replaced
$160 climate control (fan only blows on high) needs to be replaced
$ 200+ window regulator / window fixit thingy
$2000+ dollars for new rims/tires cause 15/16 has gots to go.

So my deal of $29000 dollar isnt really a freaking deal!!!

all in all my car is around $36,000+


Should have waited and bought a 95+

stupid nsx!!! stupid newbie owner!!!
 
I just hope mine doesn't turn into that. How long before you started witnessing problems?
 
I'm sorry to say, but if you have test driven or have dealer inspected your car. You should have known these problems before you buy the car.

These problems are very common to an aged nsx as it's well described on FAQ here and numerous posts. A good taken care one ($29k you paid should have a good condition one with mileage less than 90k) should not have these problems either. (as they would have already been taken care of)

on the bright side, your car is good to go for many many months and years from now on. With all the things you replaced, the car should feel as good, if not better than a 96. Now, Just take her out and enjoy it.

PS. Have you done Timing belt and water pump service? There's another 15-2000 dollars :tongue: but if you take your chance, the damage could savage your car. Be careful.
 
was your car in snap ring range (transmission number wise) ?

also even 96 nsx are a little old in the tooth and you would still have to do similar maintainence other than the snap ring, sorry it worked out that way though, at least your car is in good shape now
 
ignorance is oblivion...

dainese51 said:
$2000+ to fix snap ring

It's a $1200-1400 preventive fix (upper transmission case ONLY... labor extra; wise to combine w/ clutch/Jpn-gear jobs). Obviously if you ignore it and it fails, then you need a transmission rebuild (to what degree, won't know until it's opened!)

Almost always, the cost of snap-ring is figured into the final selling price through negotiation. If it isn't, then you dropped the ball. :frown:

dainese51 said:
$2000 for clutch

This can be often done for a few hundred less (find a reputable NSX-tech/shop). Since the snap-ring is being addressed, the labor cost will significantly drop further due to shared labor in both jobs.

dainese51 said:
$100 trunk and engine strut needs to be reworked replaced

Check on the Vendor's forum for Frank Irvine of Strut-Wise out in Canada; he rebuilds the OEM struts for a fraction of the cost of dealer replacements.


dainese51 said:
$200 sun visor splitting needs to be replaced

Contact All Type Auto in Florida (ERZ Wreckers in Brooklyn, brother-partnership), they have totalled/salvaged/parted many NSX's in the past.

Used parts are fraction of the cost of OEM, even w/ the 25-30% dealer/vendor discount. Personally, I'd use some Gorilla Glue and be done w/ it... :biggrin:

dainese51 said:
$160 climate control (fan only blows on high) needs to be replaced

Contact BrianK here on 'Prime, he is an elec/tech-guru for the NSX. He rebuilds the board for the climate control for a very respectable price. He also does the rebuild for Bose speaker amps, sub', etc.

dainese51 said:
$200+ window regulator / window fixit thingy

Window fix-it "thingies" are about $10-15/pair from Dali Racing. If you are unfamiliar w/ opening up the door, get a local NSX'er to help you. Don't forget to lube' the line, grease the track while in there! If your window regulator is 'shot' already (failed), use the search and find the recent thread topic about a place you mail your failed-regulator to & they rebuild it for about a quarter of the cost of a new one!

dainese51 said:
$2000+ dollars for new rims/tires cause 15/16 has gots to go.

Have you decided what size/style/brand of wheels you want to go w/?

If you want nice looking, replica-styled wheels w/ street tires, contact Tom/RP-Motorsports here on Prime, you can surely get a set for well under $1000 (wheel/tire combo) in your preferred size/offset. If you want JDM, lighweight, 'name-brand' wheels (VOLK, Advan, Work, Forged-anything, etc), price will be about $2,000-$2,500+ along w/ a wait. Yokohama AVS ES100 and particularly Sumitomo HTR Z II are great performing, long-lasting tires at a fraction of the cost of OEM or other max. ultra-high performance tires. Goodyear F1 GS-D3 is an excellent tire, reasonably priced. OEM Yoko/Bridgestone tires are of-course the best performing, but will be significantly more.

Check-around for wheels that can work for the NSX (5x114.3, front-rear offsets, etc), used imported wheels are a great way to save money! Also, consider the '94-'01 OEM 7-spoke wheels ($750-1250 w/ tires) or the '01-'05 OEM wheels ($1500-2000 w/ tires)!

dainese51 said:
So my deal of $29000 dollar isnt really a freaking deal!!!

Well, it depends on what you bought... a '91-'92 NSX w/ or w/o scheduled maint'/service? High-miles or low-miles? Did these issues arise after the sale?

dainese51 said:
all in all my car is around $36,000+

Re-do your total now... :wink:

dainese51 said:
Should have waited and bought a 95+

Again, it depends on what you bought exactly... you might've gotten a deal if it was a low-mileage, pristine condition, fully-maint'/serviced NSX!

dainese51 said:
stupid nsx!!! stupid newbie owner!!!

Stupid is, stupid does... :tongue:
 
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WoW and I was just kicking myself yesterday for buying a 92 with 98k but very well maintained with no problems for 25k$.

