Going to check out my first NSX

I just cried a little. Low ball the hell out of the guy. He'll say no, but if he's motivated to sell the thing you can work him to a price that's reasonable, then you can have fun restoring it.

Since I'm ignorant, what's PPI?
 
I didn't want to overload with too many pictures ( my son took 50 pictures) but I found one that shows the paint issue.

Ouch! Car will need paint work for sure. Like mentioned earlier in the thread, this could be a great restoration project if you could get it for a fair price.
 
Did the owner give any details of why he just parked it? Let hope its not because of a blown engine or something like that. as many have said, do your homework first., and last GOOD LUCK..... Bring another one back from the dead.
 
He mentioned he went through a divorce and started his own company, he said it was well maintained up to the point that he parked it. He said the only thing wrong at that point was the power antenna had stopped working for the second time. He also has a 1991 motorcycle with only 1,000 miles on it. So it looks like he bought a lot of toys in 1991 but then stopped playing with them for some reason.
 
Has he let you know if you are even in the ballpark on ur offer?
 
Timbocool, do you know if this car was stored under a cover, or left completely exposed to the elements? I'm guessing it was the latter (and possibly in a colder climate?) due to the condition of the paint and engine, but I might be mistaken, and that info could help others who are considering whether to keep their car in a garage or not.

If you have a real passion for restoring cars--and this car looks like it will require a full restoration as it was pretty much abandoned--then this could be an interesting project for you. However, I'd check out some of the restoration threads in the "builds" forum so that you can get a better idea of some of the work involved in tackling something like this.

You said you're 52, and if your passion is more into enjoying cars, then I'd seriously consider find something else as a restoration project for a car of this condition could take some time to complete. Also, there are some owners who find it difficult to get in and out of the NSX as they've gotten older and/or developed health issues, so if enjoying the NSX driving experience is important to you, you may want to think hard about buying this NSX.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing the pics and info about this NSX.
 
Still gathering info before I make my offer. Just got off the phone with a high end body shop west of Boston. It is one of very few authorized by Audi in my area to do aluminum. They said with aluminum anything bigger than a golf ball dent can't be repaired properly and must be replaced - so that crease in the passenger door = $2,400 for a new door. He said they take every panel off the car that is removable so there are no masking lines. They have a dedicated area for aluminum only since any sanding of a steel body car can "cross-contaminate" the aluminum and cause paint failure. Said I am probably looking at around $7,000 for a re-paint of the same color and they guarantee factory quality or better. And also to answer a previous question - yes it has been outside forever with no cover. I need to adopt it and bring it home to my garage - (except my Pilot will be mad when it loses its bedroom)
 
This is Boston??

I left a work van outside without starting it over one season. Everything seized. From the AC compressor to the alternator to power steering motor.

This engine may be fully seized.

This is a real project for someone with time. If the owner thinks he will paint and clean it and make a big profit he is delusional. He will have to sink 15K into this car to sell it for 20.

It's a fantastic project if you have time, You can go widebody and not worry about a lot of panels. You can rebuild the motor to stronger than stock. You can alacantara the interior... and after all that you'd have a really cool custom NSX that still cost as much as a stock one in good shape.
 
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after six years who knows..but to me that car looks like it had a tough life before being left to die.:rolleyes: who leaves a car like that in thier yard:confused: there has to be a lot more to that story...
 
That poor car :frown: I hope someone can rescue this car and restore her to her former beauty.
 
after six years who knows..but to me that car looks like it had a tough life before being left to die.:rolleyes: who leaves a car like that in thier yard:confused: there has to be a lot more to that story...

You can bet your a_ _ there is. This guy says he may get it running, etc. - right! That is a load - he just doesn't want to lose his ass. But he says this and lets it sit for 6 years on the weather - that is absolutely nuts - there is lots more to this story.

