wackjum

I usually play my cards close to my chest. But this came up so fast I'm needing a little help on what I should do.

Basically the question is, should I buy an Acura NSX?

I have a possible window into getting an NSX from a highly motivated seller. It is a 1992 in excellent condition. It has been for sale for a while now, but the situation has changed and the seller is now considering offers against his asking numbers.

The problem is, I wasn't planning on getting another car just yet. Finances are one thing, but mainly I was planning on installing a 4 post lift in my garage to accommodate a 3rd car. This deal is coming about a year before I was expecting to buy another car.

So should I do it? The NSX, and more specifically, this NSX is pretty much one of the cars I have been hoping to one day acquire. Prices for these things have skyrocketed in the past few years and I am really regretting not getting one when they were sitting around.

I will have to pull money out of some places I didn't really want to touch. Nothing like a retirement account or anything similar (that would be stupid) but liquid reserves I prefer having around. OR I could sell either the SL55 AMG or the 911 Turbo.

This entire post will probably come off as some ridiculous first world problems, but I'm really torn on what to do and I don't have the time I usually do to make a really careful decision. The NSX's are getting rarer, especially a clean one. And I'm afraid prices are going to continue to climb into absurdity. I don't want it to slip away. But then I'm not comfortable with buying it right now.

Any comments would be welcome.

TLDude876

iTrader: (7)

If it is clean and well priced I say go for it.

neuronbob

Pretty simple.

If you are not comfortable, don't do it. You'll regret it.

If you have the money to do it and the deal is decent (sounds like it is), and you don't think you'll suffer for long (i.e. you have to put off your $3000-4000 four-post lift for another year), then do it. I'd sell the SL55 to do it. I'll personally come over and kick your ass, though, if you sell the 911 Turbo.

Prices on the NSX will continue to appreciate for a while, but there will always be good deals if you are on the lookout.

wackjum

I am self-employed. So I like to keep a sizable cushion in case I run into a spell of bad business. I would be tapping into this cushion.

Also I haven't driven an NSX yet. I know all about it as an iconic supercar, but it is getting old after all.

Neuronbob, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on it as an owner and car enthusiast.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

Your desire to own this NSX is causing you to rationalize the purchase in your head. Your practical side is saying otherwise. It is a 26 year old car. That is the primary reason I say no. If you could write a check for it without tapping into funds that were already allotted, then my answer would be yes. But then again, this is an opinion of someone not in your situation. I know it is strange how the mind works when we want something. Perhaps there is an '05 NSX in your future.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Go for it. Always.

oonowindoo

Buy it and sell the SL. But dont buy if you are not selling any.

It makes sense even from a Financial perspective, one is a "appreciating" asset and one is still depreciating.

From a car's perspective, you already got a 911 turbo for speed.. you are not losing out on much giving up on the SL.
NSX is very different from any cars you have on hand right now. Of course you dont need me to tell you what NSX is =D

Jakes_tl

I would say buy it! If problems come up you can always sell it or one of your other toys.

neuronbob

Some random, semi-organized thoughts....you asked for it.....

You will instantly own the coolest car on your block and in your Cars and Coffee group.....other than the 911 Turbo. Because you are getting rid of the SL55 for this. Right? That's what my 17-year-old-at-heart car enthusiast self is saying.

Seriously, though....I don't know your planned purchase price, color, or the number of miles as those make a HUGE difference in whether you should jump.

Go here: https://www.nsxprime.com/wiki/Catego...chasing_an_NSX as this will help you in your decision making. You can stop reading this post now.

As far as color....I can guess that the color is not white, as the GPW bias is strong in the NSX community and it would have been sold already, and at a premium. I just saw a 1992 GPW in good condition sell for a lot, $65k was asked and everybody was drooling over it! Everybody else has red or black, so they don't sell as fast and if that, you can use to your advantage.

Mileage is a factor in price. I've seen early 90's NSXs with high (over 100k miles) go for $30's to low 40's in the last year. It is not a factor in reliability, though. The drivetrain in the NSX is incredibly reliable. There are 200-300k mile NSXs out there that work well and are cheeeeeeap to procure. Your proposed purchase is a 1992, so plastic parts will break. Luckily, most parts are available and for those that aren't, there's a 1997-up comparable that you can use. You may want to budget some money for exactly that issue.

