can nsx be driven as a daily driver?

[windycitynsx]

i've been on prime for some time now and learning the ins and outs of locating a nice nsx and maintaining it.

i was wondering if nsx can be driven as a daily driver. from reading on many threads, it sounds very costly to maintain/repair. does anyone have experience in this?

i live in chicago and was thinking to drive it in spring,summer, fall and store during winter months.

 

[coolnsx]

I think you'll find many of the owners use theirs as a daily in good weather areas. You should be able to do as you suggest and be very happy. Good Luck

 

[windycitynsx]

i guess i'm worried about the maint/repair cost as a daily driver. from what i read on prime, it seems like parts/tires wear out faster than an ave. car and much more exp to repair.

can somebody do a breakdown of cost to maintain by major part(tb, wp, tires, etc..) and how long each part last? hope this question doesn't bore members. it's just that i want to know what i should expect once i own one.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I wouldn't expect any higher maintenance cost out it than most other exotics. After all, it is a Honda at heart.

 

[nsxchi-town]

I would say when ever you can just drive it..

i bought my nsx in jan and have been waiting to drive it, i'll drive it when ever the weather is nice.

but, about the maintain and wear on the nsx, i not to sure as this will be a learning exp. for me...the one thing i do know is that i stocked up on rear oem tires.

 

[nsxtasy]

You need to spend some time with the NSX FAQ (answers to Frequently Asked Questions). See that red bar at the top of your screen, the one that looks like this?

It has TONS of useful information. You can find out information about the maintenance schedule and costs by going into the Maintenance area.

Oh, and you can do a search on previous topics by clicking on the button that looks like this:

There have been LOTS of previous topics about the NSX as a daily driver. Do a search on topics with the word "daily" in the title only.

Finally, check out this new topic which also addresses some of the questions you are asking: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30451

 

[MJK]

The primary expenses with an NSX seem to be:

1. Insurance
2. Tires (OEM last 5-8k on rear, roughly double that on the front) but much cheaper tires are available
3. Timing belt change every 6yr/90k mi (~$1200USD + $800 w/ hoses too)
4. Clutch every 40-80k miles (~$2000USD)
5. Gas (low 20s for me)

Aside from that, you are essentially buying an Accord from a maintenance perspective.

I say go for it!

Mark

 

[matteni]

When you are talking about the NSX as a daily driver - a lot of that answer depends on what you are starting with (new 04' or a high mileage low maintenance 91') and your finances (spent every last penny to get the below average 91' or just bought an 04' and sensitive to costs).

Typically people asking this question are people that are struggling to get into an NSX and are nervous that they have no reserve in case the maintenance takes over.

You can mitigate this risk by making sure you are getting a well maintained and up to date car that has been properly cared for during its entire life and has had many of the "trouble" areas already dealt with.

As has been said before - get the absolute best NSX you can afford and be mindful that if it is out of warranty - you could get a substantial maintenance bill in any given year.

Examples of expensive things that might happen or need attention (especially on earlier model cars):

- AC / climate control issues (can be thousands to repair)
- Clutch replacement
- Snap ring transmission case replacement
- Shock replacement
- Tire replacement
- Master cylinder / slave cylinder replacement
- Timing belt and hose replacement
- Valve adjustments
- Spark plugs
- Stereo speakers/amps
- Ignition coils
- Window regulators/motors
- Fuel injectors
- Cracked radiator
- Alternator
- Brakes (pads, fluids, rotors, caliper rebuilds)
- Fluid changes (oil, coolant, transmission, clutch, ABS brakes, AC)

I would budget for a well maintained 91' that is up to date in all maintenance $3000 / year for these items that must be done and/or may happen. It goes up dramatically if the car is a poor example and needs more maintenance. If you can't afford an excellent example in the year you are looking and cant afford an additional $3000 + insurance + gas, you may want to save more money or look at a different car.

YMMV.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I say go for it!

I agree !

 

[Gerard van Santen]

I think you'll find many of the owners use theirs as a daily in good weather areas.

The X can be driven as a daily driver in all kind of weather. I drive my NSX as a daily driver in the rain, sun and everything between. Even during the winter with winter tires.

 

[NSX2398]

I would budget for a well maintained 91' that is up to date in all maintenance $3000 / year for these items that must be done and/or may happen.

Nick, although I would agree with your comments about having a reserve for contingencies, do you REALLY think $3K/yr is a good average? I have a '91 with 115K miles which is my daily, 4-season driver in the worst conditions. I've put roughly 25K miles in 27 months and I don't think I've spent more than $300 on it in that time other than oil changes (and excluding maybe $1K one-time up front costs to get new car cover; winter tires & second set of rims; speakers fixed; etc).

