I would like to recount an experience I had last week. I saw an ad on the Internet listing a 1992 NSX; red w/ an automatic transmission (I need the auto transmission so the wife can drive it) and 94k on the clock. The guy was asking 26K for the car. The ad for the car states the following:
“Selling Points: Three owner car. All major services have been completed. New timing belt, radiator, tires, pumps, etc. Dealer serviced. Always garaged. Non smoker car. Original manuals, car cover, etc.
Condition: Absolutely the cleanest you will find. Beautiful paint, interior excellent. Immaculate car inside and out”.
This seemed to be just what I was looking for! I spoke with the guy briefly on the phone and made arrangements to take three days off work to travel to Ohio and inspect the car before purchase. I got settled into the hotel room in Cincinnati and prepared to meet with the owner the following morning. I went over all the check-lists and FAQs I printed from NSX Prime related to purchasing an NSX.
The guy came to the hotel with the NSX and picked me up for some breakfast before taking the car to the local Acura dealership for inspection. I drove to the place we had chosen for breakfast and everything seemed ok with the car, except what appeared to be some excessive tightness in the steering.
We discussed several days earlier that I wanted to have the car inspected at the Acura dealership. He tells me over breakfast that the Acura dealership is unexpectedly jammed up today, and they may not have time to inspect the car. I said that’s ok, there is another Acura dealer twenty miles from here; let’s give them a call (I knew this because my wife noticed there were two Acura dealerships in Cincinnati when setting up my travel plans). This Acura dealership was able to inspect the car right away.
The exterior looked good, except the driver’s side door was not aligned properly; wheels/tires were perfect; interior was NOT perfect as stated in the ad; the dash and the center vent frame were cracked; holes left from where cell phone was mounted; driver’s seat outside bolster showing cracks in the leather, and some other small issues. The car was 14 years old after all, so I was willing to overlook this stuff, and just take care of it.
This other Acura dealership had a certified NSX mechanic. I told them I needed a pre-purchase inspection, and that I was the purchaser, and needed for them to act as my advocate in the inspection. The guy who did the inspection (his name was Ray) had twenty years experience as an Acura mechanic. He said he would put the car up on the rack and bring me back to inspect the car with him. Almost immediately he started to find problems, here is what was found:
Master cylinder leaking, needed replacement.
Both outside CV joints have excessive play and were leaking grease, replacement required.
Front end collision damage THAT WAS IMPROPERLY REPAIRED.
At this point, I told Ray “How can this be? The seller said the car was in mint condition, and I traveled 1700 miles to purchase the car based on that assumption”! Ray was pissed at hearing this; out came the microscope. The following additional problems were discovered:
I mentioned to Ray that I thought something was odd with the steering. Ray took the car for a drive (with me along), and found that the steering rack was damaged and needed replacement. He had a second mechanic with eighteen years experience test drive the car for confirmation. After the second mechanic agreed with Ray, he called Acura factory service support, who also agreed with him.
You ask why the double-checking and triple-checking on this one component? Because this one part costs $5,300 and 6 hours labor to install it!
He also felt vertical play in the steering column, and found one of the two studs holding the steering column in place had snapped off. This would require removal of the dash and disassembly of the entire steering column to repair.
The bottom line is that it would have cost me $10,000+ just to make the car roadworthy! These two mechanics at Superior Acura in Cincinnati worked on the car for almost two hours, and charged me only $88.00 for the inspection. I’m going to write a letter to Acura Corporate, commending them for their outstanding level of service.
As for me, I’m out $700+ for the wasted trip. Although NOT buying the car saved me this amount more than ten-times-over. I did make the guy a very reasonable offer on the car commensurate with the actual condition, which he refused. He called me back the next day accepting my offer, but I decided not to buy the car.
After thinking about it, the offer I made was still too high, considering the problems encountered. Plus if I were to buy it, I would have to take it on as a “project car”. The front-end repair work would also have to be redone, and fixed properly.
Its unfortunate that the seller in a situation like this looses nothing by falsely advertising the condition of their vehicle. The seller did not disclose ANY of this negative information about the car, even though I’m certain he knew about the steering rack issue in advance of my trip. The seller simply waits for another buyer to come along who does NOT properly inspect the vehicle.