IF this thing doesn't run, you can't tell if it needs a clutch - probably does, the AC you can bet it's toast. I could go on but many have posted to you with a list of things. I bought my 91 at 28.5k and immediately put 5k in it and then went on to put another 1.3k in it. Oh and mine was a nice one, well maintained with a pile of receipts and 42k miles. Let me give you a big ole fat tip, if you didn't know it already, this car will need 15k worth of work - so question you have to ask your self is do I have 10k for purchase and that's if he'll take that and another 15k for "incidentals" - well do ya?

Now that 15k I mention could actually be low - depending on who's doing the work or it might be a little high if you do everything yourself but my suspicion is that you are not prepared to do all the work this things going to need yourself. If not it will sit as you work thru the list and have your buddy do some of the work.

I'd say this - if this owner and I use that term extremely losly, will take 10k for the car you might - just might come out ok. The dash looks pretty good actually. The seats will need recovering, paint - maybe just parts will need a full repaint and others could get away with color sanding and a new clear coat. Then you have all the internals - man just the internals could cost you 7k easy.

If it were me I dangle the carrot in front of the guy and let him know you know what it's going to take and let him stew on it - if he's smart he'll do something with the car but then he'll have to shell out big bucks and my guess is - if he had em the car wouldn't be sitting there rotting. What a misfortunate situation - the guy is a mess financially and you can bet on it.

Don't do a thing before you get it up on a lift and have a real mechanic look this thing over. In other words don't think you'll be "real smart" and take this off his hands for 10k without a ppi. I'd never do that - not even with your money!

Be careful my friend this thing is a ticking, sleeping, time bomb of a money pit! Believe it!
 
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Why would someone spend the money on a nsx (which wasn't cheap early 90s) and then let it destroy itself. I would not offer a dime over $10 because it will cost you $15 to $20k to restore it. If yohve the space and money, it can be a fun project with a nice outcome. Make sure motor is not seized because a nsx motor is not cheap.
 
You can bet your a_ _ there is. This guy says he may get it running, etc. - right! That is a load - he just doesn't want to lose his ass. But he says this and lets it sit for 6 years on the weather - that is absolutely nuts - there is lots more to this story.

IF this thing doesn't run, you can't tell if it needs a clutch - probably does, the AC you can bet it's toast. I could go on but many have posted to you with a list of things. I bought my 91 at 28.5k and immediately put 5k in it and then went on to put another 1.3k in it. Oh and mine was a nice one, well maintained with a pile of receipts and 42k miles. Let me give you a big ole fat tip, if you didn't know it already, this car will need 15k worth of work - so question you have to ask your self is do I have 10k for purchase and that's if he'll take that and another 15k for "incidentals" - well do ya?

Now that 15k I mention could actually be low - depending on who's doing the work or it might be a little high if you do everything yourself but my suspicion is that you are not prepared to do all the work this things going to need yourself. If not it will sit as you work thru the list and have your buddy do some of the work.

I'd say this - if this owner and I use that term extremely losly, will take 10k for the car you might - just might come out ok. The dash looks pretty good actually. The seats will need recovering, paint - maybe just parts will need a full repaint and others could get away with color sanding and a new clear coat. Then you have all the internals - man just the internals could cost you 7k easy.

If it were me I dangle the carrot in front of the guy and let him know you know what it's going to take and let him stew on it - if he's smart he'll do something with the car but then he'll have to shell out big bucks and my guess is - if he had em the car wouldn't be sitting there rotting. What a misfortunate situation - the guy is a mess financially and you can bet on it.

Don't do a thing before you get it up on a lift and have a real mechanic look this thing over. In other words don't think you'll be "real smart" and take this off his hands for 10k without a ppi. I'd never do that - not even with your money!

Be careful my friend this thing is a ticking, sleeping, time bomb of a money pit! Believe it!

Well said, I completely agree!
 
Tim mentioned some items I was writing up last night, when my browser crashed.

This car will cost the owner plenty to fix.... I'd bet the fuel system is varnished up.. I had a buddy with a 81 Delorean with 3,800 miles on it. His mechanic was able to save the fuel injectors... but I believe he was lucky. This car was pristine & stored within a garage.

This appears to be in Boston, tough winters, sitting outside.

