Good from far, but far from good...

[HBui39]

*SIGH*

So I've been searching for NSX's casually in the last 6 years... with moments where i am hell bent on buying one and searching vigorously and going all over the place to check em out. Well for the last month its been that hell bent vigorous search session and today marks the end of it. I'm tired and discouraged and need a break from this.

Seems all the NSX's I've been looking at are good on the surface, but once examined closer will cost me at least $5k to get to where I'm not afraid to drive it. I mean they all run great, but then you examine it closer and see problems everywhere. I'm ok with buying one for $30k and doing the timing belt just in case, but that hasn't been the case at all... they all need more.

 

[sidwac]

I feel your pain. After only 18 months I was about at the end of my road. And then this Sacramento dude advertised on Ebay for the 1st time. Gut told me this looked good, check it out and its now in my garage. Yep my car is the one your are looking for. Looking 6 years is a long long time mate, but then you say $30,000 range.

My personal advice is to spend an extra grand or two and get the best car. Yes I did that and have no regrets. Life is too too short. Hey if you need help for a car in NorCal, let me know if you want me to check it out. Also there are certainly others on the local site to who would be willing. Ping me if you want to chat more........

 

[BlackWindEXE]

Are you looking only locally? I know that there are a lot in cali but there are plenty here on prime in the 30k range with most, if not all the maintenance done.

I'm in the same boat as you. Constantly searching for one with the right amount of maintenance that fits my price range. If I had 30k cash, there are a good deal of cars on prime that fit the bill.

The 5k maintenance is something that needs to be kept in mind. There is no issue in having that in reserve, but I see what you mean about how you may want a car that doesn't need IMMEDIATE 5k maintenance just to use the car. Having to do it over time is fine, but immediate is another story.

 

[HBui39]

yes, i'm looking locally and that does limit my options a bit. i'm disabled and a long drive wouldn't work for me.

 

[mcano]

There appears to be two primary approaches to purchasing an NSX. The one you hear about the most is the often long, painful and arduousness method of trying to find the perfect car, and for many, the prize is eventually won. The second, but less publicized, method is to find a car that is mechanically sound, but has various defects that are either cosmetic, accessory related or are easily fixed mechanical items.

I followed the first method when hunting for my NSX, and it took me over 6 months to find one of my liking. It was not perfect, but it was a solid car. However, after a little more than four years of ownership, I’ve come to value every day the car is in my possession, particularly since I have my car up for sale because I've been unemployed since June. If I were to do it all over again, I would follow method two, and set aside monies to make the car right, so that I can own one sooner rather than later. There are more cars available to you under this approach. Also, most NSXs have many years on them. I have a 95 with 110,500 miles on the clock, and some components are showing their age or have to be replaced. I try to keep the car in tip top condition, but it is not always possible to keep up with some of the items that come up. Although we own a sturdy long lasting Honda, time eventually takes its toll.

Believe me, when you do eventually get your car, you may think to yourself, man this car is unbelievable, I wish I had been able to find one sooner. Perhaps you could have?

Good luck in your search. Whichever purchasing method you follow, you will eventually have the car of your dreams.

 

[s14_tat]

You can plenty of strong running 5 speed nsx in Cali with a 30K budget. I wish I lived in Cali when I was searching for mine, when I was searching there was at least 3 that I saw that was almost perfect.

Also remember 5K in work is a lot of money, that would include tb/wp, clutch / flywheel and coolant hoses!!! You mean to tell me every single one of these car needs all 3 simultaneously?

 

[tbromley]

Hbui,

I am wondering if you may be looking for an automatic; if so your choices may be a lot more limited than the choices others have - is this the case? I can't imagine you are looking just locally either - there are other ways to buy a car than to go see it.

I sold my last 993 Porsche that never came to see it - I'm in Atlanta and he is in CA! He selected a mechanic he found to do a PPI (pre purchase inspection), he talked with me on the phone many times and got a good feel for who he was going to be doing business with and the PPI came back great as I knew it would and he sent me a check sight unseen! Well he did have photos. It was just the car he was looking for and that is a Porsche - imagine how many Porsches are in CA.....wow ...most look there for Porsches.

Point of the story is - you can find one by expanding your horizons and having a primer lay his eyes on a car for you and then having it go to a good mechanic that knows NSXs and have them inspect it thoroughly! Get a feel for the owner - if he/she is hesitant to assist with a ppi or answer questions directly - MOVE ON to the next one - no doubt. If you do this you will have a car and just have the guy your buying from put the car on a transport you arrange. It's really pretty simple. This process works.

