Time for the new NSX to be fully depreciated?

Curious to hear other Primer's guesses on how long it will take the "new NSX" to be fully depreciated. I was wondering how long it will take before prices of the "new ones" on the used car market bottom out. I realize no one knows for sure but with the batteries and other technology on the car, maybe it will happen sooner that with other cars. 8-10 yo 997 Porsche Turbos seem to be about in that spot right now. I would love to have one right now but I cannot justify taking what would likely be a huge depreciation hit. My only choice right now is to be patient and wait.

Buy it now and enjoy it as we may not even be around for it to bottom out. :biggrin:

Roughly speaking, luxury cars depreciate about 70% over first seven years, then bottom out around 10% of MSRP at around 10 years of service. This assumes a non "special" car that has mileage and wear consistent with daily driving.

The first 7 years average 10%/year depreciation, but it front-loaded, for sure. Perhaps up to 50% in the first four years.

In terms of new ones on the lot, I would be shocked to see more than 5% off MSRP for lightly optioned cars and perhaps 10% off loaded cars. I suspect that anyone who is deciding which ~$200K car to buy based on a 5% +/- variance should not be buying any ~$200K car. Not that price doesn't matter, just speaking in generalities.

I see no evidence that Acura or its dealers will go to fire sale pricing. For that to happen, Acura would have to cancel the NSX program, take a massive write off of their R&D and manufacturing center and suffer extreme damage to its brand. That's not going to happen. In the real world, even if they wanted to throw in the towel, they would provide a "soft landing" by paying dealers the carrying costs of unsold cars and let them sell off over time. They would also quietly and slowly ramp down investment in variants of the Gen 2 car and eliminate investment in the Gen 3 car.

Who knows but I hope the NSX wouldn't fall into "luxury" car category. I think that true "sports" cars depreciate less, ie I just saw a 2003 911 turbo with low miles sell for 50% of MSRP on EBAY. The NSX is in a strange region currently. I was just contacted by my local dealer letting me know that allocations are available and I could order at MSRP (Previously #3 on their list with a deposit for MSRP but canceled as I bought something else). If you look on EBAY, you will see new cars which were dealer ordered at 5% off MSRP and previously, more than 5% off. Those dealers who were speculating on selling over MSRP are now sitting on cars and looking to get them moved. LOTS of cars listed on Autotrader. Until the current availability of new cars is depleted, MSRP will only be for those wanting to order specific trim like Nord Grey (Only 1 listed on Autotrader). Long term, if depreciation can be of the 911 Turbo, then that would be great. A disaster would be depreciation of a Aston Martin or McLaren.

Why even ask here since no one has a crystal ball?

Some exotics depreciate a bit, then jump in value too, such as the CGT and Ford GT. Should have bought one when they were in the $150's

Our point is you can wait forever or buy one and stop worrying. Life is short.


This is one of the big reasons Acura can't sell the car because the car is priced way out of this market. People who buy Acura don't want to spend $200k or they would buy other brands in most cases. We have 2 customers with the new gen NSX and they both own other exotics in their garage too. Very unusual to have a new NSX owner that is not brand loyal and bought this as their first ever $200k+ car.

jorligan said:

I just saw a 2003 911 turbo with low miles sell for 50% of MSRP on EBAY.

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Wow. That's expensive for a 996. Anyway, as I noted, I was talking about one driven as a daily driver. If you drive 3K miles a year and get the car detailed more often than you drive it on track, then value will hold up a lot better. But, for budget/planning purposes, I've always found it better to assume that cars depreciate quickly and just decide on if you can live with that or not. If you get lucky, then good for you. But I would not assume luck in my planning. Also, have a look at 3 and 5 year lease residuals and you will see that the soulless computers at the finance companies tend to agree with my framework.

What are the 3 and 5 year residuals?

jorligan said:

Until the current availability of new cars is depleted, MSRP will only be for those wanting to order specific trim like Nord Grey (Only 1 listed on Autotrader).

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I see three Nord Gray specimens on autotrader.com this morning (US VINs ending in 618, 629, 741).

bubbadog said:

What are the 3 and 5 year residuals?

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I have no idea for the NSX in particular. I was speaking generally. Apart from special promotions, I think residuals on luxury cars hit 50% at around 48 months, give or take. Sometimes you see very high "headline" residuals for promotional short term leases (24 or 30 months), but, since they are calculated off of MSRP, economically its really more of a an incentive than a prediction of depreciation. Lease calcs and residuals need to be evaluated from the context of the actually selling prices of equivalent all-cash deals, not MSRP.

On another thread, someone mentioned 3 year residual values of around 50-55% depending on mileage. I wonder if these are anywhere close to accurate. They seem too low.

What about new NSX depreciation? I found 2017 NSX https://abetter.bid/en/50144998-2017-acura-nsx with front end damage with current bid $1,550 USD Is it too hard to repair or price for parts for new NSXs are too high?

The front end is where the electric motors are. I wouldn't touch that headache for any price.

bubbadog said:

On another thread, someone mentioned 3 year residual values of around 50-55% depending on mileage. I wonder if these are anywhere close to accurate. They seem too low.

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2019, 36 month, 10k per year is 51%.

Axxlrod said:

The front end is where the electric motors are. I wouldn't touch that headache for any price.

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time for a RWD experiment!

powdbyrice said:

2019, 36 month, 10k per year is 51%...

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That's AHM's value. I'm going to say residual is closer to 40% in 3yrs. I know my 2017 with 9340 miles on it right now is worth less than 50% of it's MSRP.

DocL said:

That's AHM's value. I'm going to say residual is closer to 40% in 3yrs. I know my 2017 with 9340 miles on it right now is worth less than 50% of it's MSRP.