Like Tim said, the dash and console look good.

But the rubber molding $$$ isn't cheap from what I've heard. A repaint will be big $$$ to do it right. New hoses, seats recovered...

I'm sure you can find a replacement door for less than $2400 for new... even new there are Acura Parts dealers here on Prime that will give 25% discount.

If this guy hasn't done anything to maintain the car and keep it nice until now, I sure can't see him doing it now.

Unless he does the work himself, it would cost more to get it nice to sell than he could get back. If he could do the work himself, I would guess he would have done it, or at least some maintenance during the past 6 years.

I've seen some NSX's with minimal damage, that ended up costing $15k-18k to repair. The cost of parts and labor adds up quickly.

I'm guessing an alternator.... possible injectors, brakes, shocks and more....

Unless a person can do some of the work themselves, I can't see coming out too well on this one, unless a person can pick it up real cheap.

At 52, as long as you are of normal health, I don't see you having any issues getting in and out of the car.

We might be all surprised what a good detail might do with the paint.

If a person can get it cheap, enjoys working on cars, it could be a fun project/hobby.

In most instances, it is cheaper in the long run to pay more for a nice car to begin with.

Keep us posted.
 
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Front door panel $1824.06. ACURA Carland. There are some ACURA dealers that offer their parts at about 28% off.
Check here on prime for threads on best new part prices.
 
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My brother was buying some used construction equipment off a guy and noticed an NSX in his driveway. Turns out he is the original owner and is just starting to think about selling it. The car has approx 51,000 miles, it's a Red 1991 5 speed, the paint is peeling, tires are half flat, has been sitting outside and hasn't been started in 6 years. That's all I know so far. If there is any chance of getting it for short money I'll buy it and try to bring it back to life. I'll post the results as soon as I know.

Tim

WHAT THE HELL?? :eek:

Did he give any reason why he just let it sit there and rot?? :frown:
 
He mentioned he went through a divorce and started his own company, he said it was well maintained up to the point that he parked it. He said the only thing wrong at that point was the power antenna had stopped working for the second time. He also has a 1991 motorcycle with only 1,000 miles on it. So it looks like he bought a lot of toys in 1991 but then stopped playing with them for some reason.

That reason smells like a steaming pile of crap! Lots of people get divorced and start a business and don't let a 'well maintained' NSX sit there and rot into the Earth. Hell, if anything, he would SELL it to raise capital for the business, or his ex-wife probably would have gone after it, but not just let it go. What the heck does he park in the garage anyway if that sat outside for 6 years??

To give you a quick set of numbers that this guy must grab reality with:

1.) Top quality paint job ~ $7,000 - $10,000
2.) A/C repair ~ $3,500 (I just spent $2,000 on mine, and I really maintain it)
3.) Timing belt/Water Pump/Accessory belts/ 90k ~ $2,300 (that's IF it runs. If it does NOT run, you can spend $12,000 on JUST the engine rebuild alone)
4.) Full flush of ALL fluids ~ $700 (assuming the pumps and such still work)

Okay...that is only (4) things, and we are already at between $13,500 - $16,500 and that is without touching the split seats, brakes, or any of the items like clutch master cylinder, brake master cylinder, or any of the several other parts of the car that wear like CV boots, coolant hoses, etc.

Now, I am all for saving a car, and hope that you get it, but you better buy it cheaply. The miles really mean nothing on this car, no matter what the guy says, because you are essentially starting over. None of his maintenance records matter, because anything he did previously is long past needing done again. If you pay a dime over $10,000 for that car, you better be keeping it for a while, because you will be upside down if you want to sell it in anywhere near reasonable condition.

Good luck...just be careful. If you really want to get his attention (assuming he does not take your offer), have the car taken to the Acura dealer (on a flat bed) and let THEM run him a huge estimate on a bill. They would be at $20,000 in work in no time flat.

I walk the walk too. I did this almost a year ago when I was trying to rescue an NSX that sat in a yard for over 6 years. I flat bedded it to a shop and they stopped counting when they hit $15,000 just to make it 'drivable'. That was without touching ANYTHING cosmetic, or other items you would want to fix if you really wanted to use it.
 
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The guy was kind of laid back didn't seem to bother him that he let the car just sit and turn to toast. In reality, I think in his mind it just needed a jump start and a quick paint job. He said he had fallen in love with the NSX back in 1990 when it was being shown in Las Vegas, he came back home and traded in his Porsche for this one. Not recently, but in the past I have pulled engines, done clutches, ball joints, brakes, axles, lift kits (4 x 4 craze in the early 80's) exhaust etc etc, yes I'm a gear-head so I know the pain I'll be in for. With age, wisdom and a little more $$ than I had in my 20's I won't be doing all the work myself. Thinking worst case I agree I may be looking at 15K ++ to make this car right and my offer will reflect that. If he doesn't accept, nothing ventured..... but maybe when he is shoveling around it this winter he might change his mind. I'd rather take it as is than have someone do a half-a** job getting the engine going and score up the cylinder walls.
 
The guy was kind of laid back didn't seem to bother him that he let the car just sit and turn to toast. In reality, I think in his mind it just needed a jump start and a quick paint job. He said he had fallen in love with the NSX back in 1990 when it was being shown in Las Vegas, he came back home and traded in his Porsche for this one. Not recently, but in the past I have pulled engines, done clutches, ball joints, brakes, axles, lift kits (4 x 4 craze in the early 80's) exhaust etc etc, yes I'm a gear-head so I know the pain I'll be in for. With age, wisdom and a little more $$ than I had in my 20's I won't be doing all the work myself. Thinking worst case I agree I may be looking at 15K ++ to make this car right and my offer will reflect that. If he doesn't accept, nothing ventured..... but maybe when he is shoveling around it this winter he might change his mind. I'd rather take it as is than have someone do a half-a** job getting the engine going and score up the cylinder walls.


I hope you do get it. It would be nice for an enthusiast to show it love again. I just wanted to make sure you were aware how easy it is to dump money into one, because I was literally looking at doing the EXACT same thing last year. I am more than happy to talk with you about it since they are similar in many ways. Just PM me your phone number. After having 3 NSXs in 18 years, I have seen and done most of it...right and wrong. :)

So what did this guy have in his garage??
 
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He didn't have a garage, just a small tool shed. In the shed was a 1991 motorcycle under a cover with 1,000 miles on it. He brought me in the shed to show me the spare carpets and some trunk weather stripping he had for the NSX. I wasn't interested in the motorcycle so I didn't get any more info than that. But come to think of it, you take a motorcycle that maybe cost what, $5,000 new back in '91?? and put in under a cover and in a shed, then you take an NSX with a sticker of what $60,000 in 1991 and depending on dealer mark-up you paid maybe $70,000 - $90,000 for and you let that rot outside uncovered???????
 
Doing your own work is the only way possible for you to come out on this one - period. Good luck to you! You're going to need it and a lot of sweat and time. If you are a real enthusiast you might make it. I'm surprised we haven't heard ol Shawn chime in on this one.

Anyway all the best - it might work out for you. Keep us posted.
 
This poor NSX is the saddest case of neglect I've EVER seen! :mad:
We have all seen a wrecked or totalled NSX; but... that's just circumstance. I am completely baffled as to why he would allow this car to just sit and rot
:( THAT JUST SUCKS!
Having studied the pictures over and over..... I honestly do not see how this NSX isn't going to require an engine replacement.
I know it's just a car but good greif........ why just let it rot :mad:

Personally - if I were in your shoes, and felt even remotely interested, I truly do not see paying more than $3k or 4k for this poor car; (and that may be too much).

You are looking at soooooooo much $$$$$$$$ just to get this NSX on the road again.
Engine
Tranny
Clutch
and these Three are just the beginning........
If you just factor all of the replacement parts..... geez :(
not even taking into account the cost of repaint...... this poor, poor car :(

IDK........

An original owner of a '91, allowing it to rot is rather :eek: x1000 to me.

Just Sad........
my .02
 
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