Hey Guys,
After waiting 15 years, I finally was able to buy my dream car. My ultra-supportive fiancee encouraged me to get the car now before we get married. The wedding is now in 2 weeks! I bought a "Just Married" license plate to use for taking the wedding pics....definitely excited about that! For those of you that didn't see my intro thread....you can read it here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/190750-Future-Owner-Intro-amp-Favor-Request
The car I found is a '91 NSX in Berlina Black with Black interior. This is the exact color combination I was looking for, and I also wanted the pop up headlights & manual steering. I made an offer on another Black/Black NSX that wasn't accepted. That car did not have any service records. After scouring Craigslist, eBay, Autotrader, Cars.com, and NSX Prime daily for NSXs...I finally found my car. It was only listed for sale on Prime. I contacted Tyler, and he was able to answer all of my questions. The car had a mountain of service records. It fell into snap ring range, but had the transmission replaced by Acura under warranty. It came with a letter detailing this. The car had some modifications...but they were all quality parts. Here is the Prime for sale ad for the car: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...ck-TX-5-speed-87k-miles-VIN-JH4NA1150MT002837
From the seller's ad:
This vehicle has a few very well selected mods. It had much of the work done at Comptech and Driving Ambition with receipts for all.
1. Comptech valved adjustable Koni shocks
2. Comptech Sway Bars
3. Comptech Billet Aluminum Engine Brace
4. Comptech rear non-compliance toe links
5. DC Headers
6. DC Exhaust
7. Test pipes (currently installed, stock cats included)
8. JDM Gearset
9. Comptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines
10. Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid
11. Comptech Clutch and Flywheel Combo
12. 16/17 Racing Hart Spec C Wheels in NSX Fitment
13. Science of Speed Aftermarket Engine Hatch Struts
14. Science of Speed Type S Shift Knob
15. PIAA Fog Lights
Recent Maintenance (within last 4 months):
1. Brand New Zanardi Size Battery in January w/ factory Zanardi battery hold down parts
2. Full Timing belt, water pump, seals, valve adjustment, etc. job
3. Brakes bled with Motul RBF fluid
4. Alignment
5. Engine Hatch Struts
6. Brand new OEM Floor Mats
The car did have an accident on the Carfax, but on the Carfax it showed that the vehicle was hit while parked. The seller explained that to his knowledge, the front bumper & rear bumper were repainted only. So, once we came to an agreement on price (pending PPI), I booked my flight. I paid for my Honda technician friend (who is about 300 pounds) to fly with me from Chicago to Dallas, Texas. Since I'm getting married & going to Hawaii on our Honeymoon...I'm out of vacation time. We decided to take a 6:00 am flight on our off day (Thursday), and get back in time to work 13 hours the next day.
I ended up putting $10,000 down (proceeds from my CRX part out), and financed the remainder through Penfed. Since I became a member 3 years ago & have excellent credit, I was luckily instantly approved for 2.9% x 60 months! The seller was cool with getting a Penfed check as he had purchased several vehicles using Penfed in the past. I paid the $15 for expedited check delivery & had my check within 48 hours of approval!
I did a lot of research on who to have do the PPI in the Dallas area. I read lots of good things about Carl at David McDavid Acura. So, I arranged to have the car inspected on Monday 8/24 before we flew out on Thursday 8/27. I got the report back on the car, and only minor things were notated. CV boot was leaking, turn signals don't auto cancel, windshield washer squirters were inop, antenna isn't working properly, and tires would be needed soon. All of these things were disclosed by the seller with the exception of the CV boot, and the windshield washer squirters. The CV boot I could have my tech friend fix. The seller was able to clean the washer squirters & make them work which was cool.
We took the 6:00 am flight, and were at the sellers house by 9:45 am. The car looked beautiful & as described. I took it for a short test drive & was super impressed. The exhaust sounded awesome, and the car pulled great! We had to get on the road right away in order to get back home at a decent time. I did cover the front end in 3M painters tape in order to protect the car.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. We got some pretty funny reaction from people on the way home in Oklahoma & Missouri. "What kind of Acura is that?!?" "Beautiful car...my son would loooove it!" We ended up pulling up to my house at 2:45 am.....super exhausted. We had to switch drivers every hour for the last part of the trip because we were so tired. The car was comfortable for me...not so much for my 300 pound friend lol. Anyways...on to the pics!
