What does it cost YOU to drive your NSX?

[Death]

I need something more reliable then my current car, I've had my eye on an NSX before I made my last purchase which turned out to be a mistake.

However, I know parts for this car are rediculously expensive and that labor probably doesn't come cheap. If I buy an NSX, I can't afford to have it eating money unless that money is a mod that I chose to spend the money on.

Of course I'm not talking about insurance or gas, but wise general or preventitive maintenance and common problems/failures.

 

[enesexdreamer]

it all depends on the condition of the NSX your going to purchase. is all the service records up to date? not just that, if you get an early model NSX that might need a little TLC, replace misc. wear and tear items such as struts, shocks, maybe a little bodywork, etc,..

if you purchase an NSX with good standing record, you should be fine. so mod away. but always have $$$$ on the side cause you just never know.

i purchased a 91 for 27500, with moderate records. but to get it running optimum i had to dump another $5500 on 'catch up' and preventive maintance. (axel boots, rear motor mount, valve adustment, re-seal cam shaft, v tec O rings, brakes, and new cats. i should of thoroughly went over these things before purchase (PPI) but you know, it was the spur of moment kind of thing. i could of negotiated a better price, but then again the car came with some mods.

 

[BD]

What ever you see the service cost of a Civic, times that by 3.

 

[TyraNSX]

It won't eat money, but when maintenance comes due it is pricey. I would worry more about property tax & sales tax if they have that wherever you are. Ask me about the $1000 property tax bill I just got.

 

[Shumdit]

The NSX is very reliable, even by Honda standards, but the items I think you need to watch out for since they are so expensive are T-belt/Water pump (which is thankfully something you can save up for since the interval is not like some other exotics that require them every 3 years/15000 miles for $3-6K (depending on whether the engine has to come out to change them). The cost for that is normally $900-1500. The clutch is also more expensive than you may be used to, although people have been able to get over 100,000 miles out of them, so again, not a concern unless the one you are thinking of buying is close to needing one. Other problems are more sporadic, and not consistent enough to warrant a lot of concern (although on early cars make sure you check the Snap ring issue).

 

[Semnos_NSX]

What ever you see the service cost of a Civic, times that by 3.

This statement sums it up perfectly!!

 

[khappucino]

haha it definitely helps if you decide to wrench yourself :biggrin:

 

[BD]

It won't eat money, but when maintenance comes due it is pricey. I would worry more about property tax & sales tax if they have that wherever you are. Ask me about the $1000 property tax bill I just got.

That's it? My annual property tax is 3grand for a one bedroom condo. That's the cheapest property I can find TWO years ago in Orange county, Calif.

 

[scorp965]

That's it? My annual property tax is 3grand for a one bedroom condo. That's the cheapest property I can find TWO years ago in Orange county, Calif.

*shudders* and looks at real estate in Texas

vs

 

[Shumdit]

I paid just under 3 grand last year here for my property taxes on my home, but it will be less this year as we raised our sales tax from 5% to 6%, but dropped property taxes about 50-60% as a result. I hope the result of this will be less than $2K this year, even with the reassesment.

This is a pic from a few years ago when we were finishing the third floor and building the 3car garage/workshop (which is why you can see pallets of bricks where part of the driveway to the shop should be). It's also winter in this shot so the trees do not show up well. What looks like a large round brown area in the back is a 80-100+ year old oak, and there is a nice canopy of trees in the front that gives us privacy in the spring-fall months. The Red lines also hide the 20-25 foot Cypress hedge we have from the neighbors. It's nice to walk outside in your undies if you feel like it and know no one will see you!

 

[LeftLane]

*shudders* and looks at real estate in Texas

vs

Prices are much lower here in Tejas, but my property tax bill will make you crap your pants. I pay around $18k annually. We don't get the benefit of having our taxes based on our purchase price - we get a new tax appraisal every year, and what do you know, it goes up every year. My house probably cost less than that 1 bedroom condo, too.

 

[TyraNSX]

$1000 is the just property tax on my NSX. Don't know where property tax on my small 2 bdrm condo will be yet. Suspect $2300-$2400 range, which is very steep for this crappy town. Friends & relatives pay the same or less for actual houses with land in surrounding towns. Sales tax was $3060 when I went to register it last year. This is my point, worry less about actual car costs & more about ripoff state & local taxes.

