Introduction:
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself as I do in all the forums I join. My name is Fernando, I live in the NYC area and I enjoy all types of car related events, BBQ's, Cruises, Shows and just spending time with like-minded individuals. I was in the market for an NSX for a few months this year meanwhile I decided whether or not I wanted to sell my S2000. After discussing with friends and family, it just made sense to bite the bullet and own a truly incredible piece of automotive history. This of course after receiving the wife's stamp of approval lol.
Unlike most of the intro threads I've seen on Prime, most will say it has been their childhood dream to own an NSX. In my case, I actually never really saw the car as attainable and was comfortable with that. With hard work I knew that one day it could be possible but in the interim, I made sure to enjoy all the other cars I saw as "attainable".
Background:
I've gone through a number of cars (which ironically enough), the more I think about it, the more I realize they've all led up to the NSX. It always starts with the car you can truly say you purchased on your own. You had an idea, you did the research, you secured the funding, located the car and then made it happen. For me, that was a 2001 Honda Prelude in Pearl White. Low mileage, 15K miles. Beautiful in person. In my opinion, still one of the greatest styled Honda's with the long nose; under-powered but sexy!
Problem with the Prelude was that it was an automatic. Thus came my quench for a manual car. It came in the form of one of the best AWD sedans of all time, the Mitsubishi Evolution. A buddy of mine let me drive his brand new MR in 2006 and I was immediately hooked. I sold the Prelude and bought a 2006 Evo in Graphite Grey with 18K miles. Learned how to drive stick in it and kept it for a year or two. Did most of the bolt-ons but kept the turbo stock.I then decided it was time to propose to my wife so I sold the Evo, knowing I'd own another some time.
Between that time and getting married, I went through a 1995 Nissan S15, 1999 Civic EK sedan, 1995 Toyota 4Runner and finally a 1999.5 GTI VR6. The amount of cabin space in that hatchback was always memorizing and the exhaust note intoxicating.
Within a month of getting married, I kept my promise and found another low-mileage, clean Evo IX. This time it was the Special Edition. Had all bolt-ons and upgraded stock-frame turbo, pushing 400WHP/400TQ on a mustang dyno on '93 pump gas. I used that for a couple of years as my daily driver all-year around. I truly enjoyed that car. At that point my career was developing (still is) but I convinced myself that having a dedicated DD and a dedicated weekend car would be possible.
For the price of the Evo, I figured, what else could I enjoy for cruising on nice days and keep as a summer-only car? In popped the idea of owning a convertible. I had never owned one so why not now? Immediately I knew there would be no substitute than a S2000. I asked myself the same question again after driving the S2000 for the year and came up with the NSX!
My New NSX:
I found my NSX here on Prime after searching for a few weeks. As with many recent buyers, you start to hit yourself for not buying one sooner since it seems they are appreciating so quickly. My future weekend toy is a 1991 Red/Black with 40,000 miles and is currently waiting for me out in Arizona. I'm catching a flight bright an early tomorrow (8/21) and will start the 36-hour drive back to NY in the afternoon. It will be a comfortable cruise back as I plan on being back by Sunday, so will be passing by some sites along the way.
Details on the car:
From the seller:
First Impressions:
What an incredible machine! I'd never driven an NSX, let alone sat in the drivers seat before arriving in Arizona. As soon as I saw the car, I couldn't help but notice how low profile and elongated the rear is, especially when standing next to my rental (Dodge Dart). Once I sat in the cockpit, I noticed how roomy it was! In the S2000, as soon as you shut the door, you really don't get any wiggle room. You immediately feel enclosed because the arm rest on both sides are right there. When driving spiritedly it's definitely welcomed, but on long trips, not so much. Mind you I'm not that big of a guy (6ft, 180lbs). The cabin space in the NSX felt exactly as mentioned in the brochure book, two individual cockpits with plenty of privacy space. For the long trip ahead of us, it was perfect!
The seller walked me around the entire car, showing me all of the ins and outs of each of the switches, panels, bay, etc. Definitely felt like the VIP treatment lol. First thing I did was mount my Broadway blue-tinted rear view mirror and slap on my EZ-Pass. I then proceeded to start her up. WOW, what an awesome roar! The greatest thing I've noticed about the mods on the car, is that they all helped enhance the experience which I'm sure differs greatly from an otherwise 100% stock car. All of the bolts-ons really compliment the car and help keep the car subdued until you show the pedal some love and then the NSX shows you love back in the form of a lions roar.
