Cost of Ownership for a 91-93 NSX Comparision

[Corrado]

So the time is approaching, with my 25th birthday around the corner, and the 91 VW Corrado I have loved almost to death nearing the end of its every day driver life, for me to purchase a new car that I can drive every day (well almost every day). The two front runners in this continual mental dilemma are a 2002-2003 Honda S2000 and a 91-93ish Acura NSX. Now the two cars would satisfy similar needs. The S2000 satisfies my love of convertibles, and is a car I could have a lot of fun in. The problem with the S2000, because they are relatively inexpensive and rev-happy, is finding one that I would trust hasnt been run ragged for the 30-60k miles I would expect on it. The NSX satisfies the drop-dead gorgeous aspect and all-around performance and is I car that, if I dont get one now, in 5 years I definitely will.

My concern is, since the car is a daily driver, seeing up to 10k miles a year, mostly highway, what is the cost of ownership going to be like, particularly compared to my much loved, but mucho expensive Corrado (both in cost of parts and frequency of repairs). Is, with regular maintenance, the NSX going to get me to work every day, 99% of days, 90% of days? Since I will have 2 cars I will be able to take the NSX, park it in the garage, and do hopefully most of the work myself. Thanks.

Mike

 

[Meeyatch1]

Hello! I have both the NSX and S2000 and love them both. If you do a search you will find several threads and people on this board that own both. Personally, I prefer the NSX for everyday use. Here is where I am at with mileage right now:

'02 S2000 ~ 52k miles
'94 NSX ~ 123k miles
''91 NSX ~ 132k miles

They are all driven regularly. My wife daily drives the S2000, and I daily drive one of the NSXs. They are absoluetly reliable if you take care of them, and will be much more friendly to you than your Corrado. If you have the money to get and properly maintain the NSX, it is hard to beat. What you really should do is just drive both and then decide which one you like the most (assuming both are within your budget). Either way you will be fine.

 

[ef you]

i have a 92 NSX, as well as a 94 Civic for a daily driver.

i hate driving the civic now that i have the NSX. its supposed to be the daily driver, but its less comfortable to drive, and gets only slightly better gas mileage. the NSX is quieter, the seats are more comfortable, the clutch is easier on the leg, and the ride isnt nearly as rough. the civic has a B16 swap, adjustable suspension, and an aftermarket exhaust, and i cant stand driving it. plus, the civic is getting something like 28MPG, and the NSX gets 25ish.

im about to sell this civic and get a bone stock one. i cant see myself climbing into the NSX daily after getting greasy at work, but i want to so badly because its that much better to drive.

and about reliability, its a honda. yes the parts cost more for it than the rest of the honda cars, but it still breaks as infrequently as an accord would.

if its going to be your sole vehicle, drive it like any other car.

 

[Big_D]

what is the cost of ownership going to be like

Maintenence items to keep in mind..

Rear tires ever year $300-$500
Front tires every other year $150-$250 for a year
Alignments every time you get tires $50-$75
Oil change at least twice a year. $100
Valve adjustments every year $250-$300

30k,60k,90k services $300-$500
TB & WP every 6 years $1500
Clutch whenever it needs it $2000

I would guess around $1500-$2000 a year to set aside.

 

[swbatte]

Maintenence items to keep in mind..

Rear tires ever year $300-$500
Front tires every other year $150-$250 for a year
Alignments every time you get tires $50-$75
Oil change at least twice a year. $100
Valve adjustments every year $250-$300

30k,60k,90k services $300-$500
TB & WP every 6 years $1500
Clutch whenever it needs it $2000

I would guess around $1500-$2000 a year to set aside.

I think this is a reasonable estimate. you might not need a valve adjustment annually, but you will spend $ on other things. Figure $2k a year, with the odd year at $3k and some at $1k. you'll be taking care of things as they arise that way.

Also, and everyone here will tell you the same thing, find one that was well cared for. A recent timing belt/water pump service, tune up and clutch done by a previous owner will save you a lot of money in your first few years of ownership. IF the owner ignored those things walk away.

 

[nsxtasy]

I'm not sure what the question is. The only question in the original post was answered (I think) by the sentence which follows it:

Is, with regular maintenance, the NSX going to get me to work every day, 99% of days, 90% of days? Since I will have 2 cars I will be able to take the NSX, park it in the garage, and do hopefully most of the work myself.

If you're asking how much to budget for repairs and maintenance, Big_D's numbers aren't far off. I think they're maybe 10-20 percent low on a few items, but decent enough to use as a guideline. (At first I found them confusing until I realized that the dollar amounts in the first six items are per year, not per instance. For example, the front tires are $300-500 but every other year, hence his $150-250 per year. Similarly, the 30K/60K service is $600-1000 after you subtract the valve adjustment that he's already accounted for, and doing this every other year (every 30K miles or 2 years, whichever comes first) yields his $300-500.

