About to buy and want opinions

[JDR]

The car is a 91' with 66222 miles. Black on Black coupe. Up for 30k (overpriced I know, but that would be if he fixed everything I am about to list).

What's Wrong:
1: Ac broken (I guess a control board is fried or something)
2: Driver side and center speaker broken
3: He uses normal oil (I wouldn't and I guess others her don't)
4: I never have driven another so I don't know if this is a bad sign but..clutch catches pretty far...not in the middle of pushing it like all my other stick cars. Clutch last replaced at 23k (which is very soon to me prob driven hard)
5: front lip is broken
6: paint is in ok condition...has swirls
7: the rear separating glass is foggy (this may be common...again 1st time)
8: He is the third owner
9: interior is in ok condition

Good:
1: new timing belt
2: New valves
3: lower miles
4: drove really nice
5: clean title

If I was going to offer him an as-is price...what should that be?
How much to fix the things I listed? Should I keep looking?

 

[Tony Montoya]

Keep looking is my opinion.

 

[White92]

Me too. Keep looking. Without even seeing the car, it doesn't appear that this person took great care of it. Even if he did, there are several other cars for sale out there that have been taken care of and are around the same price.

 

[twokidsnosleep]

What do you expect for a 17 yr old car?? Paint swirls, come on.
Those things can be dealt with. If the mechanics are sound and the interior isn't trashed it sounds pretty good to me. Have it inspected and do some research on here and you will find answers to your questions.
Good Luck, i am jealous :biggrin:

 

[Briank]

The car is a 91' with 66222 miles. Black on Black coupe. Up for 30k (overpriced I know, but that would be if he fixed everything I am about to list).

What's Wrong:
1: Ac broken (I guess a control board is fried or something)

It's not a big deal to get the CCU control board fixed but AC evaporator problems and freon leaks are common and very expensive to fix. Make sure it only has a CCU problem.

2: Driver side and center speaker broken

Common falure plan on replacing or fixing all 3 speakers/Amp units, L + R door and foot well.

3: He uses normal oil (I wouldn't and I guess others her don't)

The NSX runs just fine on normal OIL, synthetic is an option that many take but it is not required.

4: I never have driven another so I don't know if this is a bad sign but..clutch catches pretty far...not in the middle of pushing it like all my other stick cars. Clutch last replaced at 23k (which is very soon to me prob driven hard)

Height of the clutch petal is set to a spec and does not change as the clutch wears. So remaining clutch can not be judged by pedal height.

5: front lip is broken

The front lip is a replacment item. About $90

6: paint is in ok condition...has swirls

Standard on a black car, should be able to be buffed out.

7: the rear separating glass is foggy (this may be common...again 1st time)

Its not common but not unheard of.

Good:
1: new timing belt
2: New valves

??? Valves are not a maintenance item.

3: lower miles
4: drove really nice
5: clean title

If I was going to offer him an as-is price...what should that be?
How much to fix the things I listed? Should I keep looking?

Pay for a PPI at a Dealer and then go from there.

 

[FeetFxr]

1) Fried control board $150 repair typically, new evaporator $1800, big difference. You don't know which it is until PPI, etc...
2) Speaker repairs $85-150 each typically
3) Normal oil is fine as long as you change it 3m/3K regularly.
4) Stock NSX clutches let out higher than most other cars, but could be worn out too.
5) Front lips brake frequently on such low cars.
6) Agree, 17y/o car paint won't be perfect with 66K miles unless repainted, swirls can be removed.
7) Foggy glass-who knows??
8) 3 owners for a 17y/o car is pretty low.

Offer a lot less due to the problems, and get a PPI to find out what's really wrong. Good luck!

BrianK is obviously a faster typist than I...:biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[JaguarXJ6]

(snip.. list of things wrong.. snip)

If an owner is only willing to fix it to sell it, rather than fix it while they own it, what else is wrong with it?

If you were buying this vehicle dirt cheap to flip it, that's a different story.

It's a used car, assume they are trying to screw you.

I'll take Things to Pass for $1000, Alex.

P.S. Even given the rarity of NSX's, there will always be another for sale.

 

[omega2]

Most 91's will have a slew of little maintenance issues, unless the car was in a garage as a collector piece. The price seems about normal for the mileage, but it doesn't hurt to negotiate down. If the seller is motivated to sell, then that can work to your advantage.

 

[JDR]

I am thinking of offering 22k as-is...as long as after I get it checked out and there is not more wrong.

I feel my costs will be...
2k air (it doesn't blow cold and only works on highest setting, I think it is broke), 2.5k clutch (I have a feeling it will need it soon), 1k in paint restore (has scratches and rock chips), $90 front lip, new sound system (I'll prob spend 3k on that)+ no records=less value.

