91 NSX with 224K miles
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I mean this with all due respect....there are WAY too many variables there to tell you what you should expect to pay. Without any pictures to verify cosmetic condition, details of its maintenance history, if it has even been in an accident, or any real usable information, the list is too long to start. Care to give any additional information or pictures so that we can at least attempt an informed assessment?
I hope that $7500 included TB/WP/clutch and other very important maintanance requirements.
Timing belt, water pump, accessory belts, and oil change intervals are the most important factors here. Find out how long ago they were done, because the timing belt, water pump, and accessory belts are all done at once and will run you around $2,000 or more depending on your dealer. Beyond that though, with a car having that many miles, you REALLY want to make sure the maintenance has been done religiously for longer than just the last year. An NSX will run almost forever if maintained properly over the course of its life. If I were you, I would also invest a couple hundred dollars in getting a QUALIFIED NSX technician to do a full pre-purchase inspection on the car to alert you to anything you might not be able to see until it is up in the air on a lift.
I speak from experience since my current NSX has been my daily driver for around a decade or so, and with over 173,300 miles it is in better condition than most cars that have 40,000 miles or less. All maintenance done ahead of time, and taken in yearly for an inspection to make sure there is nothing needed or overdue. By sharp contrast, there is a 1991 NSX for sale in Florida right now that only has around 2,900 miles (that is not a typo), and by all accounts that car will need at least $5,000 to get caught up in maintenance, and may need an engine rebuild from neglect. I tell you that so that you understand that mileage is NOT everything, nor is it the only indicator. Each car is an individual, and must be examined accordingly.
Start here:
http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Main_Page
use this as a guide when looking the car over.
http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Used_NSX_Checklist
bigger things that come to mind:
When were the following done:
TB/WP belts
Clutch
Hoses
Transmission in snap ring range: If yes has it been fixed? Documented
Window Regulator retainers - Fixed from plastic piece:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/produ...ce_products/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/window_repair/
Accident History???
I would consider getting a PPI at a place that knows NSX's well. Consider compression and possibly a leakdown test too.
http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Main_Page
use this as a guide when looking the car over.
http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Used_NSX_Checklist
bigger things that come to mind:
When were the following done:
TB/WP belts
Clutch
Hoses
Transmission in snap ring range: If yes has it been fixed? Documented
Window Regulator retainers - Fixed from plastic piece:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/produ...ce_products/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/window_repair/
Accident History???
I would consider getting a PPI at a place that knows NSX's well. Consider compression and possibly a leakdown test too.
I'm guessing this is the one on ebay.... correct me if I'm wrong.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991...Cars_Trucks&hash=item41565802e3#ht_500wt_1103
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991...Cars_Trucks&hash=item41565802e3#ht_500wt_1103
shawn110975
Suspended
BlackWindEXE your damn good.
LOL we are getting so good at this someone can say
"there is an nsx for sale on the side of the road with a blue bumper sticker on the rear bumper, what street is it parked at right now?"
then someone pops in and gives us the link.
hahaha its funny and kinda scary at the same time.
nice work
LOL we are getting so good at this someone can say
"there is an nsx for sale on the side of the road with a blue bumper sticker on the rear bumper, what street is it parked at right now?"
then someone pops in and gives us the link.
hahaha its funny and kinda scary at the same time.
nice work
If that is it, then you REALLY need to have it inspected and see what depth of records come with it. Another concern of mine would be that air filter on there. It appears to be one of the cheap add-on filters that, when not cleaned and oiled properly, can essentially just let dirt and grime particles pass on by and go into the engine.
It may be a decent car if you get it at a reasonable price, and have an inspection so that you know how much money you will have to put into it to make it right.
That car was in Germany as of 2005:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56868&highlight=JH4NA1156MT001823
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56868&highlight=JH4NA1156MT001823
If you read the Ebay description as well it appears to be owned by someone "starting school soon"....It seems to me that this car may have been owned by someone younger who bought the car because it was a NSX that was affordable.
Get it inspected by a NSX technician regardless.
Get it inspected by a NSX technician regardless.
I would propably go with that option. What if the owner is not starting school and he bought this car as a project but then he decided to dump it because everytime he fixed something another thing broke.
