97 Blue NSX COUPE.......Only 4k miles JH4NA2167VT000020

[mandrewz]

Originally posted by kinnsella:
I just spoke with Harrier. He claims it is one of 4 coupes made that year. Also told me that he replaced the tires, rears were worn out and fronts were the wrong size. I thought that was a little weird on a car with only 4.5k miles. The car is also missing the spare and floor mats. He sent me additional pictures, it is a 3.2 engine with the later strut brace. The engine bay looks clean, however I remember the braces and cam cover to be glossy black, these are matt black....the seats appear to be worn, the paint looks pretty good.

I still don't think its legit...

I don't believe post '95 coupes have a strut bar, much less the trianglated one. The protective bracket around the ABS may also
be a clue(they differ after '94). A 3.2 should have red cam covers.

 

[Deuce]

Never mind about posting pics, car is now listed on ebay....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=5337&item=2400050352

 

[mikec]

What an ad!... It's listed as a "hardtop -- 2 door convertible --- This NSX is in perfect conditon inside and out. Not a scratch or ding anywhere! " Uh... are we talking about a different car?

In my car and other pics i've seen, the engine brace is painted gloss black. This one is matt black.

Its clear to me that this is a scam. I pity anone who wasts their time, or worse yet gets taken across.. cause that person could have been me before I started participating on this chat board.

On the other hand, maybe you can look at it as a bargan. I think your getting more than one car for the money!


------------------
keep the shiny side up
MikeC 01 #46

[This message has been edited by mikec (edited 11 January 2003).]

 

[kinnsella]

I'll post the pictures on Monday, they are at work. My 99 T strut bar in engine if I remember correctly was triangular, but it was definitely glossy.

 

[harrier]

Originally posted by kinnsella:
I am amazed why we even tolerate this.... This must be the most bogus car to come a long in a quite while. I applaud the balls on this guy to even try selling this piece of crap of this site.

Hmm, lets run over the details one more time. The VIN doesn't match the car's current body style, Acura states only one Coupe was made that year and it wasn't this one. The interior doesn't match the year of claimed manufacture plus its missing the DOHC inlay from an earlier year, the interior shows way too much wear for only 4k. These interiors are really durable....more like 104K miles. Remember titles still can be washed, crooks also have access to CARFAX as well.

This car was an NSX - T that was either:

a. wrecked, clocked and glued back together using an earlier donor car.
b. stolen, wrecked, clocked and glued back together using a earlier donor car.
c. It's really a clocked 93-95 coupe with a switched/stolen VIN.

I wouldn't touch this car, if I won it in a lottery.....

I would also like to see the pictures of the VIN and also get the engine numbers # so we can match it to a specific car.

[This message has been edited by kinnsella (edited 10 January 2003).]

The pictures of the car are distorted. The flaws that show up are shadows due to poor lighting while taking pictures. If you look at the new pictures you will see a big difference. The interior is actually perfect. The vin # does match the engine. This car was inspected by Acura locally without any problems. They did tell us the center console had been replaced but that was it. Overall the dealer was very impressed with this vehicle. We did call the Acura headquarters and they told us the letter in the Vin that describes the -T was probably their mistake since only four hardtops were made in 1997. Get your facts straight before you make your conspiracy theories.

 

[harrier]

Originally posted by kinnsella:
I was just reading the other thread on this topic. The car fax states that this car essentially disappeared for several years. Then it was smoged in CA, several months later, itt was registered in AZ, the following month it was registered in GA. The car only added 552 miles between AZ and GA!!!! then it turned up in So CAL....sounds like title washing to me....

If you understood how carfax works you would know this car did not disappear. Carfax only gets information if the car is registered or salvaged. There are many older cars that have only showed up once since they are one owner vehicles.

 

[Jim]

The steering wheel also looks very worn in every picture in the eBay ad.

