How scary is this 91 EBay NSX! JH4NA1153NT001022

[DocL]

Well we can all agree that this car is a rat. It may even be that a rat got into the car and chewed on the shift knob. But who cares about a shift knob anway. For 20 bucks you can replace it and there will be no sign of the abuse on the car.

This really makes you wonder if buying a car through eBay is the right thing to do.

 

[tomc92bb000059]

In my experience, buying a car through ebay is the WORST thing you can do. I bought a jeep from a seller named just_bigal, and got it home to find out that it needed about 2k worth of work to make it safe for the wife to drive. I made a mistake in believing everything the guy said, and trusting him. He refused restitution and left me bogus feedback (check hyper12r if interested). I filed complaints with ebay, the Better Business Bureau, and the New Jersey Office of Consumer Protection, which during the mediation the guy straight out LIED to the mediator. I had started sending all his bidders a letter that stated just the facts about what had happened, being careful not to break any of the ebay rules about warning bidders away, and the guy sued me over it for "interruption of business"!!!! A consumer fraud countersuit is now in process, but my advice to anyone is, don't ever buy a vehicle without seeing it in person, driving it first, and having it checked out by a trustable mechanic. And NEVER do business with anyone who wants the whole amount before you take delivery sight unseen. (yes, I have learned some very expensive and valuable lessons here, and with the lawyer fees mounting, feel that I will learn even more before this mess is over.) I could go on and on about this, so if anyone is contemplating a purchase, or wants to see the letter I was sending, get with me first.

Tom

 

[PHOEN$X]

Buying a car sight unseen is a risky proposition, and this fact is usually reflected in eBay's prices. I would definitely have any big ticket items checked out by a trustworthy reference (i.e., fellow NSXer) and inspected by a shop/dealer (in the case of cars).

Originally posted by Dr. Lane
Well we can all agree that this car is a rat. It may even be that a rat got into the car and chewed on the shift knob. But who cares about a shift knob anway. For 20 bucks you can replace it and there will be no sign of the abuse on the car.

Doc, it's not just the shift knob. If you wear too much bling bling, the steering wheel may get chewed up as well. Please try to refrain from wearing too much jewerly when driving the NSX!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Doc, it's not just the shift knob. If you wear too much bling bling, the steering wheel may get chewed up as well.

*cough* Yeah, my steering wheel was as bad as my shift knob. An OEM steering wheel costs around $750 even if you get a good deal. I'd have bought an aftermarket wheel, but I like the OEM look.

Far as I can tell, the steering wheel and shift knob had been waxed or something when I bought the car, to hide the ragged ding dings caused by the bling blings. Something to look out for.

On the bright side, I have a brand new steering wheel and shift knob, which makes all the tactile parts of driving feel like I'm in a brand new car.

 

[pearlprelude]

at least the guy posted up the pics on ebay. =)

i agree that buying a car on ebay is a pretty scary proposition. i've seen a lot of dealers 'avoid' trouble spots by snapping a picture that conveniently missed out a big tear in the seat, crack in the dash, dent in the body etc.

bidding is up to 26k now. must be some desperate buyers out there!!

 

[dnicho05]

i've seen a lot of dealers 'avoid' trouble spots by snapping a picture that conveniently missed out a big tear in the seat, crack in the dash, dent in the body etc.

Sounds like a Black 91 I looked at in St. Pete about 2 months ago.
The pics on ebay looked great, supposedly was garaged its entire life, and had only 21K miles on it. Even the Carfax looked fine.

Well, upon inspection it had a wear hole in the bolster of the driver's seat, a big crack in the top center of the dash, peeling (yes peeling) painted stock rims, stuck brake caliper, blown climate control computer, and mildew in the trunk. The odometer did say 21K, but it didn't take two minutes looking at the car and the fact that the guy owns a machine shop, to come up with odometer fraud as a conclusion.

As if it wasn't bad enough that the guy didn't reveal any of the problems in the auction, he didn't even mention any of them when I talked to him on the phone before I drove 3 hours to see it in person.

Honestly, if you or someone you know can't inspect a vehicle up on ebay before you bid, DON'T BID. There are a lot of dirt bags out there, so protect yourself.

Later,
Douglas

-Still looking for mine-

 

[KGP]

Sounds like a Black 91 I looked at in St. Pete about 2 months ago.
The pics on ebay looked great, supposedly was garaged its entire life, and had only 21K miles on it. ...

The odometer did say 21K, but it didn't take two minutes looking at the car and the fact that the guy owns a machine shop, to come up with odometer fraud as a conclusion.

It is cars like that, which I believe warrant including in some kind of database like the totaled VIN's, even though there is subjective matter involved.

 

[JSpec]

Sold for $26,200...that's got to hurt. Needs another couple of grand to make it descent (won't even talk about paint), not to mention what peoblems may lay under the hood. Not a good thing..

 

[Autophile]

Hello forum members! This is my first post to this great site. I am a new owner of a black 91, purchased from EBAY (yes, it's true) in late April, 2003.