An older car will always need some attn somewhere, the value of NSXs is very much in debate for a couple reasons the biggest being that there are not many units to be sold and also not many buyers so the variance from one sale price to the next effects the average greatly...I saw some member here saying he was looking at a 96 car with 94k for 31k$ and many persons said ..that's an ok deal..I looked for 2 years for a 95/96 car for less than 40k ..never found one...so yeah after spending all that to get her up to par you may be in deeper than if you found a car with fewer problems..but even 96 and newer cars can have problems..
 
95-96 goes for around 30+ Then you have to replace clutch and all the other stuff, and to replace rims as well, so you're looking at well over 40 for the car.

Climate control - sunvisor - stereo system

all of those stuff will eventually happen on any nsx.

In any case, my nsx has taitec diffuser - sos cf front lip - momo steering wheel - arc intake - jgtc exhaust and other little things so it kind of made up for the price. Im not paying for the snap ring failure, happened when my roommate drove my nsx so that will save me a few dough. I might as well buy an rps clutch and get it replaced in the mean time.

As far as the tiny little quirks from the nsx.... I should have bought an IS300 and fugghedaboutit...
 
dainese51 said:
Im not paying for the snap ring failure, happened when my roommate drove my nsx so that will save me a few dough.

Sorry to hear about the snap ring going south on you. The good news is that you can get it fixed and for an exotic sports car $1500 for R/R tranny plus repair parts is not that bad. The NSX is one of the most enjoyable cars you will ever drive, so once its fixed, you will have that big smile :smile: :biggrin: back on your face.

I did notice though, you are not making your roomate pay for the snap ring failure that you knew was going to happen someday are you?
Better yet, your roommate had the sense to not agree to that right?
 
my roommate says he's gonna pay for it. I said okay. I've driven the car like 10 times since i purchased it. He driven it twice... oh well... I already told him it was gonna fail, it's very generous of him pay. Last year I crashed his car, and I paid him some good chunk of change and that's after insurance covered the wreck. So we're cool like that.
 
dainese51 said:
Im not paying for the snap ring failure, happened when my roommate drove my nsx so that will save me a few dough.

Perhaps I misunderstand this line. Surely you don't plan on ripping your roommate off with this repair. If you are, you have no honor. Take your medicine, deal with the problems that come with buying a high end car without taking the proper steps beforehand (like a PPI), and start enjoying your NSX....a lot more than you would enjoy any IS300, ever.
 
I think you read me wrong.... I already told him it's gonna fail, he acknowledge but he wants to pay... so I said thanks!!! I even offered to pay half of it he said it's cool. Hey if someone offers you a cake and you refused, but they insist... I rather make them happy by eating it.
 
That's a very cool roomate you have and its nice to hear that you take care of each other like that...does your roomate need another friend? :tongue:

Sorry if I misunderstood your post.

Now, on to the important stuff - how soon will your car be fixed and you'll be back on the road? Hopefully you'll have it done in time for the Comptech Day in mid-November.
 
Easy There, Hoss

dainese51 said:
stupid nsx!!! stupid newbie owner!!!

Stupid NSX.....no. :mad:

Stupid newbie for not doing research about a fourteen-year-old car's potential repairs.....I don't need to answer that one. :rolleyes:
 
Hey, ease up on the guy.

Everyone makes mistakes when buying cars - even brand new cars.

His roomate sounds like a good person and has the means to help out ("wants to pay"). There's nothing wrong with that.

Now, if you refer back to this response I think you have the info you need.
 
These are the problems plagued with nsxs:

sunvisors
trunk/engine hatch struts
Bose sound system
fan aspirator noise
climate control unit
window regulators
neg camber on 91-91
snap ring on 91-92
fuel door release 91-92

and probably all kinds of other stuff.

If you think about it, besides the engine/body, the rest of the nsx is shitty made... I mean they would have changed something like the ccu or the sound system if they knew those stuff are gonna fail on people.

In any case, buying an nsx on prime you're not going to get that great of a deal because most if not all prime members know how much the nsx costs.

If you were to purchase the car from someone who knows nothing about the car and only goes by kbb then you may probably end up with a deal. People in the know here knows about the supply and demand so they mark up the price of their car. Im just saying if you want a reliable worry free car... might as well purchase new and let the dealers handle the problems with the car.

Do i love my nsx? sure i do. Do i mind that it's sitting in my garage broken?? not really... cause im not putting miles on it. Would I purchase another car if given the chance to undo my mistake? Maybe or maybe not.

And ya'll need to relax... so I made a mistake. Do I regret it? Not really...just lesson learn and my nsx will come back like a phoenix. From the ashes and ready to rock!!! In the meantime I have an assortment of cars/motorcycle to drive.

Life sometimes brings you lemons so might as well make lemonade!!! Anybody got some sugar?
 
My roommate is not an idiot... he's a very nice guy. And I would do the same for him. If you dont have friends like that or if you're not that kind of a friend then that's you. I lucked out choosing my friends did you? Cars/material things come and goes... good friendships lasts forever!!!
 
If you haven't fixed your climate control unit yet, you can save some money by taking the board out and having a local electronics repair shop replace all the damaged capacitors and maybe repair some traces. I went this route and the shop only charged me $65. Works as good as new now.
 
doesnt sound like you are that bad off...more like you are just venting and OF COURSE 1/2 the people on here went nuts :(

welcome to our world......:)
 
my A/C is little loud, my clock is screwed doesn't go past 10 (hours). I did change the snap ring and clutch too. Oh My ABS started making a loud ass noise so I pulled the fuses. I think only 2 of my speakers work too.....we'll see what happens next :(
 
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