 

[Deuce]

harrier (Shawn),

I'm sure you're tired of a lot of people "knocking down" your car. Personally, I think it would be pretty cool to see that there is actually another blue '97 coupe out there and that Acura actually did make a mistake. Why don't you take a few pics of the "hidden vin #". It's located in the engine compartment near the valve cover towards the rear of the car (at least that's where mine is at in my '94). Also a few pics under the carpet would help.
Doing this will take very little effort on your part and will validate what you've been saying about the car. Not worth your time???.....I don't think so, it's the price of doing business, besides by doing this you may find a collector/buyer for your car. I know that if I had the money for a 2nd NSX & this is actually 1 of only 2 produced, I would jump on it in a heartbeat!!! (Jus, my $.02)

 

[Zishan]

I thought that all the coupes, all years had the straight strut bar, and all the targas had the triangle strut bar? Also, I think the windshield wiper arm has been changed if that matters!!

Z

 

[Timbo]

Did you have it shipped from AZ to GA? That at least would explain how it made a 1500 mile journey while racking up only 500 miles on the clock.

A non-matching console i suppose is OK, maybe the old one got cracked. But a non-matching engine brace is pretty odd, as are the new tires at 4K miles, as are all the other stuff the NSXPrime sleuths are pointing out..

 

[ChrisK]

I agree with some of the others. While the VIN definately raises questions and the interior is not quite consistent with a 4K mile car, there could be legitamate reasons for this. I still would like to see pictures of the hidden VIN in the engine compartment and of hidden painted areas. Maybe a dealer had this car sitting around and used some of the interior parts to rebuild another NSX-T that wasn't up to par? Nobody really knows. However, it would really be nice to find out this car is indeed a legit hard top. If I had the money this would be the car to own even if it is kind of trashed in the interior from the pictures. Having a Monte Carlo Blue 97 Coupe would be awsome

So how about it harrier? Prove is all wrong

I do give you the benifit of the doubt since you actually came here and asked for opinions on this car.

 

[BostonNSX]

and now he took the pictures off the post>?

 

[kinnsella]

One more thing...

The car was initially registered in CA in 6/97. Then CARFAX states it was auctioned in 11/97...Hmm that's a little odd for a pristine 5 month car being sold at auction...unless it was totalled by a new inexperienced owner....

CA requires a smog cert. every two years. It didn't show up for five years on CARFAX until 6/2002 in CA for another smog cert. It wasn't registered in another state. It wouldn't have been legal to drive after 6/99. Then it gets registered in AZ on 10/2002, then 40 days later reregistered in GA after adding only 552 miles or 20% of its recorded mileage on a 1500 mile trip to GA. I guess it must have been flatbedded...right. Odd though the current owner claims to have bought the car at auction in CA, then I guess he must have registered it AZ, before bringing it to GA.....I wonder why...can anyone say title washing!!!

We should close this thread....its a bogus car, we all know it, the owner has now removed the pictures, could be deemed as suspicious....We should contact the fools bidding on ebay to warn them.


[This message has been edited by kinnsella (edited 12 January 2003).]

 

[POWERED by HONDA]

I didn't read into all the replies carefully, so if what I am about to write has been previously addressed... sorry.

The pictures from the eBay add shows the triangular bar. I thought all coupes come with a straight bar? Actually, I thought the bar was completely removed after 1995 COUPES? Not sure...

Also, I thought all coupes (except the green ones) had black painted tops?

 

[jjperkins]

Viewed this car yesterday!. Just a quick note to let all of you know I got to take a good look at this car yesterday. I have been looking for about six months and after seeing this thread decided it might be worth looking at since I live in Atlanta. Since I am not an NSX expert like some of you I brought a friend of mine who works in a body shop to give me a hand. Shawn(harrier) and I talked about the comments on this thread for quite some time. He told me the car was purchased from California and they had it shipped to Georgia. My friend David took a good look at the body and came up with the following conclusions. He thinks the front right quarter panel may have been replaced and possibly repainted. It was hard to tell because whoever did it did a good job. He is sure that blue is the original color of the car but it could have been repainted. There wasn't a chips or scratches anywhere and the paint looked perfect which may indicate either someone took good care of the car or it was repainted when the panel was replaced. David said you would have to be an know a little about body work to recognize this. This car is certainly a hardtop and we couldn't find anything to indicated otherwise. The only exterior flaw was the right tail light had some moisture in in it(could have been cracked. The rims looked good and the tires where new. The old tires where in the shop and although the rears tires were worn the fronts looked okay. Also, we did find the vin # next to the engine and two other locations on the car and they all matched. there was a parking sticker in the rear window for a school. This could indicate maybe it belonged to some young kid.
As far as the interior of the car, overall it looked very good. There wasn't any stains or wear on the inside beyond what I would expect for a six year old car. The seats and carpet looked good. We did see the inspection report from Acura on this vehicle and the only thing it had on it was that the center console was not original and the spare tire was missing. My next step was to take the car on a test drive. I drove around town for about 20 minutes and got up to about 90mph on the highway. I have driven NSX's before and this one drove as good as any other one. The engine ran great and the transmission felt strong. Overall I was impressed with the car. It is possible some paint work was done but its not something I could notice. The car mostly as advertised. I am going to see what my bank will do and make any offer myself. If you have any questions send me an email.

