Need some advice. JH4NA1156MT002373

[LoveNSXs]

An opportunity has arisen to purchase a 91 blk/blk NSX in my area, and I was wondering if you guys would be so kind as to offer me some advice on this vehicle.

last carfax mileage recorded was 89,199 miles. a prime member once owned it.. here's his F/S thread

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33790&highlight=JH4NA1156MT002373

carfax is clean.

not in snap ring range.

The current owner is an 18 y/o kid, and I know the car's been beaten on. He says the timing belt/water pump was done at 60k. a few issues include some paint chips on the front bumper and lip, as well as some scraping on the rear bumper. (looks like someone swiped him)

the blower motor seems to not work and i quote "Blower motor seems to have a problem. i wired it to a fuse to the battery and it works but when i turn a/c or heater or just fan on it does not work."

so, that and some of the aesthetics (paint) look like the biggest issues to me. The rest I'll find out when i get to see it in person and test drive it.

oh, he's selling for 16k. I'm asking about documentation of any work done, but he has not replied. He mentioned that a friend's shop did most of the maintenance work it needed.

here's a link to his F/S thread for some pictures.
http://vadriven.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272034&highlight=nsx
refer to posts 13,14, and 32


I'm limited on my budget so I kinda feel like this might be a good opportunity, however, I'm worried about the potential costs after purchasing it that I would accrue in order to make sure it is in good running order. Naturally, I will have a PPI and a good friend and mechanic have a look at it before anything happens.

so, is this worthwhile?

I'm also considering the potential resale value of the car should I get it and restore it to as pristine condition as possible, even with the lack of documentation of it's maintenance history....would it gain any value over what it's worth now?

any words/opinions/advice is appreciated.

TIA
-spence

 

[ediddynsx]

Re: Need some advice.

Tack on at least 10k extra for paint, major, clutch, etc.......just in case. With an 1991 or any car older than 2000 you will have issues sooner or later.....window motors, the ccu going bad like mine did, antenna motor, speakers going crap on u, ball joints that need replacing like mine did, visors splitting, snap ring?, cam seals, etc etc

You could easily go over 10k...... I am just giving you a figure....get a PPI done and see what they find.

 

[LoveNSXs]

Re: Need some advice.

Tack on at least 10k extra for paint, major, clutch, etc.......just in case. With an 1991 or any car older than 2000 you will have issues sooner or later.....window motors, the ccu going bad like mine did, antenna motor, speakers going crap on u, ball joints that need replacing like mine did, visors splitting, snap ring?, cam seals, etc etc

You could easily go over 10k...... I am just giving you a figure....get a PPI done and see what they find.

I can see that as well. there are a couple things I'm taking his words for.. as of now, he says the clutch is still good for a while. It's not in snap ring range.... and.. he has upgraded sound system... speakers/deck and what not..

i'll proceed to do a little reading as to what the other things are you mentioned..

what's a CCU? and the rest of those little things can be found with a PPI right?

 

[ediddynsx]

Re: Need some advice.

ccu is climate control unit and i got mine repaired by briank.

Just make sure to get it PPI from a reputable place that knows the car.

Theres a reason why he's selling it for so cheap......

I hope you have a lot of money set aside.

Honestly if the car is beat to hell I wouldn't mess with it.......

You are gonna pay either way......either its up front for a well taken cared one or one that probably the one you are looking at which you will be spending a ton of money to get it like new.

If you are as picky as me then you will be spending some dough to get it perfect or close to it.

 

[Danny]

Re: Need some advice.

Spence - this isn't an opportunity! That's a piece of Shit! RUN! For the amount of $$ you'll crap into that car you could get one without the a million headaches for less than you'll eventually dump into that car....unless of course you're buying it and parting it out :tongue:

An opportunity has arisen

 

[Dtrigg]

Re: Need some advice.

You have an opportunity alright. An opportunity to put a lot of money in that car.

