Get you car inspected before purchasing!!

[captngaryr]

Exactly! Two hours labor at $169 / hr plus a compression check. Total = $530.49. Another indication of their dishonesty is the fact that the PPI form had a place to enter the tire pressure. The entry exactly duplicated the door sticker. When I got home after 1200 miles, the tires were all about 10 PSI low. I pumped them up and a couple thousand miles later, there have been no leaks. What conclusion would you draw from that? I wound up driving 1200 miles to get home on severely under-inflated tires. Nice, huh?

Gary

 

[tosugrad]

Exactly! Two hours labor at $169 / hr plus a compression check. Total = $530.49. Another indication of their dishonesty is the fact that the PPI form had a place to enter the tire pressure. The entry exactly duplicated the door sticker. When I got home after 1200 miles, the tires were all about 10 PSI low. I pumped them up and a couple thousand miles later, there have been no leaks. What conclusion would you draw from that? I wound up driving 1200 miles to get home on severely under-inflated tires. Nice, huh?

Gary

I have to say thats not a horrible price for that service. I don't have a feeling one way or the other on McGrath, just sayind.

As for the tires, Id always check them myself before heading out. Ive learned that lesson the hard way as well :frown:

 

[captngaryr]

I have to say thats not a horrible price for that service. I don't have a feeling one way or the other on McGrath, just sayind.

As for the tires, Id always check them myself before heading out. Ive learned that lesson the hard way as well :frown:

I knew the price before they did it, so obviously I thought the price was acceptable, but it's only reasonable when they do a good job. Considering the obvious things they missed, make me wonder what else they missed. A PPI is for peace of mind. I didn't get any for my $530. Live and learn. My only point here is that a PPI from an Acura Dealer is no guarantee that it will be done properly.

 

[rwdforlife]

well, to change the rear main seal can cost $1100. replacing the clutch can be $1,500. replacing the steering rack and tie rods can be $2,400. replacing the timing belt and water pump can be $1,300. Valve adjustment can be $700. V belts change can be $1,500. That is a total of close to $9,000 works needed. We Blown head gasket? that can be an additional $1,300. We also are not includining the cv boots, brake system flush, checking for compression and what not.

Can any of the gurus indicate if any of these work can be worked on by DIY for any individual? That way we can save cost. but at over $15,000 of work needed from a dealership, I might reconsider to think about not buying this NSX.

 

[rwdforlife]

oh, and considering the work to be done from the dealership,
1. how mcuh are you willing to pay for this nsx? (cost already at $15k<)
2. how much are you wiling to pay for this nsx given that the work be done on your own?

a poll please?

 

[vh_supra26]

Thanks for reminding me:

Vehicle Information:
1991 ACURA NSX
VIN: JH4NA1154MT001870
COUPE
3.0L V6 PFI DOHC 24V
REAR WHEEL DRIVE

Found car on Phoenix craigslist:
160k miles for $16,500

I ran across the same car on eBay but it now says its in NY

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991...iewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa1377d50

 

[tbromley]

well, to change the rear main seal can cost $1100. replacing the clutch can be $1,500. replacing the steering rack and tie rods can be $2,400. replacing the timing belt and water pump can be $1,300. Valve adjustment can be $700. V belts change can be $1,500. That is a total of close to $9,000 works needed. We Blown head gasket? that can be an additional $1,300. We also are not includining the cv boots, brake system flush, checking for compression and what not.

Can any of the gurus indicate if any of these work can be worked on by DIY for any individual? That way we can save cost. but at over $15,000 of work needed from a dealership, I might reconsider to think about not buying this NSX.

If you are looking for a low dollar NSX - read the above post very carefully as it speaks directly to YOU! This isn't any joke and the above prices could be easily exceeded depending on who is doing the work! People looking for deals on NSXs often miss the obvious - nothing comes free in this world - just because you are buying a Honda doesn't mean they don't need/demand maintenance and it's not cheap on the NSX. You can easily drop 7k on one like this - EASILY. Just for an example if I haven't mentioned this before - I bought a 91 with 45k miles for 28k that came with a pile of reciepts and spent 5k on the car!!!! Ok - that's what I'm talking about. You will not escape maitenance and the more the miles the more that has most likely been deferred!