I did start with a car that had just had the 90K service and new clutch but I view those more as 'planned', almost one-time maint. While I don't disagree that a reserve of $2K or so is a wise thing for unplanned failures, I'm struggling with the $3K/yr for budgeted expenses. Am I just lucky? Are others spending $3K/yr over a sustained period?

 

[nsxtasy]

I think it goes without saying that the cost of operating the car will vary dramatically depending on how many miles you drive per year. And I would hesitate to give a specific number without knowing approximately how many miles a year we're talking about.

Still, I think you're ignoring some obvious costs, Ian, in claiming $300 plus oil changes in two years. For example, you have apparently been ignoring the recommended maintenance schedule. Every 30K miles or 2 years is a major service (30K/60K/etc) that usually costs around USD800-1000, yet you have skipped this and it is overdue. Plus a coolant flush for another hundred or two. Also, in 25K miles, most folks using the OEM tires will have replaced the front tires 1-2 times and the rear tires 3-6 times, for a total cost of somewhere around USD1000-2000. And these are costs of normal scheduled maintenance, and do not include unexpected repairs. You lucked out by just having the clutch changed, but most folks would expect to have a 40-50 percent chance of replacing it, for $2K, by driving 25K miles. Add together those costs, and the oil changes, and some unexpected repairs along the way, and it's easy to see how $3K/year may be realistic.

 

[NSX2398]

I would hesitate to give a specific number without knowing approximately how many miles a year we're talking about.

As I indicated in my post, I'm using my own situation (25K in 27 mos) as a point of reference, which I'm betting is higher than most

Originally posted by nsxtasy
For example, you have apparently been ignoring the recommended maintenance schedule. Every 30K miles or 2 years is a major service (30K/60K/etc) that usually costs around USD800-1000, yet you have skipped this and it is overdue. .

Since I drive it a lot, I tend to use the mileage guideline rather than the year but either way, I'm due for the 30K this year (the 90K was done just before I bought it) so using your numbers, let's say $900 every 3 years so this adds $300/yr to the 'scheduled maintenance fund'.

Originally posted by nsxtasy Plus a coolant flush for another hundred or two.

Actually, that was already included in my $300 number .. but I'll give you another $50/yr under 'scheduled'.

Originally posted by nsxtasy
Also, in 25K miles, most folks using the OEM tires will have replaced the front tires 1-2 times and the rear tires 3-6 times, for a total cost of somewhere around USD1000-2000.

You've got to be kidding me! Even with the revised toe settings? That's got to include some serious track time. Granted, I'm not running OEMs and I am running winters for probably 5 out of 12 months, but I've probably easily got another 15K on my summer fronts and 25K on the rears (which I bought new as part of the up-front costs I mentioned).

Originally posted by nsxtasy
And these are costs of normal scheduled maintenance, and do not include unexpected repairs. You lucked out by just having the clutch changed, but most folks would expect to have a 40-50 percent chance of replacing it, for $2K, by driving 25K miles.

I didn't "luck out" .. I specifically went looking for a car that had had the expensive 90K service and the clutch already done .. and I think I paid a slight premium for that. I think it would be bad bargaining technique to buy a car with 85K with neither done without getting significant price concessions. But in either case, and for an informed buyer, I don't think you'd characterize this as an 'unexpected' expense. Clutch wear is one of those things that is very owner dependent and I suspect we'd have lots of debate about how long they last on average. I suspect that the replacement cost is a lot less at a major service interval (esp 90K) so it might be tough to come up with an average 'per year' wear cost but using your estimates of $2K every 50K (which is about 5 years at my usage levels) or about $400/year.

Originally posted by nsxtasy
Add together those costs, and the oil changes, and some unexpected repairs along the way, and it's easy to see how $3K/year may be realistic.

Tire wear aside, I think we're still a couple of thousand apart .. every year. Aside from things on Nick's list like fixing snap ring and window thingy (neither of which should be 'unexpected' for an informed buyer) and the timing belt and clutch replacements (which we've already discussed), I think the next most expensive repair item is the a/c unit evaporator .. which certainly could fall under the 'unexpected category' (unless it wasn't blowing cold air when you bought it) but in order to calculate a 'per year' cost, I think you'd be using a long interval which I won't even attempt.