Jack

 

[onesilver7]

Is this the same car on ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2400050352&category=5337

 

[aaronb]

Just an observation -- but when I had a '97 Monte Carlo Blue NSX-T, it didn't have the radiator supports painted.

Here's the one on E-Bay:

And here's my old 1997 Targa #251:

[This message has been edited by aaronb (edited 13 January 2003).]

 

[kinnsella]

deleted post, its been repeated

[This message has been edited by kinnsella (edited 14 January 2003).]

 

[ANYTIME]

Looks like they forgot to replace the gaskets that seal against the hood, behind the headlights and the rubber bumpers in front of the radiator, WHEN it was repainted.

[This message has been edited by ANYTIME (edited 13 January 2003).]

 

[kinnsella]

Originally posted by kinnsella:
Also look at the top of the firewall in the above pictures....looks like sprayed over welding. Also it's missing that black box to the right of the brake/abs reservoirs

Here is is a clean 99 Monte Carlo Interior, 17K miles on it

Here is a clean engine bay from a 99 T. Notice how the brace and engine covers have a matt appearance on the bogus one.

 

[kinnsella]

Originally posted by jjperkins:
Viewed this car yesterday!. Just a quick note to let all of you know I got to take a good look at this car yesterday. I have been looking for about six months and after seeing this thread decided it might be worth looking at since I live in Atlanta. Since I am not an NSX expert like some of you I brought a friend of mine who works in a body shop to give me a hand. Shawn(harrier) and I talked about the comments on this thread for quite some time. He told me the car was purchased from California and they had it shipped to Georgia. My friend David took a good look at the body and came up with the following conclusions. He thinks the front right quarter panel may have been replaced and possibly repainted. It was hard to tell because whoever did it did a good job. He is sure that blue is the original color of the car but it could have been repainted. There wasn't a chips or scratches anywhere and the paint looked perfect which may indicate either someone took good care of the car or it was repainted when the panel was replaced. David said you would have to be an know a little about body work to recognize this. This car is certainly a hardtop and we couldn't find anything to indicated otherwise. The only exterior flaw was the right tail light had some moisture in in it(could have been cracked. The rims looked good and the tires where new. The old tires where in the shop and although the rears tires were worn the fronts looked okay. Also, we did find the vin # next to the engine and two other locations on the car and they all matched. there was a parking sticker in the rear window for a school. This could indicate maybe it belonged to some young kid.
As far as the interior of the car, overall it looked very good. There wasn't any stains or wear on the inside beyond what I would expect for a six year old car. The seats and carpet looked good. We did see the inspection report from Acura on this vehicle and the only thing it had on it was that the center console was not original and the spare tire was missing. My next step was to take the car on a test drive. I drove around town for about 20 minutes and got up to about 90mph on the highway. I have driven NSX's before and this one drove as good as any other one. The engine ran great and the transmission felt strong. Overall I was impressed with the car. It is possible some paint work was done but its not something I could notice. The car mostly as advertised. I am going to see what my bank will do and make any offer myself. If you have any questions send me an email.

Jack

Hey Jack, could you email me your number. love to chat with you about this car...had a few questions?

 

[NSEXTASY]

Its quite obvious the car was punched in the nose and most lickly took a roll. I dont buy the "factory made a mistake with the vin #" story. I bet a solid roof was welded in place of the targa set up.A sure way to identify a coupe from a targa is speedos are different..targas have warning lights for unclosed targa tops..coupes would not have this. Also targa cars have a horizontal brace welded to rear fire wall which runs from 1/4 panel to 1/4 panel visible if you open the trunk and remove the carpets which cover the firewall.A coupe would not have this brace.