Delurk: so many Qs, so little time...

[woodbridger]

Hi all. Newbie here: middle-aged bloke, lusted after NSX for years, money finally available, finding it hard to find locally, etc (sound familiar?)

My sportscar experience is pretty slim: Fiat X1/9 (mid engined fun but annoyingly water soluble); Skyline GT-R33 (superb, but the V-Spec suspension was too firm); MX5 (fun and great VFM). An NSX would be my second car (maybe 2000 miles pa?).

There's still an outside chance I'll choose another R33 Skyline or a Boxster S, but £20,000 on an NSX is just about sensible (ish ;)) and I've loved it for ages. Had seen a yellow one around here (Suffolk), but not for a while. Seems the biggest issue is that it's so rare that finding the right one may need patience (I'm sadly lacking).

For now, first Q is about high mileage and potential risk. I get a bit nervous about the idea of any car with 100,000m+ on it (except older Mercs). Is there any consensus on NSXs with high mileages - re realistic lifetime of engine, trans, suspension, etc?

[Senninha]

Hi and welcome!

With documented Honda history there are several examples here with trouble free 120k+ mileages (some in the US have double this!)

Drop a line to Mark (BlueNSX) who I think is putting his clean NSX-T on the market. Full history and less than 40k miles

If you find a car you can always post details as its possible someone will know about it

HTH, Paul

[markdas]

Your dilema (what a nice dilema to have) sounds identical to mine back in March.

I have 20-22K to spend on an NSX....had never seen one in real life, let alone studied or sat in one but the good thing is....you know all NSX's are pretty much the same (before I get slated..I mean if you want a standard non modified NSX then you choose manual or auto, hard top or targa and then its down to colour choice) after that, you can rest assured that the car is going to drive like a dream and you will have this grin on your face each time you look at it, let alone drive it!

Service history and good chat with the previous owner is probably more important with the NSX than any other car I can think of. Service histry (Honda) will keep the price higher, but also the resale value, these cars should now hold their value and increase in time. The engine is specific to this car of course but its an engine, check for OEM filters and good quality oil at the 6000m or 6 month interval.

Read the forum sections on typical faults

Early gearboxes can give trouble
Air con system appears a little weak
Bose amps now old and capacitors leak and fail
electric windows have slow and weak operation when older

But really these things are so well engineered its amazing....

They eat rear tyres if pushed hard, but for that you get amazing handling and grip and forgiveness and I think most of us lack the real talant to push an NSX to is capabilities....

I paid 22k for a 29,000 mile FHSH example from an owner on here and its worth every penny.

They are out there, but so are poor examples.....I dont imagine the engine can be abused that easily in normal driving, only via poor maintenance, paintwork can be repaired of course, there are a few CAT D repaired ones doing the rounds also.

Good luck and buy with confidence, you get a good one and then just worry about finding a reason to drive it......2000 miles pa...yeah right! Its for using!

Mark

[woodbridger]

Thanks chaps. All good advice. Will PM BlueNSX and see what's occuring with his.

On high mileage, I've now lurked a bit at NSXprime and see some guys over there putting 15,000m+ on each year. I know that there's a Merican that's put over 1,000,000m on a Volvo P1800, but that's a VERY unstressed engine. I'm a nerd for keeping paperwork on my boring cars, so I'll definitely want to see the same for an NSX, with fixes for those early problems shown in the paperwork.

On the Targa, I've now read up on the weight-vs-ratios issues. Seems pluses and minuses more or less balance out, so I'm open-minded for now.

> 2000 miles pa...yeah right! Its for using!

:) Understood!

Side Q: whereabouts does the Targa roof store inside the car?

[jaytip]

Side Q: whereabouts does the Targa roof store inside the car?
There is a special holder for it in here.

[woodbridger]

Thanks JT :)

Have now found a LOT of auto NSXs on Ebay, PH, ClassicCars, etc. Seem to be fewer manuals around, and they're scattered around the 4 corners of Blighty. There is one in Suffolk though (a Charlotte Green one listed on PH), so I ought to start there...

[Sudesh]

Hi and welcome to the club!

I dont think you will be disappointed with NSX ownership and its one of those cars that as soon as you go for a drive, you dont want to stop but rather just enjoy the time behind the wheel.

Good luck with your seach and hope you become an owner!!

[TheSebringOne]

Welcome & good luck in your search, you will not be disappointed with a straight NSX! Ditto, another X1/9 owner here too! Got an 1988 one! Driving two mid engined cars of different era, power and technology is strange, but fun for different resaons! I can get the front tyres to squeal when cornering in the X1/9 that I can't do in the NSX! Apparently when they were designing the NSX, they used ideas from many cars and god behold, the used the little Fiat or Bertone! :)

[woodbridger]

Thanks for the warm welcome :)

'88 X1/9 - is that the Gran Finale? Mine was a '79: not very reliable, and got lighter after every shower.