You can as Blackwind says try method one or method two but in the end you have to be comfortable with the person your doing business with. I sent the buyer I mentioned all the records - by mail - heck now everyone has a scanner and you can send anything anywhere. Have the owner scan his maintenance records. Ask us questions - you gotta be resourceful when it comes to stuff like this. It will work out -just expand the way you search and it'll be there.

Now you can look at the Prime Market and not worry whether it's in you back door or not. Good luck - we'll help you thru this!

 

[nis350]

'You get what you pay for' is quite appropriate for the NSX's. There are very few that are 'pristine' and they usually have much higher price.

I don't know exactly what you are looking for, but if you are looking for that low mileage pristine NA1 coupe for less than $25K, I am afraid you will have to wait in the long line.

Bottom line - be reasonable and you will find it. GL.

 

[s14_tat]

His budget is 30K not 25K and he says they still need another 5K on top of those 30K nsx's. So something is not right with that equation esp in this economy.

 

[tbromley]

We still haven't determined if he wants an automatic. Anyone that wants a truly low mileage early coupe with all the maintenance up to date is going to pay top dollar and that is above 30k in my opinion. There are very few of them out there and they won't go cheap. If you find one cheap the owner didn't do his homework and someone is getting a steel.

I rremember when I was looking I determined that 5k is what you need in your pocket for 95% of em and that goes for any models that are 10 years old or older. Obviously the newer the car the less likely you'll have maintenance items to fool with.

The OP's real problem is limiting himself to those in his area.

 

[soichiro1]

*SIGH*

So I've been searching for NSX's casually in the last 6 years... with moments where i am hell bent on buying one and searching vigorously and going all over the place to check em out. Well for the last month its been that hell bent vigorous search session and today marks the end of it. I'm tired and discouraged and need a break from this.

Seems all the NSX's I've been looking at are good on the surface, but once examined closer will cost me at least $5k to get to where I'm not afraid to drive it. I mean they all run great, but then you examine it closer and see problems everywhere. I'm ok with buying one for $30k and doing the timing belt just in case, but that hasn't been the case at all... they all need more.

I am looking as well. WHAT ARE ALLL THE PROBLEMS YOU HAVE COME ACROSS???? If it is maintenance I can do it myself.

 

[nis350]

His budget is 30K not 25K and he says they still need another 5K on top of those 30K nsx's. So something is not right with that equation esp in this economy.

I was just giving an example about that $25K low mileage pristine NA1 coupe being difficult to find.

I have no clue what he is looking for so I can't really comment on that $30k budget.

 

[Dynamic-uzed-auto]

These cars are almost 20 yrs old and their USED so we all must expect to spend some money to make the purchase perfect.

 

[rsevo6]

DAMN, STOP COMPLAINING!! :wink:

You car guys in the US have it soo much easier than us here in Europe.

Here, the cost of buying and owning a NSX is about double of what it is in the US.
Petrol is close to 8 U$ for the gallon here in The Netherlands and NSX are so rare that at any given moment at best there will be about 25 NSX for sale in the hole of Europe, 80-90% of them being '91-'93 and only very few rare '97-'00.

In the hole of Europe there are maybe 3 '01-'03 for sale at the moment!

This why I bought and imported my NSX from the US, as there was nothing for sale available here with the mileage/quality that I wanted.

 

[captainjman]

We still haven't determined if he wants an automatic. Anyone that wants a truly low mileage early coupe with all the maintenance up to date is going to pay top dollar and that is above 30k in my opinion. There are very few of them out there and they won't go cheap. If you find one cheap the owner didn't do his homework and someone is getting a steel.

I remember when I was looking I determined that 5k is what you need in your pocket for 95% of em and that goes for any models that are 10 years old or older. Obviously the newer the car the less likely you'll have maintenance items to fool with.

The OP's real problem is limiting himself to those in his area.

I can't agree more with you! I looked around at a lot of "reasonably priced NSX's" and then realized why I was finding so much garbage... what I thought was reasonable and what the car is really worth are two different concepts.

Sure, I would have loved to only spend 30, but lets face it, everyone would buy a perfect NSX for 30. So either you have to lower your standards or come to the table with more money.

In my case, I chose to spend more. To me, it was worth it to find the perfect, stock, pristine, clean car. So yeah, I paid a premium for it. And you know what? about 3 months later the clutch master cylinder started to leak. Its bound to happen.. but at least I don't have 5k in maintenance up front with the unknowns still hiding and lurking in the shadows.

The PPI I had done specifically looked at that aforementioned clutch master cylinder and passed. If you are looking at cars with 5k of known issues..OMG i would never buy a car!

Save up a bit more and buy a car in better shape. Do I think an NSX is worth 40? yes I do. Good ones, I mean really really good ones are getting hard to find. Supply and demand brother!

