frustration over red!

fastaussie

fastaussie

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Joined
27 February 2011
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2,021
Location
Los Angeles, CA
like most of you, i've been in love with the NSX since it first came out. of course i wasn't legally allowed to drive at that time, that was still a few years off. and despite driving modern day Ferrari's and the like, it's still my favourite car. i've been seriously looking to purchase an NSX for the last year and a bit now, and it's proving to be far more difficult that i had originally imagined. i'm looking for a clean, near stock, red NSX with a non-black interior. 5-speed and lower miles. any NA1 model with either the ivory or tan interior would be fantastic, but this really seems like a very hard colour combo to find with decent miles in stock trim. is it just me, or is this a very low manufactured colour combination? there seems to be a much higher supply of red exterior/black interior cars on the market

i was close to buying a very sweet '91 stocker with the black top and ivory interior last April, before it was scooped up right before i could get to North Carolina. last week i flew to Maryland to check out and PPI a clean stock '96 T. the deal was all but done until the owner (who was a bit iffy from the very first telephone conversation to be honest) decided he just couldn't part with the car. scratch two.

both cars were completely stock and in the 50k to 60k mile range. i'm not against any other colours, except black. in fact i quite like the white and green cars too. it's just that i have several Ducati's in my garage, and they're all red. it would just seem silly to put any other coloured vehicle in there! i'd absolutely love to find a red/black top '94 coupe with tan interior and the fore-mentioned credentials. HA, dream on!

so that's my story, i'm sure some of you can relate...
 
Bummer that the seller backed out, be patient yours is out their waiting for you.
 
Be patient and get one the way you want it, don't settle for something else. You'll find what you want but be prepared to jump :wink:

Mike
 
fastaussie said:
any NA1 model with either the ivory or tan interior would be fantastic, but this really seems like a very hard colour combo to find with decent miles in stock trim. is it just me, or is this a very low manufactured colour combination? there seems to be a much higher supply of red exterior/black interior cars on the market
Click to expand...
Even though red is popular, as you have noticed most of them are red w/black interior.

Between 1991-1994 (NA1), you are only looking at 516 cars compared to the 2197 red/black cars out there, so ya there is a production number issue for what you are looking for. Don't feel too bad though as people who are looking for even more rare colors are in a worse boat. (link to production numbers if you feel like being curious: http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Production_Numbers)

I agree that it just takes some time to find the one you are looking for and since you aren't looking for something *that* rare, I am sure a nice one will come along soon.
 
I think it's worth waiting for the right one. I keep telling myself the same thing. I walked away from the world's nicest '92 for $32k with two-year-old-everything (TB/WP, hoses, etc) performed by one of Prime's best gurus, and with less than 15k miles, owned by a stellar longtime owner with a great reputation within NSXCA. I made the trip 4 states away to see it, it was beautiful but I'm just more a silver, white, black, or even blue or Imola kind of guy. Like other moves I've made in life that aren't easily reversible, it's worth waiting for the right one, letting you strike quickly when the right thing appears and with zero regret afterwards.

Conversely, I've read others here say to instead go for the nicest one you can find in a color that doesn't turn you off completely. There's been one or two times in the past three months that I slightly regret not jumping on the one above because it was probably the nicest '92 I've seen in over a year of shopping. I could have seen if red grew on me, knowing that I could easily sell it for near or more than what I paid. But that car was one in 1000, so I'll keep waiting for the right one until I stumble upon a similar no-lose situation.

That being said, there have been some insightful threads that relate to your post, which you may find entertaining:

Settling on a different color than you intended:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115258

The 'NSX regret' thread:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150914

Changing your interior color:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68501
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44802

Leather seat re-coverers:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158804
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156368

Good luck and report back to this thread when you find the right one!
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156368
 
You are in LA, keep your eyes open here, plenty of NSX in the west coast.
 
at the moment i'm actually in Atlanta GA more than anywhere else, so i'm looking for something on the eastern side of the country. however i was about to fly to L.A. to check out a '96 Green NSX-T with tan interior and all tuned up, but that car now has two offers on it. so i'll just sit here, check the 'for sale' sites each day and see what the future holds. thanx for the advice guys, and by the way, i can easily live with a white or green NSX, red is just my first choice...
 
fastaussie; are you in Los Angeles or Orlando? I'm in the Orlando area.

I feel a bit diffident in a reply, as I purchased my 1996 red Acura NSX with a tan interior at pretty low miles. I think I got very lucky. Let me tell you that it takes some time. My criteria was a red 95'-01' (although the 97'-01' were too pricey for me, so basically 95'-96' were it) and I would look on the NSX prime "for sale" section daily. I'd check eBay along with Autotrader very often. I was just about to head out to San Jose, CA to purchase a red/black 95' before this 96' came up for sale in the Tampa area. Just keep searching, and stay at it day after day. While any NSX is a fairly rare find, if you consider the options that you're after...a red/tan isn't too tough to come by (relative to other NSX color combos).

Also, don't hesitate to ask for help from board members here. These folks are very helpful and very kind, and many will help you out by checking out a NSX that might be thousands of miles away from you. Also, if you haven't done so already, post what you are looking to buy in the "wanted" section.

I think you just happened to come along in a red NSX drought. I still check out the "for sale" section and I have to admit that I haven't seen a low miles, red/tan 95-01 listed in quite a while. I don't know why that is happening...maybe just luck of the draw.
 
fastaussie said:
i'm sure some of you can relate...
Click to expand...