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Then why are practically all used ones being listed for only a few thousand less than what you can buy new (actual price, not MSRP)?

Junglist4Life said:

Then why are practically all used ones being listed for only a few thousand less than what you can buy new (actual price, not MSRP)?

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Welcome to the site

There is a good sized spread between wholesale and retail.

Plus we don't know what used ones are really trading at (just the offered pricing is known).

There is also a lot of noise as a car that listed new over $200K will not be able to recapture the cost of all the CF packages when sold used, whereas a steel rotor "base" car should hold up better over 3 years when considering a percentage of MSRP.

Bricks and Bio said:

Welcome to the site

There is a good sized spread between wholesale and retail.

Plus we don't know what used ones are really trading at (just the offered pricing is known).

There is also a lot of noise as a car that listed new over $200K will not be able to recapture the cost of all the CF packages when sold used, whereas a steel rotor "base" car should hold up better over 3 years when considering a percentage of MSRP.

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I have been trying to negotiate some of these, and no one seems to be budging below 130K regardless of spec, even Acura dealers that know how little extra it would take to just get new. Very weird situation.

Junglist4Life said:

I have been trying to negotiate some of these, and no one seems to be budging below 130K regardless of spec, even Acura dealers that know how little extra it would take to just get new. Very weird situation.

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Must be sign for you to go with a new one

Bricks and Bio said:

Must be sign for you to go with a new one

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^ This. You can get a new '19 186k msrp for 140k these days perhaps better depending on how motivated the dealer is.

HTN said:

Buy it now and enjoy it as we may not even be around for it to bottom out. :biggrin:

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I couldn't agree more..... Life is short.To raise the funds to buy my car, I sold off a 61 Corvette (270HP dual quads), and 2 vintage race cars that had been sitting in storage covered in dust for the previous 8 years or so....... My biggest fear when contemplating doing this was the big "D"..... depreciation....... But I decided F*$!k depreciation, just do it........ I figured if I didn't, in 5 years, what would I have? I'd have a 61 Corvette and 2 race cars covered in dust and not used for 13 years....... I decided to take my lumps on depreciation, and if the car depreciates badly, I'll just keep it till I die..... My basis in the 3 cars I sold was something like $60K, so how could I go wrong??? My other main consideration was that I bought the aforementioned cars 25 years ago out of passion, and not out of greed hoping to make money, and in the end, it turned out pretty good...... So I figure, take the chance and live for today. As HTN says, who knows what tomorrow brings. I was fortunate to have these cars to sell, as without that investment, I could never have afforded/justified buying one outright...... I love the car and I'm having a great experience, that frankly, I never, ever , thought I'd have in my lifetime...... Secondly, I also think that the cars from the 50's and 60's are on the verge of a major depreciation cycle coming up. The guys that own these cars are mostly in their mid to late 70's and demand will start to drop off as this generation sails off into the sunset. The same thing is going to happen to all those high dollar 70's muscle cars when the next group of car guys ages and dies off...... So, I felt like I sold my old cars at the peak, and if my NSX depreciates, I don't care...... My biggest problem is forcing myself to drive it more than I do....... As far as depreciation goes, the car will depreciate. Cars with low miles will have a premium, and the low volume will help it long term. Those who own the cars, DocL excluded, are big fans of the car. Once the hatred for the car begins to fade, I think the car will hold some value. Like the stock market, a lot of guys will sell at the bottom. You have to hold it for the long haul to participate in the full depreciation/appreciation cycle. It's not an exact science, and the car just has to run it's course. I think the cycle will be 20 years....... Hopefully I'll still be alive and remember that I have a 2017 NSX in my garage........ And BTW, I paid cash for my car. I know a lot of guys lease to protect themselves from depreciation, but I did not want to spend $55K in 3years to rent the car and at the end of the lease have nothing in hand. A lot of money to "use" something. I figured if it depreciates badly, I still have the car I can continue to drive and enjoy........

878 enjoyed your post as above.

Thanks.... I'm passionate about my car, and I'm having a great experience thus far!!!!

nsx878 said:

... I know a lot of guys lease to protect themselves from depreciation, but I did not want to spend $55K in 3years to rent the car and at the end of the lease have nothing in hand. A lot of money to "use" something. I figured if it depreciates badly, I still have the car I can continue to drive and enjoy........

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I leased because the deal was too good to pass on, and I’m able to deduct 50% as a business expense. My plan was to buy it at the end of lease. However we know how that has changed. Also with no extended warranty being offered that would concern me at this time with all of the problems that I’ve had with my car. I’ve only driven it 18 miles in three months and I live in sunny Florida.

In my situation, my accountant was not in favor of leading and writing off an NSX lease, so I didn't. I felt like it all came out in the wash, either way....... Some of us are having a good experience with the car and are obviously sad that you (DocL), have had such a bad experience...... The apparent lack of a Acura backed warranty would certainly be a concern, but is it any different with a Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, etc?? I ask because I am ignorant to this...... I have heard that the press mules had been thrashed hard for 10's of thousands of miles with no ill effects, so who knows. I plan to limit miles to some degree, so hopefully this will help with reliability and resale value long term. But at some point I hope to come to the conclusion that life is short and F$%K it...... Just drive it, you can't take the miles with you!!! It's easier that I live in Colorado where it's not really a good idea to drive a car like this for the most of 4-5 months anyway....... Anyway, fingers crossed.......

I put 93xx miles on my car the first year of my lease. It was flatbedded more times than my Lotus Esprit. The Lotus was easier to get serviced than my NSX. I’ve had many more problems than I expected with a new model. The other cars you mention have a stronger dealer network than Acura for repairing the car.