So here's my obligatory NSX buying story:
Details first: 1992 GPW NSX 5spd with 69K miles.
So after selling my beloved 02 Imola a few years ago (after one other owner, I believe Lostbuckeye has it now), I had a major case of seller's remorse. For those thinking about selling their NSX, everything posted on this board is true - don't do it because you will regret it and eventually come back! :smile: There is just something special about these cars - for me, it was the connection to the road, the driving position, the timeless shape, and the exclusivity. So the hunt was on starting back in early 2013. This time around I wanted a fixed roof, which meant 91-94. Zandaris were too rare and too much $$$ and all the special order fixed roofs seemed to have damage/story behind it (and rare as well). After drooling over all the GPW's in the unofficial picture thread, I decided to go hunting for an unmolested "unicorn" of my own (with black as a backup color)
Daily searches to Prime, ebay, autotrader, cars.com, craigslist, etc. etc. were pretty disappointing. Only a handful of GPW's turned up after 6+ months of searching and they were heavy modified or over 125k miles (needed under 125k miles for my loan) or the asking price was out of my range. Even the Berlinas were hard to find, with the nicer examples getting picked up fairly quickly. Fast forward to about August or so, when a GPW turned up in a craigslist ad in Kansas City, all stock and under 70K miles. I immediately emailed the seller for more information. Several unanswered emails later and not wanting to lose the opportunity, I emailed again agreeing to their asking price and even offering a deposit. Still no response and at this point I figured it was already sold or a scam ad (no phone # in ad). About a month past by and after some more searching I was in contact with a seller who had a GPW, but with ~100k miles and an automatic. The asking price was lower than my budget, so serious consideration was made, factoring a potential manual swap. I was also still monitoring the Kansas city craigslist ad and for some reason it was never taken down. Finally, on an absolute whim, I emailed the craigslist seller again and to my surprise got a response. Eventually I got a phone number and talked to the seller. Turns out the seller was actually a gentleman selling the vehicle for his boss. I was a little skeptical at first, but we eventually got the conversation going towards running a PPI. Once everything checked out, I felt a little better knowing that the car was real and seller was serious. Next, a title issue provided a little bump/delay in the road along with some weather issues during the shipping process. During this whole process, I had not even seen the car in person
- however, the gentleman/liason was very helpful (thanks for putting up with my weekly emails), pictures painted an accurate picture, and I did also talk to the original owner and had a good feeling overall. The car was shipped to me a few weeks ago and was delivered without any problems. I was relieved that the condition of the car was accurate and overjoyed to finally take possession. Of course there are several things that need to be fixed/repaired - Bose speaker crackle, TB due to time, HVAC on high setting only, in Snap Ring range (Nero - haven't forgot about your 6spd), worn bolster, paint chips - but definitely no real deal breakers in my mind. For a car that is 22+ years old, I am actually impressed/amazed at its condition.
So that's my story, pictures below and more to follow. I would describe this whole process as requiring a lot of work (searching), a lot of patience, and a little luck/divine intervention :redface:. For those still actively searching, my advice is don't give up. In some cases, you just might need to be a little persistent.
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Details first: 1992 GPW NSX 5spd with 69K miles.
So after selling my beloved 02 Imola a few years ago (after one other owner, I believe Lostbuckeye has it now), I had a major case of seller's remorse. For those thinking about selling their NSX, everything posted on this board is true - don't do it because you will regret it and eventually come back! :smile: There is just something special about these cars - for me, it was the connection to the road, the driving position, the timeless shape, and the exclusivity. So the hunt was on starting back in early 2013. This time around I wanted a fixed roof, which meant 91-94. Zandaris were too rare and too much $$$ and all the special order fixed roofs seemed to have damage/story behind it (and rare as well). After drooling over all the GPW's in the unofficial picture thread, I decided to go hunting for an unmolested "unicorn" of my own (with black as a backup color)
Daily searches to Prime, ebay, autotrader, cars.com, craigslist, etc. etc. were pretty disappointing. Only a handful of GPW's turned up after 6+ months of searching and they were heavy modified or over 125k miles (needed under 125k miles for my loan) or the asking price was out of my range. Even the Berlinas were hard to find, with the nicer examples getting picked up fairly quickly. Fast forward to about August or so, when a GPW turned up in a craigslist ad in Kansas City, all stock and under 70K miles. I immediately emailed the seller for more information. Several unanswered emails later and not wanting to lose the opportunity, I emailed again agreeing to their asking price and even offering a deposit. Still no response and at this point I figured it was already sold or a scam ad (no phone # in ad). About a month past by and after some more searching I was in contact with a seller who had a GPW, but with ~100k miles and an automatic. The asking price was lower than my budget, so serious consideration was made, factoring a potential manual swap. I was also still monitoring the Kansas city craigslist ad and for some reason it was never taken down. Finally, on an absolute whim, I emailed the craigslist seller again and to my surprise got a response. Eventually I got a phone number and talked to the seller. Turns out the seller was actually a gentleman selling the vehicle for his boss. I was a little skeptical at first, but we eventually got the conversation going towards running a PPI. Once everything checked out, I felt a little better knowing that the car was real and seller was serious. Next, a title issue provided a little bump/delay in the road along with some weather issues during the shipping process. During this whole process, I had not even seen the car in person
- however, the gentleman/liason was very helpful (thanks for putting up with my weekly emails), pictures painted an accurate picture, and I did also talk to the original owner and had a good feeling overall. The car was shipped to me a few weeks ago and was delivered without any problems. I was relieved that the condition of the car was accurate and overjoyed to finally take possession. Of course there are several things that need to be fixed/repaired - Bose speaker crackle, TB due to time, HVAC on high setting only, in Snap Ring range (Nero - haven't forgot about your 6spd), worn bolster, paint chips - but definitely no real deal breakers in my mind. For a car that is 22+ years old, I am actually impressed/amazed at its condition.So that's my story, pictures below and more to follow. I would describe this whole process as requiring a lot of work (searching), a lot of patience, and a little luck/divine intervention :redface:. For those still actively searching, my advice is don't give up. In some cases, you just might need to be a little persistent.
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