My 2004 lease is about up. I had leased the car because if the new NSX was breathtaking, I could simply turn this one in and lease (most likely purchase) the new NSX. If the new NSX sucks then I would have one of the last great NSXs. So, not being a fan of the crappy NSX replacement, I'm inclined to purchase my NSX and keep it. I have already purchased an SL 55 AMG. My question is, what would you do? The R8, Cayman, etc. all offer similar if not better performance and have more modern conveniences. I like that. Do you think NSX will be collectable or appreciate?? Let me know your thoughts.
Lease..To turn in or not to turn in??
- Thread starter Doc C
- Start date
I faced a similar problem a year ago, first I extended my lease for 6 months, hoping to see more info on the still coming new NSX, than after stressing that there wasn't enough info, after thinking about what was available (in 9/06), what was coming down the road (R8 and seeing some pictures, although the actual car looks far better than the early pictures), I finally just bought my 02 off the lease. Now, you have the benefit of seeing more details on the new NSX (I'm not a fan) and unless you're willing to spend significantly more $$$ than 100m, I don't think you'll find anything to compare. The Cayman is nice, but is as common as, well all the other P-Car derivatives. The R8 is looking promising, but costs well over 100m in any form. Buy your car, you know how well it's been taken care of, while I don't think that it will "appreciate", it shouldn't depreciate as quickly as another "new" car would, and it's still unique and enjoyable. Than again, it's your $$$, do what you'd like. I still enjoy driving mine!
I would buy it if I was you because there will be a high demand for a long time still for the current nsx ..... you will have no problems unloading this car if you decide to.
I agree. You are the original owner, you have a car that is better than CaymanS, and it is most likely cheaper than the CaymenS (residual vs New CaymenS MSRP).
You can also ask AHFC to see if you can buy the car less than the residual value.
NSXs have great resale value compared to other cars aswell. Something to keep in mind. If you decide to sell the car in 2 years you probably would get a good price albeit it might take a while sitting on the market. or you could trade it in if your in a rush.
Buy it! I'm pretty sure there is no true replacement for the real deal NSX. Honda's design team was on something when their lead designer said something like "I know everyone was asking why this car isn't mid-engined like the NSX was and that's because we're showing the people that we're changing and moving on and thats why it's a front engined car" 
Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't ALL Acura's front engined except the NSX? This guy was seriously smoking something.
Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't ALL Acura's front engined except the NSX? This guy was seriously smoking something.
If you really don't care about money, then I'd go for the R8. But you and I both know that you will take a bath on any new Audi, especially a 100K one. I personally don't like the Cayman as much as an NSX, its performance is good but it just doesn't have the same exoticness to it.
The NSX's value isn't going down fast anytime soon, you have a car like mine that will hold its excellent resale value for a while.
My advice is to buy it. Consider a slightly used R8 later. Your SL55 is already going to take a hit (although not as bad as my CL600 did), so why buy another car that will also take a hard hit.
The NSX is beautiful, rare, and lets face it... no more are made. Thank you Acura for making all our NSX's appreciate with that front engine GT idea.
If you sell it, you will regret it IMO.
The NSX's value isn't going down fast anytime soon, you have a car like mine that will hold its excellent resale value for a while.
My advice is to buy it. Consider a slightly used R8 later. Your SL55 is already going to take a hit (although not as bad as my CL600 did), so why buy another car that will also take a hard hit.
The NSX is beautiful, rare, and lets face it... no more are made. Thank you Acura for making all our NSX's appreciate with that front engine GT idea.
If you sell it, you will regret it IMO.
If you need peer pressure to put your decision over the top, why not just post the payoff/buyout amount and see how many people beg you to let them buy it for that price. Or you could just consider that you own 1 out of 23 silver/silver manuals produced for 2004
Maybe an easier way to look at it is see if you can get a similar car to what you have in your hands right now for less on the market. If you cannot, theres little risk in buying it out and driving it for a little while longer.
If the buy out is more expensive than a similar market car, perhaps that helps you too, although you will never find another NSX that you know as much about as your current NSX.
Im tempted by the R8 also, but then I ask myself if Id want the coming R8 when theres one with the Gallardo's engine coming and maybe one with a 610HP V12 diesel on its way. Myself, I need to wait for either of those cars, especially since the first R8 wont really be any faster than my current NSX. It will be a whole lot nicer inside though!
If the buy out is more expensive than a similar market car, perhaps that helps you too, although you will never find another NSX that you know as much about as your current NSX.
Im tempted by the R8 also, but then I ask myself if Id want the coming R8 when theres one with the Gallardo's engine coming and maybe one with a 610HP V12 diesel on its way. Myself, I need to wait for either of those cars, especially since the first R8 wont really be any faster than my current NSX. It will be a whole lot nicer inside though!
Ski_Banker
Suspended
The decision is this (assuming you can't buy the residual and sell for more just to make money):
1. Is there another car for the same price that you would rather drive? If so, for how long (ie, will you want another NSX in a year).
2. How well did you care for your NSX and how much do you value KNOWING the car's history.
If you didn't take "excellent" care of your NSX (no offense intended), then it will be fairly easy to buy another 02+ in a year or two if you decide. Price won't go down but it won't go up either. If you babied your NSX, you won't ever be able to get another one with that piece of mind -- then walking away and trying to buy another one in a year is a risk. Only you know 1 & 2.