Don't get me wrong .. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here .. but based on my own experience, I was somewhat shocked by the suggestion of $3K/year which no one seemed to be challenging... and still haven't.

I found the comments by Matteni about not stretching yourself so thin on the purchase that you had nothing left for reserve, to be right on the mark because that was very much on my mind at the time of purchase... which is why I specifically searched for one where a lot of the major expenses had been done and that had evidence of being well maintained. In retrospect, that appears to have been a good strategy and one that I'd recommend to any buyer.

 

[nsxtasy]

Since I drive it a lot, I tend to use the mileage guideline rather than the year but either way, I'm due for the 30K this year (the 90K was done just before I bought it) so using your numbers, let's say $900 every 3 years so this adds $300/yr to the 'scheduled maintenance fund'.

That service should be done every TWO years, not every three years. It includes things like changing fluids (brake fluid, transmission fluid), and fluids go bad over time, not just mileage.

You've got to be kidding me! Even with the revised toe settings? That's got to include some serious track time.

No, that's with street driving only, with the OEM tires at the low end of the range, and aftermarket tires and less-aggressive alignment settings at the high end.

I didn't "luck out" .. I specifically went looking for a car that had had the expensive 90K service and the clutch already done .. and I think I paid a slight premium for that.

Yes, but if you are going to be putting a lot of miles on an NSX over an extended period of time, you can count on replacing the timing belt and water pump every 90K miles or 6 years, regardless of whether it was just done or will need doing soon. The whole idea is to calculate average costs on an ongoing basis, not to calculate YOUR costs for ONLY the next year or two. (The day after I have major maintenance performed, I know that it will probably cost me zero dollars for maintenance in the following six months or 5,000 miles, but that does not mean that it costs me zero dollars per month or zero dollars per thousand miles on an ongoing basis.)

Clutch wear is one of those things that is very owner dependent and I suspect we'd have lots of debate about how long they last on average.

No, we already know from reports here how long clutches last. Some last as little as 25K miles and others as long as 90K miles. But the bulk of them fall into the 35-50K range.

I suspect that the replacement cost is a lot less at a major service interval (esp 90K)

No, it isn't. There isn't a lot of overlap between a clutch replacement and the other major services. Maybe a couple hundred dollars max. And the clutch replacement is more likely to cost $2200 than $2000, so the $2K estimate for the clutch replacement still holds up.

Tire wear aside

Never say "tire wear aside" when estimating the operating costs of an NSX.

I think we're still a couple of thousand apart .. every year.

I don't - not when you include all the things where you say "aside" or "other than" as you're leaving them out. You omitted oil changes, let's say $100/year. You already said $300/year for misc stuff (?). $50/year for coolant changes. You have your 30K/60K/etc which is $450/year. You excluded tires - $0!!! - which, for most folks, are a minimum $1000/year at 12K miles/year (and much more for the many folks who use the OEM tires). You have the clutch replacement for $400/year. You excluded the timing belt, which on an ongoing basis is $200/year. So that adds up to $2500/year, and that doesn't include unexpected repairs like the A/C system, the aspirator fan, the trunk and engine hatch struts, the stereo amps, etc. Call those $500/year and Nick's estimate of $3000/year is perfectly reasonable. Maybe YOU won't spend that THIS year, but most NSX owners who are following the recommended maintenance schedule over a period of years WILL find that figure to be fairly accurate.

based on my own experience, I was somewhat shocked by the suggestion of $3K/year which no one seemed to be challenging... and still haven't.

And now it's easy to see all the things you leave out when you claim that that figure is wrong. Again, you're looking at YOUR expenses for YOUR situation RIGHT NOW (given that all your scheduled maintenance has just been done) instead of most cars over an extended period of time.

I found the comments by Matteni about not stretching yourself so thin on the purchase that you had nothing left for reserve, to be right on the mark because that was very much on my mind at the time of purchase... which is why I specifically searched for one where a lot of the major expenses had been done and that had evidence of being well maintained. In retrospect, that appears to have been a good strategy and one that I'd recommend to any buyer.

Sure, that's a good strategy. Another strategy which other folks use, and is just as valid, is to find an NSX that is now due for a lot of major maintenance costing $X,000. They buy the car at a discount of $X,000 (or more) vs one which is up to date on maintenance, and then they spend the $X,000 to bring it up to date. They then have a car which is fully maintained, has no issues, and won't need more maintenance on an ongoing basis until the next scheduled interval, which is the full length of the interval for those services that were just performed.

 

[Meeyatch1]

I drive my NSX's all the time....do it.