Plan to acquire...

If you do decide to get one, my advice is to not pay a premium for the nicest NSX you can find cosmetically speaking. Get the higher mileage one that has some scrapes, chips and door dings but is mechanically sound. The biggest problem I would have would be that any NSX (or any car for that matter) will get destroyed in college. If you get it thinking "I'm getting a cool $25k car with higher-than-average upkeep (potentially very high if something goes wrong)" then that is not so bad. If you think you're buying your pristine NSX dream car, and that it will stay that way, you're wrong.

Door dings
Bumper/Fender/Curb Rash from lots of parallel parking
Driving to bars and leaving the car there overnight
Getting towed
Everyone else that is clueless at college campuses
DUI risk (you'll be the first guy to get pulled over, always)
Theft, unless you pay higher rent for a place with a garage

The people driving Porsches and Range Rovers on college campuses -- hopefully -- had them paid for by parents. Otherwise they are complete fools. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Ski_Banker said:
If you do decide to get one, my advice is to not pay a premium for the nicest NSX you can find cosmetically speaking. Get the higher mileage one that has some scrapes, chips and door dings but is mechanically sound. The biggest problem I would have would be that any NSX (or any car for that matter) will get destroyed in college. If you get it thinking "I'm getting a cool $25k car with higher-than-average upkeep (potentially very high if something goes wrong)" then that is not so bad. If you think you're buying your pristine NSX dream car, and that it will stay that way, you're wrong

The people driving Porsches and Range Rovers on college campuses -- hopefully -- had them paid for by parents. Otherwise they are complete fools. Good luck with whatever you choose.
Click to expand...

sorry i usually lurk, but i thought there was a discussion that NSX maintenance is less than that of a E46 M3's...
is S54 M3 considered high maintenance then? What is the definition of high maintenance?

I just graduated college not so long ago, had an a4, 350z, 2bmws (1 M) over 4 years in the school lot and i never got a door ding, not a scratch, nothing and yes i paid for the cars myself, and i didnt deal drugs. :smile:
It all depends on where you go... my school was just a bunch of dbags driving RS4s, M3s and such... people could care less about vandalizing my car.
 
zhan said:
sorry i usually lurk, but i thought there was a discussion that NSX maintenance is less than that of a E46 M3's...
is S54 M3 considered high maintenance then? What is the definition of high maintenance?

I just graduated college not so long ago, had an a4, 350z, 2bmws (1 M) over 4 years in the school lot and i never got a door ding, not a scratch, nothing and yes i paid for the cars myself, and i didnt deal drugs. :smile:
It all depends on where you go... my school was just a bunch of dbags driving RS4s, M3s and such... people could care less about vandalizing my car.
Click to expand...

Hm well I think what they mean is that say a 07 honda civic si the 60,000 tune up is 800 bucks including valve adjustment etc..

NSX 60,000 tune up is like 1500+ or somewhere around that. Dep if you need new hoses, timing belt, water pump, and all the other goodies.. It'd be a lot cheaper if you did it yourself. Like an AC is over a grand to fix.. So yeah it's not as cheap as you can get with the SI, and with the SI that 800 is the whole shebang.. Next tune up is 75000 miles and thats like 300 bucks bc they did most all of the stuff from the last one. Plus that 300 bucks is for stuff like checkign rotors, filling coolant, oil change, tranny fluid change. It's all stuff that you can do yourself for about 100 bucks..

E46 inspection II is 2xxx right?? You have to get the valve adjustment.. I think inspection I is 1xxx? Plus brakes would be 2000 or whatnot. I would say they're close to around the same price for maintenance?

I'm not really good with numbers, other more knowledgeable ppl on this forum could help you out more. But frmo what I have read they are pretty close to each other in terms of maintenance.. They don't break down often if you treat them good..
 
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leonphelpss11 said:
Hm well I think what they mean is that say a 07 honda civic si the 60,000 tune up is 800 bucks including valve adjustment etc..

NSX 60,000 tune up is like 1500+ or somewhere around that. Dep if you need new hoses, timing belt, water pump, and all the other goodies.. It'd be a lot cheaper if you did it yourself. Like an AC is over a grand to fix.. So yeah it's not as cheap as you can get with the SI, and with the SI that 800 is the whole shebang.. Next tune up is 75000 miles and thats like 300 bucks bc they did most all of the stuff from the last one. Plus that 300 bucks is for stuff like checkign rotors, filling coolant, oil change, tranny fluid change. It's all stuff that you can do yourself for about 100 bucks..

