Used NSX's

[Rice4Brains]

While going through the site, i notice that most of you have bought your NSX used.

from what i guess, is that there have been very few problems from previous owners and what not. i just want a confirmation of this. have any of you guys gotten a used nsx that turned out being treated like trash from its original owner, and youre there just to face the consequences. or are all of you highly satisfied with your purchase with little or no problems in the process.

reason im asking. im only 22 and just getting my bachelors and working towards my masters, and i dont have the time to buy a brand new nsx as i would like. and theres is a pretty big diff between an 03 or a mid 90's. so im curious, i may end up getting a used one until i can get a new one

 

[apapada]

reason im asking. im only 22 and just getting my bachelors and working towards my masters, and i dont have the time to buy a brand new nsx as i would like.

you're 22 and you dont have the time to buy a brand new NSX ? Do you have like a terminal decease or something ?

 

[Rice4Brains]

i mean that i dont have time to work enough to pay for school, bills, and a new car.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

bought mine used also. couldn't justify the $$ of a new one for what I paid. I get told it looks brand new anyway.

 

[apapada]

i mean that i dont have time to work enough to pay for school, bills, and a new car.

ok, what you mean simply put, is that you CANNOT AFFORD a new NSX.

Well, most of us, cannot either, and some, even if they could, would probably buy something else for that price.

So, I could tell you to go ahead and buy a used NSX, depending on age, condition and mileage there is a price for most wallets. Most of them are pretty well maintained too.

But I'm not telling you to... The real cost of ownership is not the entry price however, not for an NSX. Are you ready to pay two or three times the price Civic owners pay for service, often north of $1-2K for regular maintenance ? How about insurance costs for a young male under 25 ?

For a smart 22-year old guy, my sincere advice to you is that you should be patient and focus on getting a car you can afford for your situation today.

When your situation gets better (i.e. out of school, better job), reward yourself for your patience and get a good used NSX. The only thing you are doing is buying yourself some time.
Today, you'll probably could buy a 91 to 93 but barely afford the maintenance and insurance. In 4-5 years from now, you'll be still be stuck with a 17+ year old cars in needs of serious $$$ to fix up. If you wait 4-5 years however, you'll be able to buy a 96-98 for the same price you'll pay today for a 91 to 93. Ain't that a smart idea ?

 

[Meeyatch1]

Hello!! Before entering into the world of NSX ownership you really should take a look at the financial aspects of it and determine what you feel comfortable spending. How much of your income are you willing to put towards an NSX on a monthly or yearly basis. While the NSX is every bit as reliable as an Accord, you really should be ready to take the yearly hit for doing a major service (depending on your amount of driving that is) and to pay a more extreme price for replacement parts. For example, a front fender for my '90 Accord runs about $200. The front fender for either of my NSX's runs $1,000 for ONLY the part!! More routine stuff like oil filters cost more as well. An NSX oil filter can be over $20 for just the filter depending on your dealer, where one for a Civic would be about $8. Just food for thought.

I was 22 when I got my first NSX and am lucky to have been able to do that at that time in my life. Just make sure you are ready for the whole package of NSX ownership before you sign on the dotted line. Good luck!! If you need any help, please let me know.

 

[Cairo94507]

Yeah....well here is where old age and wisdom kick in. Sorry, but forget the car, finish your education, get a job, buy a home and THEN buy a toy. In the long run you will be much happier.

As to the first part of your question, I bought a used NSX for two reasons:

1 - I do not like the new headlights and
2 - I did not want to pay 90K for a toy that depreciates regardless of how nice a car it is. So I bought used to minimize my loss and still have a wonderful car to enjoy.

So for what it is worth, that is just the opinion of someone much older than you. Now that I have said that.....I bought my first Porsche with 5K miles on it when I was 18....young, dumb and full of ......

That purchase caused me to delay buying my first house until I was 22.

Cairo

 

[ERICKGS3]

Do you have like a terminal decease or something ?

haha thats funny


heres my input and opinion

First, do you have enough money just in case the car does have some serious problems..like atleast 5 gizzels...cause its pretty expensive

next, better have another car/commuter cause you really dont wanna roll the X everywhere. you kinda dont want people to see the car everyday as it is an "exotic" its cool to have people break they necks when they see it...

Last, who cares what other people say..be happy but make smart choices...i dont own a home yet ..not that i couldnt .. i just dont want that kinda responsibilty right now...im not struggling..

i bought a 91 even tho i was looking for a targa because it was sooooo clean and well taken care of..i havent looked back..

erick

 

[Rice4Brains]

thanks for the replies. but the topic thats been discussed is not exactly the thing i was looking for.

i was more talking about the conditions of your nsx's when you bought them used? for the most part, are they all in good shape, taken care of by the original owner? or was it not taken care of very well?