That's a good call. It would only make sense to buy a sub $20K condition NSX if you intended on heavily modifying it for racing or show purposes. If you plan on driving the NSX, find a 50K-100K mile NSX that has been maintained in the $23K-$30K area and you will be better off.
I messaged him to find out more. He said he doesn't know about the timing belt and water pump because the previous owner lost all the records. But he says that he fixed all the little things and has pampered it since he bought it. I guess you just have to take that with a grain of salt. It doesn't hurt to find out more and specifically what he did if you are interested in it.
Hope this helps. Just trying to do my part. I still don't have an NSX (so you don't have to listen to me), but hopefully I'm helping someone obtain theirs.
Also, I wouldn't discount the owner because of "going back to school". There are lots of owners here that attend school and drive an NSX. NSXFTW is one and I believe enigma sold his car as well because he is going back to school and he took great care of his car. So it really is up the owner. However, the air filter raises a flag and is valid reasoning.
Hope this helps. Just trying to do my part. I still don't have an NSX (so you don't have to listen to me), but hopefully I'm helping someone obtain theirs.
Also, I wouldn't discount the owner because of "going back to school". There are lots of owners here that attend school and drive an NSX. NSXFTW is one and I believe enigma sold his car as well because he is going back to school and he took great care of his car. So it really is up the owner. However, the air filter raises a flag and is valid reasoning.
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Good thinking. Saving the money to buy a better all around car is your best route, especially since someone else just posted that this car has almost no service history. I would use this as a track car possibly, but that it pretty much it.
Well I went and looked at it today. The guy was very friendly but did not know about the service history on the car. It also needs a repaint and some dents worked out. It did drive okay but the engine was making a ticking noise. With 224k in miles and the amount of work needed to get it back in shape i think I am going to pass. Also what is LMA?
Thanks
John
Thanks
John
lost motion assembly. SOS has a kit for it, likely its what the ticking noise was, or could be it needs a valve adjust after all those kilometers.
I've been sending a few emails back and forth with him as well. Got him to post records of the maintenance that is supposed to be worth 7k. He posted it in his ad. The last one is hard to read... this is what it says....
M/cyl assy..cl $168.48
PIN, COTTER 2. $0.69
HOSE, CLUTCH $92.03
CYLINDER, SLAVE $142.16
FLUID, BRAKE $5.63
ADD LABOR AND YOU GET $818.60 (total)
M/cyl assy..cl $168.48
PIN, COTTER 2. $0.69
HOSE, CLUTCH $92.03
CYLINDER, SLAVE $142.16
FLUID, BRAKE $5.63
ADD LABOR AND YOU GET $818.60 (total)
I know what some people are thinking when they look at our cars for sale on Prime and most out there for sale and then along comes one out there that looks half decent in photos and a "come on add" that says 7500 spent last year - going back to school and then when you check on it you find that it's not as presented - oh really???
Imagine that - but here's the catcher - the guys that are attracted to a car like this are guys that most likely see the price tag - know nothing about NSXs and are hoping beyond all hope that they "stumbled" upon a "real steal" - when in fact they've found a turkey that us more seasoned primers know all to well.
The hope is usually found in fellow that has a very small budget and thinks that perhaps he has found a way to get his dream car - CHEAP.
Now to those folks that this address I'm making applies - THERE AIN"T NO CHEAP GOOD NSX out there for 12,500 - ok so get that out of your head and move on down the road and while you're at it start saving and keep saving till you get about 22 to 25k and then start again and even at that you'll be looking at high mile early gen cars - ok. The only way anyone would buy this particular NSX is if they wanted a good track car and they had about 15k to put towards that end on top of the purchase price of this car and in that regard one of the more seasoned individuals that would even look at this car would get a PPI or was so savy that he could do that himself and he'd probably offer less.
You can't get something for nothing or little to nothing and think you won't have to dump a pile of dough into the car!!!
:smile: That should be plain enough and that would go right along with the reason that you see the prices on our market that reflect good vehicles for honest prices - THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT - so you didn't find some great buy here with this 12,500 buck car. It's frought with danger "Will Robinson". Hope that analogy makes sense to you - Will Robinson was a charater on a show called "Lost in Space". Oh well my attempt at humor, but hopefully you get the picture.