Another thing about that extra 10G's - I got to drive mine all last year! How much is that worth to you? Looking is fun, but driving is even better. You only have so many loops around the sun.. know what I mean?

 

[whitebois]

I bought a 91 with 50k miles for $28,500 in Denver in late 2009. It was originally listed for $32,500. I got all of the service records from the dealer that showed all the work done and the 13 grand all of the previous owners spent on it over its life. Clutch, Brake Master, Timing Belt etc. The car was all stock except for wheels. OK-it needed a new trunk strut but something like that you can live with or replace yourself. I could have chosen to keep the car stock and would hardly have spent a dime. I got a great car for the $$. The car has been bulletproof so far. So there are good deals to be had out there- if it has been serviced at an Acura dealer, the service records are out there- go find them.

 

[captainjman]

I bought a 91 with 50k miles for $28,500 in Denver in late 2009. It was originally listed for $32,500. I got all of the service records from the dealer that showed all the work done and the 13 grand all of the previous owners spent on it over its life. Clutch, Brake Master, Timing Belt etc. The car was all stock except for wheels. OK-it needed a new trunk strut but something like that you can live with or replace yourself. I could have chosen to keep the car stock and would hardly have spent a dime. I got a great car for the $$. The car has been bulletproof so far. So there are good deals to be had out there- if it has been serviced at an Acura dealer, the service records are out there- go find them.

First of all, I agree with you: there are good deals out there. My point is that the number of GREAT deals is small. A few extra dollars opens up a lot of great cars. 97-05's are going to cost more than that. There are more good NA2's than NA1's for a reason. They are newer!

The longer the OP waits (6 years???) the less cars are out there than meet his expectations. If he wants pristine his choices are quickly diminishing with every turbo installed, with every crash, with every hail storm. So my advice actually holds merit, buy one ASAP if you want one rather than watch life pass you by for that 5k difference! Just ante up the extra dough, get a quality car and enjoy.

Im not saying pay ANYTHING... Hell, we all probably saw that yellow 04 for sale with 1,500 miles on it for 75,000. Too rich for my blood. But 45K for a PERFECT 97 with 35k miles seems perfectly reasonable. Maybe not from a depreciation schedule standpoint, but this car defies those and we all know it!

 

[curtsr]

...realized why I was finding so much garbage... what I thought was reasonable and what the car is really worth are two different concepts.

Analogy:

I would love to own SteveNY's beautiful 360. I want it for 40K but that probably won't work for Steve. I can find other 360's for that price but they're crap comparatively speaking. Know why? Because Steve's is worth it.

There is claerly a disconnect between what you feel a certain condition level NSX is worth and what the market/ current owners feel that they are worth. If you have a firm budget of 30K and that is what you have available to purchase a car, then you are limited by your budget and your standard and not car availability.

There are plenty of NSX's available for purchase right now in the full range of conditions from salvage to showroom. Zero to 60 (K) if you will. The farther you move the slider the higher the cost goes up. That's it.

What you seem to be really saying is "I can't find a great NSX for what I want to pay for it". That's kind of good news for us that already own ours as it may tell us-those who care profoundly about it anyway of whom I am not - that depreciation is slowing on our cars. And I didn't say appreciate.

I love my NSX. I looked for a year before I bought it, trolling FleaBay, emailing with scammers on Autotrader and Cars.com, the same experience as 90% of Primers. What I bought wasn't pristine and my budget was about the same as yours appears. It was tastefully modified by the previous owner which was OK to me since he remedied the accepted shortcomings of the NSX. I didn't want a garage queen and I didn't want to have something so nice that I would be afraid to ENJOY it so I bought accordingly. Two years later and 12K miles later it has a little tear on the driver's bolster and a small rock dent- yet I still get genuinely excited every time I go out to my garage and see my NSX.

Just do it. If NSX ownership is what you aspire to then get started. It's really up to you at this point.

 

[nis350]

You only have so many loops around the sun.. know what I mean?

 

[curtsr]

Primers are usually a great source of great cars. The first available one in the Prime marketplace is a very attractive 93 coupe (!) with 34K miles for 31.5K:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141578

"This NSX is in excellent condition and has only been driven 10K miles in the five years that I have owned the car. I am the second owner and the car has had no accidents or paintwork. I have had the 30,60,90K service completed(timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment),as well as all maintenance, by a certified NSX technician at Buerkle Acura in Brooklyn Park Minnesota. The car has a set of Pirelli PZero Nero tires with less than 1000 miles. The only modifications are Enkei 17/18 wheels, Comptech Header/Exhaust and Whitesnsx HID lighting. I have the all OEM parts for the car."

30-90K services done despite 34K actual miles.

Get a PPI at the servicing dealer and get it shipped to the OC.

