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I started looking seriously in March/April last year. Found NSX Prime about a month later. Watched the Prime forums and marketplace for while to be sure I knew what I getting into. Read the WIKI, lurked on the forums, watched the comments. Knew I wanted a Targa - that put me in the 95+ years. Found a well kept midnight pearl automatic on Prime/eBay. Watched it go thru 2 cycles without reaching reserve. Was going to contact the owner on a Friday afternoon but got a panic call from my daughter - by the time I got back to the owner Saturday at 10am he had sold it an hour earlier.
About a month later I found a great Brooklands with Tan in California. Bid it through 2 eBay cycles and was top bidder both times but neither reached the owners reserve. Contacted him later - danced for two months - finally settled on a potential price. Called Eiffel Chen in Atlanta to let him know I was planning on having the car delivered to his shop to have a top to bottom check up - he asked me a couple of questions about what I really wanted. I realized I was about to settle for an auto when I really wanted a manual. He also suggested (strongly) that I find the cleanest version of the car I could afford as many had found that buying "cheaper" often cost more in the end. Eiffel also told me not to be afraid of supercharged cars as long as you did some extra due-diligence on the engine and the car history. What awesome advice. I talked with the Brooklands owner and he fully understood.
Found another Brooklands green/tan (this time a manual in Indiana I think) on Bring a Trailer. Bid right to the end but was out bid by a gentleman in Florida after an impressive and enjoyable bid process (for those who've been on BAT you know what I mean with comments from the spectators flying between the bids). Convinced me I really did want a manual. Long period with almost nothing in my desired colors/years.
Suddenly in my small home town a 2001 Berlina showed up at a local chevy dealership. Went to see it, test drove it - cemented that I really wanted the NSX, and a 6-speed - but this one was in fairly rough shape and they wanted more than I was willing to pay at the time. While I love the blacks, that wasn't a color I was looking for. Good thing as the dealer sold it (internet buyer) sight unseen while I was still on the lot looking at it. Good lesson on "If it's the right car don't hesitate", but also reminded me not to settle.
Another long period with nothing coming up. Then I saw a spa yellow posted in High Point, NC with 39K miles. Fairly heavily modded. Talked with the owner several times, found earlier mentions of the car on Prime. Checked both CarFax and Autocheck (they really do often have different info). Learned some of the history of the car. Bought new by an Accura Service manager in California. In 2003 he had Autowave "fix it up" with a CTSC Whipple hi-boost, upgraded injectors, fuel pump, fuel management, tower strut bar, wheels, rotors and calipers from a 2003 with s/s brake lines and put Eibach springs on it. Dyno results were 385hp at the wheels. Had an RM header and exhaust installed. He also had the 4:55 short gears and a short throw shifter paired to a CT stage 2 clutch. Billet aluminum resevours replaced the plastic ones, HID headlights were added. Overall about $30K in performance mods - inside he kept stock with the exception of a titanium shifter knob. He was setting it up as a "show car".
Apparently he enjoyed it for a few years then sold it to someone in Hawaii - this owner (a Prime member) had it for about 18 months on the island (putting a couple thousand miles on it) then sold it to the owner I purchased it from. He's had it for 12 years and took it on a couple of deployments both here in the states and overseas. Overall in the 12 years he put less than 10K on the car. He actually had a '91 that he drove much more often. After retirement he put the car up for sale. I thought the car may be "more than I needed" so I let it go for a month or two - then the bug really bit. Tried to contact him but he was out of the country - finally tracked him down and we went back and forth for a couple months while he was "on vacation overseas". Finally in December settled on a price - had to wait till Jan when he got back to go see it and have the PPI done. The owner was a "car nut" and took exquisite care of the car while he had it. Paint is 10/10, interior is 9.5/10, PPI showed the engine was tight, clean and "almost like new". Based on my travel schedule I had to wait till mid Feb to go pick it up. 5 months from when I saw it till when I got it.
Brought it home on Valentine's Day. The rest is the beginning of history. One of the best unexpected things about actually owning an NSX is getting the two hours a day back that I had been spending every day looking at all the venues (Prime, eBay, cars.com, autotrader, etc) to be sure I didn't miss anything. I much more enjoy spending those two hours actually with the car.
-Fitz