 

[mlambert890]

Re: Need some advice.

Id bet the cost of a TB/WP that some 18 year old kid who got in way over his head so he could ride around looking like a celeb and then ended up beating a great car to death did NOT do the TB/WP.

He basically had enough money to barely buy the car, then proceeded to do daily burnouts against Mustangs and Civics and pretend he was an independent millionaire

Id guarantee the stories go deep man... You're much better off getting an upfront honest car. A kid like this knows FULL WELL what the car *could* go for, so the fact he's not trying to squeeze every penny out of it should be a caution flag.

On a side note, its just amazing how few NSXs have their TB/WP done. It seems from that thread like a Dr bought the car. Is $1800 just really too much for this many people to handle? Why buy a car like this if you cant even handle a couple of grand in repairs? I thought Ferraris were bad when it came to "whoops! service time... better sell!" At least Ferrari major service is like $8k.

EDIT: Looking at post history, "PsychDoc" MAY Have done the TB/WP... There was a thread where he was looking for a mechanic, but it didnt have resolution... so the car MIGHT not be on the original at least (technically still needs another one though) Unfortunately it seems PsychDoc only posted about a year and then disappeared, so it might not be possible to contact him to ask. My spider sense tells me this car had a bad accident and thats how it eventually wound up with that kid.

BTW... my experience is that a PPI will often NOT note accident history... Not everyone knows how to look, nor cares to. Ive had cars get a "clean" bill of health and Ive then spotted CLEAR accident history, but to the mechanic, thats not really an issue (because he is checking engine/trans/etc)

 

[LoveNSXs]

Re: Need some advice.

Spence - this isn't an opportunity! That's a piece of Shit! RUN! For the amount of $$ you'll crap into that car you could get one without the a million headaches for less than you'll eventually dump into that car....unless of course you're buying it and parting it out :tongue:

what kind of money could I get out of parting it out? def not what i put into it, I'm sure...

You have an opportunity alright. An opportunity to put a lot of money in that car.

:frown:. I thought I was on to something here... He did price it with all those issues in mind... should it be lower?

I'll still go ahead and check it out, I suppose. Maybe it's a diamond in the rough :redface:

Id bet the cost of a TB/WP that some 18 year old kid who got in way over his head so he could ride around looking like a celeb and then ended up beating a great car to death did NOT do the TB/WP.

He basically had enough money to barely buy the car, then proceeded to do daily burnouts against Mustangs and Civics and pretend he was an independent millionaire

Id guarantee the stories go deep man... You're much better off getting an upfront honest car. A kid like this knows FULL WELL what the car *could* go for, so the fact he's not trying to squeeze every penny out of it should be a caution flag.

On a side note, its just amazing how few NSXs have their TB/WP done. It seems from that thread like a Dr bought the car. Is $1800 just really too much for this many people to handle? Why buy a car like this if you cant even handle a couple of grand in repairs? I thought Ferraris were bad when it came to "whoops! service time... better sell!" At least Ferrari major service is like $8k.

Edit: Looking at post history, "PsychDoc" MAY Have done the TB/WP... There was a thread where he was looking for a mechanic, but it didnt have resolution... so the car MIGHT not be on the original at least (technically still needs another one though) Unfortunately it seems PsychDoc only posted about a year and then disappeared, so it might not be possible to contact him to ask

you're probably right. but would preventative maintenance upon purchasing the car save it from any potential problems? I've been considering the car for quite some time now and budgeted accordingly to how I would pay for any and all service work needed...

 

[Dtrigg]

Re: Need some advice.

Well, at the end of the day it's your call. I would suggest you don't become emotionally involved with the car. These fellow Prime members are providing their thoughts and providing the advice you were seeking.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[Danny]

Re: Need some advice.