That old X1/9 showed me what LJKS was on about with the 'low polar moment of inertia' thing. I spun it once (turning into a sidestreet from a downhill road), and it was gone way before I knew it. :rolleyes: That and the appalling brake balance in the wet were wake-up calls! :eek:

My head says I should wait until I have a bigger garage built before buying the NSX, but my heart says 'do it now'! And it seems there are some nice cars up for sale at the moment... :)

[markdas]

I think if you want an NSX now and have the funds - do it......be sensible about which one, obviously things like a looming timing belt change could set you back 1-1500 quid, so check that. Accidetn damage (having said that some reputable bodyshops can make a good as new repair as long as you dont mind having that on the V5 if its been CAT C (I think).

Another thing about the NSX is the extensive aluminium used throughout the car.....it is not going to rust like some cars, keep the paint clean, hose off the salt in winter underneath and it'll be fine!

Only think I wanted to change about mine was the exhaust - the noise of the standard car is lovely but just too quiet.....sure the induction noise is bloody perfect behind your left ear but no real exhaust noise.

My new exhaust arrived in the country last week, had to pay 111GBP customs :no: but soon it will be on the car and the neighbours will be pleased!!!

Go for it now....you just will not regret it!

Mark

[woodbridger]

Mark - thanks for the extra incitement. Just what I need. :) The more I think about it, the more I think I'll avoid Cat C cars, JDM imports and patchy service paperwork.

Funny what you say about the NSX exhaust note. Right now it doesn't concern me a bit - I'm just after grip, handling and acceleration. Who knows what I'll think when I've had one a while...?

Sorry to hear that HMG wants the extra £111 for your new exhaust. I have a vintage guitar habit, and HMG taxes me on that, too. Adds about 22% in total :(

PS: anyone know the charlotte green targa on PH at asking price of £21999? Spoke to the seller (nice guy) and he said it was previously owned by a forum member (RAF?). Any thoughts - seems very original with the biggest maintenance jobs recently done? Will see it when I'm back after next week's holiday.

[TheSebringOne]

My is early 88, but not Grand Finale. Funny the only time I lost it was corning down a dip and hitting the brakes, with back end letting go & ended up facing on coming traffic on the same road I just been down! :eek:

Brakes balance not the best, many times I had smoke with lock ups! :D

On the NSX, buy one now with the credit crunch & you can drive a better deal! I have a double garage, but still have to line up the car and push the car in, with a plank of wood to stop the car hitting the inside wall! Never got round to knocking the wall bewteen both garages & putting in RSJs! Not forgetting to push mirrors up! :)

As for a cambelt change, some Honda garages should be able to do it for well under 1K, maybe 700-800, so not that bad, just haggle on labour rates!

[markdas]

There was a green with beige interior one on here earlier this year, a thin I remember the guy buying it over a long period of time......can't remember the story....

The other green one with black interior I looked at in March.....Chiswick is an NSX dealer and were selling it on behalf of the owner at an advertised 22 or 23995 I think but it also needed a service and timing belt change - hence my figure of 1-1.5k for the combined lot! I contacted the seller and tried to do a deal based on my budget of up to 22k for a ready to go car (not to have then spend at least a 1k for peace of mind) but he was fixed on that price....looks like a more attractive deal now???

Thats when I grabbed the 29000 mile car sold by a member here with FHSH and recent timing belt change etc.

the 3.2 orange one on PH is a good price but its whether you would always be kicking yourself for having a CAT D car.....it shouldn't really be a problem but then....why don't we all drive Skodas?

[woodbridger]

Yes, I'm ignoring the orange one on PH. Maybe it's a perfect repair, but as good as Honda originally made it? And it'll always have a story attached. (Bit like vintage guitars, where repair stories almost always makes them slower to sell.)

The JDM white one (JDM assumed from the shape of the rear number plate recess) on PH rather appeals to me, and I don't normally like white cars. Hate its wheels, though, and reading between the lines, I'm sure the history is incomplete.

Thanks for the info on the CG ones (weirdly, my Civic is a dark metallic green, and I just can't imagine the NSX in such an understated colour). The London one has had all the important bits of work done but is a bit higher mileage (76,000m) than I'd ideally want. I'm trying to stick to <50,000m.

Ho hum... :)

[Senninha]

........The JDM white one (JDM assumed from the shape of the rear number plate recess) on PH rather appeals to me, and I don't normally like white cars. Hate its wheels, though, and reading between the lines, I'm sure the history is incomplete.........:)

If this was a manual it would be on my drive by now as my new daily driver ... still tempted as an auto but those wheels would have to go!