Does 22k sound about right?

 

[nerzhulvendor]

I am thinking of offering 22k as-is...as long as after I get it checked out and there is not more wrong.

I feel my costs will be...
2k air (it doesn't blow cold and only works on highest setting, I think it is broke), 2.5k clutch (I have a feeling it will need it soon), 1k in paint restore (has scratches and rock chips), $90 front lip, new sound system (I'll prob spend 3k on that)+ no records=less value.

Does 22k sound about right?

Get the PPI before jumping to conclusions about the repair costs. Scratches(depends) and rock chips are pretty normal for a car that has been driven around. From what I have been reading, clutch is ~1600-1800 dollars; not 2.5k. No idea about sound system.

I would personally stay away from cars w/o a record for that price (30K).

 

[s14_tat]

wow 22K sounds like a slap to the face to the seller with minor problems. The only big thing is the a/c which could be either a really cheap fix, or a really expensive problem.

everything else is pretty normal except for that foggy rear glass. The stock amps and speaker can be repaired for cheap from brianK. Your only putting 3K into the sound system because your up grading it.

Also stock NSX clutch catches very high, does the clutch slip when you put it in fifth gear? If not than its not slipping. How much life is left on the clutch? Only god knows. But if its not slipping bad now, and your not planning to daily drive car and have it sit in stop go traffic and you actually know how to drive a manual transmission car, the clutch should not even be an issue.


As long as the records for the major things such as timing belt and water pump change was done you should be fine.

 

[JDR]

I'll get it checked then let you guys know....I live in Ohio so there is not many around to shop from.

 

[FeetFxr]

Offer the guy your $22K, he'll laugh, and counter offer around $25-28K. Then, if you're serious, get a good PPI from someone who really knows NSX's and when he hears all the things really wrong with it re-offer $22K again.

 

[JDR]

That's exactly what will happen, is my feeling....I go through about 4 cars a year so I have a feeling for this kind of stuff. I will fix it up and resell for more when I am done playing with it (or from what others have posted here actually keep it for a very long time!!)

 

[twokidsnosleep]

$22k is salvage title territory. You will have to wear a mask to get it at a steal price like that....if the seller doesn't get insulted at the low ball.

 

[White92]

(snip.. list of things wrong.. snip)

If an owner is only willing to fix it to sell it, rather than fix it while they own it, what else is wrong with it?

If you were buying this vehicle dirt cheap to flip it, that's a different story.

It's a used car, assume they are trying to screw you.

I'll take Things to Pass for $1000, Alex.

P.S. Even given the rarity of NSX's, there will always be another for sale.

That's exactly what I was thinking. If the owner wasn't fixing these things all along, what else is wrong? You don't let broken things ad up and then offer to fix them for the right price. This isn't a Mustang.

Why would anyone try to sell a car like this and not get the swirls fixed first? I personally wouldn't put up with it if someone swirled my car. It is common on black cars, but because people don't know what they are doing.

 

[ChopsJazz]

Most 91's will have a slew of little maintenance issues, unless the car was in a garage as a collector piece.

They do? I've had a '91 for over 10 years now and the only "slew" of maintenance I've had, other than fluids, is TB/WP, radiator hoses, speakers and um, oh yeah, nothing. My car has 145K miles and IMO is worth every penny of $30K. Of course, I don't ever plan to sell it.

 

[NSX GT]

If those minor issues bother you, you better keep looking. Good luck though! Most 91/92's (garage queens) with low mileage will cost you $$$$ (35-40K). No offense, but if you only want to spend 22K for a car, I think you may want to look into a 2004 350Z.:tongue:

 

[NSXAMG996TT]

$22K - yeah right, keep looking for a salvage title car. Don't sweat the small stuff because the car is 17 y.o. but still drives straight.

I believe the price is right (pending PPI) and a perfect immaculate '91 (which everyone anally here refers to "keep looking for" should fetch $35-$40K easy).

 

[Tytus]

What does new Valves mean? A new valve adjustment? If there is a record of a valve job then there is a story, such as an overrev repair. You should not need a valve job on this car with such low miles. Have a leak down test performed and possibly a compression test and you should have about 180 to 210 reading for compression with little varyation and 2 to 10%on the leak down. The spec range on the car is more liberal than this but most cars fall into this range. I shyied away from a car that was at the lower limit of the spec range although within limits, as most cars are rarely near the low limits with miles under 150k.

Good luck,

Tytus

 

[gsr-nsx]

$22k is salvage title territory. You will have to wear a mask to get it at a steal price like that....if the seller doesn't get insulted at the low ball.

LMAO, +1

 

[swerve2007]

$27-28k is probably the lowest he will take after 'discount' for a/c issues.
$22k offer may guarantee you a higher asking price.