Service history is a factor. with the NSX, you must know whether the seller has done the timing belt/water pump in the last seven years. If so, you've saved yourself $2-3k.

Even on my car, a 1999, it needed a bit of work even though it was in excellent condition. I lucked out in that I bought from an Acura dealer, and the dealer did a lot of the work while making the car ready for me. Even afterward, I still had to replace the clutch master and slave cylinders, and replace a couple of interior trim pieces that were just worn from time. Then I modded the shit out of it.

As far as driving it.....I tracked it at Sebring last month for NSXPO. It is magical on the track. It's not a S2000, which I've also had on a track, but man it handles lots better than you might think, is decently fast, and corners amazingly. It is comfortable enough to be a daily streetable supercar. On the street, it is a docile as a puppy. In short, I have enjoyed every second of ownership. I'll only give it up for a NC1 NSX.

There's an active group of NSX owners in Houston, you should hook up with them for a ride. It'll be a special treat if you show up in your 911 Turbo, we just had a discussion on the NSX Prime FB page about how NSX owners seem to love 911s.

Joneill44

RDX10

IMHO you should not do it. If it may put you in a financial position where you do not want to be, don't do it. I have splurged on car purchases in the past (on cars I dreamt about for a while too) and within a couple weeks regretted the hell out of my purchases because of where it put me. When/if I sell my current vehicles, I am planning on downsizing a little in price to create a little cushion. No offense intended to anyone else who said do it, but it is a lot easier to say do it when you don't have any personal assets at stake.

I can understand the emotional appeal, and why you might want to get one really badly right now, but just wait a little. Like someone else mentioned, they were built until 2005, you will absolutely find one at a good price in the future and may even find a better one as well. In the past I have been strongly in the camp of "you can't put a price on happiness" but now as I get older I realize sometimes it is better to just wait a little bit.

Now, if the deal you found is truly something you did not imagine, or something truly special, scrap everything I have said and GO FOR IT! If it is a deal that you really don't ever see happening again in many years or something you will have to look for, for a long time, GO FOR IT!

Redsand353

Considering it is a car you wont take a bath on if times do get tough after the fact, I would do it. If you run into any crippling financial issues, sell the NSX...simple as that.

And yes, that was very easy to type considering none of my finances are at stake here, however....that is how I would justify it if I were in your shoes.

Oh Sickest TL

iTrader: (3)

do it for sure man. You only live once. Make it worth it. I wish I had your problems.

wackjum

Thanks very much for the responses. You have given me a lot to think about. Especially those threads. I've looked at some of them already on NSX Prime, but thanks for the idea to look on facebook for local groups.

Right now, what I am thinking is that if the deal isn't a "sweetheart" I am going to walk and try again some other time. When the car first came onto market, we were $12,000 apart on what I was willing to pay and what the seller wanted (I was willing to pay $38,000 and he wanted $49,999).

Then it dropped to $7,000 apart. Now it is $4,000 apart. I was thinking of coming up a little on my asking and that is when I made the thread, but now I will remain firm and see where this takes me.

The car is Formula Red. It is a 5 spd (of course). Red is what I want an NSX in. Also, I specifically prefer the non T-Top version. All NSX's in North America became targas in 1995 with the exception of the incredibly rare Alex Zanardi edition. It has 55,xxx miles and has some but not complete records.

Everybody so far, people on here and my friends in person, have said I should sell the SL. Poor car just doesn't get any respect. I understand the sentiment though. It is a relatively common car and not particularly exotic. But really it is great and I enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would when I first got it. You have to be in the right mood to drive the 911. Mine is lowered and has an exhaust, which are all mods I would recommend, but also makes it a little bit of a chore to drive if you're just wanting a laid back time. The SL handles cruising around town much better, yet still has the power to make driving really fun.

My personal rule is one car note at a time on a slow or non-depreciating car is acceptable. Currently I have a note on the SL. I've determined that if the NSX presents itself, I will pay off the SL and finance the NSX. Then I will figure out if I am going to sell it, or how I am going to store all 3 if I keep it.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

of course as a NSX owner myself i say buy it, but like everyone else has said only as long its not putting in a financial bind. i'd sell the SL and grab the NSX.

s2kstephen

A 1995 5spd with 55k? If you don't buy, send me the seller's info. Seriously. That's a unicorn...look on NSXPrime and see what the are going for. If I had a 911 and a SL500, I'd sell both and put a few $ into the NSX and have no payment

neuronbob

$50k for a 1995 with 55k miles? Really? I paid not much more than that for my 1999 with (then) 59k miles, 14 months ago. I'd say $38-40k is a better asking price, especially in a common NSX color like red. That's certainly not a unicorn, though the NSX looks pretty good in red.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

id have to agree.

wackjum

That is exactly my offer. I started at 35k and went up to 38k. He's at 42k now.

wackjum

The NSX is a 1992.

