Buying Guidance from owners?

[spiritgide]

New guy here. I'm a serious, cash buyer looking for a very good, moderate to low mileage 1st gen NSX, which would be my first. It's a car I've wanted since they hit the market, and can finally afford. However- prices are often way over book, and all over the place. Many cars that look good have been monkeyed with a lot, which culls them from the list. Some have salvage titles, which does the same- one had 19K miles with a salvage title and 8 owners, which says nobody wants to keep it. None of those are of any interest to me. If I can't buy a good one, I just won't be buying.

What kind of guideline for appropriate value, or tips on shopping might I find here? I'm a patient buyer and have the cash, able to move quickly when I find the right combination of car and price. Anybody got some pointers?

 

[blue_myriddn]

My advice is be comfortable with spending around $30k.

You may find it for less and if so - great. In general though, that seems to be the "complete" cost of a low model year NSX. By complete I mean after you take it in and get all the stuff tidied up that may need to be done. A good thing to do is start your monthly payments now rather than when you buy the car. That gets you in the groove and shortens the time that it takes to pay off the vehicle. It also gives you a good chunk of liquid $$$ in case you do need to do some immediate maintenance. As you move to the later years, the price will generally escalate as well.

Get familiar with this link to understand how the NSX has evolved over the years: http://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Changes_by_Year

If you are looking to track the car, or are a performance type driver the 1991-1994 years with no power steering and fixed roof will be your best bet. Even though the power steering cuts off at 35MPH, you lose a bit of feel in low speed turns. Its a tough thing to describe, but you can feel the difference. Oddly, I wonder if I can just pull the circuit on my power steering and get the same experience...

If you are looking for a cruiser, the Targa top is absolutely superb. The engineering on how the top comes on/off and stows is one of the best in the super car world.

Finally, get out and meet some of the community. I don't know where you are located, but in our area we have an active NSX group that loves to talk about their car.

 

[RSO 34]

It would be easier to comment if you said what your budget is and we could then tell you what to expect in your price range.

 

[spiritgide]

It would be easier to comment if you said what your budget is and we could then tell you what to expect in your price range.

RSO, My price range is surely adequate- I was turned down today offering $44K cash for a low-mile supercharged 91, and that was way over retail book. I'd prefer a T, a car with no un-reversible mods that's never been tracked or abused, and a car with a clean history and records. So far, I've not found a qualifying car near 30. Of course, lots of high-dollar toys are "always for sale" at a high price- but I'm looking for a serious seller, not an opportunist. I'm beginning to think it's like dating; you have to go through quite a few to find the keeper.

 

[RSO 34]

Based upon the criteria you listed expect to pay 40s+.

- - - Updated - - -

RSO, My price range is surely adequate- I was turned down today offering $44K cash for a low-mile supercharged 91, and that was way over retail book.

If you are talking about jh4na1156mt003099, that car has been around and overpriced for a while. It was listed at $54k before its current price drop.

 

[NSXonwheels]

Don't rely too much on "book" value, that stuff works better for honda accords and cars that are constantly selling and can therefore give you more accurate averages. Instead, look for things you want, start with targa or coupe, exterior color, manual or automatic, stock or modded, etc. And if you find the exact combination you want, don't miss out on it because it's $50 over book or because it's $2,000 more than you wanted to spend, if the price is reasonable and the PPI is solid just buy it, you won't regret it. Also, adjust your patience to the rarity of your choices, if you want a red nsx any year then you'll find one soon, if you want a 2001 coupe or a 2005 imola then prepare to wait a long long time for the right one to come up for sale.

 

[spiritgide]

Don't rely too much on "book" value, that stuff works better for honda accords and cars that are constantly selling and can therefore give you more accurate averages. Instead, look for things you want, start with targa or coupe, exterior color, manual or automatic, stock or modded, etc. And if you find the exact combination you want, don't miss out on it because it's $50 over book or because it's $2,000 more than you wanted to spend, if the price is reasonable and the PPI is solid just buy it, you won't regret it. Also, adjust your patience to the rarity of your choices, if you want a red nsx any year then you'll find one soon, if you want a 2001 coupe or a 2005 imola then prepare to wait a long long time for the right one to come up for sale.

Obviously, book on a car with such limited production and wide range of conditions is at best a ball-park guideline. I'm willing to pay a premium price for a premium car, just not willing to write a blank check...
and I am patient. I found a superb car/buy this morning, only to call and discover I was a couple days too late. In any kind of car- the really good ones that are fairly priced sell fast, so I check for new listings every morning.

 

[CStricker]

Obviously, book on a car with such limited production and wide range of conditions is at best a ball-park guideline. I'm willing to pay a premium price for a premium car, just not willing to write a blank check...
and I am patient. I found a superb car/buy this morning, only to call and discover I was a couple days too late. In any kind of car- the really good ones that are fairly priced sell fast, so I check for new listings every morning.

You should check several times a day. Seriously.