From everyone's thoughts posted previously, eBay is made to sound like a no-man's-land for NSX purchases. I can sympathize, as eBay, in it's current configuration, is a convenient store front for unsavory people. Regarding my NSX, however, I feel that I dealt with an honest person, and got a remarkable car with minimal hassle.

I flew out to Houston to view the car before purchase. The seller picked me up at the airport in the car, and allowed me to drive the car for about an hour before making my decision. The car had 29,800 miles, was a one owner (purchased through a specialty car dealer however), good service documentation and receipts, was not in the snap ring range, and had the driver's side window regulator replaced by a dealership. From the receipts, I was able to contact the original owner and discuss the history of the car, frankly, up until the period of a few months before my purchase.

After paying for the vehicle, I drove the car nonstop 30 hours, 2000 miles, back home to Sacramento, CA. The car ran beautifully the whole way, and was everything I hoped it would be. It even averaged 29.5 miles per gallon! That was unexpected.

Anyway, my point is, I bought my NSX via eBay and I believe I got exactly what was advertised. Listed below is some information on the car, if anyone would be so kind as to check it out. I will feel like a complete fool if the VIN turns up as some kind of basket case number, but here goes....

VIN: JH4NA1157MT002463
Ext: Black
Int: Ivory
Trans: 5 speed
No mods

Thanks!
Jason

P.S. JSpec, it looks like we are neighbors!

 

[PHOEN$X]

Autophile, congratulations and welcome to the forum! Thanks for the update, I'm glad everything went well for you. If it hasn't been done already, you might want to have the timing belt and water pump replaced (they should be replaced every 6 years or 90k miles).

Welcome to the NSX family!

 

[Autophile]

Thanks Phoenix!

I need to check the receipts to see if the timing belt has been changed. The exterior belts have been changed, and the AC condensor and o-rings have been replaced, but the timing belt may be still pending...

Oh, I wanted to mention that I paid $34,000 for my car. I might have overpaid a bit (?), but the piece of mind of having the receipts, and knowing there was no shade-tree tinkering (previous owner is a 51 year old executive with many stock-condition toys) makes it a non-issue for me.

 

[JSpec]

Autophile,

I ended up getting a 91 black/black rescently and live right next to you (Roseville). Let me know if you're interested and we can makes some runs around town, compare cars, etc. I'd like to take a look at that Ivory interior, shoot me an email at [email protected]

 

[JSMDMD]

My E-Bay experience....

Hi... here is the link to my E-Bay experience....
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15269

It seems to me that more people are happy with their purchases on E-Bay than those that are not. If not, I would think that they would not sell as many cars as they do.

Like anything else in life, it all depends upon who you are dealing with. You can find liars and cheats selling cars privately and at dealers, not only on E-Bay.

Just my 2 cents worth.....

 

[nsxtasy]

Congratulations!

Make sure to join the NSX Club of America, since the Sacramento Chapter is extremely active and you can meet a lot of your fellow members at its activities. And, of course, NSXPO 2003 will be close by this coming October - you can show us all your car at the event!

 

[Tony Montoya]

I don't see anything wrng with the front-end of this car. What am I missing?

 

[NSXaholic]

I don't see anything wrng with the front-end of this car. What am I missing?

Ditto (although it is still clearly a dog!). NSXROX, please enlighten us.

Regards.

 

[PHOEN$X]

This is all I can notice. Anything else, NSXROX?

 

[NSXaholic]

This is all I can notice. Anything else, NSXROX?

Phoen$x is right on the alignment/spacing issues he points out -- good catch.

BTW, I just posted the following article on eBay fraud, which I thought was quite interesting.

Regards.

 

[jrehner]

Now wait people--Ebay is not that bad-after all I bought my 1948 FL Harley and the NSX I just bought on Ebay---you have to ask a lot of questions if they have not provided an Acura inspection report or indicated info about maintenance. I saw the auction on mine just 2 1/2 hours before it ended and did not have time to ask questions. I did run a carfax which was clean---however, the dealer had an inspection report, had an invoice showing the timing belt and water pump had been changed out by him and the many photos showed the damaged paint to the front spoiler kit--and he did say the dash speedometer lights were not working....The price was right--23,302...Got the car and it was just a loose connection to the Brightness Controller, got a spare tire and air pump and did 1500 in paint work (most was to get rid of the stupid kit scoop on the roof)...It's a beautiful car --not sure I like the Sparco seats but possibly the stock seats would not give me head clearance anyway....OH and I paid 10,900 for the Harley which was mostly stock except for the tin (fenders etc)....

 

[jrehner]

Oh yes--forgot-the car came out of SC--it was a background car in the movied 2fast 2 furious---so yes they painted a metallic blue over the red but I like the blue better than the red and really don't care that it's not the stock color--they did take off the door panels to paint and painted the underhood area for the most part...better than paying 27-30k and I can make changes as I go when I can afford to do so etc

 

[Russ]

For sale again http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131573

 

[Cozmo]

It must have an exhaust leak because I think the seller is high on fumes if he thinks he's going to get anywhere even remotely close to the asking price. :biggrin: