'94 Yellow NSX on Houston Craigslist Visual Inspection (VIN: JH4NA1152RT000482)

[Fugy]

Just wanted to let other know about this particular NSX that has been listed on Craigslist and Autotrader for some time now. Myself and NSXonwheels went to take a look at this vehicle today as I have been in the market for one.

The car from a far looks amazing but when you approach it closer the flaws reveal itself. The seller owns a couple of dealerships and has a few of these in his garage.

History:
This is a 1994 year NSX that is originally black. The seller does not know why the previous owner has it painted yellow. According to the seller he had own this vehicle before when it was black, it was sold and he repurchased it not know that it was actually the one he had sold. The carfax on the vehicle is clean but is also missing a lot of info. Has not much info on the maintenance history. Also it only records up to 2009 and after that, there's no records of anything.

Exterior:

As I mentioned, looks good from afar. But when you stand near, it is a subpar paint job with scuffs and minor cracks. This car has definitely met with mother nature as you can tell it's just been sitting out with no cover. The body kit does not appear to be a tight fit and the side skirts seem to have a lot of wiggle room. The front lip was a B class job. The only thing was seem to be fitted well were the rears. There are no major defects or dings exteriorly. As I said, it looks great when you're standing 6 feet away and not pay too much close attention. Car windows are tinted, no bubbles or peeling.

Interior:

Definitely a NONO. I'm guessing that's why he never posted any pictures of the interior. The leather seat are well weared-out with cracks and fades. Carpet is faded and falling apart. On the passenger side, the carpet is torn out from its attachement. The dashboard is also faded out from sitting in the sun. The center console seemed like it was cheaply wrapped with 3M CF vinyl. It has an aftermarket NAV system that I wasn't sure if it was functioning and there was also mold in one of the center-wells. The leather on the door panel seems like its falling off and also faded.

Electronics:

Windows do not roll down smoothly at all on both sides. Definitely will need new regulators. NSXonwheels noted that the AC does not work***. And as I mentioned, it has a 7" DVD/Nav system but I'm not sure of its functionality. The audio system was not tested. Headlights seem to flip on easily without any trouble. He did mention it does not have any power-steering.

Engine:

Started on first crank. Exteriorly it looked alright but there is no history of any of the belts being changed. No hx of the water pump being changed. Again, didn't seen any major defects but again, it looked like it was parked outside for a long time. Can't comment too much on this cause we weren't allowed to take it for a test drive till we bought it.... you'll hear more about it when in the bottom about the seller.. He says the battery is new.

Mods:
So in regards to what additional mods that we briefly saw was the exterior kit which I would rate it 7/10 for fitment and 7/10 for paint job. The wheels are aftermarket, forgot what brand it was. The tires look pretty new with lots of life left. The car appears lower than stock. When I peeked at the suspensions, it looked like in that some TEIN suspension. Not sure which ones but I only based on it cause the suspensions were green. I could be way off. Other than that, I couldn't really tell if there were anything else. There's also no spare tire in the front.

Seller:
Kind of an a$$. Was not friendly at all and very confrontational. I'm glad NSXonwheels came to inspect the vehicle with me as he much more knowledgeable. Seller got quite defensive when we ask details about the car. Here's an example. Since he mentioned he own a number of dealership, we asked him where it was, his reply was, "That irrelevant". He refuses to let you drive the car unless you buy the car. If you ask him to drive it and you can sit in the shotgun with him, he replies "he's busy and has to run, and that he drank and can't drive".

Conclusion:
Still definitely a head turner on first look, but if you're thinking about getting an NSX and just wanting to enjoy driving it without much hassle, I would not recommend this car as you'll spending quite a bit repairing it. Again the hx of the maintenance of this engine is very unclear. The seller has no clue. So you'll probably be needing to change the belts and water pump. Not too much needs to be done exteriorly, but you'll probably spend a bit fixing the interior and the upholstery. If this car would be $25k, I would probably buy it. Definitely not at $35k. Seller says he's firm on the price and he will not budge. Before going to see the car, he told me if I can't pay that, not to even bother.

Hope I gave you guys an idea about this car. I would still definitely check out this car yourself if interested as it's still an NSX!

I would like to thank NSXonwheels for coming out to help me with the inspection and bring out your NSX even tho it was slightly raining. Thank you. Your ride is definitely one of the cleanest I've seen!

