Out of State Sight Unseen Purchase

[gymdent]

As I'm looking to purchase an NSX from out of state, could any of you folks give me any suggestions on purchasing what appears to be a beauty sight unseen.

I have heard of services that will look over the car for you and give you a report, but I don't have any names or any idea of fees. And what about transporting services?

Thanks!

 

[slamstrom]

Where is the NSX located? Perhaps prime members located close to the NSX can swing by for you to do an inspection/audit of this NSX.

 

[Heeltoe914]

You would do better to say what state your looking in or city and than a member can direct you to a location or maybe a member here can do the PPI for you for a few bucks.
Figure LA to New York appox, 2000 so in between????. And make sure you ask if your car will be inside of a enclocsed trialer if not call another shipper.

 

[hofffam]

You should insist on a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) by someone knowledgeable of NSXs. An Acura dealer can do this and it will cost $100-150.

I bought my NSX 1200 miles away. An NSXPrime member looked it over and drove it for me. After the car got his OK - I arranged for the PPI, which the seller was happy to arrange.

We negotiated, I flew up to meet the seller, and drove the car home over a weekend.

 

[Chilln92]

Gymdent there is a service call Carchex.com that will send out an ASE certified inspector to look over your car. They will take many pics and give a very thorough analysis for you. I know. I used them to look at 3 different NSX from across the country before deciding to purchase. I think it cost around 150-200 bucks depending on if you want a carfax report with it. It is cheaper to do carfax separately and use their "unlimited" service which will provide a unlimited amount of carchex reports for 1 month for around 20 bucks. Also, to transport the car it will cost around 1000-1500 depending on if you want enclosed or open transport. Good Luck with the purchase!

 

[nsxtasy]

You should insist on a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) by someone knowledgeable of NSXs. An Acura dealer can do this and it will cost $100-150.

I bought my NSX 1200 miles away. An NSXPrime member looked it over and drove it for me. After the car got his OK - I arranged for the PPI, which the seller was happy to arrange.

Yes, this is a good way to go about it. Many NSX owners here (particularly the most knowledgeable and finicky) can evaluate a car's aesthetic condition - paint, interior, etc. Using advice on NSXprime, you can then identify the best NSX mechanic in the area with whom you can arrange to do the PPI, and he can evaluate the car's mechanical condition, and often (but not always) any previous body work.

I'm a bit leery of those car inspection services that examine lots of different kinds of cars. I suspect they can do a fine job with most cars, by looking at the thickness of the brake pads and tire tread, maybe do a compression test, etc, but would not be likely to have the NSX-specific knowledge to look for things like the tranny in the snap ring range, other failures, maintenance items like the timing belt and water pump (e.g. looking if it has the old style place where the weep tube goes), etc.

 

[hofffam]

My PPI was done by Flatirons Acura in Boulder. I spoke to the mechanic on the phone and received a written/checklist report.

 

[ChopsJazz]

Many here, myself included, have helped buyers like you with this process by using the Used NSX Checklist. Let us know where the car is and I'm sure someone can help you.

 

[davidf]

I bought mine from a member here. It was 2000+ miles away. I had many high res. pics. sent to me plus copies of all sevice records faxed to me. We even talked pretty much daily up to the day of transaction. He sent me pics. of the car being loaded for transport which he completely oversaw personally. He was exceptionally honest about every detail of the car. If and when I decide to up grade it will most likely be from another Prime member.:smile:

 

[Steven Allen]

I purchased my car from a member who is a car dealer in St Louis, some 2,000 miles from here. To echo some of the other comments.

1) See service records.
2) Digital pictures.
3) Carfax.
4) PPI with a dealer and the mechanic who will be performing the PPI both before and after. Make sure the mechanic works on NSX's frequently NOT twice a year.
5) If a prime member is willing to help, it is another set of eyes and ears that are independent.
6) If you elect to buy have the car shipped to you use enclosed transport.

My purchase was amongst my best purchase decisions ever. When the truck arrived to deliver my car the final product exceeded all my expectations.

 

[davidf]

Theres just something about shipping an NSX. When the driver slowly back my car out of the trailer the hair literally stood up on the back of my neck. My GF said she's never seen that look on my face, ever.:wink: