Los Angeles resident looking to get an NSX

[cuethedanger]

Hello, long time reader, recent member. I've dreamed of having my own NSX since seeing them as a little baybay. Now I'm 22, a full time employee and full time student at the Los Angeles Film School. I live in the Hollywood Hills and occasionally get stuck in the nations most congested freeway, the 405.

What I really want an honest opinion on is if I should look into owning an NSX when I live in dangerously steep hills and horrible traffic or if I should put it off until I can just cruise on it during the weekends and such. I have a 25grand budget and am looking to get a sport car. Manual shift or automatic is still up in the air but you can imagine what I really want, a driver's car.

I just wanna know how much of a hassle any of you congested city people have with a stick shift and if it's worth to have as a sport car. If it's not really convenient I'm looking into Porsche's and Audi TT quattros but if you have any idea that would suit me better for a daily I would love to hear your opinion.

Thanks a lot guys.

 

[Khiladi1020]

Well, I drive mine almost everyday throughout the LA area, and although traffic is a bitch, its not really any different driving the NSX vs. another stick shift car for me. If you like manual enough to drive in traffic everyday, then you'll be fine with one.

That being said, with your budget, you're going to be very limited in the type of NSX you can probably get. It will be an early 90s model and that means no power steering. If you are going to be driving through hollywood, mid-wilshire, or the westside, while averaging 20 mph traffic light after light, parallel parking all the time and negotiating tight turns and steep driveways, I could see it getting very tiresome. Better suited to be a weekend car in that type of scenario IMHO. A lot of people here don't mind not having power steering, but thats because they may not always be driving in that type of environment daily. I suggest you test drive one, in that environment, and see if it suits you. Hopefully it does!

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[Dtrigg]

As mentioned, you have a very limited budget.

I live in Pacific Heights in San Francisco. Imagine the photos you see of the hills in San Francisco. Well, that's where I live. It is a pain in the butt to drive my car around the city. Impossible to park it on the street. People park with their bumbers here, so I wouldn't even consider street parking. I use my car on the weekends or for a long drive during the week. Impossible to have a NSX as a daily driver where I live.

Good luck.

 

[synth19]

+1. 25k is going to be difficult to find an NSX that won't have issues or things that need to be fixed. A more realisitic budget would be 30k.

Well, I drive mine almost everyday throughout the LA area, and although traffic is a bitch, its not really any different driving the NSX vs. another stick shift car for me. If you like manual enough to drive in traffic everyday, then you'll be fine with one.

That being said, with your budget, you're going to be very limited in the type of NSX you can probably get. It will be an early 90s model and that means no power steering. If you are going to be driving through hollywood, mid-wilshire, or the westside, while averaging 20 mph traffic light after light, parallel parking all the time and negotiating tight turns and steep driveways, I could see it getting very tiresome. Better suited to be a weekend car in that type of scenario IMHO. A lot of people here don't mind not having power steering, but thats because they may not always be driving in that type of environment daily. I suggest you test drive one, in that environment, and see if it suits you. Hopefully it does!

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[RON98]

for a 25K budget, i would concider another car.

you can purchase a nsx for 25K but with the nessary maintenance needed to bring that car up to standards, it would be outside of your budget.

i would highly recommend a S2000.

next best thing to an nsx and cute as heck. dont buy into the show factor in this town. 99% of the people that drive the nice cars are leasing and cant really afford it. :smile:

good luck :smile:

 

[cuethedanger]

Thanks a lot, it's really put things into perspective. I know what you mean about the steep hills and horrible parking being even worse with a stick shift car. Damn!

The search continues.

