Thrown-together used NSX price chart

[NSF]

OK kids, here's a little chart I whipped up from numbers I got off autotrader.com. All I did was note the asking price and stated odometer reading from the NSXes listed for sale from zero dollars up through $42K (why $42K? Because it's my chart and I may do as I please...) Then I kicked off all the eBay pending auction cars (including that sweet 2900 mile red one that hasn't yet met its reserve price at 40 grand) and ditched the 1992 that was repainted yellow (again, the answer to why is I said so) and got rid of one or two that were absurdly low priced or "need work" (the one that "needs work" also "runs good" - NO COMMENT) then repriced the one I know about from its asking price to it's sale price, and then I made the assumption that all other factors were equal (they are all in the same condition, they are all the same color, they all have no mods - again to keep this simple and TOTALLY INACCURATE - or, given the car involved, INACURATE) plus I limited my search to 1991 through 1994 to keep out the riff-raff (the NSX-Ts) but I did not differentiate between the manuals and the autos becuase all NSXes are equal in the eyes of Scott.

So here's the list of what's out there (run through the above filter/randomizer):

20-29K miles $38K to $40K, 3 cars

30-39K miles $31K to $41K, 10 cars

40-49K miles $26K to $42K, 6 cars

50-59K miles $35K to $38K, 2 cars

60-69K miles $32K to $37K, 6 cars

70-79K miles $28K to $38K, 10 cars

80-89K miles $24K to $35K, 7 cars

90-99K miles $26K to $31K, 3 cars

100-125K miles $25K to $35K, 3 cars

Now that I've got my data, I decide that each NSX shall detonate at exactly 150,000 miles (why? so I could make a chart - If you wanna, you can make one for just the red ones, or for ones that last for 250,000 miles - this is just an exercise to kill time...)

and SO:

Assuming that each car will explode at 150K miles, a car will cost you this many cents per mile - not including fuel, tires, insurance, maintenance, and those little air freshener trees...

a new one (at $89K - not including tax, luxury tax, etc.)
59 cents per mile

20-29K miles (calc at 30K miles - 120K to go)
32 to 33 cents per mile

30-39K miles (calc at 40K - 110 to go)
28 to 37 cents per mile

40-49K miles (100 to go)
26 to 42 cents per mile

50-59K miles (90 to go)
39 to 42 cents per mile

60-69K miles (80K to go)
40 to 46 cents per mile

70-79K miles (70K to go)
40 to 54 cents per mile

80-89K miles (60K to go)
40 to 58 cents per mile

90-99K miles (50K to go)
52 to 62 cents per mile

100-125K (let's call it 35K to go before the big bang)
71 cents to one dollar per mile

So I guess the only real "lesson" here is to go and find a really smokin' deal on a low-mileage car.

And yep, I'm aware that the numbers get more reasonable if we assume that each car will last 200K miles or more *but* until we have a big enough database of dead (of old age) NSXes, and time of death info, all we have to go on is assumption.

For comparison: MY COROLLA
(sing with me:
always get it *p for my frumpy ride
my-yi-yi-yi-WHOOO!!!!
m-m-m-m-MY COROLLA!)

Huh? Where was I?
ANYways, (sic) my Y2K Toyota Corolla (assuming it gets vaporized @ 150K miles, costs (before gas, Jiffy Lube, golf pants, and air freshener - price was $14K) nine cents per mile...

and that's all she wrote for THE CHART.

(edited to fix spelling errors - errors in judgement left in to preserve the "feel" of the piece)

[This message has been edited by scott s (edited 28 March 2002).]

 

[NSF]

and so here's my reply to my own damn thread:

the rate of depreciation (in my imaginary world where all cars are the same color and in the same condition and sell for the price listed at the [former] piston & rudder site) is pretty close to flat if you assume two things:

1) A "used" 1991-1994 with zero miles sells for US$50,000.

2) All NSXes die of natural causes at exactly 250,000 miles.

If you assume NSX death at 250K miles, every mile on an average-priced (for its mileage) used NSX will set you back about 18 cents, and you'll be able to sell it (again, this is in La-la Land where all cars sell quickly and for their asking price) for its "remaining value" which is about 18 cents times 250K minus what the odometer says.

$0.18(250,000 - miles on car) = used car price in dollars

And again, yes I am aware of the possible error due to my small data sample, and all the various things that move an NSX's price up or down - but per my seat-of-pants rule-of-thumb, one is just as well served by buying a barely used used NSX and selling it 20 thousand miles later as one would be by buying a very used used NSX and selling it 20 thousand miles later (assuming you had the scratch or could get a friendly banker to float you a loan for the larger amount...)

This whole thingamajig kinda goes to hell if the NSX you buy lasts too long or not long enough (although not really as long as you sell the car before it goes kaput) or if the NSX pulls a Shelby Cobra on us and ends up selling for ten to twenty times its original sticker price.

Below are my numbers again - this time as pennies per mile based on the mi/$ from my initial post, but this time with all cars going 250,000 miles before they no longer go.

a new one (a 1992 with three miles from the Harrah's collection for $50K)
20 cents per mile

20-29K miles (calc at 30K miles - 220K to go)
17 to 18 cents per mile

30-39K miles (calc at 40K - 210 to go)
15 to 20 cents per mile

40-49K miles (200 to go)
13 to 21 cents per mile

50-59K miles (190 to go)
18 to 20 cents per mile

60-69K miles (180K to go)
18 to 21 cents per mile

70-79K miles (170K to go)
16 to 22 cents per mile

80-89K miles (160K to go)
15 to 23 cents per mile

90-99K miles (150K to go)
17 to 21 cents per mile

100-125K (let's call it 135K to go before the big bang)
18 to 26 cents per mile

And, of course, if each NSX that doesn't get run into a tree ends up going one million miles (assuming you can still buy gas) then the folks who paid the least (presumably for the higher-mileage cars) "got the better deal."

And at that point, the NSX community will be divided into three camps:

1) Those who just keep driving and post photos of their latest mods on NSX Prime,

2) Those who, in the spirit of high scorers at ASTEROIDS, run the odometer up to 999,999.9 and then park the car for good, and

3) Those who sell their freshly-zeroed-out-odometer NSX as brand new on eBay.

OK, I'm done...

(edited to make its "it's" an "its")


[This message has been edited by scott s (edited 29 March 2002).]

 

[NSF]

Oh, my...

It's the morning after and I have a few things to say. Things that might hurt. Things like I oopsed and didn't average the asking prices in each mileage bracket. I just wrote down the high and the low extremes. Things like I didn't go back and use my $.18-per-mile formula to generate used 1991-1994 NSX prices. I just sorta looked at the used car prices I found and guessed at a formula.

So the bad news is: my imaginary zero-mile 1992 NSX, per the formula, would sell for $45,000. Not for the fifty thou I imagined it would back when I was young and stupid, last night.

The good news is: I still think my formula is a good rule of thumb. Why? Because the prices it generates "look right."

the left column is miles, the right column is dollars:

0 $45,000

10K $43,200

30K $39,600

50K $36,000

70K $32,400

90K $28,800

110K $25,200

150K $18,000

200K $9,000

240K $1,800

Granted, at the extremes it gets kinda wack (anyone got an NSX with 240 thousand miles for sale for $1,800? I'll give you three grand if it has a blower & NOS) but IMHO the numbers look about right from 30K to 110K miles.

And again, it pleases me to no end that there seems to be no penalty for buying a car at 30K miles and selling at 50K compared to buying at 90K miles and seling at 110K.

The used car market, in most cases, seems to think that earlier miles are better miles, and thus are "worth" more. Or perhaps it's the hot potato factor where the more miles you have on your Omni/Accent/Tercel/Reliant K, the more likely you are to be in posession when it dies. Unless, like me, you own a TOYOTA COROLLA.

So, based on my "data" I must conclude that the last mile in an NSX is as good as the first.

Unless you live in Washington state and have to pay sales tax on your initial purchase - in that case it'd be a pretty good idea to find the $1,800 used NSX with 240,000 miles and give it away to your nephew when it gets to 249,000.

I'll be back around lunchtime for another long-winded restatement/minor revision...

: D

 

[comptechnsx]

scott

I wish I had that much time on my hands.
Thanks for the info.

 

[rcarlos]

I would pay 40k for a zero mileage 92 NSX.
I would not pay 39,600 for my 30k mile 91 automatic. No one else would either.
(riff-raff

)

 

[Michigan NSX]

Originally posted by scott s:
Now that I've got my data, I decide that each NSX shall detonate at exactly 150,000 miles

Boy I sure hope not!! My '91 NSX has 113k miles on it and is still running strong. My '91 CRX has over 175k miles and no engine/drivetrain problems. I'm counting on the fact the NSX should last much longer than a CRX (and yes I realize it was only a hypothetical figure - I just hope you're nowhere near right)

------------------
'91 Black/Black

[This message has been edited by Michigan NSX (edited 29 March 2002).]

 

[MYNSX]

You definately have too much time on your hands....

------------------

 

[Bilulan]

I think the BCS uses your initial formula to rank college football teams...

 

[Edwardo]

This a very interesting post. I am in the market right now for an NSX of this vintage and I think those numbers are pretty accurate in relation to what I have seen.

I guess the only real gray area is the point at which the car "blows up". In a car like the nsx, if your engine goes at 250,000, a rebuild might be worth it.

A user by the name of Brent Cobb over at the NSXSC forum described how he needed a rebuild at 180,000 on his NOS injected NSX which set him back 3-5k or so.

The way I am approaching my purchase is this. I am going to run the car in to the ground. I project I will own the car for 10 to 15 years. Thus, at the end of said time, I will have put on an additional 100-150k miles thus rendering the car worthless. I really do think that someone will always pay 15k and up for an NSX(assuming no body damage). I make the latter point with the 250k mile car in mind. The car is stunning to look at. Furthermore, it is exclusive. It always has been, and it always will be. There will always be those racer guys who want the NSX chassis/body. They are going to seriously rework the engine/replace it anyway.

Perhaps this is just hopeful thinking on my part though.

 

[Single Samurai]

Scott,

Thank you, very interesting.

TB