Taking his numbers as is, that's $1150-1725 per year for those first six items. Annualize the timing belt/water pump replacement and you have $1450-2025 not including clutch replacements or other unexpected repairs. So his $1500-2000 per year for scheduled maintenance and tires, on a car driven 10K miles per year, sounds reasonable, within a couple hundred bucks anyway.

Clutches commonly last 40-60K miles (some more than that, some less, but that's common) and typically cost $2000-2500 (again, some of his numbers sound low) so I would budget $500 per year for clutches. And then another $1000 per year for other unexpected repairs, for a total of $1500.

So an overall budget of $3000-3500 per year for mechanical work (excluding fuel, licenses, taxes, insurance, payments for the car) sounds reasonable to me for a car driven 10K miles per year.

 

[Big_D]

I do attempt to give realistic numbers :smile:

 

[DocL]

Big D hit the numbers square on the head. But he did forget to include mods, which are unavoidable with the NSX. That being said, I'd set aside another $1,000.00-$XX,XXX.00. :biggrin:

 

[Big_D]

Big D hit the numbers square on the head. But he did forget to include mods, which are unavoidable with the NSX. That being said, I'd set aside another $1,000.00-$XX,XXX.00. :biggrin:

True, Mods are another story...I didn't want to scare him away. you can always add those later.

 

[nsxtasy]

True, Mods are another story...I didn't want to scare him away. you can always add those later.

Or, not at all, if you want.

 

[Jetpilot3]

I'll pipe in too as I'm an owner of both. But please keep in mind I use my S2000 as a daily driver and the NSX I've only driven for a total of 3 days as its being shipped to me.

Maintenance costs aside my belief is that you'd prefer the NSX as a daily driver especially if your driving highway miles. I drive my S2000 to the wakeboard school every weekend and the noise from travelling on the highway is starting to annoy me (top up). Driving the S2000 in town for quick or medium length drives is perfect and the chuckability, top down action, and simple fun will make it shine. Don't get me wrong I love the S2000 but its not a great highway car. When I drove my NSX on the highway for miles it was superb. You also hear this from people who have used the NSX for long drives to NSXPO or once they have bought it out of state. Quieter, comfortable, solid are all things I'd say the NSX are on the highway. The S2000 is noisy, harsh, and light so its not great in my opinion.

But I own both and love them both dearly. My opinion though is go for an NSX.

Jetpilot

 

[Paul91]

The S2K is also pretty light on torque. Being a 4 cyl, it constantly needs to be wound up to get the right power out of it The S2k is a great car, but I truly believe that you will be always wondering to yourself what it would have been like to own an NSX. If you can handle the financial responsibility of owning an NSX, I would definitely get one.

I use mine as a daily driver. It's very comfortable and not as impractical as one would initially think. FWIW, I also am single with no kids.

Good luck,

 

[Corrado]

Wow thanks for all of your help. I have decided that since my Corrado will likely last another 2 years before needing any more major repairs (suspension, and supercharger recently replaced/upgraded) and in the event she does go down for a few days, I can borrow my gfs civic Si to get to work, I will go ahead and make the wiser decision and buy a house (and an engagement ring) before spending 20-30+ grand on a car.
When the time comes however, this post has served to further my interest in the NSX. Plus when I go to buy a car, owning a house will probably help with the financing. If the Corrado does go seriously south before that time though, the NSX claims all available funds. :biggrin:

Mike

 

[Jetpilot3]

Smart move my friend. I'd say a house and engagement ring are better alternatives to the NSX at this point in time. Just make sure your spouse knows that the NSX might become a reality later on down the road to avoid any potential arguements in the future.

Jetpilot

 

[Corrado]

Thanks. I know I found a good one. She understands my car obsession and she really wants me to get an NSX too. She also wants a ring and a house so when the time comes I can point to the rock on her finger and then to the black NSX and go "thats my diamond". :biggrin:

 

[swbatte]

I hadn't found my wife to be, but I remember thinking 'I better buy my NSX now, because once I get married and buy a house I'll be dropping all kinds of cash into a wedding, and house stuff'.

That was a good move for me. But what you're doing is smart!

 

[zrs6v4]

I have owned both cars and from what it sounds like your looking to spend around $20-$25k. I personally think the S2000 is better for a DD in that range due to the fact that youll get one with very low miles and much newer. you can also consider parts for the S2000 are way cheaper. As for the NSX, it is twice the car in my opinion and I wouldnt think twice about buying one over an S2000. I would get a higher mileage 91 or 92 NSX and a civic or something for a daily driver. thats me. good luck