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Cost of NSX at dealer auctions?

Joined
2 August 2001
Messages
24
Location
Fort Lauderdale
I have had several people tell me that if I can to find someone who purchases vehicals at dealers and try and get them to buy me an nsx and I should save at least a small amount of money. My ideal nsx would be stick, no color preferece 91-93 less than 50k, what would a dealer pay for said vehicle? Have any of you done this? Obviously if I can get someone to do this (I just might) what type of money am I going to save.

Thanks
Tim Hartigan
1993 Superwhite tt
 
I have a good friend that is a car dealer. We went to auction after auction and never found a NSX worth buying. I finally had a great tought. What if I were to buy a high end luxury car, then trade it in on a NSX at another dealer. This would still give me the same savings and I would be able to examine the NSX a lot more than I would be able to at an auction. So, I bought a 2000 Cadillac STS. This purchase was made in November 2000. I had been actively looking for an NSX for a year by then. I bought the STS for 24,000 (which was a great deal at the time). Then I started my search. I looked at several cars that I could trade against. Most of them had been wrecked after through examination. I finally found one 350 miles from home. Called my dealer friend to use his roll back. Loaded on the STS and headed out. Inspected the NSX made the deal. Paid 4200.00 plus the STS. So for 28,200 dollars I was the proud new owner of a 92 perfect in every way 30,000 mile nsx. What is it they say...oh yeah. There are many ways to skin a cat.

[This message has been edited by steveny (edited 25 October 2001).]
 
steveny,
there is something that still I do not get: you did not want to buy an nsx at an auction because you could buy a car that is not worth what you pay for. Fine. But you bought another car, the Cadillac, and in this case there was not the same risk?
Maybe then the dealer you wanted to trade the bought car with a nsx could find that the Cadillac was previously damaged after a closer inspection. As you stated at an auction you do not have much time to inspect a car...
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Originally posted by gheba_nsx:
steveny,
there is something that still I do not get: you did not want to buy an nsx at an auction because you could buy a car that is not worth what you pay for. Fine. But you bought another car, the Cadillac, and in this case there was not the same risk?
confused.gif

I don't think the issue was the hidden condition of an NSX at auction - the problem was finding any (acceptable) NSX at auction.
 
Originally posted by wilsonp:
I don't think the issue was the hidden condition of an NSX at auction - the problem was finding any (acceptable) NSX at auction.

And the cadillac was still under factory warrenty. You are right though I could have been stung. There was no time to run a car fax and such. I was not able to inspect the NSX the way I felt I had to at an auction.

Here is a previous post I have written.
Having done a few of these wrecked repairables in the past has been a good experience for me. This is why I spent almost a year and a half looking for my NSX. First off there were not that many for sale in my area. so I had to travel great distances to examine the cars I looked at. Secondly most sellers would not allow me to remove interior panels to inspect the body panels from the inside. Thirdly 50%-60% of the cars I looked at (under the interior facade) had previous damage. 95% of those damaged cars had spent some time in Florida.

I was not allowed to remove any panels at any auction I went to.



[This message has been edited by steveny (edited 25 October 2001).]
 
Mr. Hartigan,

I buy extensively at Manheim and Adesa dealer auctions as a wholesale auto broker. I personally drive an NSX, so I have done quite a bit of auction research on the car. For the vehicle you described, a dealer will probably still pay around low 30's for it, if it is clean. A newer vehicle would actually be a better deal because it is out of many peoples budgets so there is not as high a demand for them. The problem is, finding a clean 91-93 or any of the older years. First of all, over 90 percent are on the east coast for the older NSX's at auctions. Once you do find one, most have been painted before by the time they have gotten to the auction. For example, I was on the east coast recently at the auction that sells the most NSX's in the U.S. There were 12 NSX's at the sale, but I couldn't buy any of them because of the condition. Not to say that auction cars are bad, but most older ones have been through a lot and are coming in as consignment vehicles from independent dealers. Newer model vehicles are usually from large financing companies or banks such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Amercan Honda Finance, etc. These cars, are usually in pristine condition with good disclosures about paintwork, damage, etc. Usually, reputable dealers will not try to bring a retail buyer to an auction. However, there are some unscrupulous dealers who will try to make a quick buck by getting you a car for a certain fee. It is not true that you don't have time to inspect a car at an auction. The vehicles are there for preview and there are always on site inspection teams that can be hired for a fee. There is also an arbitration policy in the event that you purchase a vehicle that is not what has been described. (frame damage, trans bad, engine, etc.) So I guess I am telling you to beware with the process. It would be a good deal on a newer model car or something basic, such as a Camry, but the NSX has too many things about it that should be left to a NSX expert to look at.
 
It is not true that you don't have time to inspect a car at an auction. The vehicles are there for preview and there are always on site inspection teams that can be hired for a fee.