Here is the listing. It is currently on consignment with this dealer but I have opened a dialogue with the owner.

1992 Acura NSX Base Coupe 2-Door eBay

nist7

What about waiting to look at 1997-2001 cars? I've been occasionally day dreaming about a first gen NSX and the upgraded motor/body of the 97-01 years (I hate the 02-05 restyling and the loss of the hidden headlight) seems to be a sweet spot for these cars imo.

wackjum

After 1995, all NSX's in North America were Targa only except for the rare Alex Zanardi edition. So you have to get a pre '95 to get the fixed roof. There is supposedly a noticeable difference in rigidity and I believe it, since the technology just wasn't as good back then. Plus my 911 is a Cabrio so I already have open top motoring, which I do love.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

There are some 97-01 fixed roof non zanardi versions out there (extremely rare) but when they do pop up they pull a premium.

wackjum

Yeah special ordered ones that put them out of my price range.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

Yea they're usually in the 02-05 year price range.

Joneill44

Because of the appreciation or lack of depreciation with the NSX right now, I say do it. If you regret it in 2months you'll be able to sell at cost or even slight profit

neuronbob

diddy beat me to it. Post-95 coupes of any color are unicorns. There were three 1999 Kaiser Silver NSX coupes. I'm OK with the targa because I don't live my life at the track, and even the targa handles occasional track duty like a champ. Honda was not messing around when it was making NSX 1.0, or the S2000.

RDX10

Good for you man! You seem to know your limits and what you can and cannot do and what you are willing to do.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

Bob if you ever change your mind and find a coupe you want to trade up for... remember the NSX has a home back in NJ waiting for it...

00TL-P3.2

I'm in the do it camp. But, it's easy to spend someone else's money.
Between the SL55 & the 911, I'd let go of the SL, likely a lot easier to replace if you wanted. And, odds are the NSX market will just keep climbing over the next few years.

Legend2TL

wackjum

Literally 3 of my friends sent me that video today...



I can't stay away from this peer-pressure much longer.

neuronbob

I love Doug DeMuro's videos. He's corny on purpose, and it's so funny, still.

Legend2TL

^ , also love his video's and his ability for find unique and interesting vehicle details in his video's.

D's Up

Buy it. If the hype wears off and it wasn't all you expected it to be, you'll easily be able to sell it and break even or make a slight profit.

BEAR-AvHistory

Good plan on holding off Definitely would not sell the 911 way too much fun to let slip away ......Saw my old BRG Morgan +4SS look alike in the early pan across the cars, another car I hated to sell. I replaced The Union Jack with a Shamrock for the enjoyment of the true British Sports car purists.

nist7

His casual, your-buddy/genuine personality is a refreshing difference than all the other theatrical reviews done with highly polished camera work/photography.
Only gripe is improved audio and a slightly better camera/lighting setup. The content does seem very nice though.

IIRC he used to be a Porsche salesman before quitting to get into car journalism/youtubing?

wackjum

The NSX market seems to be a little softer now than expected. On Neuronbob's advice I joined the NSX Prime Facebook group and I see quite a few for sale that the owners have had to re-price several times due to lack of interest.

The one I am looking at does seem to be one of the cleaner examples of the earlier ones, but I think the market might be on my side.

I've taken the step of getting pre-approved for financing. So now it is down to just the seller budging on the numbers.

nist7

Good luck and keep us updated! I know I'm living vicariously through this, heh.

Another popular car youtuber, superspeedersRob, also did a recent NSX video (coincidence?) talking about his take on the NSX pricing and the market for the new NSX.

Seems like the hype could be calming down now that the car world is moving onto the next best thing. I think the initial draw of the new NSX likely bumped the price floor for all other NSX for a bit.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

the new ones did bump the prices. They were much lower 5 years ago when I bought mine. But once that super bowl commercial for the new nsx came out and the hype train for it started to build, all the prices for the old ones started to rise.