 

[ETLMD]

for a 25K budget, i would concider another car.

you can purchase a nsx for 25K but with the nessary maintenance needed to bring that car up to standards, it would be outside of your budget.

i would highly recommend a S2000.

next best thing to an nsx and cute as heck. dont buy into the show factor in this town. 99% of the people that drive the nice cars are leasing and cant really afford it. :smile:

good luck :smile:

Great advice. I would also recommend an S2000.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Right now with gas at $4.50 a gallon or whatever it is where you are, I would go see if I could get myself a Prius. Why? because:

1) YOu will spend no money on gas
2) Its new, reliable, and you spend no money on repairs/maintenance.
3) Its resale value these days is through the roof, allowing you to keep saving money for the NSX.

I know it sounds odd to recommend a Prius to someone looking to get an NSX but if you buy a new one at 21K (which you can), keep it 2 years, save all that gas money, then sell it for 19K 2 years from now (which believe me, you will be able to), you will have driven a new comfy car around for 2 years for the least amount of dollars possible. That will allow you to save a bit more, then drop 35K or so on a nice clean NSX. Besides, in CA the Prius has that green image and you should get plenty of chix at least according to the latest studies... :biggrin:

 

[lrsudog]

I work in Hollywood daily after commuting in from the Santa Clarita Valley. The NSX is sufficiently annoying to drive in heavy traffic for long periods that I avoid driving mine in every day but Friday.

 

[JaguarXJ6]

Save up another 5-10k and get yourself a nice NSX. When going after your dream car, find the right car first and then for the right price. These are flip flopped for you right now so I would wait.

Definitely do NOT go buy something else unless it's an INEXPENSIVE MPG EFFICIENT BEATER you can/will throw away after a year or two.

Don't SETTLE for an S2000. When you are this close to your dream, why would you even consider buying one car, suffer depreciation and maintenance, only to extend the time to get your dream car? What a way to waste money. Those recommending this should be ashamed of yourselves.

 

[Hasdrubal]

Ashamed? I think that's a little harsh. There are many people on Prime that have both S2000 and NSX, and love both. With the parking and other issues the OP is likely to face, I don't think it's a bad idea at all.

In the end, it's all just advice, and he will decide what to do about it. The only advice I would personally feel bad about is convincing him to get an old car and just ignore the maintenance schedule. Last thing I would want is for him to come back in six months and tell us he had a ten year old timing belt snap because we said Honda was just kidding about the six year thing.

Nick

 

[speedyizzy]

I picked up a salvage 91 nsx 5 years ago for 21K. I dropped another 10K on wheels, stereo, 02 update and marga hills kit. I also lived in the Hollywood Hills area (Whitley Heights). Car has been amazing! 60K miles since purchase...only repairs have been maintenance related..clutch and brakes. I say get it! You have plenty of enjoyable rides around here...Sunset to the 405 (BH area), etc.

 

[lazynok]

I would say NO.. not because you live in the hollywood hills.. I've taken my NSX up there on drives before and never had a problem... I live off the 405 so I'm used to that...

..the reason is youre in FILM SCHOOL. I work in the film business and having an NSX in the film industry sucks (unless youre an actor.. you shouldn't be driving a nice car.. cause they can park whereever they want).

Sometimes at locations, you'll be parked as bunched in as possible, and you need to leave your keys in the car incase the PAs need to shuffle cars to get people out... or you'll be shooting a movie on location in a month in south central and crew parking is in a ghetto Rite Aid a mile away for 13+ hours a day...

..you get the idea. Thats why I got a beater accord... but if you "make it" in this industry you get to park in parking lots at the major lots... or else you'll be on location doing independent movies with an NSX your whole life (like the begining of my career.... sucked having an NSX~!!!)


What part of filmmaking are you looking into? I've met a few people who've graduated from there on sets.

 

[omega2]

You can get a fixer for $25K but I would use it as a platform for a project rather than everyday use. Early 90's NSX's will require some work and the parts can run up the budget, especially if there is snap ring failure on the transmission or any damage to the transmission for that matter. The S2000 is a great suggestion for a student and the used ones are going for around $15K. You can use the remaining $10k in go fast parts too. It's like a really really tiny dodge viper.