Hello everyone. If you look at my join date you can see that I've been a member of Prime for quite a few years. The NSX, in my opinion, is the Mt. Everest of cars. I've owned a bunch of them: TT Supra, 928S4, CRX's, Integra just to name a few. I've always been a fan of the NSX and have always wanted one but never thought I'd be able to swing getting one (at least not in the near future.....maybe ten years from now). When I say I've always wanted one I've always wanted a 97 or newer Spa Yellow with a six speed. I prefer the pop up headlights to the 2002+ cars so that's what I was looking for.
I'd look at NSXPrime pretty frequently just dreaming, following the prices, and reading the forums. I have a wife and two young sons (three and five years old) so if I was being practical, this is not the best time to buy a two seat sports car (especially since we currently own a 92 Sunburst yellow Miata). Anyway back in early 2010 I saw a Spa Yellow NSX listed in the classifieds with 13xxx miles located in Indiana(I'm in New York). The car was listed for 45k so I made an offer of 43k. There were some deferred maintenance things that needed to be addressed so I thought 43k was an okay offer (certainly not a low ball). To my surprise the offer was accepted!
Okay, so now I've made an offer on a car and that offer has been accepted. I began formulating a plan to ask my wife for permission to purchase my dream car. It took me a day or two to work up the courage to ask her. She knew that I was sniffing around buying a TDI Volkswagen Jetta. Before I left for work one day I told her I need to talk to her about something (just to plant the seed). I told her it was nothing bad. She immediately asked me "what did you buy?" or "what do you want to buy?". I told her I'd talk to her later in the day.
Later that same day I stood with her in the kitchen and she said "What do you want to buy...an NSX?" She just threw that out there thinking that it was an impossibility that I would even entertain the notion of buying an NSX. When I said "yes" the look on her face was interesting to say the least. Thus began the selling process. She knew that I wanted an NSX. I've got a five gallon coin jar that I'm filling with change that's known as the "NSX fund". It should be known as the NSX sales tax fund because that sales tax is a killer. I told her that the amount was a fair price and that the car, while expensive, will hold its value for years to come. After hours of this she finally broke down and said yes.
Now came the time to figure out how I was going to get the car. I have a Tundra pickup truck that could easily tow the NSX but U-Haul wanted like 400 bucks for a one way trip car hauler. Scratch that idea. I could borrow a trailer to pull out there empty and then drive back. I could pay for the car sight unseen and have it shipped back but I really wanted to look at the car first. I decided that I would fly out with a friend's dealer plate that he was going to let me borrow with a return airline ticket just in case the weather was not favorable for driving a sports car in. This was February so the weather between New York and Indiana can be unpredictable to say the least.
I've always wanted to buy an NSX and drive back from the location that I bought it. That was my "dream". I woke up the morning I was to fly to Indiana to look at the car to find that it had snowed and was still snowing in New York. Not the best start of my trip. I had to snow blow the driveway to get out. I got out and drove to the airport, which is only about 20 minutes away. So what happens when it snows at airports? They cancel flights. To my surprise my flight was not canceled and left on time. That's a good sign. I landed in Indiana and was picked up at the airport by the owner of the NSX (Timothy). We went and looked at the his car and when I say it exceeded my expectations I mean it really exceeded my expectations. One tiny scratch near the gas filler door and a couple of minor scrapes on the lower front lip. Perfect! We made the transaction, I looked at the weather and I decided that I'd fly back since there was still snow over the northeast. Timothy agreed to let me store the car in his garage for a month or two until the spring when the weather would be better to drive back from New York. I again thought of shipping the car back but if Tim was going to let me keep it with him I figured it was safer in garage then in the back of a car hauler in the middle of March driving 800 miles. I had it insured so everything was safe.
The flight back was interesting to say the least. The snow storm in New York was a very powerful one. Powerful and fairly compact dumping about two feet of wet wet wet snow in the lower Hudson Valley (a friend that lives about 30 minutes north of me got nothing). The plane got diverted to Harrisburg, PA and I had to ride a bus from Harrisburg to Newburgh, New York in a snow storm. I got to my car at the airport and drove home. The roads were horrible. Because of the heavy snow tree limbs were down everywhere and when I finally got home my power was out. Some of the older folks in my neighborhood said it's was "the worst storm they've ever seen". Good thing I didn't drive the NSX home. The power stayed out for about 4-5 days. I spent those days keeping a fire going in my fire place to keep my house above freezing and cooking noodles on sterno. It was so bad that I could not even get out of my driveway because they could not plow due to the lines being down. To make matters worse the power company could not get into the neighborhood because the roads were not plowed. Catch 22!!
So the car is nine years old and had not had the timing belt/water pump done. That's not too good. I contacted Larry B who lives only about 45 minutes from me (perfect) and asked if he thought it would be okay to drive back. He said that it would not be a good idea to bring it to a race track but an easy drive should not be a problem. That put me a ease a little bit.
I finally picked a date to go and pick up the NSX. May 3rd/4th. Fly out on the third and drive back on the fourth. The car was titled in my name and registered (big sales tax hit) so I had everything I would need to drive back. The flight went without a hitch. I landed and was again picked up by Timothy who I promptly treated to a nice dinner for letting me store the car in his garage for the better part of two months.
Now I've never driven an NSX. I've sat in them, heard them run, but I have never driven one. This topic has been covered here before (buying a car you have never test drove). When I flew out the first time it was snowing so I could not drive it then. I guess I just "knew" that I would like it. The morning of the fourth of May came and I put the plates on the car and started my first journey in my new to me NSX. My first impression is how easy it was to drive. Pretty much like any other Honda that I've ever owned. Comfortable, good visibility, powerful. It was early morning when I left Indiana so it was still dark out. So started my 11-12 hour journey.
I've driven alot in my 42 years. Driven to Florida in one day from New York, to North Carolina more times than I can count etc etc. One thing that I notice is that when you drive a bunch of miles you tend to get hot spots (for lack of a better phrase) on your body. This was not the case with the NSX. It felt like I was sitting in a very comfortable chair which I guess I was. When it got light out I passed a car and noticed the guy next to me was taking a picture of the car as it passed on his camera phone. This was my first "gawking" experience. I had several more of those during the trip. Lots of smiles, some thumbs up and a bunch of quick head turns.
I hit some thunder storms on the way back (some pretty heavy rain) and I noticed that the front end was hydroplaning quite a bit or just getting light. The tires are good so that was not the problem. Maybe I'm just not used to having the engine behind me. Is that the way it always feels? I know the NSX can be tricky in the rain which is why so many of them have accidents in the rain. I was being hyper carful. Overall the drive went without incident. I made it home in about 11 hours, managed to get in the upper 20's (close to 30) for MPG and had a really great time. When I stopped to eat I had to sit so I could see the car. While I was walking away from the car I noticed I would look back a bunch of times (this syndrome has been talked about on Prime and I suffer from it).
I pulled into my driveway and was greeted by my three and five year old boys. I'm not sure how other kids do but my kids are tough on things. I've come to the realization that I can't have anything "nice" In a nut shell you could give my kids a brick of 6/4 titanium and they would figure out how to break it into a hundred pieces. I gave them explicate instructions not to touch anything and they were pretty good. I'm currently constructing a 24x28 garage to house my new ride in so the car is currently sitting in my parents garage safe and sound. I'm going to put a two post lift in the garage to keep the NSX off the ground and away from my two boys.
So that's the story of my new NSX. Thanks for reading it. The picture attached is the one I took leaving Indiana. More to follow. I look forward to many years of ownership. It is, and will always be my dream car. I'll never need another. Why climb K-2 when you've climbed Mt. Everest?
So how do I tell my wife about the TB/WP job the car needs? Any ideas?
I'd look at NSXPrime pretty frequently just dreaming, following the prices, and reading the forums. I have a wife and two young sons (three and five years old) so if I was being practical, this is not the best time to buy a two seat sports car (especially since we currently own a 92 Sunburst yellow Miata). Anyway back in early 2010 I saw a Spa Yellow NSX listed in the classifieds with 13xxx miles located in Indiana(I'm in New York). The car was listed for 45k so I made an offer of 43k. There were some deferred maintenance things that needed to be addressed so I thought 43k was an okay offer (certainly not a low ball). To my surprise the offer was accepted!
Okay, so now I've made an offer on a car and that offer has been accepted. I began formulating a plan to ask my wife for permission to purchase my dream car. It took me a day or two to work up the courage to ask her. She knew that I was sniffing around buying a TDI Volkswagen Jetta. Before I left for work one day I told her I need to talk to her about something (just to plant the seed). I told her it was nothing bad. She immediately asked me "what did you buy?" or "what do you want to buy?". I told her I'd talk to her later in the day.
Later that same day I stood with her in the kitchen and she said "What do you want to buy...an NSX?" She just threw that out there thinking that it was an impossibility that I would even entertain the notion of buying an NSX. When I said "yes" the look on her face was interesting to say the least. Thus began the selling process. She knew that I wanted an NSX. I've got a five gallon coin jar that I'm filling with change that's known as the "NSX fund". It should be known as the NSX sales tax fund because that sales tax is a killer. I told her that the amount was a fair price and that the car, while expensive, will hold its value for years to come. After hours of this she finally broke down and said yes.
Now came the time to figure out how I was going to get the car. I have a Tundra pickup truck that could easily tow the NSX but U-Haul wanted like 400 bucks for a one way trip car hauler. Scratch that idea. I could borrow a trailer to pull out there empty and then drive back. I could pay for the car sight unseen and have it shipped back but I really wanted to look at the car first. I decided that I would fly out with a friend's dealer plate that he was going to let me borrow with a return airline ticket just in case the weather was not favorable for driving a sports car in. This was February so the weather between New York and Indiana can be unpredictable to say the least.