Absolutely. The search my second time around has definitely been more one of frustration and futility than my first one 10 years ago. I'm nearly to the point where if I can't find a clean low mileage NA2 with black interior (and non-black exterior) soon, I may just give up and wait for the new NSX, or get an R8 instead.
 
SonOfLiberty, i have a permanent residence in Hermosa Beach, CA. i'm currently working heaps in Atlanta, GA., but i work all over the world at any given time. my brother lives in Orlando, FL., so when i have some time off i usually shoot down there to hang out with him and his family as i don't get to see my family too often.

i know the red/tans aren't the hardest colour combo to find, but there does seem to be something of a drought on them at the moment for sure. i do check all the online sites daily, and have posted in the "Wanted" section of Prime for the last year and a bit.

i'll agree that the guys on this site are massively helpful and a great bunch. they hooked me up with Ben at Daisy Auto in Maryland who PPI-ed the last car for me. great fella that bloke.

PHOEN$X, an R8 wouldn't be a bad car to hold you over until the new NSX...
 
Big_D said:
I think you should be open to higher mileage cars.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158559

Considering that this car is 21 years old, it is considered to have low mileage.
Click to expand...

I agree:smile: As long as you get maint records and the car hasn't been abused. Higher Mileage for a 21 y.o. is actually not a bad thing and the price will be lower.

After 21 years old some parts just get old no matter what the mileage, example hoses , gaskets etc. If they have been changed great.. But with a higher mileage car they may have been already replaced.
Bottom line.. Higher mileage isn't terrible if its been properly maintained.:confused:
 
fastaussie said:
i know they're reliable, and certainly a lot cheaper. i'd just prefer something in the 50k to 70k mile range personally...
Click to expand...

:smile: Completely understandable.. Get what you like! Good luck on your search.
Be patient... I have a red/Ivory 91.. The carpet is hard to keep clean.
I have black with red trim Zanardi mats which solved the problem.
I think they match nicely.
 
Do yourself a big favor and buy a newer NSX. You should be able to find one of these with low miles and non-modded. The cars are getting old. It is going to be more and more difficult to find on with low miles. Spend $60k and get an 02-05. You won't be sorry and you will never lose a penny on your investment cause once these cars are gone, all NSX's are gone!
 
Rob4092xx said:
Do yourself a big favor and buy a newer NSX. You should be able to find one of these with low miles and non-modded. The cars are getting old. It is going to be more and more difficult to find on with low miles. Spend $60k and get an 02-05. You won't be sorry and you will never lose a penny on your investment cause once these cars are gone, all NSX's are gone!
Click to expand...


I just picked up my 05 Silverstone w 19k miles today that I bought from Arista5 and WOW. I can't believe the difference between my 91 and my new 05. It's like driving a completely different car...its such a more refined car....I love it and I'm so glad I made the jump to the 05:biggrin:
 
fastaussie said:
i know they're reliable, and certainly a lot cheaper. i'd just prefer something in the 50k to 70k mile range personally...
Click to expand...

Okay, but it's going to be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

When I bought my car it only had 58K on the odo. I only managed to log a little over 10K miles in 4 years. So mileage was low for the next owner.

Looking back, I wish I would have driven it more. Next time I buy another, I will probably get one with higher miles so I won't tend to baby it as much.

The nicer the car is, the less people drive them for fear of accidents, vandalism, rock chips, door dings etc.
 
Red/Ivory is a fantastic combo IMO, and it's different. Although my friends would disagree claiming it's too 80's.

I feel like I lucked out when I found this single owner '91 (55k miles for mid 20's) last year. Most people passed due to lack of documentation, TB/WP/master clutch cyl, front end was poorly resprayed from the trade-in dealer to cover numerous highway rock chips. Considering I was going to do the maintenance anyway and professionally respray the front at some point it didn't matter to me. I got the car to enjoy.

I did a little research about the previous owner and was a bit surprised. Very successful bachelor, never married, no kids, somewhat famous technology investor that had residence in New England and Florida, paid cash new while he was in his 60's. He used the NSX for the road trips mostly, and then didn't drive it much in the last few years. He was not a car guy which could explain the lack of documentation. Generally rich non-car people don't care about resale value and don't keep hordes of oil change receipts. I do 99% of my own maintenance, so this car will never have the extensive doc trails.

I didn't waste any time, figure it was long overdue so five track events and several thousand miles later it's still running strong. We'll see if it continues to hold up:) *crossing fingers*

So far I feel pretty lucky.
 
RobD said:
I just picked up my 05 Silverstone w 19k miles today that I bought from Arista5 and WOW. I can't believe the difference between my 91 and my new 05. It's like driving a completely different car...its such a more refined car....I love it and I'm so glad I made the jump to the 05:biggrin:
Click to expand...

When I picked up Armados car to ship to him in Florida, I thought the same thing when I compared them. 1992 vs my 2000
 
When we were shopping for our first NSX, we also wanted Red with a Tan interior.
I then realized that the early coupes (what we wanted) had an Ivory interior, much lighter than the classic Tan we desired.
In fact, a friend talked us out of the Ivory interior on the basis that it would be difficult to keep clean and looking new over the long haul.
We found a great Red/Black car and have never looked back.

Brian
 
If you are used to driving Ferrari, I think you may want to drive a 97-2001 model year NSX, since they have bigger engines etc. They are also seem to be the some of toughest to find in unmolested low mileage condition..
 

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