Word to the wise! Nuff said.:wink:

 

[NSXclear]

well, to change the rear main seal can cost $1100. replacing the clutch can be $1,500. replacing the steering rack and tie rods can be $2,400. replacing the timing belt and water pump can be $1,300. Valve adjustment can be $700. V belts change can be $1,500. That is a total of close to $9,000 works needed. We Blown head gasket? that can be an additional $1,300. We also are not includining the cv boots, brake system flush, checking for compression and what not.

Can any of the gurus indicate if any of these work can be worked on by DIY for any individual? That way we can save cost. but at over $15,000 of work needed from a dealership, I might reconsider to think about not buying this NSX.

The cost you are quoting, is if you were doing each one individually at different times. There is a considerable amount of overlap if you were doing them together.

Cam Seals, Cam Plugs, Timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment, valve gaskets, compression test, etc can all be done under one quote. Most of it overlaps.

If you were really going to do this much work at once, you can drop the engine and do most of the above for much cheaper. This should reduce the labor cost overall, because access to everything will be much easier.

 

[mlambert890]

If you are looking for a low dollar NSX - read the above post very carefully as it speaks directly to YOU! This isn't any joke and the above prices could be easily exceeded depending on who is doing the work! People looking for deals on NSXs often miss the obvious - nothing comes free in this world - just because you are buying a Honda doesn't mean they don't need/demand maintenance and it's not cheap on the NSX. You can easily drop 7k on one like this - EASILY. Just for an example if I haven't mentioned this before - I bought a 91 with 45k miles for 28k that came with a pile of reciepts and spent 5k on the car!!!! Ok - that's what I'm talking about. You will not escape maitenance and the more the miles the more that has most likely been deferred!

Word to the wise! Nuff said.:wink:

Be careful with time too... There is no escaping the high cost of refreshing an older car and very true that there are no free rides...

A low mileage 91 might be even MORE likely to have deferred maintenance than a high mileage one since most people equate mileage with maintenance and not time...

 

[arfnsx]

I ran across the same car on eBay but it now says its in NY

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991...iewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa1377d50

Updated 2000+ seats in the car, AZ plate so maybe someone in NY purchased and car and now wants to resale it immediately.

I do not buy the owner might not know what the car is worth, that is why he is selling it so low. ALL NSX drivers know the value of these cars.

 

[LoveNSXs]

oh, and considering the work to be done from the dealership,
1. how mcuh are you willing to pay for this nsx? (cost already at $15k<)
2. how much are you wiling to pay for this nsx given that the work be done on your own?

a poll please?

I thought this was addressed, or partially so? dropping the engine and having all that work done at the same time will save some time/labor costs.

and be serious/realistic about the price of an NSX. 15k? one should know it's too good to be true.



I'll share a quickie story with my brief ownership.

I picked up a decent mileage NSX (around 89,xxx) for 15k.

It was rough around the exterior, but still cleaned up somewhat nice.
interior was a little beat with the seats worn.
paint was swirly, some scratches here and there.
rear bumper had hit something - he said he bumped a light pole in a parking lot
ac leaking
tie-rods worn out
mismatching wheels - 2 different sets
no spare
no documentation of its history.

Against the advice and wisdom of many primers, I went ahead and got it... after a PPI of course with Charlie at the Car Doctor. -- came very highly recommended--

after finding out it was mechanically sound, he pointed out some things that he suggested would need to be done in the near future. i slowly saved up for everything and when the time came, i dropped about 4-5k in parts + labor and getting the wheels that I wanted.

While i was getting new gaskets, they opened her up to check the valves and everything was all good.

To me, it was most important that it ran. I enjoyed owning her regardless of the conditions of the visual stuff. she drove like a champ and it was rewarding spending the time and money into getting her into tip-top running shape.

 

[Big_D]

If you are looking for a low dollar NSX - read the above post very carefully as it speaks directly to YOU! This isn't any joke and the above prices could be easily exceeded depending on who is doing the work! People looking for deals on NSXs often miss the obvious - nothing comes free in this world - just because you are buying a Honda doesn't mean they don't need/demand maintenance and it's not cheap on the NSX. You can easily drop 7k on one like this - EASILY. Just for an example if I haven't mentioned this before - I bought a 91 with 45k miles for 28k that came with a pile of reciepts and spent 5k on the car!!!! Ok - that's what I'm talking about. You will not escape maitenance and the more the miles the more that has most likely been deferred!

