How much is it worth? Mileage-based depreciation

[Rubber Chicken]

I just wanted to gather your thoughts on a hypothetical situation regarding two NSX's.

1991, Black, 5-speed.
Basic intake, headers, exhaust nothing fancy, with some basic interior, exterior, stereo, suspension, drivetrain and wheels/tires done to it.

No mechanical issues, no smoke, no leaks, no snap ring, windows work fine, no funny noises.

100k miles on the car.

How much would it buy/sell for? (I realize "it depends" will be a popular answer, but give me a range, a good range, not $0-$40,000)

Now take the EXACT same car, same specs, mods, condition, etc, but with
200k miles on the car.

Now how much would it buy/sell for?

I'm trying to quantify how much mileage matters to you, and how much it affects how much you're willing to pay.

//edit: Semantics.

 

[nsxtasy]

Hypotheticals are always difficult. For example, when you say "some basic interior, exterior, stereo, suspension, drivetrain and wheels/tires done to it", all of those are things that may drive the value down considerably. They might add slightly to the value, depending on what's done, but mods to higher-mileage cars generally don't add much. So there's a lot of vagueness in your hypothetical question.

Also, you shouldn't ask what any individual buyer would be willing to spend, because one person may prefer a different car from what someone else might want. What you should ask is what people think you could buy/sell such a car for.

Remember, too, that the higher the mileage, the less any differences in mileage will affect the price, and the more any differences in condition will affect the price.

IMHO, a bone stock '91, with all scheduled maintenance done on time, absolutely nothing needing repairing, in very good overall aesthetic condition (no issues, no repairs needed whatsoever), might sell for $29-32K with 100K miles on it, $25-28K with 200K miles on it. Actual selling prices, not asking prices.

 

[Flexer]

29-31k for a 91 with 100k????

You need to check the market. I just bought my 97 with 100k for 30k.

That car will bring 24-26k TOPS with 100k.

With 200k. I would bet you would be looking around 19k

But just a guess.

J. R.

 

[Rubber Chicken]

29-31k for a 91 with 100k????

You need to check the market. I just bought my 97 with 100k for 30k.

That car will bring 24-26k TOPS with 100k.

With 200k. I would bet you would be looking around 19k

But just a guess.

J. R.

Well, just because you got a 97 for a good price doesn't mean the whole market is off. Time tells that by the number of responses and what the difference between their prices are.

Besides its not really the absolute value of the prices I'm looking for its the price differential. I'm looking at depreciation.


Ken, I just asked for a lightly modded NSX because its what I'm interested in, really you can take pretty much any modded NSX just so long as its reasonable and it doesn't change between the 100k car and the 200k car.

 

[MCM]

" I just bought my 97 with 100k for 30k. "

Was it in this cond? (below)?

"all scheduled maintenance done on time, absolutely nothing needing repairing, in very good overall aesthetic condition (no issues, no repairs needed whatsoever"

Or was it like this?"

Below average condition and/or high to very high miles. Needs some attention. Shows considerable wear. Lack of maintenance"

 

[ETLMD]

" I just bought my 97 with 100k for 30k. "

Was it in this cond? (below)?

"all scheduled maintenance done on time, absolutely nothing needing repairing, in very good overall aesthetic condition (no issues, no repairs needed whatsoever"

Or was it like this?"

Below average condition and/or high to very high miles. Needs some attention. Shows considerable wear. Lack of maintenance"

'97 with 100k miles sounds like this car:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55322

 

[MCM]

Your right!

Check the 5th post.
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81053

 

[Daedalus]

Looking at private-party, clean-titled cars, you'll find that mileage affects the price by about $0.12/mile for '91s, though the effect isn't linear. The value/mile rises slightly for cars with fewer miles and drops with increasing miles. My data is coming up on being a year old, but I doubt it has changed much.

 

[95ttht]

Good shape at 100K is somewhere in the 22-28K range.

Good shape at 200K I'd say would be 17-22K.

I'd say that's about 25% deduction for really high mileage. Overall current condition is more important to me. Would you rather have a 100K car with everything needing overhauling, or a 200K car with freshly redone brakes/shocks/engines/clutch/major service.

This one with 240K and rebuilt salvage title went for $15K. Cheapest 5 speed I've ever seen in "turn-key" drivable condition. A few others I've seen over 200K were mostly selling in the high teens.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77520

Hope that helps!

 

[mcano]

Your right!

Check the 5th post.
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81053

MCM,

I considered and drove that Red/Tan 97 w/ 100,000 plus miles. It was in good condition, but the suspension was highly modified, too modified and too low for my type of driving, and the owner installed an after market steering wheel, which meant that the airbag was gone, an important safety feature for me. So, I passed on the car. At the time I was looking at the car, the owner was asking $38,000. Since I looked at the car the owner installed upgraded break rotors.

 

[Flexer]

The market is what the market is. Now that I am a owner I hope they stay high, but I believe there are a few prime members who need to look at the market, not what they payed for the car 2 years ago.

Not worth talking about though, the market speaks for itself. We don't really need to debate over it. If your serious about buying a car and doing it for a good price then you need to watch the market for atleast a few months then make a educated decision when the right one comes along.

Happy Motoring

J. R.

 

[MCM]

I have tried to keep tabs on what NSX's have been selling for over the past 2 years. I have not been tracking many cars with over 100k though.
Still I do not believe its at all fair to say nice 97's with 100k mi. are going for $30-$32k. Motivated seller, time of year etc. play a huge role.
Have any more examples?
Most 97's / 98's seem to trade hands in the upper 30's & $40's.
(Not too easy to follow as were talking about 600 cars total)
I plan to buy a 2nd NSX coupe. If prices drop, that is fine with me!
But 91-94's have settled.
95-96's seem to have settled over the past 2 years.
(where condition and mileage dictate price over depreciation)
99-01 & 02-05's are a diferent story as they are still expieriencing normal depreciation based on age.
One thing going forward in the NSX market, the average overall condition will drop due to age/use & number of owners.
Actually, that .12 cents a mile could be very close!
These are the "good old days" when it comes to buying a nice NSX.
Care to think what it would cost to do a ground up restoration on one of these.?
Just another opinion.:smile:

 

[nsxtasy]

" I just bought my 97 with 100k for 30k. "

Was it in this cond? (below)?

"all scheduled maintenance done on time, absolutely nothing needing repairing, in very good overall aesthetic condition (no issues, no repairs needed whatsoever"

Or was it like this?"

Below average condition and/or high to very high miles. Needs some attention. Shows considerable wear. Lack of maintenance"

That is the point that some posters in this topic are missing. And it's worth noting that most high-mileage cars are NOT in the condition I described. If a car needs $3-5K spent on it to bring it up to the condition I described, then that amount should be added to the selling price. And many high-mileage cars cannot easily be brought up to that condition, even with the expenditure of additional funds.

I just asked for a lightly modded NSX because its what I'm interested in, really you can take pretty much any modded NSX just so long as its reasonable and it doesn't change between the 100k car and the 200k car.

My point was that mods may affect the value of the car, especially ones that are not desirable by many folks. The effect may be up or down; either way, it makes the value more variable and more difficult to predict. And those effects can take away from the effect of mileage, which is what your original question was asking about.

If you want to buy a modded car, then by all means that's what you should look for. But if you want to know the effect of mileage on price, ask about stock cars.

Good shape at 100K is somewhere in the 22-28K range.

Good shape at 200K I'd say would be 17-22K.

It depends on what you mean by "good shape". If you define it as I did, above, you're not likely to find any cars in the price ranges you claim.