 

[vivanshah]

You should check several times a day. Seriously.

This. Unfortunately it's sometimes hard to get a seller to agree to a PPI etc. if they've already got other buyers lined up ready to buy sight unseen. I tell myself that's not the kind of buyer I'd want to buy from anyway, keeps me from feeling too sad when I miss out

 

[socalx]

Make sure the car has not been in a structural accident
Have a ppi done by someone familiar with the nsx to confirm no structural accidents and to quantify the cost of needed maintenance
Find a car that is as close to stock as possible

 

[bullithollywood]

Find a car (any year) that's been loved and has documentation to prove it.
Avoid used car dealers. They're largely professional liars.
Make a checklist of things to check. Keep good notes.
If it seems too good to be true, look closer.
Look for the little things, details are indicators.
Don't settle, be patient and you won't regret it.

 

[Lostbuckeye]

Study the Wiki. It helped me when I bought each of my NSXs. Plus, its just interesting reading if you truly are a fan of the car. Good luck in your search. Let us know how it turns out and provide pictures or it never happened.

 

[unknownpharoah]

I can only give you my opionion. It is a recent one and I feel I made the best educated risk I could. I found a beautiful 93 BB with less than 55k miles with a near perfect PPI. This was after searching and researching for literally months to find a car to my standard. My saving grace was finding this website. I decided to buy from one of our Prime Members who was looking to move on after almost 20 years of ownership! He was asking nearly 40k but for some crazy circumstance I picked it up for a little less. I couldn't be happier with the car. It came with some tasteful, reversable mods and it was obvious they cherished the NSX. I was lucky. As a matter of fact, when I travelled down to pick up the car and after giving me a walk around of the car, handing me the keys, the previous owner walked away from the car looking back for the last time. It was really a hard moment to watch from one "car guy" to another but it affirmed I made the right choice. The members on this board are, for the most part, a pretty special bunch. The cars are special to them in some way. I knew without a doubt this car was special to him and therefore he took fantastic care of it.

Find the right owner and you will find the right car.

 

[spiritgide]

I can only give you my opionion. It is a recent one and I feel I made the best educated risk I could. I found a beautiful 93 BB with less than 55k miles with a near perfect PPI. This was after searching and researching for literally months to find a car to my standard. My saving grace was finding this website. I decided to buy from one of our Prime Members who was looking to move on after almost 20 years of ownership! He was asking nearly 40k but for some crazy circumstance I picked it up for a little less. I couldn't be happier with the car. It came with some tasteful, reversable mods and it was obvious they cherished the NSX. I was lucky. As a matter of fact, when I travelled down to pick up the car and after giving me a walk around of the car, handing me the keys, the previous owner walked away from the car looking back for the last time. It was really a hard moment to watch from one "car guy" to another but it affirmed I made the right choice. The members on this board are, for the most part, a pretty special bunch. The cars are special to them in some way. I knew without a doubt this car was special to him and therefore he took fantastic care of it.

Find the right owner and you will find the right car.

I want to say thanks! To all who answered! This has mostly re-enforced what I already believed, and I think is great advice. These are awesome cars, and I'm having a hard time believing the number of them where some home-grown customizer thought he could "improve" some of the best engineering ever. I am indeed looking for a car that was cared for meticulously by a fanatic!

 

[NSXonwheels]

Usually with used cars, no matter how good the deal is, you will lose it to depreciation in the first few months. With NSXs, the more you pay, the better car you get, so long as you pay a reasonable price for what you are getting of course, and you will recoup most of that extra expense when you sell. Be careful with scammers out there trying to sell a POS hoping somebody buys it sight unseen

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...mt=[ACURA[NSX[]][]]&listingId=348815128&Log=0

^^^ I'll use this one as an example. This guy is trying to sell his $18,000 NSX for $40,000. I met a prospective buyer to go look at it. It's a color change from black to yellow that you could have been done better with a paintbrush. No pictures of the interior because it's missing panels, torn molding all over, ripped carpet, exposed wires, AC doesn't work. He has been holding on to this thing for several years now and as a used car salesman he clearly hasn't spent a dime on maintenance or care for this car and he's hoping some rich kid buys it from across the country and gets it shipped before he sees the mess he is buying.

Seller Comments

A/C ice cold, All scheduled maintenance, Always garaged, Custom paint/graphics, Custom wheels, Looks & drives great, Never seen snow, New paint, Satellite radio, Upgraded sound system

A/C ice cold = because that's all it does, the knob doesn't work, it only blows on full blast, needs the CCU repair.
All scheduled maintenance = ask him when the timing belt was last done, he has no idea and he said it doesn't need it because the miles are so low. So probably never.
Always garaged = it sits in a used car lot and he brings it home when people want to look at it
Custom paint = any paint can be considered "custom", that has nothing to do with paint quality
Custom wheels = any wheels not stock are technically "custom"
Looks & drives great = he definitely uses the word great very loosely! and he wouldn't let us drive it even though I brought my NSX to show him we were serious buyers.
Never seen snow = yea, it's in Houston, most Houstonians have never seen snow either!
New paint = again! you can spill a bucket of paint on something and you have every right to call it new paint! but it's not "good" paint
Satellite radio = if you want to pay for it you can have satellite radio on any car
Upgraded sound system = a poorly fitting non-stock head unit is technically an "upgraded" sound system.