I'm not trying to be mean or harsh - it's just that folks need to understand when something looks to good to be true - it always is.
I'm not even going into the issues surrounding this car the PO has found - no one even mentioned the stereo and AC - ooooooo the AC - can cost a lots of money! Yes indeed! There are many things that cost lots of money on old cars like this - steering rack for 1100 anyone????? And ON and ON and ON.....
Hope this helps.....:wink:
Imagine that - but here's the catcher - the guys that are attracted to a car like this are guys that most likely see the price tag - know nothing about NSXs and are hoping beyond all hope that they "stumbled" upon a "real steal" - when in fact they've found a turkey that us more seasoned primers know all to well. The hope is usually found in fellow that has a very small budget and thinks that perhaps he has found a way to get his dream car - CHEAP.
Now to those folks that this address I'm making applies - THERE AIN"T NO CHEAP GOOD NSX out there for 12,500 - ok so get that out of your head and move on down the road and while you're at it start saving and keep saving till you get about 22 to 25k and then start again and even at that you'll be looking at high mile early gen cars - ok. The only way anyone would buy this particular NSX is if they wanted a good track car and they had about 15k to put towards that end on top of the purchase price of this car and in that regard one of the more seasoned individuals that would even look at this car would get a PPI or was so savy that he could do that himself and he'd probably offer less.
You can't get something for nothing or little to nothing and think you won't have to dump a pile of dough into the car!!!
:smile: That should be plain enough and that would go right along with the reason that you see the prices on our market that reflect good vehicles for honest prices - THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT - so you didn't find some great buy here with this 12,500 buck car. It's frought with danger "Will Robinson". Hope that analogy makes sense to you - Will Robinson was a charater on a show called "Lost in Space". Oh well my attempt at humor, but hopefully you get the picture.I'm not trying to be mean or harsh - it's just that folks need to understand when something looks to good to be true - it always is.
I'm not even going into the issues surrounding this car the PO has found - no one even mentioned the stereo and AC - ooooooo the AC - can cost a lots of money! Yes indeed! There are many things that cost lots of money on old cars like this - steering rack for 1100 anyone????? And ON and ON and ON.....
Hope this helps.....:wink:
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See if he knows where the service was done. If it was at a dealership, they likely have records of what service was performed.
Also, I've done exactly what you are considering. I bought a '92 NSX off of e-bay, from an inept owner with 212k on the clock at the time of purchase. I paid $15.5 k at the time of purchase, but I had $22k in it getting it back to 100% mechanical function (before I started fiddling).
You can see the initial list (not the entire list) I had to deal with here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128235
(Full disclosure, I got the car track-worthy, not just "acceptable", but did a good deal of the labor myself. I figure I'd have spent at least $4k more if I'd had to pay folks to do everything.)
So, if you're a mechanic...take advantage of a deal, but expect a project.
If you don't work on your car, then consider that $25,000 or so is enough to get a pretty well documented (although still with a few miles) 91/92 NSX these days.
Also, I've done exactly what you are considering. I bought a '92 NSX off of e-bay, from an inept owner with 212k on the clock at the time of purchase. I paid $15.5 k at the time of purchase, but I had $22k in it getting it back to 100% mechanical function (before I started fiddling).
You can see the initial list (not the entire list) I had to deal with here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128235
(Full disclosure, I got the car track-worthy, not just "acceptable", but did a good deal of the labor myself. I figure I'd have spent at least $4k more if I'd had to pay folks to do everything.)
So, if you're a mechanic...take advantage of a deal, but expect a project.
If you don't work on your car, then consider that $25,000 or so is enough to get a pretty well documented (although still with a few miles) 91/92 NSX these days.
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i don't know, i've been quite surprised in my hunt for an NSX... i found an NSX with 130k miles that is in better condition with better service records than cars with 1/3 the miles. the miles are high, but there is no guarantee it will fall to pieces instantly... of course, expect to have to put some money into it sooner or later.
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There's the key. If it's been maintained, you're probably golden. If it's not been kept up, then things can snowball in a hurry.