Diamond in the rough? More like a piece of crap in the rough. Budgeted? How much have you budgeted; 10k'ish or so I hope? By the time you do the req'd maintenance you'll be a few thousand into it and judging by the rough condition of the car you don't have a clue what you're in for but my guess is a NIGHTMARE! Do yourself a favor, move on....if money is the issue than save up a little longer until you can buy a better example, or even a true diamond in the rough. I agree with the post above, don't let yourself get emotionally involved with the car now and purchase a car that later you'll come to HATE. If you know the NSX is for you, then be patient, save up the $$$ and get a better car than this piece of crap.

Maybe it's a diamond in the rough :redface:

I've been considering the car for quite some time now and budgeted accordingly to how I would pay for any and all service work needed...

 

[LoveNSXs]

Re: Need some advice.

Well, at the end of the day it's your call. I would suggest you don't become emotionally involved with the car. These fellow Prime members are providing their thoughts and providing the advice you were seeking.

Good luck in your decision.

Diamond in the rough? More like a piece of crap in the rough. Budgeted? How much have you budgeted; 10k'ish or so I hope? By the time you do the req'd maintenance you'll be a few thousand into it and judging by the rough condition of the car you don't have a clue what you're in for but my guess is a NIGHTMARE! Do yourself a favor, move on....if money is the issue than save up a little longer until you can buy a better example, or even a true diamond in the rough. I agree with the post above, don't let yourself get emotionally involved with the car now and purchase a car that later you'll come to HATE. If you know the NSX is for you, then be patient, save up the $$$ and get a better car than this piece of crap.

Roger that.

Thanks for the words and advice. I will continue to save up and get a real one when the time comes.

 

[Big_D]

That is a serious beater. I would not even think about owning that car, no matter what the price. I seriously doubt you have enough money to make put this car back to pristine condition. It would cost more than what it would cost to buy a clean one that was well taken care of. Good Luck

 

[rbilder]

The car was first posted 1/12/09 for $18k firm and still available

That in itself is a BIG RED FLAG. I checked out the thread. The one pictures of the cf hood didn't look quite right, but the ones where it had been detailed didn't look too bad of the car.

Several of the pictures shown, it appeared to be fairly rough.

Personally, I would pass on this one.

I've seen some NSX's with salvage titles that had fairly minor damage but were totaled by the insurance companys because of the cost of repair that were going for about $18k. I wouldn't recommend buying one, but compared, some of those were in much better shape and would probably be a better deal. The issue with salvage cars can be insurance and for sure, resale down the road.

It seems like the advice here has been good... don't get emotionally tied to this car, because after all it is an NSX, beautiful cars... but there are better cars out there... $22k to $24k possibly... maybe a few lower with the present economy, that may not need quite as much work or money put into them.

Most will need the WP/TB maintenance done.

The seats looked rough, etc. As for parting it out... lots of work, time, and then finding the people who need the part, figuring out all the shipping, etc.

You could always goto prime Market and pm some of the people who are currently parting out cars. But I wouldn't purchase one with the thought of parting it out. Too much work and hastle for me.

As a side note, on the bottom of his thread there was a similar thread
04 NSX for $12,000 on ebay.... NOW THAT IS A SCREAMING DEAL ! ! !
oops, no longer there.... okay, that wasn't a good example as that was a for sure scam.

I was amazed at how many scams I came across in my search for an NSX. Crazy. I use to mess with them... but people began telling me I better stop or I'd find myself at the bottom of the Reeeever.

Good luck on your decision and finding an NSX.

PS. If it is local, it won't hurt to check it out... maybe drive it... they are hard to find ... let alone be able to get behind the wheel and get the feel. BUT as mentioned by others, don't let the drive get you emotionally attached to the particular vehicle.. maybe the NSX over all, but not this car, unless you decide it is worth it to you.

For the price, if it were that good a deal it would have been long gone by now. Paint, parts, maintenance aren't cheap for the NSX... cheap compared to the F-cars and some others, but more costly than many other vehicles.