91 NSX for $23000, a good value?

[vintagecarman]

I’m trying to sell this NSX and would greatly appreciate any input!

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...d&advanced=n&start_year=1991&color=&cardist=0

Thanks for taking a look.

 

[Si]

Sounds like an awesome deal, probably won't last long. Heck, I would buy it as a track car if I had the cash sitting around

 

[vintagecarman]

Sounds like an awesome deal, probably won't last long. Heck, I would buy it as a track car if I had the cash sitting around

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm not sure about an "awesome deal" but a good buy, so I thought?

I agree it would make a fun track car.

I’m assuming the miles are to high for most buyers looking for a sports car. I might have a heart attack, if I'm forced to sell it for any less.

 

[nilest]

Vintagecarman,
In my opinion you are dead on about the problem being the mileage. I am looking to purchase a NSX and yours was perfect in every way except that it has a lot of mileage. I know you spent a load of money on extras but 90% of the time that is money you never see again. I know because I have been in your boat MANY times.

Also the resale for the next person will be pretty horrible. A 91 w/ 60-70k in great condition seems to fetch about high 20s. A 91 w/ 95-105k in great condition seems to fetch low to mid 20s. It is conceivable one could drive a 60k 91 around for a few years and 20k miles and only lose about 3k on the resale. That is outstanding for any car. Your car at 150-160k in two years would difficult to sell for more than mid to upper teens in my opinion. There is that zone that cars hit where the value tends to drop off big again. The NSX it seems to be at 120k-ish.

I am not trying to give you a hard time and totally simpathize but many people worry about stuff like that. Also the potential for a major mechanical failure increases with that kind of mileage and we all know nothing about fixing a NSX is cheap.

If you do bite the bullet and decide to lower the price let me know. If it is enough then I could be interested again

I do hope you can sell it for 23k because I know it is probably painful at that cost.

 

[vintagecarman]

Vintagecarman,
In my opinion you are dead on about the problem being the mileage. I am looking to purchase a NSX and yours was perfect in every way except that it has a lot of mileage. I know you spent a load of money on extras but 90% of the time that is money you never see again. I know because I have been in your boat MANY times.

Also the resale for the next person will be pretty horrible. A 91 w/ 60-70k in great condition seems to fetch about high 20s. A 91 w/ 95-105k in great condition seems to fetch low to mid 20s. It is conceivable one could drive a 60k 91 around for a few years and 20k miles and only lose about 3k on the resale. That is outstanding for any car. Your car at 150-160k in two years would difficult to sell for more than mid to upper teens in my opinion. There is that zone that cars hit where the value tends to drop off big again. The NSX it seems to be at 120k-ish.

I am not trying to give you a hard time and totally simpathize but many people worry about stuff like that. Also the potential for a major mechanical failure increases with that kind of mileage and we all know nothing about fixing a NSX is cheap.

If you do bite the bullet and decide to lower the price let me know. If it is enough then I could be interested again

I do hope you can sell it for 23k because I know it is probably painful at that cost.

I agree with your stats as far as year, and miles to value. However you have took at each one on a wide range of categories. Maintenance records, accidents, conditions, extra’s etc, Although there has been paintwork, this NSX has never been wrecked. It’s straight, sounds great, look's like a stud and has plenty of decent extras. I feel it has much more to offer Compared to all other NSX's under $25k. Most are red and stock although, they do have fewer miles. Buyers are just frightened of the miles and I can’t blame them.
I was planning on keeping this NSX for a long time so I was not concerned about the high miles. There was thread on a 91 with over 300K and no rebuilds so compared to that, 137k are low. I'm starting my own business and need the extra financial buffer zone or I wouldn’t be selling it.


I’m not getting killed on the sale, but I’m starting to feel the sting. I’ve made enough of the previous sales to comfort the punishing on this one.

 

[nsxtasy]

A 91 w/ 60-70k in great condition seems to fetch about high 20s.

That depends on how you define "great condition". For high 20s, you typically can get a car that is somewhere between categories B and C in the Pricing section of the FAQ:

B Very good condition. Average to lower miles. Little or no deferred maintenance.

C Average condition and average to higher miles. Shows wear. May have some deferred maintenance.

I consider "great condition" to be category A:

A Excellent condition across the board. Very well maintained, low miles. No deferred maintenance.

which you are not likely to get for less than roughly $34-38K. Even a car that is a solid category B is likely to cost $30-34K.

A 91 w/ 95-105k in great condition seems to fetch low to mid 20s.

Again, it depends on what you consider to be "great condition". I would not classify just about ANY car with 100K miles to be in "great condition". And the prices - Low 20s? No way, not for a car with clean title, maintenance up to date, etc. Mid 20s? Yes.

I think the thing that is hurting this particular car's pricing is the reduced market. A lot of people don't want to get a car with mileage that high. A lot of people don't want to get a car with a lot of aftermarket mods. So the people who would be willing to buy a car with both high miles and heavily modded are going to be very, very few. And when a car is unique - in this case, due to its combination of high miles and lots of mods - it is difficult to estimate what is a "fair price" for it, because there aren't a lot of similar cars changing hands to use for comparisons.

I agree with what vintagecarman says about those other factors (maintenance, title, etc) playing an important (and often-overlooked) part in the car's market value. The tough part, with a car like this, is finding a prospective buyer who is willing to recognize that. And unfortunately, those who understand the importance of maintenance and condition are more likely to be looking at lower- to average-mileage cars, and not shopping for the higher-mileage, lower-priced ones.

 

[mc-ca]

I'd bring it back to stock - as much as possible. Then sell the upgrade parts on the parts section of NSX prime. I doubt you will get any extra for the upgrades when included with the car.