Word to the wise! Nuff said.:wink:

+1 I just dropped $3K on maintenance for the car I just sold to keep it current. I could have passed the buck and let the next guy do it but I wanted to be sure the car got what it needed on time.

I will say that my 7 year old water pump and the timing belt looked pretty good but it isnt worth the risk. Those water pumps have some nice precision bearings...you can tell its a high reving machine.

 

[JD-GT-350]

As my old car dealer friend always told me "Their is an ass for every seat". I sure would have liked to have had a look at that NSX, photos look nice ( but I have to lay hands on ). Any real car guy can beat Acura on price and quality of work.
My reason to move out of cars I can work on (TIGERs, OLD SHELBYS, PANTERAs), are: 1. The people you see having them are age 60+. 2. NSX PRIME, not once have I requested information and not received detailed, how-to with photos, also not one thing have I had to purchase except here.


A REAL THANKS TO ALL ! ! ! JD

 

[d1 guy]

Well, you could always take it to BarnMan. He is super reasonable. I bought my car without a ppi.....I wish I wouldve had one done. I bought my 94 sight unseen just after it had a 16k rebuild due to a supercharger fuel map problem. I got a great deal on the car considering the upgrades and the new engine, but when I got the car, it had some sputtering. Turned out to be a leaking headgasket because the heads werent torqued properly. The company that rebuilt the engine was only used to torqueing factory headgaskets, but this one had a cometic.

To make a long story short, I ended up doing another tb/wp, headgasket replacement to a factory one, another clutch/flywheel combo (stage 4 is too agressive), and a few other little things. Barney is doing this stuff for me and is being very reasonable. Right now, I think my total bill will be around 4k. I gave him 2k up front, then decided to do the clutch which was 1400 for a spec stage 2 +, and were doing an LSD rebuild. 4k for all of this is Pretty fair if you ask me.

 

[tbromley]

Well, you could always take it to BarnMan. He is super reasonable. I bought my car without a ppi.....I wish I wouldve had one done. I bought my 94 sight unseen just after it had a 16k rebuild due to a supercharger fuel map problem. I got a great deal on the car considering the upgrades and the new engine, but when I got the car, it had some sputtering. Turned out to be a leaking headgasket because the heads werent torqued properly. The company that rebuilt the engine was only used to torqueing factory headgaskets, but this one had a cometic.

To make a long story short, I ended up doing another tb/wp, headgasket replacement to a factory one, another clutch/flywheel combo (stage 4 is too agressive), and a few other little things. Barney is doing this stuff for me and is being very reasonable. Right now, I think my total bill will be around 4k. I gave him 2k up front, then decided to do the clutch which was 1400 for a spec stage 2 +, and were doing an LSD rebuild. 4k for all of this is Pretty fair if you ask me.

Barny did all my major work after I bought mine a year ago almost and I thought the same thing about his rates - he's a good man to know. Wonder what he'd charge for short gears and R&P? MMMMMmmmm better call him.

 

[vh_supra26]

Updated 2000+ seats in the car, AZ plate so maybe someone in NY purchased and car and now wants to resale it immediately.

I do not buy the owner might not know what the car is worth, that is why he is selling it so low. ALL NSX drivers know the value of these cars.

I agreed the price is low. But it does have like 170k on it :frown:

 

[Lime Green NSX]

If you like to get your hands dirty that car sounded like a great project, even if you went out and dropped in a new engine!

I live in Canada and Acura will sell me an engine for $16000.00 and charge $1000.00 for labour. The rest you could do yourself with a buddy...

Yes you doubled your money but you have a new engine, and you do the rest as money comes in, and you get to do your home work and find all the neat NSX goodies out there that you can add on or exchange while you are doing the upgrades.

@ such at cheap price to buy, the only thing you need is to make sure the body and interior are in great shape because once you are finnished with the mechanical part all you have to do is detail it and enjoy it!

 

[vh_supra26]

I don't like working on cars lol. Not that I'm lazy or not willing to learn. I don't have power tools and it pisses me off when the nut doesn't come lose haha

I want one bad, but I'm in my 3rd year of college and I already own a a handful MK4 and FD. Might use wait until I'm done with school to pull the trigger :smile: