Buyers BEWARE of this Car: JH4NA1289TT000298 1996 Acura NSX Automatic in Costa Mesa

bullithollywood said:
I think Mario will tell you he was tracking the car at the time when the trans let go. The auto wasn't really meant for track use. Thats why the engines in autos are derated in horsepower. But as a daily driver I've known people easily get over 140K miles on an auto with no problems. Despite the reputation they're great cars and really are the best choice for daily commuter driving of an NSX. I love to have an auto as a daily.
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That's awesome advice and thanks for putting me in touch with Mario...he is pretty knowledgeable! He must be pretty popular though, because his inbox is full and won't let me respond to his latest PM lol!
 
This is why I love Prime!! One thing a wise man once told me was...."the most expensive NSX is the cheapest NSX". I'm sure this car could be a great candidate NSX but now due to one person trying to be shady and lie about the smallest things it would make me wonder what else is he trying to hide!? Good luck and I hope you find one soon.
 
it is nice of you posting info about this car. I realized that he/she was an a**hole for cancelling the deal with you, but exactly what was wrong with the car mechanically?

I was just thinking that $37.5k (2017 price) is a lot of money for a car that was hardly driving... How much repair cost were you factoring into the $37.5k price?

NSXVice said:
It was hardly driving. They claim it is original, but under the hood, parts were missing, cracked, fixed with glue. Also, when I saw it, it had a bra on and under the bra was paint discoloration. We fix cars and have our own mechanics, so I decided to move forward and made an offer of $37,500. He accepts and we sign papers and start getting the process going. I was supposed to pick it up 5 days later. He completely disappears off the planet. No texts, no calls, NOTHING.
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nis350 said:
it is nice of you posting info about this car. I realized that he/she was an a**hole for cancelling the deal with you, but exactly what was wrong with the car mechanically?

I was just thinking that $37.5k (2017 price) is a lot of money for a car that was hardly driving... How much repair cost were you factoring into the $37.5k price?
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Hello Nis350,

I'd be more than happy to share that information. First, let's start with your $37.5K is a lot of money. For me it was not considering I haven't seen an Automatic NSX with clean title, under 100K miles for under $47K. We have a family member who is a mechanic who would work on it for free only the cost of parts and meals. It wouldn't be done quick as it would be more of a hobby fix for them, but I wouldn't mind. I only want it as an eventual weekend car. As for Mechanically here we go:

Noticed: not even a single oil change has been mentioned or documented. There were ZERO maintenance records.

timing belt/water pump- This should be done every 6 years, so it is now at least 4 years overdue, maybe more. It seems this has not been done in the 10 years you've owned the car, and since there's no record of the previous owner doing this service either, this is of paramount importance. A broken timing belt can damage the valves, heads, etc. The cost of the timing belt/water pump service is around $1500-2000 in my area.
Air conditioner doesn't blow cold. I assume it will need some hoses replaced that caused the refrigerant to leak out. I will also need new refirgerant.
Clean up of sulfuric acid spill near battery and refurbishing of affected hardware. Small job, but important.
Brake fluid reservoir Was cracked and needed to be replaced
Radio face melted and distorted Not a major issue but still funny considering it was "garaged" its whole life?

Lastly because of the issues in the test drive "hardly driving" We weren't sure what it what. The owner specified it was nothing and would provide an inspection. He found an issue with ECU fuel system per the text I have attached. I have also attached a picture of the intent to sell form. I have blacked out some personal information as to be courteous to his privacy.

I honestly don't care that he was an A**** or not. I am not here to slander him as a person. I am purely talking about my experience with the transaction, the vehicle itself and the behaviors with the seller. I am just doing my part in informing the community of this. As I have stated earlier in the post, he could have gotten it all fixed. I cannot be sure of that. But between the mechanics and cosmetics, it seemed like a bigger job to me. I find it odd that it was flipped and put on the Market for $59K in less than a week and with a year's plus time going by the mileage hasn't changed much and that he is now putting it at $49K. Why hasn't there been any interest? Not all people read forums. He didn't use the forums at all! I am just making observations that seem fishy. The entire situation and how it all went down was very fishy. I wish whoever buys it the best, and hopefully all the issues were properly taken care of.


 
First of all, I don't know the seller or you. Just wanted to see what's up with this car.

Looked to me that the seller backed out because he/she realized that the car might worth quite a bit more. Based on what you said about the price, the $37.5k you offered was more than $10k below the market, probably less factoring in the possible maintenance/repairs (It seemed like there was just some error code(s) .. it could be anything - spark plugs, coil packs etc.. wouldn't know til it is checked out)

Thanks for the clarification...

NSXVice said:
I'd be more than happy to share that information. First, let's start with your $37.5K is a lot of money. For me it was not considering I haven't seen an Automatic NSX with clean title, under 100K miles for under $47K.
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nis350 said:
First of all, I don't know the seller or you. Just wanted to see what's up with this car.

Looked to me that the seller backed out because he/she realized that the car might worth quite a bit more. Based on what you said about the price, the $37.5k you offered was more than $10k below the market, probably less factoring in the possible maintenance/repairs.