 

[ERICKGS3]

i bought a 91 even tho i was looking for a targa because it was sooooo clean and well taken care of..i havent looked back..

No problems, no nothing, just like new, shoot still even smells new

 

[Ennesssex]

Purchased two used, 94 & 97 respectively and both were maintained well. Haven't had serious problems and as far as maintenance........its a Honda, nuff said. Good luck in your decision.

 

[NSXWIND]

I am 24 and I am also going to school for my master and working the same time. I got a used 95, I won't get a brand new NSX because 1st I can't afford it. 2nd I don't think it’s worth it.
The reason is simple, NSX is a great car. It give the appearance and performance of an exotic without the cost of an exotic.


Good luck
Wind

 

[EssTooKayTD]

i look at it this way. you buy a brand new one and turn around to sell it, you're losin a grip of cash.

buy one just a couple years, or even one year older, and you won't lose nearly as much. If you can afford to spend this much on a car, I'd go buy one in the 60's and 70's. You can turn around and sell for nearly the same if you got in some trouble.

The older models you get, the better they hold their value as they won't depreciate as much.

SO...real question is, what can you really afford without having to even worry about selling the car, b/c you didn't calculate what you can afford well enough.

good luck and let us know how you decide to go about it.
Tom

 

[Newman]

i was more talking about the conditions of your nsx's when you bought them used? for the most part, are they all in good shape, taken care of by the original owner? or was it not taken care of very well?

Sure. Mine was in good shape with some minor probs here or there, but nothing that I couldn't fix myself. Somethings that griped me like the door panels not being correctly from whoever took them off before, the rear trunk lid & LED light not bolted down all the way, and having to readjust the headlights and trunk/hatch struts, having to re-thread a couple of the wheel studs because the jackass before gunned on the incorrect lugnut... it's really not that big of a deal but just simple maintanence stuff. Sure it kind of pissed me off to see those things but if you're competent enough to fix it yourself, then at least you have the grattitude of knowing that part of the car is now fixed and doesn't have any problems with it. And knowing that YOU did it even better than before makes it that much better.

Otherwise, you take any chances when buying a 10+ year old used car. Before jumping into something like the NSX, besure you have some basic knowledge of what to do when something happens, or will be able to afford it if you can't fix the problem yourself.

 

[joove]

Mine was pretty neat too.

Mine was more of an implulsive buy than anything. A friend was searching for a new car so I was helping him out. Imagine my surprise when I realized a used one could be had for 35k (a 94 red/black/manual). I jumped on it. No house, not too much savings etc. Young, full of it etc, but no regrets.

Just imagine. If the arab world goes bust and no oil. Or california outlaws non ulev motors. You'll regret not buying it now .

I figured I can always sell this off and not loose too much as much of the depreciation hit has already been taken by the previous owner. So more of a low-loss principal type purchase.

The only problems my car has are the ones that come with old age. The trunk struts were pretty weak. The stock cd changer was crap (skips under hard acceleration. Incredibly irritating). The alignment was also terrible (made the steering effort unbelievable). The rear tires were pretty worn out and the shocks are also possibly due for replacement (rear steps out all too easily). Plus the timing belt service wasnt done.

All in all. I have spent 1k on the mp3 changer + security system. Now for the tires and a set of bilsteins (another 1000 if I get the Yoko ES100s). Another 1800 for the timing belt replacement due pretty soon (47k miles on the odo). Its not a cheap car for maintenance. But it works like a tension/worry reliever for me as my daily driver. The ownership experience: priceless.

If you do get one. You dont have to spend all the money to baseline the car right away. Do the basics. Realign, new tires if worn out, oil changes. Get cheaper non-OEM tires if money becomes an issue. The t-belt/dampers etc can probably wait till you get a job. The king of the hondas is also a king in the reliability and robustness dept. It wont punish for minor maint delays.

The owner said that he never drives it in the rain. He kept the car all stock. Those are the folks you need to buy yours from. They baby em terribly. Get a PPI done, test drive it, Follow the FAQ's checklist. Bargain the price down if the timing belt service wasnt done, tires are worn out etc. Also try both the manual/powered steering versions. I just love the feel of the manual one so got the 94 (last year for manual steering).

 

[nsxtasy]

Another 1800 for the timing belt replacement due pretty soon (47k miles on the odo).

Your timing belt was due for replacement four years ago. Honda's recommendation is that it be changed every 90K miles or 6 years, whichever comes first.

 

[Tom239]

Last year, I bought a '95 that had about 33,000 miles. I've put 8,000 miles on it so far and nothing bad has happened. I replaced a bulb, cleaned and adjusted the aspirator fan, and took apart and inspected the CD changer (just fluffing up with the rubber suspension bushings made it more immune to mistracking on rough roads). I've replaced the routine items (oil, tires, etc.).

