Looking to buy my first NSX

[ShawnOT]

Hi Everyone! Thank you for all the knowledge already in this community, and thank you to those who take time to read and respond to this post.

I'm looking at a manual trans 91 sebring silver for sale in my area. It's definitely not a perfect car and based on the current market analysis document, it seems a little overpriced at $47K. But even with that being true, I am still interested. I've met with the current owner for a few hours and have seen the car in person. The current owner is the 4th owner and is extremely knowledgeable about NSXs (has owned 3), is very forthcoming about this particular car, and seems to be very honest. Here's a few things I know about the car. 98K miles and not in the snap ring range. Original engine and trans. The car was just professionally repainted. The 3rd owner tracked the car and in doing so removed many original parts from the car, and replaced with aftermarket performance parts. The car currently has an aftermarket suspension, clutch, chipped ECU from science of speed, steering wheel (no airbag), and potentially a few other parts. After purchasing this car from the previous owner, the current owner has sourced many original parts in an effort to restore the car back to stock. The current owner has shared about 500 photos of the restoration and to be honest it's a little scary to see the car almost completely taken apart, but his work does appear to be meticulous. The current owner drove the car from Virginia to NY and has put several hundred recent miles on it with no reported issues.

The current owner believes that the third owner performed the timing belt/water pump service, but there is no formal record of it. The current owner says the A/C is not currently working but he has the parts to repair. The current owner plans to replace the aftermarket clutch before selling. I plan to meet with the current owner at least once more to drive the car (ideally after the clutch has been replaced) and will be able to ask him any further questions that people recommend I ask. So with that being said, what are some of the main items I am missing at this point? What else should I try to uncover? If I was looking to get a PPI done, does anyone know of a good shop in central NY. What should I be looking for in a PPI.

Thanks again,
Shawn

 

[RSO 34]

I see you are in the NYC area and if the car is local one of us will know it. You can message me the vin and current owner and we will see if we have the history on it. If one of the owners tracked it I have probably been on track with it.

 

[ShawnOT]

Sorry I need to update my profile, I actually moved to Central NY a few years ago. Thanks, I'll PM you the VIN

 

[acuhon]

Make sure that the AC works before you buy the car. That could be expensive repair. Ask when hoses were replaced. Pay attention to bearings, ball joints and steering. Check compression. Good luck with your NSX hunt.

 

[jeffreygebhart]

Have you looked at any other cars? There seems to be a lot going on with this one. Believe it or not, there ARE owners out there who monkey around very little, if any, with their cars, and in my book the closer it is to stock (and ideally not tracked), the better. In any event, good luck with your search/purchase!

 

[docjohn]

.although track work does stress the car more per mile than highway, if you know the owner lineage, or have solid history of proper accelerated maintenance you will be okay...I know some owners. myself included who have an open checkbook policy on the car through the eons...

 

[TigerNSX]

I agree with [MENTION=4282]docjohn[/MENTION]. I know many NSX owners who track and maintain meticulously. I also know NSX owners who do not track and do not maintain properly. To me, whether the NSX was previously tracked or not, does not deter me.

I would definitely look at a few other examples in the similar price range & miles, and see how this one compares.

 

[RYU]

Just adding my $0.02. As an owner since 2007 and fairly involved with community... I'd much rather have a maintained and aggresively driven NSX than a bone stock unit with deferred maintenance.

 

[jeffreygebhart]

(Laughing) Okay, okay...I'm not going to get into a debate about whether or not it's preferable to buy a car that's been tracked vs. one that hasn't (I appear to be in the minority on this issue). But I would keep looking. There are a lot of cars out there coming on the market. If by any chance you have a little extra to spend, there have been some beauties showing up on BaT. FWIW.

 

[ShawnOT]

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. I did ultimately end up passing on this car, not so much because of the track history, but more so because I agree that with some more time and effort I can find a similar example that is purely stock and has less unknowns on its maintenance history.