 

[Shumdit]

$1000 is the just property tax on my NSX. Don't know where property tax on my small 2 bdrm condo will be yet. Suspect $2300-$2400 range, which is very steep for this crappy town. Friends & relatives pay the same or less for actual houses with land in surrounding towns. Sales tax was $3060 when I went to register it last year. This is my point, worry less about actual car costs & more about ripoff state & local taxes.

In our state sales tax on a car or motorcycle, etc. is capped at $300, so buy a Veyron if you want, only pay $300 sales tax.

 

[Meeyatch1]

The costs of operating an NSX depend on condition of the car and your usage patterns. If you let the car sit and hardly drive it, you will not be paying very much annually to run it. If you drive it often, your costs increase. If you track the NSX, well you better be ready to spend some money (just like ANY car). Both of my NSX's I have had forever and they both have over 100,000 miles on them and they are as reliable as my Honda Accord, which is to say virtually trouble free. I will warn you though....if you are stretching to buy just the car, do not do it. You want to have a safe cushion of cash available in case stuff happens. Only buy the NSX if you can afford to do repairs if needed.

 

[sjones]

Mitch is completely right. Maintenance for my NSX in 2004 was $6500. In 2005 I only spent $740. So far in 2006 I am up to $6650 and im just mid way thru the year. LOL. Keep in mind that I am anal about keeping the maintenance up on my cars. '07 will most likely be another $6 or $7K maintenance year for me as well.

 

[BD]

In our state sales tax on a car or motorcycle, etc. is capped at $300, so buy a Veyron if you want, only pay $300 sales tax.

Must be nice, if you buy that car in California and register it in california, you're sales tax will be over $100 grand.

 

[RON98]

nsx is dirt cheap to maintain if you can wrench.

i purchased a 91 for 27500, with moderate records. but to get it running optimum i had to dump another $5500 on 'catch up' and preventive maintance. (axel boots, rear motor mount, valve adustment, re-seal cam shaft, v tec O rings, brakes, and new cats. i should of thoroughly went over these things before purchase (PPI) but you know, it was the spur of moment kind of thing. i could of negotiated a better price, but then again the car came with some mods.

the 5500$ in maintance above could be done for.... $300 tops for parts, not including the cats. You can get a set of aftermarket ones for pretty cheap.

So with out the cats if you can wrench your looking at 300$( maybe thats estimate is a little high.. maybe like 250$)

costs as much in maintance as any other cheap civic or honda.

Parts are a little more but its the NSX badge that kills you.:wink: learn to wrench and drive an exotic of cheap cheap CHEAP!:biggrin:

acturally you can maintain any exotic for cheap if you can do the work and read a service manual.

 

[Wick]

Mitch is completely right. Maintenance for my NSX in 2004 was $6500. In 2005 I only spent $740. So far in 2006 I am up to $6650 and im just mid way thru the year. LOL. Keep in mind that I am anal about keeping the maintenance up on my cars. '07 will most likely be another $6 or $7K maintenance year for me as well.

$6 or $7K maintenance a year???!! You've got to be kidding...what in the hell are you doing that requires that amount of $ for maintenance of an NSX?? I only drive my NSX about 3000 miles a year (so I'm perhaps not a typical owner/diver of these exceptional cars for a mileage point of view), and in the 11 years I've owned it I'll bet my total lifetime maintenance (not counting after-market upgrades) hasn't been more that $7K.

 

[|Adeel]

6500 $ a year? That sounds more like a F355 than a NSX...

 

[sjones]

$6 or $7K maintenance a year???!! You've got to be kidding...what in the hell are you doing that requires that amount of $ for maintenance of an NSX?? I only drive my NSX about 3000 miles a year (so I'm perhaps not a typical owner/diver of these exceptional cars for a mileage point of view), and in the 11 years I've owned it I'll bet my total lifetime maintenance (not counting after-market upgrades) hasn't been more that $7K.

I put way more miles on my nsx than you do. Even though most of mine are highway miles from road trips. I put roughly 18K miles 2004. 21K miles in '05 and im up to 16K miles for '06.

 

[robr]

I still don't get how you can spend that much $$$ on maintenance. That is very a-typical. I have 119K on my odometer, and while I haven't added everything up for the almost 10 years I've owned my NSX, I'm certain my maintenance costs don't approach $10K.