Prime members know a lot about these cars. Any car that you are interested in, post it up here and you will hear from members that know it or have seen it or know the owner, etc. Also, enter the VIN in the search box and you usually get some info on them as well. As a community, we will make sure you don't end up with a car like I've listed above.

 

[shawn110975]

goodluck and dont jump on anything because of price cuz it prob needs parts that would then bring the price up to one that needs nothing.

some people can find good fixer upers which I think make you learn the car faster and you have more pride in the car after you make her mint again

I know I find pleasure in rebuilding them

when you find one you really like JUMP. dont wait dont bullsh_t around cuz it will sell fast there are people that have been looking for years for the special one.

good luck

 

[1991NSX]

RSO, My price range is surely adequate- I was turned down today offering $44K cash for a low-mile supercharged 91, and that was way over retail book. I'd prefer a T, a car with no un-reversible mods that's never been tracked or abused, and a car with a clean history and records. So far, I've not found a qualifying car near 30. Of course, lots of high-dollar toys are "always for sale" at a high price- but I'm looking for a serious seller, not an opportunist. I'm beginning to think it's like dating; you have to go through quite a few to find the keeper.

I have a beautiful '91 red/black with 59.8k miles that $44k right now would be the bare minimum I'd let her go for. I've had mine for over 8yrs and take meticulous care of it. The only 2 things wrong with the car since the 2nd year I've had mine is the air bag warning light and the AC doesn't work. But it hardly gets that hot in WI that much AND if it's in the 90's I don't drive the car as it's not as much fun with the windows up! I have 4 cars that I maintain and couldn't see spending money on the 2 issues that mean nothing/little to me.

Good cars that have no salvage, lower miles, not automatics are certainly above low 30's nowadays. I think they will continue to go up with each year. Plus there's a lot that have so many mods they don't even look like NSX's anymore. This will all drive prices up on good cars as they become more rare with time. Plus the new NSX should drive up awareness and also spark even more interest in all things NSX.

 

[DocL]

I have a beautiful '91 red/black with 59.8k miles that $44k right now would be the bare minimum I'd let her go for. I've had mine for over 8yrs and take meticulous care of it. The only 2 things wrong with the car since the 2nd year I've had mine is the air bag warning light and the AC doesn't work. But it hardly gets that hot in WI that much AND if it's in the 90's I don't drive the car as it's not as much fun with the windows up! I have 4 cars that I maintain and couldn't see spending money on the 2 issues that mean nothing/little to me.

And these reasons are why someone here shouldn't buy your car. Your car obviously has a problem with the safety restraint system that may not protect you in a crash. Spending money to fix it is not important enough to possibly save your life, so go spend that money on your other cars. The A/C may not be a problem for you, however someone like me who lives in Florida certainly needs a car with working A/C. So based on these two issues, you have probably ruled out 50-75% of the buyers who have the cash available to purchase your car.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Don't be afraid of a car that's been on the track. Be afraid of a car that was not maintained. My car gets a fresh change of ALL fluids and oils before and after every track event. And honestly people drive harder on the street. Most of the owners here that track their cars take meticulous care of them and the cars are in amazing shape

- - - Updated - - -

Also my car has an oil pan baffle, an upgraded cooling system, upgraded bushings, a more rigid chassis... If you drove a 2000 mile 2005 car and then drove mine you'd be blown away by how much better it feels. So guys that track also update many of the naturally weaker parts of the car.

 

[1991NSX]

And these reasons are why someone here shouldn't buy your car. Your car obviously has a problem with the safety restraint system that may not protect you in a crash. Spending money to fix it is not important enough to possibly save your life, so go spend that money on your other cars. The A/C may not be a problem for you, however someone like me who lives in Florida certainly needs a car with working A/C. So based on these two issues, you have probably ruled out 50-75% of the buyers who have the cash available to purchase your car.

Wow, people shouldn't buy my car because of those 2 pointed out issues, when everything else is not only properly maintained AND it's super clean? And what do people do that own older cars that don't have an airbag do, never take them out on the street? My friend has a 67 GTO and 88 328gts - no air bags in those cars........ There's no passenger airbag, does that mean nobody gets to ride along with us early NSX'rs? And just because the light popped on doesn't mean it for sure isn't going to work no less. Plus I don't know if I'd even want a first generation 22+ year old airbag going off in my face. The seat belt is by far the most important safety device in the car.

And if it's important to a buyer, based on their geographic location, couldn't they get the AC repaired? I would take the into consideration with pricing my car if I were to sell. Anyways, I was just tring to give the OP a data line and some info to help him out is all.