I've always wanted to buy an NSX and drive back from the location that I bought it. That was my "dream". I woke up the morning I was to fly to Indiana to look at the car to find that it had snowed and was still snowing in New York. Not the best start of my trip. I had to snow blow the driveway to get out. I got out and drove to the airport, which is only about 20 minutes away. So what happens when it snows at airports? They cancel flights. To my surprise my flight was not canceled and left on time. That's a good sign. I landed in Indiana and was picked up at the airport by the owner of the NSX (Timothy). We went and looked at the his car and when I say it exceeded my expectations I mean it really exceeded my expectations. One tiny scratch near the gas filler door and a couple of minor scrapes on the lower front lip. Perfect! We made the transaction, I looked at the weather and I decided that I'd fly back since there was still snow over the northeast. Timothy agreed to let me store the car in his garage for a month or two until the spring when the weather would be better to drive back from New York. I again thought of shipping the car back but if Tim was going to let me keep it with him I figured it was safer in garage then in the back of a car hauler in the middle of March driving 800 miles. I had it insured so everything was safe.
The flight back was interesting to say the least. The snow storm in New York was a very powerful one. Powerful and fairly compact dumping about two feet of wet wet wet snow in the lower Hudson Valley (a friend that lives about 30 minutes north of me got nothing). The plane got diverted to Harrisburg, PA and I had to ride a bus from Harrisburg to Newburgh, New York in a snow storm. I got to my car at the airport and drove home. The roads were horrible. Because of the heavy snow tree limbs were down everywhere and when I finally got home my power was out. Some of the older folks in my neighborhood said it's was "the worst storm they've ever seen". Good thing I didn't drive the NSX home. The power stayed out for about 4-5 days. I spent those days keeping a fire going in my fire place to keep my house above freezing and cooking noodles on sterno. It was so bad that I could not even get out of my driveway because they could not plow due to the lines being down. To make matters worse the power company could not get into the neighborhood because the roads were not plowed. Catch 22!!
So the car is nine years old and had not had the timing belt/water pump done. That's not too good. I contacted Larry B who lives only about 45 minutes from me (perfect) and asked if he thought it would be okay to drive back. He said that it would not be a good idea to bring it to a race track but an easy drive should not be a problem. That put me a ease a little bit.
I finally picked a date to go and pick up the NSX. May 3rd/4th. Fly out on the third and drive back on the fourth. The car was titled in my name and registered (big sales tax hit) so I had everything I would need to drive back. The flight went without a hitch. I landed and was again picked up by Timothy who I promptly treated to a nice dinner for letting me store the car in his garage for the better part of two months.
Now I've never driven an NSX. I've sat in them, heard them run, but I have never driven one. This topic has been covered here before (buying a car you have never test drove). When I flew out the first time it was snowing so I could not drive it then. I guess I just "knew" that I would like it. The morning of the fourth of May came and I put the plates on the car and started my first journey in my new to me NSX. My first impression is how easy it was to drive. Pretty much like any other Honda that I've ever owned. Comfortable, good visibility, powerful. It was early morning when I left Indiana so it was still dark out. So started my 11-12 hour journey.
I've driven alot in my 42 years. Driven to Florida in one day from New York, to North Carolina more times than I can count etc etc. One thing that I notice is that when you drive a bunch of miles you tend to get hot spots (for lack of a better phrase) on your body. This was not the case with the NSX. It felt like I was sitting in a very comfortable chair which I guess I was. When it got light out I passed a car and noticed the guy next to me was taking a picture of the car as it passed on his camera phone. This was my first "gawking" experience. I had several more of those during the trip. Lots of smiles, some thumbs up and a bunch of quick head turns.
I hit some thunder storms on the way back (some pretty heavy rain) and I noticed that the front end was hydroplaning quite a bit or just getting light. The tires are good so that was not the problem. Maybe I'm just not used to having the engine behind me. Is that the way it always feels? I know the NSX can be tricky in the rain which is why so many of them have accidents in the rain. I was being hyper carful. Overall the drive went without incident. I made it home in about 11 hours, managed to get in the upper 20's (close to 30) for MPG and had a really great time. When I stopped to eat I had to sit so I could see the car. While I was walking away from the car I noticed I would look back a bunch of times (this syndrome has been talked about on Prime and I suffer from it).
I pulled into my driveway and was greeted by my three and five year old boys. I'm not sure how other kids do but my kids are tough on things. I've come to the realization that I can't have anything "nice" In a nut shell you could give my kids a brick of 6/4 titanium and they would figure out how to break it into a hundred pieces. I gave them explicate instructions not to touch anything and they were pretty good. I'm currently constructing a 24x28 garage to house my new ride in so the car is currently sitting in my parents garage safe and sound. I'm going to put a two post lift in the garage to keep the NSX off the ground and away from my two boys.
So that's the story of my new NSX. Thanks for reading it. The picture attached is the one I took leaving Indiana. More to follow. I look forward to many years of ownership. It is, and will always be my dream car. I'll never need another. Why climb K-2 when you've climbed Mt. Everest?
So how do I tell my wife about the TB/WP job the car needs? Any ideas?
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