Buying an NSX Project

H

husseinj3

New Member
Joined
20 December 2010
Messages
7
NSXPRIME

i'm looking to grab a car in the next couple months and im stuck between the AP2 S2000 and NA1 NSX. I found a NSX that could be a project but i dont know if i should be worried about the maintenance on this "supercar". Here are the pics, from what it looks like, it needs a rear quarter, bumper, taillights, re-bar, and some body work. what do you think?
this is the only orange NSX i've seen before the 02+ and the only orange interior before an 02+. the car is a 1991 with 60000 km

pictures:

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This car used to be red, the imola interior seems to be converted as well. The seats are 99% oem 2002+ seats.

Posting the Vin number should help.

There is a chance that this car was modified but when the owner had the car totaled he switched some parts. If you look at the rear, the exhaust tips are not damaged and at least the left one should be.
 
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FWIW...I love that interior! Buy it and sell me the insides!!!
 
nsxpilot said:
is the mileage accurate? the closeup of the odometer looks like the "zero" is marred......roll back?
Click to expand...
Good eye! I'd definitely look more into that!

Valve covers are also not original (new engine? or just new valve covers?). 1991s had black covers.
 
the vin number is
JH4NA115XMT003073

its listed that it runs and drives, and motor swap is not that big of a deal, as long as it was done properly, but i would have it checked out regardless.
is there any way of checking if thats the correct mileage other than running a carfax report? (a free way)

how does the damage look? i took the pictures to my body shop and he gave me a reasonable quote on a full colour change, and said it doesn't matter that its aluminum, its still gonna be painted the same way as steel, is this ok?
 
Brylek said:
STAY AWAY!
This car had 218 000 miles back in 2003!

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35010&highlight=JH4NA115XMT003073

more info:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44028&highlight=JH4NA115XMT003073
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26623&highlight=JH4NA115XMT003073
Click to expand...

wow, thanks a lot

from reading all the info, this is "Brent Cobbs" old car
i have no idea what this means, but apparently the engine was swapped
what do you think is a fair price for the car, in the condition that it is?
 
husseinj3 said:
wow, thanks a lot

from reading all the info, this is "Brent Cobbs" old car
i have no idea what this means, but apparently the engine was swapped
what do you think is a fair price for the car, in the condition that it is?
Click to expand...

Wow, you're still interested in this car? :eek:

I think you should be contacting authorities about the 150k+ miles odometer rollback, not thinking about purchasing it.
 
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the nsx is a dream car for me, and i'll do whatever i can to get it. this is why i'm looking at accident ones right now, the car will be stripped to the frame all around and whatever needs to be fixed will be fixed. the only thing is the engine, and i'm going to go and personally look at this car on friday with my mechanic who has worked on nsx's before and we'll see what happens, i guess i got too excited :(
 
BTW, ^^ good research above! I'm glad to see other's input as I will eventually be purchasing an NSX and will rely on forum feedback as well.
 
husseinj3 said:
the nsx is a dream car for me, and i'll do whatever i can to get it. this is why i'm looking at accident ones right now, the car will be stripped to the frame all around and whatever needs to be fixed will be fixed. the only thing is the engine, and i'm going to go and personally look at this car on friday with my mechanic who has worked on nsx's before and we'll see what happens, i guess i got too excited :(
Click to expand...

If you are set on a project car and the costs associated with bringing it back to life, then there is nothing wrong with looking for a decent wrecker. What you need to be sure of in this case is that there is NO FRAME DAMAGE. The NSX frame is extremely difficult to repair and there are only a few shops in the country who can do it right. And it will not be cheap. Better to find a wrecker with a straight frame and avoid the hassle. If everything else checks out and you are serious about this car, you should get it to a shop with the equipment and knowledge to determine if the frame is bent or cracked. If it is, then walk away. It is not worth the cost to your wallet and your personal safety to mess with it. There are plenty of wrecked NSXs out there with good frames. Better to grab one of those and there are resources here on Prime who can help you.

Understand however that even with a good chassis, doing a proper frame-up resto is going to run you at least $30,000 plus the cost of the car. That is why most folks here on Prime recommend just spending that money on a good running car instead. But, I love resto jobs and would love to see you bring one back from the dead. :) Good luck.
 
Honcho said:
If you are set on a project car and the costs associated with bringing it back to life, then there is nothing wrong with looking for a decent wrecker. What you need to be sure of in this case is that there is NO FRAME DAMAGE. The NSX frame is extremely difficult to repair and there are only a few shops in the country who can do it right. And it will not be cheap. Better to find a wrecker with a straight frame and avoid the hassle. If everything else checks out and you are serious about this car, you should get it to a shop with the equipment and knowledge to determine if the frame is bent or cracked. If it is, then walk away. It is not worth the cost to your wallet and your personal safety to mess with it. There are plenty of wrecked NSXs out there with good frames. Better to grab one of those and there are resources here on Prime who can help you.

Understand however that even with a good chassis, doing a proper frame-up resto is going to run you at least $30,000 plus the cost of the car. That is why most folks here on Prime recommend just spending that money on a good running car instead. But, I love resto jobs and would love to see you bring one back from the dead. :) Good luck.
Click to expand...

i thought about this car today and i'm going to stay away from it, its not worth it for me, its more for someone who's full time job is working on cars. honestly, i didnt think i could afford an nsx until i saw this one and it would fit in my budget. if anyone could help me find a wrecked NSX i would be interested, keep an eye out
thanks
 
I have seen only one case of a guy who posted his progress on prime restore a burned/water damaged car and he did it all in his own shop..he knew what he was getting into and put in hundreds of hours....the nsx is not a car to buy if you can only afford a 10k car....do yourself a favor and buy a nice S2000..just sayin.....
 
husseinj3 said:
i thought about this car today and i'm going to stay away from it, its not worth it for me, its more for someone who's full time job is working on cars. honestly, i didnt think i could afford an nsx until i saw this one and it would fit in my budget. if anyone could help me find a wrecked NSX i would be interested, keep an eye out
thanks
Click to expand...

how much cash do you have to work with?
 