Sellers pics first:
Now some of my pics.... Pics @ seller's house when we got there:
Me and the car!
One of the worst parts on the car was the driver's seat. The leather was worn & separated on the bolster. I had an interior repair company re-dye the seats & sew the rip back togethers. Then I put some leather conditioning solution on it. Looks much better.
First wash at my house!
The Civic in the background is the new winter beater I bought for $900..... 2001 Civic with 310k miles lol. It has a mountain of service records at my dealership and drives great.... we'll see how long it takes to blow up!
Here's some pics of my car at my dealership:
So far, we've replaced the CV boot, replaced the trunk hatch struts, and balanced the wheels.
Now for the disappointing part. Upon closer inspection of the vehicle at my work, we discovered that there was damage to the lower core support. We could also tell that the entire vehicle was repainted. The right front fender was also replaced. I called the seller, and he had absolutely no idea about any of this (and I truly believe him). I called the Service Director at David McDavid Acura and asked how core support damage could be missed by a master NSX tech. He pretty much told me they're not liable & there's nothing they would do for me. It's disappointing because I wouldn't have purchased the vehicle if I knew it had core support damage. The car drives perfect, tracks straight & looks great. However, if I ever had to sell this car...I would have to disclose this damage...and it makes the car worth less. I'm sure it'll be very expensive to have this repaired. Here's the pics of it...you can clearly see the separation at the spot welds:
The other side:
frame rail clearance under hood by headlights:
So, I have mixed emotions right now. Super excited to own an awesome car, but disappointed with the damage. If any of you have any suggestions or someone you could refer me to that does excellent aluminum body work in the chicago area, that'd be great. I did just purchase the NSX body repair manual so I'll be able to measure things.
After waiting 15 years, I finally was able to buy my dream car. My ultra-supportive fiancee encouraged me to get the car now before we get married. The wedding is now in 2 weeks! I bought a "Just Married" license plate to use for taking the wedding pics....definitely excited about that! For those of you that didn't see my intro thread....you can read it here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/190750-Future-Owner-Intro-amp-Favor-Request
The car I found is a '91 NSX in Berlina Black with Black interior. This is the exact color combination I was looking for, and I also wanted the pop up headlights & manual steering. I made an offer on another Black/Black NSX that wasn't accepted. That car did not have any service records. After scouring Craigslist, eBay, Autotrader, Cars.com, and NSX Prime daily for NSXs...I finally found my car. It was only listed for sale on Prime. I contacted Tyler, and he was able to answer all of my questions. The car had a mountain of service records. It fell into snap ring range, but had the transmission replaced by Acura under warranty. It came with a letter detailing this. The car had some modifications...but they were all quality parts. Here is the Prime for sale ad for the car: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...ck-TX-5-speed-87k-miles-VIN-JH4NA1150MT002837
From the seller's ad:
This vehicle has a few very well selected mods. It had much of the work done at Comptech and Driving Ambition with receipts for all.
1. Comptech valved adjustable Koni shocks
2. Comptech Sway Bars
3. Comptech Billet Aluminum Engine Brace
4. Comptech rear non-compliance toe links
5. DC Headers
6. DC Exhaust
7. Test pipes (currently installed, stock cats included)
8. JDM Gearset
9. Comptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines
10. Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid
11. Comptech Clutch and Flywheel Combo
12. 16/17 Racing Hart Spec C Wheels in NSX Fitment
13. Science of Speed Aftermarket Engine Hatch Struts
14. Science of Speed Type S Shift Knob
15. PIAA Fog Lights
Recent Maintenance (within last 4 months):
1. Brand New Zanardi Size Battery in January w/ factory Zanardi battery hold down parts
2. Full Timing belt, water pump, seals, valve adjustment, etc. job
3. Brakes bled with Motul RBF fluid
4. Alignment
5. Engine Hatch Struts
6. Brand new OEM Floor Mats
The car did have an accident on the Carfax, but on the Carfax it showed that the vehicle was hit while parked. The seller explained that to his knowledge, the front bumper & rear bumper were repainted only. So, once we came to an agreement on price (pending PPI), I booked my flight. I paid for my Honda technician friend (who is about 300 pounds) to fly with me from Chicago to Dallas, Texas. Since I'm getting married & going to Hawaii on our Honeymoon...I'm out of vacation time. We decided to take a 6:00 am flight on our off day (Thursday), and get back in time to work 13 hours the next day.