E46 inspection II is 2xxx right?? You have to get the valve adjustment.. I think inspection I is 1xxx? Plus brakes would be 2000 or whatnot. I would say they're close to around the same price for maintenance?

I'm not really good with numbers, other more knowledgeable ppl on this forum could help you out more. But frmo what I have read they are pretty close to each other in terms of maintenance.. They don't break down often if you treat them good..
Click to expand...

yeah, thats what i meant... 2000 bucks for maintenance on a car thats BARELY driven every 6 years is NOT BAD AT ALL... I dont see what the big fuss is about... unless there are other hidden problems?
:confused:
 
zhan said:
yeah, thats what i meant... 2000 bucks for maintenance on a car thats BARELY driven every 6 years is NOT BAD AT ALL... I dont see what the big fuss is about... unless there are other hidden problems?
:confused:
Click to expand...

I believe the whole maintenance if you have nothing done n pretty much need everything tops out at 4,xxx. I know a guy on the forum that spent 7,000 for all the maintenance but thats bc he had to like fix the block or something. I haven't read the numbers in a while.

Um from what i have read NOT EXPERIENCED, its a 10+ y/o car (na1), there are stuff prone to break down. Plus there are some parts not made for it anymore (suspension I believe). That gets very expensive trying to find the parts. Um clutch+maybe flywheel is very expensive compared to a normal car. Everything is more expensive compared to the normal sports car, I guess thats why everyone is worried about someone my age buying this car. There are no hidden problems from what I HAVE READ besides outdated stuff like AC.
 
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leonphelpss11 said:
I believe the whole maintenance if you have nothing done n pretty much need everything tops out at 4,xxx. I know a guy on the forum that spent 7,000 for all the maintenance but thats bc he had to like fix the block or something. I haven't read the numbers in a while.

Um from what i have read NOT EXPERIENCED, its a 10+ y/o car (na1), there are stuff prone to break down. Plus there are some parts not made for it anymore (suspension I believe). That gets very expensive trying to find the parts. Um clutch+maybe flywheel is very expensive compared to a normal car. Everything is more expensive compared to the normal sports car, I guess thats why everyone is worried about someone my age buying this car. There are no hidden problems from what I HAVE READ besides outdated stuff like AC.
Click to expand...

whats a normal sports car to you?
i mean from what ive read it is less expensive to maintain than porsche boxster, cayman and 911s...
and comparable to BMW M's... which isnt that bad if you think about it...
 
zhan said:
whats a normal sports car to you?
i mean from what ive read it is less expensive to maintain than porsche boxster, cayman and 911s...
and comparable to BMW M's... which isnt that bad if you think about it...
Click to expand...

Well I mean like mild sports cars. Civic SI's, GTI's, MS3's, TC SC'd.. Stuff along the lines of that

I agree that it isn't really bad on maintenance.. My buddy had a NA1 and his NEVER EVER broke down on him. He used it as a DD too and it had over 100k miles. He did all the necessary tune ups and whatnot. I honestly think it can be used as a DD at a reasonable cost. If you are mechanically inclined and can do the majority of the work yourself, maintenance is comparable to my SI (few hundred more per tuneup if not close to the same). I've researched a lot about this car before honestly considering it.

I did forget to mention that the smallest accidents on the NSX is very pricey to fix. From the posts here, accidents that would normally cost 3,000 on my SI would cost tripled that. Then you have insurance, but for some reason when I did the free online quote, my insurance was only 200 more every 6 months compared to the SI. I have Shelter's insurance btw
 
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leonphelpss11 said:
Well I mean like mild sports cars. Civic SI's, GTI's, MS3's, TC SC'd.. Stuff along the lines of that

I agree that it isn't really bad on maintenance.. My buddy had a NA1 and his NEVER EVER broke down on him. He used it as a DD too and it had over 100k miles. He did all the necessary tune ups and whatnot. I honestly think it can be used as a DD at a reasonable cost. If you are mechanically inclined and can do the majority of the work yourself, maintenance is comparable to my SI (few hundred more per tuneup if not close to the same). I've researched a lot about this car before honestly considering it.