Thanks for the clarification...
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I agree with you 100%. The car is worth MORE only IF it was fixed up. The condition it was in and the things that we BOTH had identified, we agreed would be worth $37.5K to both of us. Even with those issues, I was going to move forward and he agreed to it. Come the day meet up, he was gone. The new ad states that the obvious things we discovered were fixed and the new price was $21.5k higher. This was OBVIOUSLY about getting more money... That is exactly what this post was about? The fact it was in poor condition and flipped right after he disappeared on me. I mentioned that in the very first post. I am very transparent. I don't think what he did to me was outrageous. My personal "feelings" are irrelevant. It was about money and I think the car probably got a poor facelift just for a high dollar quick sale that isn't going as planned. To me, based on my experience that isn't surprising. You live in LA, why don't you go check it out? You might get a great car. Hell I'd still buy it, but not a penny over $35K at this point. The fishy part isn't what happened to me. The fishy part is, the lack of of sale within the past year and the reason for the $10K reduction in price. If it really is a great car as claimed in the ad, wouldn't it have sold by now?
 
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Price and condition of any used cars are quite subjective....

Seller obviously felt that the car worth a lot more in this case and decided to cancel the pending deal which was not unreasonable.

I can't comment on why his car isn't sold as I don't really know the condition of his car. The NSX's are somewhat rare and the value is determined by the willingness of both the buyer and seller to pay/sell.

Good luck in your search for one.


NSXVice said:
I agree with you 100%. The car is worth MORE only IF it was fixed up. The condition it was in and the things that we BOTH had identified, we agreed would be worth $37.5K to both of us. Even with those issues, I was going to move forward and he agreed to it. Come the day meet up, he was gone. The new ad states that the obvious things we discovered were fixed and the new price was $21.5k higher. This was OBVIOUSLY about getting more money... That is exactly what this post was about? The fact it was in poor condition and flipped right after he disappeared on me. I mentioned that in the very first post. I am very transparent. I don't think what he did to me was outrageous. My personal "feelings" are irrelevant. It was about money and I think the car probably got a poor facelift just for a high dollar quick sale that isn't going as planned. To me, based on my experience that isn't surprising. You live in LA, why don't you go check it out? You might get a great car. Hell I'd still buy it, but not a penny over $35K at this point. The fishy part isn't what happened to me. The fishy part is, the lack of of sale within the past year and the reason for the $10K reduction in price. If it really is a great car as claimed in the ad, wouldn't it have sold by now?
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Response to NSXVice

I bought the 1996 NSX-T in May 2018 it is most likely the NSX you saw in 2017.Since then many positive repairs have been done including the items you stated .
The Acura Costa Mesa Ca dealership did a complete inspection before I purchased ,after inspection oil plan,tie rod & related items were done .The only expensive
repair was the cost of a new radio . A/C blower works but only on hi fan. Existing radio works OK ,CD is good . Hopefully you can see the car again. I think you would like what you see today and be pleasantly surprised .Thanks for your consideration,James 949 645 6621

NSXVice said:
I just want to save someone the headache I almost got myself into with this car. It is a total FRAUD situation.

I found the car originally listed on craigslist with a picture of a DIFFERENT NSX then the one they were selling listed for $43K with close to 78,000 miles on it: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/6037348689.html
I decided to pursue it and met up with the seller. The seller had no maintenance records, no timing belt done, no water pump, not even an oil change. The transmission was making funny sounds when I test drove it. It was hardly driving. They claim it is original, but under the hood, parts were missing, cracked, fixed with glue. Also, when I saw it, it had a bra on and under the bra was paint discoloration. We fix cars and have our own mechanics, so I decided to move forward and made an offer of $37,500. He accepts and we sign papers and start getting the process going. I was supposed to pick it up 5 days later. He completely disappears off the planet. No texts, no calls, NOTHING.

A few days later, I find the exact car on Autotrader: http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...searchRadius=0&makeCode1=ACURA&modelCode1=NSX

They claim to have all maintenance records, all the things done that weren't when I saw it (timing belt, water pump, even tires), rolled back the miles to 70,000 to and now selling it for $59K. The problems it had, there is NO WAY could have been fixed in a few days. They claim the paint is original, but it HAD to have been touched up under the bra. I know not all of the parts were OEM when I had it inspected. I was going to restore this car back to what it was and I know would have taken time to seek out parts and install to get that thing pristine.

I dodged a bullet. They are very shady people and just looking to exploit and lie for the most dollar... Whoever gets this is going to get a lemon who had a poor, quick restore job just to get it to run temporarily.
If you need proof or evidence, please instant message me and I will show you everything including the intent to sell form we signed with the exact same VIN.

On that note, I am looking for an automatic in a year 1995 to 2005. If you have one or know of one please let me know. I have the money and am a serious buyer who wants to finally own her dream car.
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rusky said:
it's back (on prime this time) http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...T-Red-Black-Automatic-79033-JH4NA1289TT000298
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Poor car...It had failed the smog check twice too, I didn't even see that until it was noticed by another prime member. Not surprised...still though, I would have given that baby a total 180 mechanically and a good home... honestly though, it breaks my heart when I see it still pop up on the market. I was so happy and excited when I was going to buy it and still can't find one. I really wish someone would bring it back up to the car it can be and enjoy it. All these shoddy jobs on it with the higher price tag, just isn't worth it to me anymore.
I hope it will be for someone who has a bit more money to invest in it.
 

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