I ended up putting $10,000 down (proceeds from my CRX part out), and financed the remainder through Penfed. Since I became a member 3 years ago & have excellent credit, I was luckily instantly approved for 2.9% x 60 months! The seller was cool with getting a Penfed check as he had purchased several vehicles using Penfed in the past. I paid the $15 for expedited check delivery & had my check within 48 hours of approval!
I did a lot of research on who to have do the PPI in the Dallas area. I read lots of good things about Carl at David McDavid Acura. So, I arranged to have the car inspected on Monday 8/24 before we flew out on Thursday 8/27. I got the report back on the car, and only minor things were notated. CV boot was leaking, turn signals don't auto cancel, windshield washer squirters were inop, antenna isn't working properly, and tires would be needed soon. All of these things were disclosed by the seller with the exception of the CV boot, and the windshield washer squirters. The CV boot I could have my tech friend fix. The seller was able to clean the washer squirters & make them work which was cool.
We took the 6:00 am flight, and were at the sellers house by 9:45 am. The car looked beautiful & as described. I took it for a short test drive & was super impressed. The exhaust sounded awesome, and the car pulled great! We had to get on the road right away in order to get back home at a decent time. I did cover the front end in 3M painters tape in order to protect the car.
The drive home was pretty uneventful. We got some pretty funny reaction from people on the way home in Oklahoma & Missouri. "What kind of Acura is that?!?" "Beautiful car...my son would loooove it!" We ended up pulling up to my house at 2:45 am.....super exhausted. We had to switch drivers every hour for the last part of the trip because we were so tired. The car was comfortable for me...not so much for my 300 pound friend lol. Anyways...on to the pics!
Sellers pics first:
Now some of my pics.... Pics @ seller's house when we got there:
Me and the car!
One of the worst parts on the car was the driver's seat. The leather was worn & separated on the bolster. I had an interior repair company re-dye the seats & sew the rip back togethers. Then I put some leather conditioning solution on it. Looks much better.
First wash at my house!
The Civic in the background is the new winter beater I bought for $900..... 2001 Civic with 310k miles lol. It has a mountain of service records at my dealership and drives great.... we'll see how long it takes to blow up!
Here's some pics of my car at my dealership:
So far, we've replaced the CV boot, replaced the trunk hatch struts, and balanced the wheels.
Now for the disappointing part. Upon closer inspection of the vehicle at my work, we discovered that there was damage to the lower core support. We could also tell that the entire vehicle was repainted. The right front fender was also replaced. I called the seller, and he had absolutely no idea about any of this (and I truly believe him). I called the Service Director at David McDavid Acura and asked how core support damage could be missed by a master NSX tech. He pretty much told me they're not liable & there's nothing they would do for me. It's disappointing because I wouldn't have purchased the vehicle if I knew it had core support damage. The car drives perfect, tracks straight & looks great. However, if I ever had to sell this car...I would have to disclose this damage...and it makes the car worth less. I'm sure it'll be very expensive to have this repaired. Here's the pics of it...you can clearly see the separation at the spot welds:
The other side:
frame rail clearance under hood by headlights:
So, I have mixed emotions right now. Super excited to own an awesome car, but disappointed with the damage. If any of you have any suggestions or someone you could refer me to that does excellent aluminum body work in the chicago area, that'd be great. I did just purchase the NSX body repair manual so I'll be able to measure things.
