- Joined
- 7 June 2017
- Messages
- 3
Hello,
I have long loved 90's Japanese cars. The styling was a perfect mix of smooth and angled that gave the cars a sharp and aggressive look. The interiors were very driver oriented, almost serving as cockpits. In high school I owned a 300ZX Z32, which I loved.
I graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in computer science and am now in a position to afford what I see as the epitome of the 90's Japanese sports cars, the Honda NSX.
I am looking to purchase a manual hardtop NSX, preferably red, as soon as I can find one within my $45k budget. As I live within walking distance of work, the car would mostly live in my garage except for the weekends when I would take it out.
I spotted an NSX nearby that seems to fit all of my criteria. It's a 1992 red 5spd NSX - JH4NA1154NT800064:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/6156884841.html
However, I noticed that the front of the car was a slightly different color from the rest, and when I asked the owner about it (3rd owner) he mentioned it was in a front end accident in 1996, and repaired then. He said he got the car appraised at a Honda dealership only a few years back, and that it was in good mechanical condition. I have some questions:
1) How likely is it that the accident involved frame damage? If it did, I am not interested in the vehicle. However, if I can ensure that no parts of the aluminum frame were affected, and the alignment of everything is fine, I would be less hesitant.
2) Will the one-accident significantly affect the value of the car down the road? Assuming I keep it well maintained and add 10k miles a year, will it continue to rise in value, hold value, or drop rapidly? I know these things are hard to predict but I am curious.
3) The car will see track duty. In that case, does the accident matter?
4) Is the current asking price of $34k a fair price given the accident?
Thanks!
I have long loved 90's Japanese cars. The styling was a perfect mix of smooth and angled that gave the cars a sharp and aggressive look. The interiors were very driver oriented, almost serving as cockpits. In high school I owned a 300ZX Z32, which I loved.
I graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in computer science and am now in a position to afford what I see as the epitome of the 90's Japanese sports cars, the Honda NSX.
I am looking to purchase a manual hardtop NSX, preferably red, as soon as I can find one within my $45k budget. As I live within walking distance of work, the car would mostly live in my garage except for the weekends when I would take it out.
I spotted an NSX nearby that seems to fit all of my criteria. It's a 1992 red 5spd NSX - JH4NA1154NT800064:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/6156884841.html
However, I noticed that the front of the car was a slightly different color from the rest, and when I asked the owner about it (3rd owner) he mentioned it was in a front end accident in 1996, and repaired then. He said he got the car appraised at a Honda dealership only a few years back, and that it was in good mechanical condition. I have some questions:
1) How likely is it that the accident involved frame damage? If it did, I am not interested in the vehicle. However, if I can ensure that no parts of the aluminum frame were affected, and the alignment of everything is fine, I would be less hesitant.
2) Will the one-accident significantly affect the value of the car down the road? Assuming I keep it well maintained and add 10k miles a year, will it continue to rise in value, hold value, or drop rapidly? I know these things are hard to predict but I am curious.
3) The car will see track duty. In that case, does the accident matter?
4) Is the current asking price of $34k a fair price given the accident?
Thanks!