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Trade in Civic for NSX?

Jay

Experienced Member
Joined
11 March 2000
Messages
252
Location
Cerritos, CA
-I was about to leave Starbucks after picking up my Cafe latte and this kid came up to me and asked me all kinds of questions about my car. And for about 30 mins. the following conversation took place:

kid: "Hey your car looks cool man!"
me: "Thanks"

-skipping the chitchat.......(you know like, what kind of engine is it?, what's the top speed?, how much you paid for it?...blah..blah......)

kid: "Yeah man, I'm thinking about trading my car in for the NSX if I can find one with high mileage for about 24k..."

me: "Oh really? Sure, it's a wonderful machine to own"

kid: "yeah I've seen in a magazine that someone traded-in his Civic for NSX for only $35k and I've heard that the maintanenance is like a Civic"

me: "ummmmm...really? which magazine?"

kid: "um forgot"

me: "well, true that you can pick up an NSX for about that price, but with a 24k budget you might have to find one with a salvage title. And sure the maintanence on NSX is not as bad as the P or F-Cars but belive me it's not like the Civic."

kid: "no way man, what's so different about it?"

me: "well the regular maintenance of changing oil & filter is just like any other car but for major services expect to pay about $500 - $700. And the parts for the NSX is outrageous. You are buying 8 or 9 year old car without a warranty unless you buy a extended warranty for about 2 to 3k. Also keep in mind that replacing a clutch is about 2k"

kid: " Wowwww....2k for the clutch?"

-He's about to have a heart attack at this point....

me: "yup! parts and labor"

kid: "holy shit"

me: "and then there's the window regulator, tires....oh! and the snap ring issue."

kid: "what's the snap ring issue?"

-had to explain what this issue was....skipping that as well since all of you had heard this over a thousand times..

kid: "so you're telling me I have to fix all that when I get it?"

me: "not really, you might find a car that's already fixed. But of course, you might have to pay little more for it. And if you're lucky you might not have to deal with the problems I've mentioned."


kid: "man!!! I was planning on putting nice wheels, exhaust and headers... and fix it up real nice"

me: "ummmmm...see, that's another thing, performance parts are..... not that cheap. For example: 1k for exhaust, 1.3k for headers....well, you get the idea."

kid: "man!! I don't know if I can afford all that"

me: "well, start saving up and you'll be on your way. And remember NSX is a beautiful car and should not be treated as Civic."


-So that was whole 30 mins. of conversation. I don't know which magazine publish that article but it sure got this kid excited. Poor kid, he thought he had a chance of driving his dream machine...but looks like it's still a long way to go for him.



[This message has been edited by Jay (edited 13 June 2000).]
 
The Article was in Max power november 99. I think that the article failed to mention all the above,what I have a hard time believing is that the guy claims to have paid 35k but has alot of after market parts on it??
 
when he bought the car, it only has a few mods in it. It's Wayne Mello's (Doug Hayashi's (NSXfiles.com) friend) old car.

[This message has been edited by Andrie Hartanto (edited 13 June 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Andrie Hartanto (edited 13 June 2000).]
 
Boy, since I bought my 92 in November of 99:

$1350 for general checkup, water pump, timing belt, bleed brakes, trans oil change, window regulators clips - etc. etc.

$750 for Snap ring preventative.

~$30 for oil synth change

$350 for bumper repaint after some kid stole my Acura emblem and scratch up the bumper while he was at it and replacement of the toe hook cover (fell off?).

Fun Stuff: $1600 for various upgrades

Of course, I do it without breaking a sweat because I love the car so damn much.

I think I also may have to do an ABS pump on it pretty soon.
 
$1350 for general checkup, water pump, timing belt, bleed brakes, trans oil change, window regulators clips - etc. etc.

$750 for Snap ring preventative.

~$30 for oil synth change

$350 for bumper repaint after some kid stole my Acura emblem and scratch up the bumper while he was at it and replacement of the toe hook cover (fell off?).

Fun Stuff: $1600 for various upgrades
[/QUOTE]

Well, the $1350 is typical scheduled maintenance - about what ought to be spent every 60-90K miles or so. That, and the snap ring preventive, you probably knew you were going to pay when you bought the car (and you probably paid that much less than you would have if those things had already been done on your car).

The rest of it could have applied just as well to any other car.

I'm not saying the NSX is as inexpensive as a Civic, only that you guys are making a big deal out of something that really isn't. If you cheap out and buy a poorly-maintained car, you can expect to have to put some money into it if you want it to become reliable.
 
A NSX is a cheap car to maintain compared to other comparible cars. I mean its an $80K car you can't expect to pay the same for maintience as for a $20K car. My Porsche cost me $1300 bucks just for the water pump and pulleys, Clutch $1800, and numerous other things that needed servicing and always cost deep into the hundreds. And this was a private garage, dealer would be even more. Plus how often does an NSX act up, It doesn't have the Yugo reliability of a Porsche or Ferrari.
 
I don't want to be a wet blanket but...

<<My Porsche cost me $1300 bucks just for the water pump and pulleys>>

It would cost us about $1000-1200 to get to and replace our waterpump.

<<Clutch $1800>>

Right now I am looking at about $2700 installed for the Dali clutch.

<< and numerous other things that needed servicing and always cost deep into the hundreds. >>

Like the snap ring, and window regulators? Both cause major headaches.

I *LOVE* my car, dont get me wrong, I just think that it not that much less expensive for the things that you listed. I do agree though that the NSX is much less likely to break down.

You know, I think this may just be pent up anger for having to replace my clutch for a friggen bad throwout bearing!

Hiroshima
 
Wow I have a 91 that I brought brand new, and the only thing I've had to do is change the oil and filter. I did change the radiator fluid. I'm going to change all the other fluids and spark plugs, but other wise the car has been PERFECT. The clutch is still like the day I bought it. My 2 cents.
 
Check this sentence out, i found it on ebay
"You are looking at a beautiful 1991 Acura NSX with red exterior and tan interior. If you want to drive an exotic car but can't handle exotic maintenance, then the NSX is for you. It drives like an exotic but services like a Civic. A one-owner jewel, this car is ready to go. Driven daily, this car has all service records. Own a real car at a great price. "
 
FOR SALE: 2000 NSX-T Yellow/Black over $84,000 invested, MSRP of $92,000. MUST SELL. Buying 2000 Honda Civic.
smile.gif



------------------
Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
 
Originally posted by nsxtasy:

I'm not saying the NSX is as inexpensive as a Civic, only that you guys are making a big deal out of something that really isn't.

The whole point of my story was to illustrate the maintenance cost between Civic and NSX. I know that NSX does not cost a fortune to keep up when you compare to other exotic cars and I don't mind spending the money. I'm not complaining here! Just wanted to shed some light for people who think it's cheap to maintain (like a Civic).
 
Originally posted by Jay:
I'm not complaining here! Just wanted to shed some light for people who think it's cheap to maintain (like a Civic).

Jay, I really enjoyed the story and the chance to set the record straight. I don't know how they figure it is as cheap as a CIVIC when the NSX costs $0.17 a mile just in tires. I bought tires for my BMW and based on the 40,000 miles I got out of them, it only costs me $0.02 per mile. I think life would be different if we had to whip out a $5 and place it on the dash anytime we wanted to go somewhere only to realize that for $5, we could only go 23.6 miles... based on tires alone.... 12.8 miles if you figure in all the rest.
smile.gif


[This message has been edited by G-man (edited 20 June 2000).]
 
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