I'd look to sell the car somewhere where the buyers see the car before learning about the mileage. Parking on a busy street with a for sale sign in a expensive neighborhood. A friend of mine had a very high mileage Integra in good shape. All the classified ads, even with pictures generated 0 leads. He parked it on a busy street and sold it that weekend. You want the buyer to fall in love with it before learning about the mileage. My car has 107K miles and I love telling people who are admiring the car that it's 14 years old with 107K miles - they never beleive it.

 

[Mariner]

The way I read the ad, it looks like the timing belt and water pump are 47K miles old. I might be interested if the maintenance was up to date

 

[vintagecarman]

The way I read the ad, it looks like the timing belt and water pump are 47K miles old. I might be interested if the maintenance was up to date

The Water pump and belt was replaced at 90K.

 

[vintagecarman]

I'd bring it back to stock - as much as possible. Then sell the upgrade parts on the parts section of NSX prime. I doubt you will get any extra for the upgrades when included with the car.

I'd look to sell the car somewhere where the buyers see the car before learning about the mileage. Parking on a busy street with a for sale sign in a expensive neighborhood. A friend of mine had a very high mileage Integra in good shape. All the classified ads, even with pictures generated 0 leads. He parked it on a busy street and sold it that weekend. You want the buyer to fall in love with it before learning about the mileage. My car has 107K miles and I love telling people who are admiring the car that it's 14 years old with 107K miles - they never beleive it.

Sounds good in theory however, I would never feel comfortable leaving my NSX UN-attended on some street corner. No matter how nice the neighborhood.

 

[earbleeder]

nice

The car looks cool, but what about the paint that you were talking about? Has the car been in Florida all of it's life? Does the salt air take a toll? I'm just asking. I don't know. Can you give a carfax for it. I really may be interested if it hasen't been wrecked.

thanks

 

[vintagecarman]

Re: nice

The car looks cool, but what about the paint that you were talking about? Has the car been in Florida all of it's life? Does the salt air take a toll? I'm just asking. I don't know. Can you give a carfax for it. I really may be interested if it hasen't been wrecked.

thanks

I'm glad you think it's a nice deal, I was beginning to wonder what the hell was going on. I'm starting to see the miles are to challenging for buyers to get over, even with the low price. I moved to Fl from CA in January of this year so it hasn't had much exposure to salt air.

Although it has had some paint work, it has never been wrecked. VIN # JH4NA1151MT001132

 

[kevintari]

how close are you to miami? i'll be there this friday (live in la) and would come check it out if it's close.

 

[vintagecarman]

how close are you to miami? i'll be there this friday (live in la) and would come check it out if it's close.

I'm in Tampa Bay about a four hour drive from Miami. I have an interested buyer flying in from the great state of Texas today, so he said.

I noticed the thread you started on 91 pricing.There is always a excellent selection of early NSX's in Southern California.

No luck there?

 

[kevintari]

sometimes, depends when you comb the ads. right now the ones i'm interested in seem to be more in the mid-20s, i'm hoping for the low 20s.

flying in to see your car? wow, must be a serious buyer. if it doesn't work out, let me know.

 

[earbleeder]

paint

So what kind of paint has it had and why?

 

[vintagecarman]

Re: paint

So what kind of paint has it had and why?

Paint chips or scratches

 

[kevintari]

oh- also, when will it need another timing belt? is +-45k mi a lot to have on one?

 

[vintagecarman]

oh- also, when will it need another timing belt? is +-45k mi a lot to have on one?

It will need a new water pump and timing belt around 188K

The interested party has owned a few NSX's and will have the motor re-built, he's attempting to accomplish over 500Hp with tubo's. So, the higher miles don't matter to him.

I think he's found the perfect NSX for his project. No Accidents, clean title, straight body and nice MOD's. A big bang for the buck if you aske me. I'm definitely making a trip to see the finished product.

If he buys it?


I can't believe that this car is only worth $22K. It's mechanically solid, looks awesome and is a ton of fun to drive.

 

[Mariner]

It will need a new water pump and timing belt around 188K

I am by no means an expert on NSX maintenance, but I'd be wary of a 98K mile timing belt.

 

[vintagecarman]

I am by no means an expert on NSX maintenance, but I'd be wary of a 98K mile timing belt.

Why?

The fact the service has been completed is all that matters.

 

[Spider]

The high mileage I believe would scare off most buyers. As to a fair price or not, have you gotten much interest in the car?

 

[nsxtasy]

I am by no means an expert on NSX maintenance, but I'd be wary of a 98K mile timing belt.

I assume, from vintagecarman's post, that he is saying that the timing belt was previously replaced at 98K miles, so according to Acura's recommendations, it will be due again at 188K miles. If my assumption is correct, he is not going beyond the recommended service interval. Not this time, anyway... and the fact that the first timing belt may have been replaced at 8K miles beyond the recommended interval is no longer relevant, since it has been replaced.

 

[vintagecarman]

Sold! $21500

The new owner plans to rebuild the motor with twin turbo’s. His buying motivation was to find a NSX with a straight body, no accidents in clean condition for the lowest price possible. I believe he accomplished his objective in a big way

The stumbling block to the sale of this NSX was the high miles, for the new owner it made little difference. I have been out of the Luxury /Sports car market for a while however, I am still perplexed that this NSX could only yield the $21500 even with the high miles.

Either way, it is now is in the hands of a competent owner who will restore and improve it. I truly appreciated this NSX and had taken excellent care of it. This sale has put me at great ease knowing it will be well cared for and will see many more miles, I will truly miss this NSX. Hopefully I will return to the NSX Community very soon.

Thanks for all the help and support.

Cheers to all
Markus

 

[azndng]

why did autotrader say 18.5?? anyways, good stuff on the sale.