I did forget to mention that the smallest accidents on the NSX is very pricey to fix. From the posts here, accidents that would normally cost 3,000 on my SI would cost tripled that. Then you have insurance, but for some reason when I did the free online quote, my insurance was only 200 more every 6 months compared to the SI. I have Shelter's insurance btw
Click to expand...

well good that you brought up the Si, i just picked one up (2009 black coupe) as a daily driver. I sold my M roadster and am loooking at the NSX now. Very interested lol...

expensive to fix? well yeah thats what insurance is for. who pays out of pocket for accident repairs anyway? :confused:
 
07 si 60k $800:eek: i wouldnt go to that dealer again. at 100k are they going to want you to do the clutch as a precautionary measure:confused:
 
zanardi43 said:
07 si 60k $800:eek: i wouldnt go to that dealer again. at 100k are they going to want you to do the clutch as a precautionary measure:confused:
Click to expand...

Well I think it was 60k. I know one of the tune ups is 800 bucks. But I did it myself all for around a bill.. Haha I like the SI, blast to drive but i really love the NSX. Been my dream car since I was like 10. The SI is dropped on skunk 2 with some HFP rims, handles pretty nice esp with tat lsd
 
just curious what did you pay 100 dollars for on a 07 honda civic for a tune up at 60k? :rolleyes: what could possibly need to be done?
 
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ill tell you like this, haha.... keep the GLI, i have a GTI, the 40k maintenance was $600, you get an awesome DSG tranny, 29mpg, plenty of room to carry stuff, and no one will beat up on your car, also, its plenty fast, i eat 350z's and all i have is intake and stage 1 APR... so go to college get your degree, then worry about a car
 
zanardi43 said:
just curious what did you pay 100 dollars for on a 07 honda civic for a tune up at 60k? :rolleyes: what could possibly need to be done?
Click to expand...

Well I have been borrowing my friends tools, so I had to buy my own now. Didn't buy a whole new set but nevertheless I spent like 50 bucks or so

5 qts royal purp-40 or so bucks
2 qts AMSoil tranny fluid-20 bucks
4 spark plugs-30ish bucks
coolant-10bucks
paid my buddy thats a honda tech to do a valve adj for 50 bucks
new brake pads @ 40k miles- 50 bucks
Hm I'm missing some stuff, but all in all I spent right around if a lil over a 100. I'm kinda rounding up btw.. Not all of it was done at one time, so haha it is a lil over 100 then..
 
zanardi43 said:
was your car misfireing? why plugs? valve adj. at 60k. why?
Click to expand...

Well I chose to replace the plugs bc I'm just kinda anal about my car. It's the same reason why i choose to replace the oil @ 3000 miles instead of 5000. Well I paid my friend 50 to chg out my camber kit and give me an alignment. He said he'd check up on the valves to see if they needed to be adjusted, so I kinda got that number from there.
 
this same discussion is going on at lotustalk and probably several other car forums right now. I totally agree w/ PhiAlpha. There are a bunch of us silverbacks on every one of these forums that have been there. NSX (or Elise, or Gallardo, or....) will end up being a bigger PITA in for a college student to own than it's worth (even if you can afford it outright). My brother and I shared a motorcycle in college, now that's how you pick up chicks! (and isn't that the whole purpose of college?, was in my day):wink:
 
Dr.Honda said:
this same discussion is going on at lotustalk and probably several other car forums right now. I totally agree w/ PhiAlpha. There are a bunch of us silverbacks on every one of these forums that have been there. NSX (or Elise, or Gallardo, or....) will end up being a bigger PITA in for a college student to own than it's worth (even if you can afford it outright). My brother and I shared a motorcycle in college, now that's how you pick up chicks! (and isn't that the whole purpose of college?, was in my day):wink:
Click to expand...

Totally! Crotch Rocket is the way to go. I PROMISE!
 
crgray said:
ill tell you like this, haha.... keep the GLI, i have a GTI, the 40k maintenance was $600, you get an awesome DSG tranny, 29mpg, plenty of room to carry stuff, and no one will beat up on your car, also, its plenty fast, i eat 350z's and all i have is intake and stage 1 APR... so go to college get your degree, then worry about a car
Click to expand...

DSG? Hah...


Anyway...I got summoned here via the s2ki forums. Can't you guys just merge? It would make things so much easier.

So, now I'm looking into a cheap AP1 s2000 for college. I'm not sure what will happen with the GLI, I'm very afraid to sell in this market, so I may try and hold onto it.

I'll make something work out, and keep you updated.

e39m5
 
I am currently finishing my last year at college to receive my B.S.E. I regret buying nice cars during college. It was a load on my shoulders, when I could have spent more time socializing with people and opening my mind. This is why I now drive a 1986 Honda Accord. I am liking my last year alot better. Now saving up for a House and thinking about an NSX on the way.
 

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