I did make it a point to buy a car that had been maintained well (all records available) and had a pre-purchase inspection done.

 

[apapada]

thanks for the replies. but the topic thats been discussed is not exactly the thing i was looking for.

i was more talking about the conditions of your nsx's when you bought them used? for the most part, are they all in good shape, taken care of by the original owner? or was it not taken care of very well?

Well think about it... why were the cars we purchased used in such a good condition in the first place ? The point that I was try to make is that all these cars were like that because the previous owners that bought them new could AFFORD them, their maintenance too.

If you cannot afford the maintenance 2-3-4-5 years down the road, the NSX is just like any other car and will present problems, VERY expensive to fix. Pay a lot now or much more later !

 

[NSXWIND]

thanks for the replies. but the topic thats been discussed is not exactly the thing i was looking for.

i was more talking about the conditions of your nsx's when you bought them used? for the most part, are they all in good shape, taken care of by the original owner? or was it not taken care of very well?

I don't understand? ? Does it matter to you if the car that we got was in good condition or not. Let¡¦s put it this way, why would anyone want to get a used exotic car if its not in good shape. If you are planning on getting a used X, I suggest you read other thread and do some research with FAQ learn more about maintenance cost, parts replacement cost. And of course find an experienced Acura deal to do a pre-purchase inspection before buying.

 

[NA3]

One of the advantages of living in North America is that virtually all the NSXs that you'd come across in the marketplace are official imports, with traceable histories. In Asia, Australia, and Europe, you'd commonly find used parallel imports (grey market, basically), making it much harder to know the full history of the car. In some of these cases involving a parallel import, what might look like a perfect car on the surface sometimes turns out to be a total wreck underneath. This has happened to me once in the past.

 

[joove]

Your timing belt was due for replacement four years ago. Honda's recommendation is that it be changed every 90K miles or 6 years, whichever comes first.

Yeah, I realized that. Thanks for the heads up anyway.

Lot of posts here advise that the t-bet service be done asap. But again, there are also a lot of posts that indicate that mileage and not age plays a bigger role in the destruction of these things.

I thought I could afford to wait a few more months while I am budgeting for the t-belt replacement. The tires are shot and the handling doesnt inspire me to write the same glorious stuff that a new NSX probably inspires. So I am getting the tires , alignment and maybe shock replacement done first. I am probably asking for trouble, but I am willing to take the risk. As foolish as it may seem.

 

[trefive]

I am in the same boat. I have a '91 with 21k on the odometer and "from what I can tell" the timing belt service has not been done yet. I know I am taking risks, but $1,800.00 will take a few months to gather up. I agree that it's more the mileage than anything, and I remember reading a post of the machanic seeing how tough it was to break on his own and it was very difficult to do.

I'm curious how many people have broken their timing belts and at what age/mileage?

 

[mlambert890]

One piece of advice is to try to steer towards buying from a private seller who has some history with the car.

My first NSX was a 98 which I bought used a few years ago and, while it was solid mechanically, it had had some paint work that slipped through my inspection of it.

I ended up selling it and getting a new 03 since I liked the facelift quite a lot.

 

[Meeyatch1]

... I thought I could afford to wait a few more months while I am budgeting for the t-belt replacement. The tires are shot and the handling doesnt inspire me to write the same glorious stuff that a new NSX probably inspires. So I am getting the tires , alignment and maybe shock replacement done first. I am probably asking for trouble, but I am willing to take the risk. As foolish as it may seem.

Just keep in mind that a short block for an NSX is just shy of $30,000...yeah, that is $30,000. Not exactly an engine I would want to blow up.

 

[Tom239]

I am in the same boat. I have a '91 with 21k on the odometer and "from what I can tell" the timing belt service has not been done yet. I know I am taking risks, but $1,800.00 will take a few months to gather up. I agree that it's more the mileage than anything, and I remember reading a post of the machanic seeing how tough it was to break on his own and it was very difficult to do.

When I was younger and more foolish, I broke a timing belt on a 1985 Toyota MR2 (the day after remarking to a friend that I really ought to replace it soon). It didn't rip apart, but instead abruptly lost a bunch of its internal teeth (which stopped the show as decisively as ripping apart would have). So if the mechanic whose post you read was talking about how hard it is to sever the belt, that's not taking another failure mode into account.

I was a laggard about replacing my MR2's belt, but the only penalty I paid for that was the expense of having it towed. I was grateful that the car had a non-interference engine. But not all cars are designed that way, so I imagine there are tradeoff(s). Can anyone comment on why a car manufacturer wouldn't use a non-interference design?