Edit: VIN: JH4NA1263NT001075
“Selling Points: Three owner car. All major services have been completed. New timing belt, radiator, tires, pumps, etc. Dealer serviced. Always garaged. Non smoker car. Original manuals, car cover, etc.
Condition: Absolutely the cleanest you will find. Beautiful paint, interior excellent. Immaculate car inside and out”.
This seemed to be just what I was looking for! I spoke with the guy briefly on the phone and made arrangements to take three days off work to travel to Ohio and inspect the car before purchase. I got settled into the hotel room in Cincinnati and prepared to meet with the owner the following morning. I went over all the check-lists and FAQs I printed from NSX Prime related to purchasing an NSX.
The guy came to the hotel with the NSX and picked me up for some breakfast before taking the car to the local Acura dealership for inspection. I drove to the place we had chosen for breakfast and everything seemed ok with the car, except what appeared to be some excessive tightness in the steering.
We discussed several days earlier that I wanted to have the car inspected at the Acura dealership. He tells me over breakfast that the Acura dealership is unexpectedly jammed up today, and they may not have time to inspect the car. I said that’s ok, there is another Acura dealer twenty miles from here; let’s give them a call (I knew this because my wife noticed there were two Acura dealerships in Cincinnati when setting up my travel plans). This Acura dealership was able to inspect the car right away.
The exterior looked good, except the driver’s side door was not aligned properly; wheels/tires were perfect; interior was NOT perfect as stated in the ad; the dash and the center vent frame were cracked; holes left from where cell phone was mounted; driver’s seat outside bolster showing cracks in the leather, and some other small issues. The car was 14 years old after all, so I was willing to overlook this stuff, and just take care of it.
This other Acura dealership had a certified NSX mechanic. I told them I needed a pre-purchase inspection, and that I was the purchaser, and needed for them to act as my advocate in the inspection. The guy who did the inspection (his name was Ray) had twenty years experience as an Acura mechanic. He said he would put the car up on the rack and bring me back to inspect the car with him. Almost immediately he started to find problems, here is what was found:
Master cylinder leaking, needed replacement.
Both outside CV joints have excessive play and were leaking grease, replacement required.
Front end collision damage THAT WAS IMPROPERLY REPAIRED.
At this point, I told Ray “How can this be? The seller said the car was in mint condition, and I traveled 1700 miles to purchase the car based on that assumption”! Ray was pissed at hearing this; out came the microscope. The following additional problems were discovered:
I mentioned to Ray that I thought something was odd with the steering. Ray took the car for a drive (with me along), and found that the steering rack was damaged and needed replacement. He had a second mechanic with eighteen years experience test drive the car for confirmation. After the second mechanic agreed with Ray, he called Acura factory service support, who also agreed with him.
You ask why the double-checking and triple-checking on this one component? Because this one part costs $5,300 and 6 hours labor to install it!
He also felt vertical play in the steering column, and found one of the two studs holding the steering column in place had snapped off. This would require removal of the dash and disassembly of the entire steering column to repair.
The bottom line is that it would have cost me $10,000+ just to make the car roadworthy! These two mechanics at Superior Acura in Cincinnati worked on the car for almost two hours, and charged me only $88.00 for the inspection. I’m going to write a letter to Acura Corporate, commending them for their outstanding level of service.
As for me, I’m out $700+ for the wasted trip. Although NOT buying the car saved me this amount more than ten-times-over. I did make the guy a very reasonable offer on the car commensurate with the actual condition, which he refused. He called me back the next day accepting my offer, but I decided not to buy the car.
After thinking about it, the offer I made was still too high, considering the problems encountered. Plus if I were to buy it, I would have to take it on as a “project car”. The front-end repair work would also have to be redone, and fixed properly.
Its unfortunate that the seller in a situation like this looses nothing by falsely advertising the condition of their vehicle. The seller did not disclose ANY of this negative information about the car, even though I’m certain he knew about the steering rack issue in advance of my trip. The seller simply waits for another buyer to come along who does NOT properly inspect the vehicle.
Edit: VIN: JH4NA1263NT001075
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