a 91 orig owner with 4,800 miles!!!

[Russ]

Never seen rain?

I have to laugh whenever I see new cars lined up in a dealership lot during a torrential rainstorm, or covered with ice & snow, or filthy with muddy grit from a nearby excavation, and then imagine some future owner making the old "never seen rain" claim.

 

[nsx24]

RECORD LOW MILAGE

I came across a gentleman about a year ago washing his cars, he had a new Prowler, Lexus SC430, Lexus sport utility and a BROOKLANDS GREEN NSX. I was in my NSX and decided to aproach him about his car. As I got closer it still had dealer plates, so i asked him if he just bought it and he went on to tell me that it was the NSX on display at the at the Detroit Autoshow , and he had to have it, so i peaked in to see how many miles were on it and it had--NO KIDDING ***92 MILES*** I asked if he was crazy and he said he drove it to get gas 1 time and the oil had never been changed, it had never been licensed. He said "look at that passenger seat, no one has ever sat in it" so i jumped in (just kidding). BUT WHAT A BEATIFUL CAR. HE STILL OWNS IT. :

 

[ChrisK]

Re: Never seen rain?

I have to laugh whenever I see new cars lined up in a dealership lot during a torrential rainstorm, or covered with ice & snow, or filthy with muddy grit from a nearby excavation, and then imagine some future owner making the old "never seen rain" claim.

Yes, I always thought the same thing. Kind of like when people say they never let the dealership wash their car ever. Yet someone at the dealership had to have washed it when they sold it.

 

[spdntckt]

i was under the impression that cars with extremely low miles / never driven should be avoided... Most of the engine seals, etc rely on a running engine to keep them piable.. I was talking to some of the ferrarri mechanics and they tell me that the most reliable ferraris are the ones which are driven on a daily basis while the ones that sit have most of the trouble....

My take is i'd rather have a '97+ with 15K-20K miles than a 91 with 2k miles...

just my 2 cents..

 

[ChrisK]

My take is i'd rather have a '97+ with 15K-20K miles than a 91 with 2k miles...

just my 2 cents..

I agree. In fact, my 92 has what people would consider high miles for a NSX, but lower miles for an average car. I bought it because I know the history well and it has been reliable up until this point, so I figure as long as I keep taking care of it I should have nothing to worry about.

 

[Litespeeds]

I guess to each his own. I think that the cost of owning this car and just letting it sit around as a collectors car or a trophy is not what it was intended for. Face the facts, the NSX is not a collectors car and will not APPRECIATE in value if you have very low miles on it. It was made to be driven and enjoyed. With all the registration fees, insurance and other costs associated with keeping this car garaged, you'd probably be better off selling it as your fear of anything happening to the car is greater than your joy of driving it. That is my 2 cents.

 

[Eric5273]

....the ones which are driven on a daily basis while the ones that sit have most of the trouble....

This is what the tech guy at my dealership told me. He said I should drive the NSX hard and it will actually run better. He said the people who baby the car and don't drive it much have more problems.

 

[mason@tirerack]

Re: RECORD LOW MILAGE

I came across a gentleman about a year ago washing his cars, he had a new Prowler, Lexus SC430, Lexus sport utility and a BROOKLANDS GREEN NSX. I was in my NSX and decided to aproach him about his car. As I got closer it still had dealer plates, so i asked him if he just bought it and he went on to tell me that it was the NSX on display at the at the Detroit Autoshow , and he had to have it, so i peaked in to see how many miles were on it and it had--NO KIDDING ***92 MILES*** I asked if he was crazy and he said he drove it to get gas 1 time and the oil had never been changed, it had never been licensed. He said "look at that passenger seat, no one has ever sat in it" so i jumped in (just kidding). BUT WHAT A BEATIFUL CAR. HE STILL OWNS IT. :

Was he washing the NSX too?? With only 92 miles I cannot imagine that it needed it.

Did he mention why he lets it sit...and if he will sell it. By the way...where does he live?

 

[Joel]

This is what the tech guy at my dealership told me. He said I should drive the NSX hard and it will actually run better. He said the people who baby the car and don't drive it much have more problems.

Deep down, I really believe there's validity to this statement. Case in point, how else can a Volvo survive 2 million miles (here) if it wasn't DRIVEN?

I think cars are like fine wine. It really does get better with age.

So I guess those Ferrari guys aren't really doing their cars any favor by not driving them? Ironic.

Here's a thought. If people want to keep their car as a display trophy, fine. More power to them. But if you're going to this, I suggest taking the engine out and selling it. That way the car's condition remains pristine and the motor gets the needed exercise. If the owner decides to finally drive the car, go to a dealer and have them order you a new engine.

 

[PhilH]

Here's a kind of strange way I justify it to my wife:

She purchases lots of art work and sculpture to decorate our home - I tell her that I also purchase beautiful works of art that just happen to also shaped in the form of a car. The added benefit being that this piece of art can actually be driven, while you none of her art work moves.

Anyway - it seems to fly with her....

 

[kgb_agent]

Matteni, I believe it 100%

I recently read an article printed in one of the major automobile magazines (C&D, R&T, Motortrend) but I forgot which one. It said that low mileage cars that are primarily driven short distances and not serviced regularly will more than likely have more internal engine wear than a similar car that has regularly been serviced and driven long distances (highway miles?).

It mentioned something about the low mileage engines being always driven in situations where it never reaches its ideal operating temperature (hence more friction and wear during driving and engine start-up) and some other technical stuff.

My owners manual criteria for "severe conditions" includes short average driving distances (<5 mi) or in cold weather (<10 mi). I have a friend who was a Ferrari tech for a major dealership and we've watched 355's and 348's with problems pull in tech inspection at track events. They tend to be the cleanest, most pampered ones. Whatever the car, Ferrari or NSX etc., you gotta drive 'em as intended to minimize problems.

 

[hejo]

When I was buying my NSX a couple of years ago I found a 91 red tan manual with 69 miles at NW Investment Cars. That's right 69 miles. It was being sold on consignment and was owned by a business man from a large japanese firm who bought it for his wife. She didn't like it so it sat so the story goes...

It still had the plastic from the factory covering part of the seats and doors. From what I could tell no maintanance had been done to the car. I'm serious it had dust in it from sitting. While the rubber looked okay I had concerns about other things like fluids being changed for one.

The sale price was the original invoice... LOL.... because it was like new. I tried a few times to convince the sales rep to see if he would sell it for less. He told me he had tried and the owner would not move. I saw it at NWIC for a few more weeks and then it was gone. I have no idea what happened to it.

 

[mason@tirerack]

When I was buying my NSX a couple of years ago I found a 91 red tan manual with 69 miles at NW Investment Cars. That's right 69 miles. It was being sold on consignment and was owned by a business man from a large japanese firm who bought it for his wife. She didn't like it so it sat so the story goes...

It still had the plastic from the factory covering part of the seats and doors. From what I could tell no maintanance had been done to the car. I'm serious it had dust in it from sitting. While the rubber looked okay I had concerns about other things like fluids being changed for one.

The sale price was the original invoice... LOL.... because it was like new. I tried a few times to convince the sales rep to see if he would sell it for less. He told me he had tried and the owner would not move. I saw it at NWIC for a few more weeks and then it was gone. I have no idea what happened to it.

WOW!! That is crazy!! How much dust are we talking about? Surprised they did not clean it at NWIC.