Looks like you have received some good advice on this car...

I would stay away...

The engine & engine bay sure look dirty. Most NSX's I have seen have been fairly clean. Mine shines still after almost 20 years.

- Rod
 
docjohn said:
I have seen only one case of a guy who posted his progress on prime restore a burned/water damaged car and he did it all in his own shop..he knew what he was getting into and put in hundreds of hours....the nsx is not a car to buy if you can only afford a 10k car....do yourself a favor and buy a nice S2000..just sayin.....
Click to expand...

Other than the poster that found the info on the mileage - this from our good buddy Docjohn is the best advice given here. Honcho is right with his advice too but the big issue here is YOUR BUDGET!

The NSX is not a cheap car to fix or buy parts for and if you are not an excellent mechanic with all the tools and a lift then you are getting yourself into a jamb buying a wrecked car!!! The advice here about most people rather than buying a wrecked car and sinking a ton of hours and money into it are better off buying a car in good shape is excellent advice and it doesn't matter what type of car it is - the same advice is true.

There's another issue here - if you buy one for 10k - wrecked and have only 5k to work with - well when you're done not only fixing the damage but then tackling the issues of differed maintenance and this one here is as good as any to use as an example of deffered maintenance which in itself on a body that has over 200k miles is going to be HUGE! As in 8k huge plus the accident damage and then there's the paint. This one just smells to high heaven but even if it had it's original engine and paint, which would be far more reasonable to tackle and much lower miles which is also a big help - you are still going to spend a bunch and end up with a car that most likely has a salvage title. That doesn't really matter if you keep it forever, but I suspect you are young and there will be many cars ahead of you in the future. Then selling this "thing" you put together becomes an issue. You could easily end up with a car that cost you way more to fix than it's worth!

That my friend is poor economical sense. There just isn't a good way to get into an NSX at the price point you have to start with! Just a word to the wise here - keep working, save your money, keep looking and develop a sense of what these cars are worth and what a reasonable price point to begin your ownership really is. You'll be far happier in the long run and you'll get a car that is far more valuable and you won't have to spend every hour working on it. You could easily end up in a big jamb with a car you couldn't afford to complete and it's still going to have a salvage title and you loose a pile of dough.

Take care, you are young and starting out, your day will come, don't get anxious about having something out of your reach right now. These cars aren't going anywhere but you will and you'll be more and more successful as time goes on. Then you can afford just what you want without beating yourself into a financial "hole".

All the best,
 
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tbromley said:
Other than the poster that found the info on the mileage - this from our good buddy Docjohn is the best advice given here. Honcho is right with his advice too but the big issue here is YOUR BUDGET!

The NSX is not a cheap car to fix or buy parts for and if you are not an excellent mechanic with all the tools and a lift then you are getting yourself into a jamb buying a wrecked car!!! The advice here about most people rather than buying a wrecked car and sinking a ton of hours and money into it are better off buying a car in good shape is excellent advice and it doesn't matter what type of car it is - the same advice is true.

There's another issue here - if you buy one for 10k - wrecked and have only 5k to work with - well when you're done not only fixing the damage but then tackling the issues of differed maintenance and this one here is as good as any to use as an example of deffered maintenance which in itself on a body that has over 200k miles is going to be HUGE! As in 8k huge plus the accident damage and then there's the paint. This one just smells to high heaven but even if it had it's original engine and paint, which would be far more reasonable to tackle and much lower miles which is also a big help - you are still going to spend a bunch and end up with a car that most likely has a salvage title. That doesn't really matter if you keep it forever, but I suspect you are young and there will be many cars ahead of you in the future. Then selling this "thing" you put together becomes an issue. You could easily end up with a car that cost you way more to fix than it's worth!

That my friend is poor economical sense. There just isn't a good way to get into an NSX at the price point you have to start with! Just a word to the wise here - keep working, save your money, keep looking and develop a sense of what these cars are worth and what a reasonable price point to begin your ownership really is. You'll be far happier in the long run and you'll get a car that is far more valuable and you won't have to spend every hour working on it. You could easily end up in a big jamb with a car you couldn't afford to complete and it's still going to have a salvage title and you loose a pile of dough.

Take care, you are young and starting out, your day will come, don't get anxious about having something out of your reach right now. These cars aren't going anywhere but you will and you'll be more and more successful as time goes on. Then you can afford just what you want without beating yourself into a financial "hole".

All the best,
Click to expand...

Husseinj3

This is in my view very sound advice from Tim. Save your money to get an NSX in respectable condition that leaves you with up to $5,000 for potential "fix it" stuff. If I'm reading this thread right you have $15,000 to spend on an NSX. But even if you have $15,000 in change in addition to purchasing a fixherupper, my view is to still stay away and get that respectable car. The only exception is if you plan to just track the car, and many primers have commented before on a salvage car purchase if you only plan to track the car. Good luck in your search and eventual purchase of an NSX...the wait is worth it.
 
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