Backing up from the storage garage presented little to no issue, however, every clutch is different and getting myself adjusted to the OEM twin-disc took some mental coordination. I actually didn't even about know this until I read it in the book! The subsequent traffic lights helped me quickly adjust and luckily didn't stall once. Like I had read in so many threads before, the visibility is amazing. I like how I can see the front wheel wells and then the hood just slopes off. With the softtop up, the S2000 has one of the worst blind-spots ever. With the thinner side panels on the NSX, elongated door which goes passed my shoulders and the wrap-around hatch glass, you can truly appreciate the F-16 inspired design.
The seats hugged me well and the interior feels plenty nice for me.All the necessary inputs right in front of you. Nothing felt like it was hard to reach nor placed in an ackward spot. The brushed analog cluster is beautiful and inviting when taking a glance. Even if I didn't need to, I would take a quick peak while driving just to see it. Another bonus was that the prior owner had fixed the OEM radio and converted the A/C, so we had all we needed for the road ahead.
Cross-Country Trip:
Cities Travelled: 12 States, 7 CitiesTucson, AZ (dinner) ---> El Paso, TX (slept) ---> Ft. Worth, TX (lunch) ---> Little Rock, AR (slept) --> Nashville, TN (lunch) --> Roanoke, VA (slept) --> Brooklyn, NY (home)
Total Distance: 2,600 miles
Total Time: 4 Days --> 4PM (UTC) Thursday, 8/20 - 4PM (EST) Sunday, 8/23
Summary: I had done a trip from NY to LA about 6 years ago, albeit in a 2001 Civic sedan with a trunk full of luggage and four passengers on-board, so not the most pleasant but definitely a great experience seeing all of the sites along the way. On the trip back to the east-coast, the best drive was going through the twisty highway in TN. We did get caught in some HEAVY downpour in the beginning of TN but nothing the NSX couldn't handle. I wish we would have had extra time to have driven through Blue Ridge Pkwy, Smokey Mountain, Tail of the Dragon, etc. And what would a cross-country trip in a sports car be without a run in with law enforcement? Thanks for the memento VA! Would I do it again? Hell Yeah! The ride was super comfortable and the drone was extremely bearable, if not pleasant! It would have been awesome to have had a caravan of NSX's, next time!
Back At Home:
To the Seller:
Marc, I can't thank you enough for all of the patience, help and kindness you showed along the way. The entire process did take about 2.5 weeks but you never came across as impatient. You also took the time to answer each and everyone of my questions, you paid for the PPI, gave me free bins to ship all of the stock stuff back home and even offered to join us for a parting meal (I still owe you a burger from "Lindy's on 4th"). Truly a stand-up guy and please do follow my thread as I plan on keeping all of my adventures logged here. Best of luck with your future toys! Be sure to send over some pics of your 'R' project.
What's Next?
1) Oil Change
2) Replace leaking CV Boot
3) Interior/Exterior Detail
4) Join as many cruises as I can before storing her
5) Continue meeting great fellow NSX'ers along the way
Future Mod's
What fun would it be if we didn't plan ahead?
1) SOS Stealth License Plate (installed)
2) Honda Nav Display Pod (en route)
3) Wifi Backup Camera (en route)
4) NSX-R chassis bars
5) 2002+ OEM Rear Valence
6) 2002+ OEM Taillights
7) Downforce NSX-R Spoiler
8) Shine Spec-GT Front Lip
9) Difflow Diffuser
10) Meaty tires - Advan AD08R's
11) Concave wheels - single staggered, double staggered?
"Build" threads are always fun as you can get ideas from others or simply share in the pleasure of enjoying a vehicle. With that in mind, I will keep this thread alive with updates of my NSX along the way. Please feel free to comment.
PS - pictures to follow once I get them all off of my phone.
Regards,
Fernando
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself as I do in all the forums I join. My name is Fernando, I live in the NYC area and I enjoy all types of car related events, BBQ's, Cruises, Shows and just spending time with like-minded individuals. I was in the market for an NSX for a few months this year meanwhile I decided whether or not I wanted to sell my S2000. After discussing with friends and family, it just made sense to bite the bullet and own a truly incredible piece of automotive history. This of course after receiving the wife's stamp of approval lol.
Unlike most of the intro threads I've seen on Prime, most will say it has been their childhood dream to own an NSX. In my case, I actually never really saw the car as attainable and was comfortable with that. With hard work I knew that one day it could be possible but in the interim, I made sure to enjoy all the other cars I saw as "attainable".
Background:
I've gone through a number of cars (which ironically enough), the more I think about it, the more I realize they've all led up to the NSX. It always starts with the car you can truly say you purchased on your own. You had an idea, you did the research, you secured the funding, located the car and then made it happen. For me, that was a 2001 Honda Prelude in Pearl White. Low mileage, 15K miles. Beautiful in person. In my opinion, still one of the greatest styled Honda's with the long nose; under-powered but sexy!
Problem with the Prelude was that it was an automatic. Thus came my quench for a manual car. It came in the form of one of the best AWD sedans of all time, the Mitsubishi Evolution. A buddy of mine let me drive his brand new MR in 2006 and I was immediately hooked. I sold the Prelude and bought a 2006 Evo in Graphite Grey with 18K miles. Learned how to drive stick in it and kept it for a year or two. Did most of the bolt-ons but kept the turbo stock.I then decided it was time to propose to my wife so I sold the Evo, knowing I'd own another some time.
Between that time and getting married, I went through a 1995 Nissan S15, 1999 Civic EK sedan, 1995 Toyota 4Runner and finally a 1999.5 GTI VR6. The amount of cabin space in that hatchback was always memorizing and the exhaust note intoxicating.
Within a month of getting married, I kept my promise and found another low-mileage, clean Evo IX. This time it was the Special Edition. Had all bolt-ons and upgraded stock-frame turbo, pushing 400WHP/400TQ on a mustang dyno on '93 pump gas. I used that for a couple of years as my daily driver all-year around. I truly enjoyed that car. At that point my career was developing (still is) but I convinced myself that having a dedicated DD and a dedicated weekend car would be possible.
For the price of the Evo, I figured, what else could I enjoy for cruising on nice days and keep as a summer-only car? In popped the idea of owning a convertible. I had never owned one so why not now? Immediately I knew there would be no substitute than a S2000. I asked myself the same question again after driving the S2000 for the year and came up with the NSX!
My New NSX:
I found my NSX here on Prime after searching for a few weeks. As with many recent buyers, you start to hit yourself for not buying one sooner since it seems they are appreciating so quickly. My future weekend toy is a 1991 Red/Black with 40,000 miles and is currently waiting for me out in Arizona. I'm catching a flight bright an early tomorrow (8/21) and will start the 36-hour drive back to NY in the afternoon. It will be a comfortable cruise back as I plan on being back by Sunday, so will be passing by some sites along the way.
Details on the car:
- 40,700 original miles
- California car for 13 years before moving to Arizona for just one year.
- Clean Carfax, 3 previous owners
- March 2014 - Full Service including: TB, WP, Cam Seals, Valve Cover, Spark Plugs, Clutch to Slave hose replaced and R134 A/C retrofit
- Pride Lightweight thick-walled exhaust
- Pride 300-cell cats
- Comptech Headers
- Downforce Intake
- BC Coilovers w/ Swift Spring Upgrade
- RDX Injectors
- Prospeed ECU Stage 2 Tune
- Host of NSX Memoribilia: Die cast models, banners, publications, car cover, front bra, etc.
From the seller:
First Impressions:
What an incredible machine! I'd never driven an NSX, let alone sat in the drivers seat before arriving in Arizona. As soon as I saw the car, I couldn't help but notice how low profile and elongated the rear is, especially when standing next to my rental (Dodge Dart). Once I sat in the cockpit, I noticed how roomy it was! In the S2000, as soon as you shut the door, you really don't get any wiggle room. You immediately feel enclosed because the arm rest on both sides are right there. When driving spiritedly it's definitely welcomed, but on long trips, not so much. Mind you I'm not that big of a guy (6ft, 180lbs). The cabin space in the NSX felt exactly as mentioned in the brochure book, two individual cockpits with plenty of privacy space. For the long trip ahead of us, it was perfect!