:smile:
1. Is there another car for the same price that you would rather drive? If so, for how long (ie, will you want another NSX in a year).
2. How well did you care for your NSX and how much do you value KNOWING the car's history.
If you didn't take "excellent" care of your NSX (no offense intended), then it will be fairly easy to buy another 02+ in a year or two if you decide. Price won't go down but it won't go up either. If you babied your NSX, you won't ever be able to get another one with that piece of mind -- then walking away and trying to buy another one in a year is a risk. Only you know 1 & 2.
:smile:
turn it in so there will be more on the market for me to chose from 
If you keep the NSX make it because you like the uniqueness of the car and the way it drives, not because of a perceived investment potential.
Thank you all for your advice. As usual, the help from this forum is fantastic. I'm going to call AHFC and check on extending lease for a few months to get more cash together, and think it over. I truly love my NSX. It is my dream car. The SL 55 is a blast and it has all the creature comforts for the wife and for long trips, but the NSX is still amazing. Your insight was very good and gave me several ideas I'd not thought of. Thanks again for your help. If there's any more good tips from anyone else, feel free to holler.
Just for more info, I tried to negotiate w/AHFC, it was a no go, they'd extend the lease up to 3x, but no change on the buyout, except for the adjustment factor based upon when I stopped making lease payments. So, the longer you make lease payments, the more the price goes down, but you're still paying the finance/rent payments, so...........if you make up your mind sooner, in the end you'll pay less than by extending the lease. Still, I'm real happy I did it the way I did, I was sure that for now, there's nothing out there that I wanted more than the car I was driving!
Ok - I am going to go against the forum's groups advise and say turn in the car. You already have a SL55, might as well try something different. Besides, even if a NSX becomes a collectable in 20 years - it still won't go up in value like a good stock or mutual fund. So, its not a great investment. If you didn't have the SL then I would say yeah just keep it. However, I wouldn't buy for investment purposes, buy it if you want to drive it. It isn't a Veyron or a Mclaren F1.
SL55 is a great car, but its no substitute for an NSX. Its a totally different car. I don't think anyone is dillusional in thinking the NSX is going to start appreciating next year... but as far as new cars go, its about as good an investment as you can get.
I just realized my post would be irrelevant. 
Keep the NSX man. How badly would it hurt you to lose a few bucks on depreciation? If you can afford an SL55 and are looking to add a $100k+ R8; I'm thinking it won't kill you to pay $10k (depreciation) to drive your NSX around for a few years while you make up your mind.
If it does hurt too badly, you probably shouldn't bee looking at owning $200k+ worth of sports cars.
Keep the NSX man. How badly would it hurt you to lose a few bucks on depreciation? If you can afford an SL55 and are looking to add a $100k+ R8; I'm thinking it won't kill you to pay $10k (depreciation) to drive your NSX around for a few years while you make up your mind.
If it does hurt too badly, you probably shouldn't bee looking at owning $200k+ worth of sports cars.
I just realized my post would be irrelevant.
Keep the NSX man. How badly would it hurt you to lose a few bucks on depreciation? If you can afford an SL55 and are looking to add a $100k+ R8; I'm thinking it won't kill you to pay $10k (depreciation) to drive your NSX around for a few years while you make up your mind.
If it does hurt too badly, you probably shouldn't bee looking at owning $200k+ worth of sports cars.
True. I think I'll do the best I can to keep the car. Also true that the SL 55 is no NSX. It is a beast off the line though!!! 500 HP is pretty nice. The depreciation you mention on the NSX will be no comparison to what will hit me on the SL or a new R8. Thanks again for the info.
Easy solution.....SUPERCHARGE IT!!! Solves all problems:smile:
I agree with will!!!:smile:
Ski_Banker
Suspended
I just did an analysis of U.S. NSXs on the market, by production year. If you assume 10% annual attrition (NSX has a 1/10 year chance of severe wreck), the total market size peaked in 1997, at 4165. Since then it has been a slow steady decline to 2500 today, due to ~250 new ones added through 2005. Guess what happens with the same decay rate but no new ones!? 2500 today. 2000 in 2 years, 1600 in 4 years. 10% annual wreck/attrition on a high performance sportscar is very reasonable.
Based on this analysis, and the fact that there is no longer a "cap" on newer NSX prices (from available brand new ones at $85k), I don't think prices will move much at all across the board. 02+s will get the benefit of people with 91s upgrading now, since the new ASCC is rotten. Yeah! :smile:
Based on this analysis, and the fact that there is no longer a "cap" on newer NSX prices (from available brand new ones at $85k), I don't think prices will move much at all across the board. 02+s will get the benefit of people with 91s upgrading now, since the new ASCC is rotten. Yeah! :smile:
If my NSX isn't trashed by the time MY lease is up, I'll probably keep her, especially if no "true" replacement comes around. I don't care if the ASC mops the floor with the NSX in performance numbers - it will never be an NSX replacement in my eyes. If I manage to hold onto her for years beyond that, I'll keep my fingers crossed and look forward to the possiblity of the NSX becoming a classic or colectors car.
Extend the lease, if you leased thru Honda finance, they will let you extend it for up to 24 months
I hope you haven't been waiting for the new NSX since 2004. What did you want up doing with the trade-in?
Good question back then.