 

[HONDA_RJJ]

I posted a want to buy add on here and not long after i had local (180 miles) car for 27k. I thought i was going to have to travel for it being KS.

It still took me 8 or 9 years only cause i was 14 or 15 when i wanted to get one and realy didnt have the income and credit until last year.

 

[HBui39]

Primers are usually a great source of great cars. The first available one in the Prime marketplace is a very attractive 93 coupe (!) with 34K miles for 31.5K:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141578

"This NSX is in excellent condition and has only been driven 10K miles in the five years that I have owned the car. I am the second owner and the car has had no accidents or paintwork. I have had the 30,60,90K service completed(timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment),as well as all maintenance, by a certified NSX technician at Buerkle Acura in Brooklyn Park Minnesota. The car has a set of Pirelli PZero Nero tires with less than 1000 miles. The only modifications are Enkei 17/18 wheels, Comptech Header/Exhaust and Whitesnsx HID lighting. I have the all OEM parts for the car."

30-90K services done despite 34K actual miles.

Get a PPI at the servicing dealer and get it shipped to the OC.

yeah i saw that. didn't think of doing that, though. i've moved on for now, money is spoken for. good advice for the future though. thanks.

 

[Meeyatch1]

This thread reinforces why I maintain my 1994 NSX the way that I do. In the almost 10 years of ownership of this particular NSX I have replaced so much stuff that I probably am getting near what I paid for the car in the first place. Is that because things broke? Not really. I have always over maintained my NSX. If I saw a piece of interior trim that looked like it was wearing, I replaced it with a new one and ordered an extra for later on. This is probably why I could almost build an entire NSX with what I have in my attic. Mechanical items are treated the same way. I replace maintenance items early and use factory parts. Evey year at least once (sometimes two or three times) I will put the car on jack stands for about a week and scrub the entire underbody, suspension, engine, engine bay, front under hood area, and entire interior (with the seats removed). This keeps my car tip-top and looking like a 20,000 mile car instead of the 173,000 mile car that it is. This is also why I get offers every year from people to buy my car for what a nice 50,000 mile car would cost because people know that my car does not need a single dime put into it. This is also the reason that I would never sell it (unless I needed the money to stay alive). Bottom line. Quality cars cost money. Be ready to pay one way or the other.

 

[captainjman]

yeah i saw that. didn't think of doing that, though. i've moved on for now, money is spoken for. good advice for the future though. thanks.

Lemme get this straight - The OP said he's been looking for an NSX for 6 years, then 3 days after posting this thread he already moved on?

Hope we didn't just waste our time... then again, I enjoyed talking about the NSX so whatever.

J

 

[tbromley]

I've read Curt, Meyatch and Jason's reply and all of those responses hit the nail on the head.

1. You pay now or pay later. You are not going to get a pristing model for cheap.

2. Meyatch is the guy anyone would want to buy their car from - he is waaaaaay beyond anal! :smile: I mean buying spares for the next time - man that's awesome so Meyatch I have to ask at what point on the way to buying parts and maintenance to the point of purchase price did you ever stop and say - damn I guess I could have bought a 40k car and done better? Just wondering, cause believe me I've wondered the same thing after paying 28,500 for mine a year and a half ago for a 91 with 42k miles on it and then putting 5k in it. I've wondered alright and really I'm still putting money in it so what I have in it is still increasing.

3. Finally what Jason says is very much to the point - go ahead and buy one becuase of the "loop around the sun thing" and quite worrying about a few grand when you can start driving instead of wondering what it will be like.

4. To Jason's last comment about wondering if we are wasting our breat on this OP- well as it turns out - I would say that is more than a fair statment but you find that here on Prime -folks check in and check out or buy now and find they really can't afford it and sell soon after buying.

My feeling is this guy wasn't that serious to begin with - NO WAY you can look for 6 F'ng years and not find the car your looking for - now whether you can afford it or not is another question. Lots look but not everyone has the coin - no big deal, no slight on anyone, it's just a part of life. If you can't afford to play then save till you can but while your along the way quit pulling people's/Primer's "chain" :wink:

We should have had the first tip off when someone says I can't find that perfect car for 30k - and then saying "I only look in my area". Well I don't know where that is but it's not a major city or he would have found one. However, like Jason says conversations like this are fun anyway and that's why we're on Prime - to talk about it and try and help folks - but another tip off was that the OP never really answered in any specific detail any of the comments the Primers made - now I'm not trying to be an A-hole but that really speaks to the seriousness of the poster.

Hope that he one day comes back to NSX ownership and has learned something from all this but who the heck knows. Good luck to HBUI. Adios - the rest of us can continue to talk about this subject...lol.