Need advice on purchase of a car that may have been "curbed" JH4NA2162XT000042

[steveny]

Re: curbed?

Certain states issue "rebuilt" titles to cars that were stolen and recovered. Does that make the car any less dependable or dangerous...
(because the car fax lists it as once issued "rebuilt")?

Ever hear the phrase "drive it like you stole it". There is a much greater chance a stolen car has been beaten upon. Did you see the COPS episode of the theft recovered NSX? The thief went over the guard rail and down an embankment with it. My money would be money better spent on a car without these, as you seem to think, minor issues. The brand on the title is more than just a few words.
Rebuilt cars are just that, rebuilt and not factory original.

Disclaimer: I do in fact have extensive hands on salvage/rebuilt experience. However I am no "EXPERT"

 

[steveny]

Re: curbed

Would you rather buy a 150,000 mile car that was all original and normally maintained or a 25,000 mile car that looked, drove
and ran perfect with a wrecked past (extent unknown).
** car fax states mileage is accurate on both cars.

Keep in mind when a car is branded a total loss any and all guarantees or warranties are voided by the manufacturer. Some people prefer a low mileage car because it may have some warranty left, not the case with a salvage vehicle. Therefore if the cars mileage is low enough and the car is new enough the owner would have to reduce his/her asking price to compete against non-salvage cars which still may have a warranty left.

 

[NSXRT]

Hi All,

First off I'd like to say that I'm the person who has purchased this 1999 NSX from Gary Cooper. This is my first post on this site and I'm happy to be a part of the NSX community and very much enjoy this site!

I'm posting a reply to this thread, not because I'm defending the car that I purchased, not because I disagree or agree with anyone elses opinion on this site but because I hope this information will be helpfull to anyone else who may decide to purchase a NSX in the future or possibly purchase a newer model NSX then they already own.

I, like Geoff, and many others on this site, searched, investigated, paid "car check" compaines to look at NSX's for sale that were to far away for me to perform an inital investigation personally, drove and thought about many NSX's that were for sale as I tried to decide which NSX to buy!!! As many of you know, when looking for these cars, their service records are valuable and helpfull but at times only tell part of the story. Every car has a history no matter what a prior owner(s) may indicate. If one wants a car with little history then a "new" purchase would be the way to go!

Then I came upon Gary's car! During what I felt was a very extensive investigation of this car (like all the others I considered purchasing) I heard about this site, searched the VIN and I was the one who alerted Gary about the comments made about "his' car on this site. None of the information or comments about this car posted here supprised me as I was already aware of the cars history from researching the car.

As Geoff indicated, the car looks and drives beautifully. It was evident from speaking with Gary that he is an "anal" individual who cares for the cars he owns, as well as his house and property which tell alot about the cars "history" and its owner. Knowing that Gary purchased this car from Pauly Acura in Highland Park, IL as a certified Acura NSX made me feel abit better about the cars "history" but I still needed to make the call to Pauly Acura to see if anyone remembered this car!!! I was lucky enough to speak with Ken, a long term employee/service manger at Pauly in Highland Park, and yes, being that the number of NSX's out there are few, Ken did remember this car as Pauly Acura also sold this car new and again was the dealership that sold it used as a "certifed" Acura. He was able to put that "personal" touch to its history that I was looking for!

Here is the summary;
Gary is right, all panels on this car are OEM, the engine is original, transmission was "overhauled" not completely replaced, due to a dent in the aluminum transmission case, something that Ken says is very common. I'm not a mechanic so forgive me if my verbage is not 100%. The tire issue that Geoff mentioned was due to a nail in the right rear tire that was repaired and not replaced (in the service records that Ken at Pauly Acura faxed me).

I asked Ken straight out, I said, this car is for sale and knowing its history and that Acura certified this car would that stop you from purchasing this car?? Without hesitation, his answer was NO!

BTW, there are 4 new tires on this car, the reciept was provided to me that also says no alignment was necessary, the 100,000 mile Acura powertrain warranty is being transfered to my name and has 2 more years left.

Bottom line, of all the NSX's I searched out that were for sale (approx 13, I wanted black on black post 97) this was buy far the best cared for and contitioned NSX that I came across and I thought it was worth the price Gary was asking for "my money".

In the end, I'm a proud owner of a beautiful 1999 NSX that has been driven approx 700 miles since purchase with no issues whatsoever and I'm happy! No car is perfect, every car on the road today is a used car!

Thank you to everyone on this site who has helped me to be a better informed person and thank you Gary for taking such good care of this car!

regards,

Marc

1999 NSX Black/Black
2000 Viper RT10 Steel Grey/Black
2003 Hummer H2 Yellow
2002 BMW X5 Black/Black

 

[steveny]

In the end, I'm a proud owner of a beautiful 1999 NSX that has been driven approx 700 miles since purchase with no issues whatsoever and I'm happy! No car is perfect, every car on the road today is a used car!

Congrats, post some pics.

Steveny

 

[nsxtasy]

Marc,

Congratulations!

Sounds like some of the information originally posted (e.g. transmission replaced by the insurance company) may not have been accurate. The folks at Pauly Acura - Ken Kalte, the service manager you spoke with, as well as their NSX techs, Chuck and Craig - certainly are familiar with NSXs, and you can trust their advice.

Hope to see you at some of our local events!

 

[NSXRT]

thanks guys, I will take some pictures and post them in the next couple of days! Gary is an OEM guy, I'm a give me different wheels, a nice sounding exhaust and lower the car a bit kind of person so I'm getting that done sometime in then next couple of weeks and will post some pictures at that time as well. No engine mods or anything like that, like I said I'm not a mechanic and feel that car drives great and is responsive engine wise in its current form!
I will also add that I do love my viper for the speed aspect (I've had vipers for 10 years, a 1993 and my present 2000 both purchased new) and as a punch the gas and go car its great, but for an all around performance, fun to drive, "go cart" type car the NSX is truely a great car!

Marc

 

[NSXRT]

Pictures

Here are some pictures of the 1999 NSX. I'm not the best picture taker and I'm not sure they will all upload but I will post some others once I have the new wheels and tires put on. Just got back from my local Acura dealer for an oil change and a once over on the car-all green, no issues found whatsoever.

Marc

 

[NSXRT]

Pictures not uploading

I got a message back saying my file is too big, I'm not a photo expert and don't know how to make my pictures have less then 100000 bytes, is there some other way to post pictures?