[woodbridger]

If this was a manual it would be on my drive by now as my new daily driver ... still tempted as an auto but those wheels would have to go!

Note to self: invest in a pair of eagle eyes to spot this sort of thing... :rolleyes: What a surprise that the seller conveniently left that bit of info out of the description?

[mutley]

HI, just thought I'd say good luck with your search, and I hope you find what you are looking for.

When I bought my car (1991 man) I was on a stricter budget and found mine for an absolute steal. Although it had been a cat -c, being mechanically minded I generallly do all the work my self (and have now become a clutch fitting expert!!!) Still lots to do to it, but at the time of purchase I was looking for a project and it seemed perfect to me.

With your funds I am sure you will be able to find exactly what you are looking for. I'd just like to add about the comments on mileage, I have used mine to travel up and down the country with absolutely no problems at all, and now sitting on 109K, it's not a car for hiding away (Sebring One take the hint HAHA)

hope thats of some use.

Jim

[AR]

the 3.2 orange one on PH is a good price but its whether you would always be kicking yourself for having a CAT D car.....it shouldn't really be a problem but then....why don't we all drive Skodas?

Mate I'll rather drive a Skoda than that car. ( as long as is a Skoda VRS )

[TheSebringOne]

Jim, I don't know what your talking about!? :dunno::D:laugh:

[Greybloke]

Good luck with yours search, don't worry about mileage so long as it has FSH to support. I can talk from experience as mine (a 91 early manual car) is now showing about 145,000 and is still a peach:)
For the last 3 years I've used it as my daily driver, which is so rewarding, a practical, head turner, with loads of performance. I have a sensible diesel 4 seater now as well, and the NSX has hardly turned a wheel since June:(


(http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg194/greybloke/P1010080.jpg)

[Ken Green]

I bought my 1997 NSX-T in 2000 with 28k on the clock. It's used most days and is now showing 90k. It feels as good now as when I bought in. Each summer I cover around 3 - 3.5k miles on a four week European tour, and several thousand miles touring the UK throughout the rest of the year; never had a problem. Serviced regularly (at very reasonable prices), I think it's going to last forever. Apart from always lusting after an NSX, one reason I bought it is the fact that it will never rust. I do wash and wax it most weeks (much to my wife's consternation, but it beats doing the ironing!), and the bodywork is still in superb condition.

I was told before buying that NSXs are hard on rear tyres (they are - around 9k between replacements). Front tyres should last well over 20k, obviously depending on how you drive. I was also told that clutches (at approx £2k with fitting) will only last around 30k; mine went at 35k but hasn't been changed since, although there's probably only another 5k left by the position of the pedal when it bites; stilll, 60 thousand miles on a clutch is more than acceptable considering I still give it plenty of welly - you've got to, haven't you: the hairs on my neck still tingle when you power out of a bend and the VTEC starts wailing.

Good luck in your search

Ken

[NoelWatson]

I bought my 1997 NSX-T in 2000 with 28k on the clock. It's used most days and is now showing 90k. It feels as good now as when I bought in. Each summer I cover around 3 - 3.5k miles on a four week European tour, and several thousand miles touring the UK throughout the rest of the year; never had a problem. Serviced regularly (at very reasonable prices), I think it's going to last forever. Apart from always lusting after an NSX, one reason I bought it is the fact that it will never rust. I do wash and wax it most weeks (much to my wife's consternation, but it beats doing the ironing!), and the bodywork is still in superb condition.

I was told before buying that NSXs are hard on rear tyres (they are - around 9k between replacements). Front tyres should last well over 20k, obviously depending on how you drive. I was also told that clutches (at approx £2k with fitting) will only last around 30k; mine went at 35k but hasn't been changed since, although there's probably only another 5k left by the position of the pedal when it bites; stilll, 60 thousand miles on a clutch is more than acceptable considering I still give it plenty of welly - you've got to, haven't you: the hairs on my neck still tingle when you power out of a bend and the VTEC starts wailing.

Good luck in your search

Ken

I must be driving like a girly man as my rears have done 10k

[dan the man]

As for unstressed engine i dont think the NSXs is.. most performance honda enbines are over 100 per litre..

DC2 1.8- 197BHP
DC5 2.0 - 217BHP
S2K 2.0- 240BHP

etc etc

so the 3.0 NSX having 270 aitn that stressed imo.. change its oil and rag its socks off.. If it wasnt desigened like that then it wouldnt have vtec.

[woodbridger]

Back from holiday and thanks for all the extra advice.

Just a quick note to let you guys know that due to ill-health I've got to delay the decision on buying an NSX for a while. Will lurk from time to time and rejoin the forum when I'm able to proceed.

[TheSebringOne]

Back from my jollies today too! Good luck and hopefully you will be back in the frame/search soon. :)