Looking into purchasing my first NSX

[aljones]

I'm looking at purchasing my first NSX, I currently own a 1991 Dodge Stealth. The NSX I'm looking at is in the Washington D.C. area its is a 2002 Imola Orange car with 52,000 miles on it and they have it listed for $57,900. The vin number is JH4NA21642T000066. Is anyone familiar with this car? Is this a fair price. What should I ask the dealership to do to the car before (if) I purchase the car. I appreciate any advice, thanks.

thanks

 

[Liquid]

That price is high. It should sell for under $50k in my estimation. As a reference point, I paid $59k for my '03 with under 23k miles on it and the car was still under factory warranty and had an Acura Certified 12 month/12k warranty beyond that. Using my car as a baseline, I would deduct $5k for the year older and the lack of warranty, and another $6k for the extra 29k miles (20 cents per mile).

This is only how I would value it. You shoud also make sure that all maintenence is up to date and the car is in excellent condition in order for it to be comparable.

 

[nsxtasy]

The difference in price between two years when the cars are identical is not $5K. Not even close. And I don't think you can deduct a flat 20 cents per mile; mileage deductions are not a linear function. But I agree that the price sounds high for a car with that many miles. Of course, asking prices are always higher than they are actually willing to sell it for.

It's worth noting that that's VERY high mileage for an NSX. Median NSX mileage is 5K miles per year, so typical mileage on an '02 is 25K miles.

The problem pricing a car with twice as many miles as typical is that it's next to impossible to find other, similar cars and how much they're selling for. But I'd guess something in the low fifties is probably fair, assuming the car is in excellent condition and has never been in a serious accident (which may or may not be a valid assumption).

 

[ImolaOrange03]

I always use Kelly Bluebook as a guide. I'll look at the lowest price the dealer would pay on a trade-in for one, in this case, it would be somewhere $47k-49k for one in excellent condition with 52k miles. Then compare that to what the dealer would try to sell it for, which would be $58k. Then normally I would split the difference.

So the dealer wants $57.9k for it, which is where Kelly Bluebook puts the value at. Now the car is Imola Orange Pearl, which is probably the most rarest color NSX but it's a "I Love it" or "I Hate it" color. Many say they hate the color but may not have ever seen Imola Orange Pearl in person. Most everyone who has seen my car loves this color

If you really love the color, then negotiate with them. I think it may go down to $53k or so if it sits there for a while. 52k miles sounds high (If this NSX had ony 15k miles on it, he would be asking $61k for it). But isn't there a doc in Los Angeles who has over 240k miles on his and it still runs great.

You may not see another Imola Orange Pearl NSX around for sale for a long time. In California where there's hundreds of NSXs there's probably at most 6 or 7.

 

[Robare]

That price seems high to me, due to the very high mileage, but as pointed out in an earlier post, the Imola Orange is a rare color and hard to find. IMHO the color rarity does not make up the difference in mileage, when I researched my NSX purchase I found the mileage discounting to be on the order of $0.34 a mile for the rarer colors (red, white, orange, and blue).
Good luck! :biggrin:

 

[ImolaOrange03]

There's a 2002 selling on eBay from a dealership in Texas. 24k miles with lots of extras like new rims, electronics, etc.. $59k is the "buy it now" price. Color is Silvertone which is a popular color. Shipping to your area might be about $1500 or so.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Acur...014QQitemZ330144487697QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Before I purchased mine, I went to eBay and looked at what the asking prices and selling prices were by dealers. I spent close to a year looking for a great deal and eventually I did. Prices were generally all over the place with the lowest prices were the NSXs from Florida, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest (Washington & Oregon). Last year, a 1999 NSX with 11,000 miles sold locally by original owner, in Walnut Creek, CA for $54,000. California cars sell at a premium I guess. Supply and demand.

 

[aljones]

Thanks for all the input. I have been doing research and learned that the car was owned by an attorney in Florida. He used the car as an every day driver, hence the high mileage, he also used it for hot lapping. He had the car for sale back in 04 on NSXPrime. The car has passed through two auto auctions in the past 12 months. I am waiting on photos from the dealership that has it now. But, I may not even make an offer on the car based on the high mileage and past racing history.

 

[MCM]

high mileage, /hot lapping. / two auto auctions in the past 12 months.

Think about it.............