Not the type of inspection I wanted to do. As well I did not feel comfortable hiring someone that might not have read over the faq's on NSXPRIME ten times as I had done.
 
To steer this back to the original poster's question - it looks like the thinking is that an auction is not the place to buy a car like the NSX. I don't think that I would have the nerve to actually buy an NSX this way - I think that I would get there and get cold feet very quickly about the risks involved.

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The NSX Model List Page

[This message has been edited by lemansnsx (edited 25 October 2001).]
 
Let's also keep in mind that the NSX's in the very best condition are more likely to be owned by the enthusiasts... and that the enthusiasts are more likely to be familiar with resources such as NSXprime and the e-mail lists and nsxclassifieds, where they can sell their cars for free, with no dealer markup. As a result, when many of these cars go up for sale, they don't go through dealers or auctions. IMO if you're looking for a pristine, well-cared-for NSX, your best place to look is among these resources. I'm not saying you will NEVER find a good car at a dealer or at an auction, but your chances are better elsewhere.
 
In general, dealer-friends that I have spoken with feel that most of the nice NSXes trade hands privately.

-- Chris

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SoS_logo.gif

www.ScienceofSpeed.com - Click for more info
www.NSXClassifieds.com - The internet's only exclusive NSX Classified site!
 
I agree with Chris-

but just took a few hundred words more to say it!

Just be ready to pay a premium for a pristine car of this caliber. Doesn't matter where you get it.
 
steveny,

"Not the type of inspection I wanted to do. As well I did not feel comfortable hiring someone that might not have read over the faq's on NSXPRIME ten times as I had done."


What type of inspection did you want to do? Someone with experience such as yours should be able to detect all prior body work and paint work without getting the car on a lift or pulling major body panels. I do it all myself without having it inspected. I agree with you that for a NSX, the on site inspection may not be best, but they do have laser guided machines to measure the frame to factory specs, etc.
 
I agree with ck. There is no need to inspect body panels from the inside....... Most of us in the business and even some that aren't can definitely spot paint/bodywork on a car.... Just look. There isn't an aftermarket paint job in the world that can't be spotted by just looking at the edges, labels, seals, bolts, etc..... Also, late model NSXs are great buys at the auctions, especially Manheim's. I just watched a 2001 Monaco blue with 800 miles go through and the seller said he'd take 65k. Almost jumped and should of.

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Todd Arnold
NSXotic.gif

http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html
 
I appreciate everyone's reply's. I'm trying to keep the purchase price in the very low 30's or very high 20'. So I was looking to save a little. Ne1 admit to buying a slightly dodgy NSX (minor paint or maintenance quibbles) to save cash? Also Ck what were the problems on the NSX's at the east coast auction you saw? Mileage or other things

Thanks
 
Originally posted by ScienceofSpeed:
In general, dealer-friends that I have spoken with feel that most of the nice NSXes trade hands privately.

-- Chris

Same is true in other exotic car circles. There are people who will only buy a car from another F.C.A. member for example. They want to know that the car came from a good home and that the last guy was as anal as they plan to be.

There, 48 words to say "I agree with Chris"
wink.gif




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The NSX Model List Page
 
and that the last guy was as anal as they plan to be.

There, 48 words


Heck, some of us are so anal that we actually count how many words we use.
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Originally posted by ck:
steveny,

"Not the type of inspection I wanted to do. As well I did not feel comfortable hiring someone that might not have read over the faq's on NSXPRIME ten times as I had done."


What type of inspection did you want to do? Someone with experience such as yours should be able to detect all prior body work and paint work without getting the car on a lift or pulling major body panels. I do it all myself without having it inspected. I agree with you that for a NSX, the on site inspection may not be best, but they do have laser guided machines to measure the frame to factory specs, etc.

I wanted a car that had never even had as much as a door ding. A repaired door ding will be very visible from the inside of the car. As well things such as prior flood (that does not show on car fax) will also be noticeable from the inside and not apparent at all from the exterior. Another good example is small pieces of glass in the bottom of the door from a broken side window in the case of a theft. This type of inspection I did only on cars that I had ruled out any type of frame damage, paint work, or panels that did not line up. A car can have a clean title and still have previous damage, as we have all found out with the 2000 car that Blurr owned. Maybe I am too anal who knows.
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Tim,

The problem with most NSX's I have seen is paintwork. Many of the cars had had previous paintwork, which isn't always that bad unless it is a poor job, which many of them had. I also ran into cars with poor interiors or real rough sounding engines, none of which you would want on a car like this. Your price range is possible, but you would probably get higher mileage or some paint work.

Steven,

Wow! That is pretty anal. Yeah, can't check for those things, but I doubt that most people care much about fixed door dings
wink.gif
! That's why you ended up with a Caddy first, huh?!
 
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