The most costly things I can think of were the timing belt/water pump/spool valve/lots of other little things that was probably around $2500. The clutch I did in 1997 at 18K miles I got a steal on, parts and labor under $1K. Window regulator, tires and oil changes, VTEC adjustments, figure another few grand.

I need to have my synchros replaced, I've been quoted around $2500 for that. Even still, that's still less than $1k/year averaged.

 

[sjones]

Just to give a rough breakdown

In 2004
Door speakers, aspirator fan, chrome oem rims with tires, window adjustments for wind noise, a/c compressor repair, another set of rear tires,
sub speaker repair, main relay, fuel pump resistor, windshield molding, brake pads, major 90K service, + standard oil changes and alignment.

In 2005
CD Changer Repair, Slotted/Drilled Rotors + Brake Pads, Downforce Air Intake, Unifilter, Rear tires, replaced windshield, oil changes

In 2006
Another A/C compressor repair, tires, blitzsafe converter, coolant tank replaced, door billet levers, tcs switch, new battery, new mats, fan control unit, ccu , ignition switch, stainless steel brake lines, power slot rotors, hawk pads, major 130K mile service, air mix control motor, lip spoiler, plus regular oil changes.

 

[goldNSX]

Total cost of ownership is about:

insurance: SFR 2500
garage box SFR 4000
gas SFR 2000
maintainance SFR 1000
tires (rear) SFR 800
unexpectet (front tires ) SFR 2000
SFR 12300 = $ 10k per year.

Seems high but my baby lives like a queen.

 

[Understudy]

Just to give a rough breakdown

In 2004
Door speakers, aspirator fan, chrome oem rims with tires, window adjustments for wind noise, a/c compressor repair, another set of rear tires,
sub speaker repair, main relay, fuel pump resistor, windshield molding, brake pads, major 90K service, + standard oil changes and alignment.

In 2005
CD Changer Repair, Slotted/Drilled Rotors + Brake Pads, Downforce Air Intake, Unifilter, Rear tires, replaced windshield, oil changes

In 2006
Another A/C compressor repair, tires, blitzsafe converter, coolant tank replaced, door billet levers, tcs switch, new battery, new mats, fan control unit, ccu , ignition switch, stainless steel brake lines, power slot rotors, hawk pads, major 130K mile service, air mix control motor, lip spoiler, plus regular oil changes.

A number of those items wouldn't really be called maintenance by most people unless those parts were replacing defective/failed OEM parts. The original question was about maintenance and he distinguished from that the cost of chosen aftermarket upgrades. Were these items repairs or optional: OEM chrome wheels, slotted/drilled rotors, Downforce air intake, coolant tank, billet door levers, stainless steel brake lines, power slot rotors? Your operating costs are among the highest I've seen for an NSX without calculating major mods, even for someone that drives it frequently.

I think when looking at this car's operating cost you need at least four or five categories:

1. Optional Aftermarket/Performance Upgrade Costs
2. Maintenance/Wear/Consumable Items - oil changes, brake pads, gas, tires
3. Infrequent Preventative Maintenance - timing belt, waterpump, 60K service, clutch
4. Unexpected Maintenance
5. Labor

Obviously #1 is entirely up to the individual and can cost $0, although for many people not modding is not as fun. :biggrin: The second category is mostly dependant upon the miles driven and to some degree time (oil changes, etc.). The NSX is pretty decent here as most it gets relatively good gas mileage and the consumables aren't very expensive when compared with other cars (tires being the noted exception and this cost widely varies due to different tire sizes and type chosen). The third category is also a function of miles driven and time intervals, therefore when buying an NSX it is important to find out previous maintenance history on these items. These services are more expensive than most cars, but are infrequent so if recently done they may never enter into your costs if you don't keep the car a long time. Fourth is the unexpected maintenance which is not easily predictable on individual cars, but the NSX shines here as it is ultra-reliable. The few widespread problems like snapring are well documented, otherwise MOST other expensive problems on a non-tracked NSX aren't common. The final category can be a big money saver if you are mechanically inclined and wish to do some of the maintenance/mod work yourself. It beats paying $70+ per hour.

It seems that most people's experiences are that the NSX is a relatively inexpensive car in terms of operating costs, although some of the major maintenance items are pricey. Definitely don't stretch yourself too thin and have enough reserve $$$ for these items.

 

[Captain Ted]

UNDERSTUDY

Putt Putt Thanks You for the Great care that you gave to her.... I am following in the Tradition !!!!