The seller walked me around the entire car, showing me all of the ins and outs of each of the switches, panels, bay, etc. Definitely felt like the VIP treatment lol. First thing I did was mount my Broadway blue-tinted rear view mirror and slap on my EZ-Pass. I then proceeded to start her up. WOW, what an awesome roar! The greatest thing I've noticed about the mods on the car, is that they all helped enhance the experience which I'm sure differs greatly from an otherwise 100% stock car. All of the bolts-ons really compliment the car and help keep the car subdued until you show the pedal some love and then the NSX shows you love back in the form of a lions roar.
Backing up from the storage garage presented little to no issue, however, every clutch is different and getting myself adjusted to the OEM twin-disc took some mental coordination. I actually didn't even about know this until I read it in the book! The subsequent traffic lights helped me quickly adjust and luckily didn't stall once. Like I had read in so many threads before, the visibility is amazing. I like how I can see the front wheel wells and then the hood just slopes off. With the softtop up, the S2000 has one of the worst blind-spots ever. With the thinner side panels on the NSX, elongated door which goes passed my shoulders and the wrap-around hatch glass, you can truly appreciate the F-16 inspired design.
The seats hugged me well and the interior feels plenty nice for me.All the necessary inputs right in front of you. Nothing felt like it was hard to reach nor placed in an ackward spot. The brushed analog cluster is beautiful and inviting when taking a glance. Even if I didn't need to, I would take a quick peak while driving just to see it. Another bonus was that the prior owner had fixed the OEM radio and converted the A/C, so we had all we needed for the road ahead.
Cross-Country Trip:
Cities Travelled: 12 States, 7 CitiesTucson, AZ (dinner) ---> El Paso, TX (slept) ---> Ft. Worth, TX (lunch) ---> Little Rock, AR (slept) --> Nashville, TN (lunch) --> Roanoke, VA (slept) --> Brooklyn, NY (home)
Total Distance: 2,600 miles
Total Time: 4 Days --> 4PM (UTC) Thursday, 8/20 - 4PM (EST) Sunday, 8/23
Summary: I had done a trip from NY to LA about 6 years ago, albeit in a 2001 Civic sedan with a trunk full of luggage and four passengers on-board, so not the most pleasant but definitely a great experience seeing all of the sites along the way. On the trip back to the east-coast, the best drive was going through the twisty highway in TN. We did get caught in some HEAVY downpour in the beginning of TN but nothing the NSX couldn't handle. I wish we would have had extra time to have driven through Blue Ridge Pkwy, Smokey Mountain, Tail of the Dragon, etc. And what would a cross-country trip in a sports car be without a run in with law enforcement? Thanks for the memento VA! Would I do it again? Hell Yeah! The ride was super comfortable and the drone was extremely bearable, if not pleasant! It would have been awesome to have had a caravan of NSX's, next time!
Back At Home:
To the Seller:
Marc, I can't thank you enough for all of the patience, help and kindness you showed along the way. The entire process did take about 2.5 weeks but you never came across as impatient. You also took the time to answer each and everyone of my questions, you paid for the PPI, gave me free bins to ship all of the stock stuff back home and even offered to join us for a parting meal (I still owe you a burger from "Lindy's on 4th"). Truly a stand-up guy and please do follow my thread as I plan on keeping all of my adventures logged here. Best of luck with your future toys! Be sure to send over some pics of your 'R' project.
What's Next?
1) Oil Change
2) Replace leaking CV Boot
3) Interior/Exterior Detail
4) Join as many cruises as I can before storing her
5) Continue meeting great fellow NSX'ers along the way
Future Mod's
What fun would it be if we didn't plan ahead?
1) SOS Stealth License Plate (installed)
2) Honda Nav Display Pod (en route)
3) Wifi Backup Camera (en route)
4) NSX-R chassis bars
5) 2002+ OEM Rear Valence
6) 2002+ OEM Taillights
7) Downforce NSX-R Spoiler
8) Shine Spec-GT Front Lip
9) Difflow Diffuser
10) Meaty tires - Advan AD08R's
11) Concave wheels - single staggered, double staggered?
"Build" threads are always fun as you can get ideas from others or simply share in the pleasure of enjoying a vehicle. With that in mind, I will keep this thread alive with updates of my NSX along the way. Please feel free to comment.
PS - pictures to follow once I get them all off of my phone.
Regards,
Fernando
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