Thanks!

 

[NSXonwheels]

It's only "one of the cleanest" NSXs you've seen because it got drizzled on on the way there! Lol, just kidding. It didn't really get worse than a light drizzle, so after a little detail spray and wipe dry she's back to her luster and safe in the garage.

To add to Fugy's findings which he thoroughly detailed above:

Its still an NSX, so the car is worth looking at for the right price. What I would like to do is list the things that a buyer would need to do to get this car back to near original quality or at least consistent with other nice NSXs of the same year and mileage.

- the yellow paint job over black is pretty mediocre, especially in the engine bay. Fugy was generous with 7/10 rating. To me, this is the biggest red flag with the car. If you are ok with purchasing a repainted color change car, then read on, if that's where you draw the line then save the time and read another useful nsxprime thread.

- overall the body looks pretty straight, but there are lots of areas with paint chipped off, paint cracked, overspray, etc. especially around where the body kit meets the original panels. So the new owner would have to either remove the body kit and possibly repaint or repair the paint or reapply the body kit and match the panels better and then still repaint or repair the paint.

- driver side door window molding has a large tear in the top corner (common with older NSXs, but not a cheap fix)
- trunk switch on drivers door does not work, I did not open the trunk to see how it is in there
- plastic gas fill pull lever missing
- plastic molding by window and door lock pull missing
- leather seats dry and cracked
- AC needs repair, it turns on, but goes from 72 to 65 to 74 and the fan control isn't consistent either.
- did not test the aftermarket head unit
- carbon fiber trim peeling off and needs to be replaced
- passenger foot well carpet ripped up and hanging, with exposed speaker wires by the door
- interior wear throughout is consistent with a car that sat under the sun for years, can be brought back to show quality but it will cost a good amount of $
- spare tire missing
- none of the tires match, but they have tread left
- front bay overall looked good, didn't really get too thorough with it
- engine bay is pretty dirty but not horrible
- engine cover missing or as the owner called it "removed so you can see the engine"
- coolant tank has been replaced with an aluminum one, I would question whether the original one split because there isn't anything else upgraded in the engine bay.
- which is one of the pros of this car, the engine looks stock down to the exhaust tips.
- and which brings me right back to another big red flag, the owner claims he has had the car 8 or 9 years in which he has barely driven it and has not replaced the timing belt and water pump. Some of you may say, no big deal, it's 9 years, but those 9 years don't include how much longer it had been before he bought it, so the answer to when the timing belt, water pump service was done is anywhere between 9 years and 19 years at the Honda factory in Japan.

So in conclusion, the car needs some loving, but is still an NSX under all those issues and has potential.

If you are looking for a car to "save" and bring back to its original intended glory then this may be a good car for you. My issue would be with the price. For $35,000 you can get a 1994 nsx with 80,000 miles that needs nothing. This is a $35,000 1994 color change yellow nsx with 80,000 miles that needs lots of things. If you are still interested then at least you have an idea of how many repairs it needs, how much money it will take to bring up to your specific standards and then you can negotiate from there.

I feel like the owner is either waiting for somebody from out of town to buy the car sight unseen and pay full price or he really has not been looking around at what other NSXs are going for and is firm on his price.

Good luck primers.

 

[kertong]

Thanks guys - hopefully this helps somebody not get screwed! The seller sounds like a real piece of work..

 

[NSXonwheels]

Seller is asking for a premium price and not delivering on the expectation

 

[hatchboi]

no wonder this car hasn't been sold. I'm pretty sure he been trying to sell it for 3-5 years with no luck. looks like he gonna keep it forever with the ways he trying to sell it

 

[Dr. JL]

Now listed for $39,900 on Houston Craigslist. Owner still wants it but wife says it must go. So, he's priced it "right" to keep it in his garage...

 

[blue_myriddn]

So, he's priced it "right" to keep it in his garage...

He has succeeded.

 

[scbeast]

Fine example of a molested car.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

There's a reason why it was repainted and that's the biggest drawback in my opinion. The other things are just wear and pretty normal when purchasing a car of that age that's driven.

 

[gmeads]

Tried to get this guy to let me come look at the car and he said that I would "have to work through his attorney." I asked him why and he simply said "have a nice day."