RE: Honda NSX: You Know You Want To
Discussion
kambites said:
I suspect you'd have to budget for a suspension refresh if it hasn't been done recently which would probably eat most of the savings over a lower mileage example. Not much point in owning an NSX with knackered suspension consumables.
Fair point - the car's cheap, but it's worth reminding people that parts costs - even from Acura - can be eye-watering. It's not a Civic, and some of those parts can be quite expensive, too.macky17 said:
Yes they were £15k once, or less, but I'd wager they never will be again even if the bubble bursts on other cars. We will look back in 3 years when this is £40k and wish we had bought it.
All IMHO of course...
Not convinced, as they sold quite a lot of these in Japan. Agree they'll never be £15k, but there are plenty of them over there to keep the prices of big mileage ones down.All IMHO of course...
If suspension is needed doing there is plenty of aftermarket alternatives that will just be as good as OEM at fraction of price or you can go a lot higher if you wish. Brands such as Bilstein, kW, BC racing, tein etc all offer kit.
Ball joints can be sorted by a few niche specialists here or you can send off to US on a new for old basis. So would not go worrying bout suspension issues - easily sorted.
Good servicing is essential to these cars and if maintained will run and run. Few owners over here swear by the big mile ages... US has numerous examples. History more important to me than what's on clock
Ball joints can be sorted by a few niche specialists here or you can send off to US on a new for old basis. So would not go worrying bout suspension issues - easily sorted.
Good servicing is essential to these cars and if maintained will run and run. Few owners over here swear by the big mile ages... US has numerous examples. History more important to me than what's on clock
nobby8628 said:
If suspension is needed doing there is plenty of aftermarket alternatives that will just be as good as OEM at fraction of price or you can go a lot higher if you wish. Brands such as Bilstein, kW, BC racing, tein etc all offer kit.
Ball joints can be sorted by a few niche specialists here or you can send off to US on a new for old basis. So would not go worrying bout suspension issues - easily sorted.
Good servicing is essential to these cars and if maintained will run and run. Few owners over here swear by the big mile ages... US has numerous examples. History more important to me than what's on clock
Couldn't agree more Ball joints can be sorted by a few niche specialists here or you can send off to US on a new for old basis. So would not go worrying bout suspension issues - easily sorted.
Good servicing is essential to these cars and if maintained will run and run. Few owners over here swear by the big mile ages... US has numerous examples. History more important to me than what's on clock
What a lovely thing this is.Black S2K said:
Fair point - the car's cheap, but it's worth reminding people that parts costs - even from Acura - can be eye-watering. It's not a Civic, and some of those parts can be quite expensive, too.
You would be surprised as some of the parts are from cheaper models in the line up.However I do remember the water tank being ridiculously expensive.
Shameless bump for my thread of my trip in my father's car:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=118...
Did the trip again the following year and it went without a hitch, and then again three weeks ago but this year was in the CLX for various logistical reasons.
I am now permanently insured on the car and able to use it whenever I want!
Assuming the maintenance history is not only up-to-date but includes work on "non-service" items, that is a bargain, IMHO.
I'll agree on the "parts prices" comments, but (even now) components are cheaper imported from the US or Japan, some items are 'shared' with lesser Hondas, and there are aftermarket* options for many items as well. I would suggest overall it would compare well with any (6-cylinder) Porsche in this regard, with odd exceptions like the clutch.
Suspension - I replaced the dampers on mine last year at >110k - the springs and the bushes all looked in fine condition at that mileage and whilst it's probably lost a few % in the handling stakes over its lifetime, I'm not a good enough driver to notice.
The one comment I would make is that in one respect this still needs to be owned like any other 25y.o. supercar - component refresh - the powertrain may be typical Honda and the body may be all-aluminium, but the interior will wear, electrical components will wear, other mechanical parts will wear (calipers, dampers, exhaust...). And in some instances that's as much age-related as mileage related...
* It's a Japanese car - aftermarket isn't a dirty word unlike with German/Italian exotica.
I'll agree on the "parts prices" comments, but (even now) components are cheaper imported from the US or Japan, some items are 'shared' with lesser Hondas, and there are aftermarket* options for many items as well. I would suggest overall it would compare well with any (6-cylinder) Porsche in this regard, with odd exceptions like the clutch.
Suspension - I replaced the dampers on mine last year at >110k - the springs and the bushes all looked in fine condition at that mileage and whilst it's probably lost a few % in the handling stakes over its lifetime, I'm not a good enough driver to notice.
The one comment I would make is that in one respect this still needs to be owned like any other 25y.o. supercar - component refresh - the powertrain may be typical Honda and the body may be all-aluminium, but the interior will wear, electrical components will wear, other mechanical parts will wear (calipers, dampers, exhaust...). And in some instances that's as much age-related as mileage related...
* It's a Japanese car - aftermarket isn't a dirty word unlike with German/Italian exotica.
They are outstanding cars for their age. I've done over 5,000 miles in mine since august.
Drove to Spa last weekend to gatecrash a mates trackday and managed to get a couple of laps in... one of the other cars there got some video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1svswDr7y/?hl=en
Drove to Spa last weekend to gatecrash a mates trackday and managed to get a couple of laps in... one of the other cars there got some video:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BL1svswDr7y/?hl=en
To give you an idea of previous prices, around 6 years ago i walked away from an early Charlotte Green NSX with about 130,000 miles because the seller wouldn't take £9k for it. We did buy a lower mileage one for about £12k though.
Will they return to those prices? Doubt it; they should never have been that low really. Given the story behind the car and now the fact manual sports cars in general are rare, i can only see them going up.
Problem is, as explained, they were a £15k car and therefore were not often the best maintained or had some 'interesting' modifications. And yet, the exact same cars are now being sold for double or more! Yes, they may 'work', but actually - if you were fussy - there's probably a lot of work to do in order to make them factory fresh again. The worse trait is the leather, which can make them look the inside of a very well used taxi. The seats can really date the car; a shame given the great view you get from the driver's seat!
I would argue this is the same for many cars which have gone up in value. The Porsche 964 for example, was also very cheap and just because theyr'e now expensive doesn't mean they're neccessarily any good! In fact, they have far more 'issues' than an NSX.
Can't give much road driving experience as i've only really used NSXs on track. Did get an Irish car with less than 100k miles with a valve that had gone though, so either badly looked after or perhaps they're not quite as bullet proof as made out! Otherwise, parts rarity is the problem more than cost. I know a guy who had a seized crank (never used the car) and he bought 1 of 2 new ones available in the world - extraordinary price too.
If i were to buy another one as a 'keeper', i'd also get a cheap JDM import just for spares - they can still be had for £15k.
Will they return to those prices? Doubt it; they should never have been that low really. Given the story behind the car and now the fact manual sports cars in general are rare, i can only see them going up.
Problem is, as explained, they were a £15k car and therefore were not often the best maintained or had some 'interesting' modifications. And yet, the exact same cars are now being sold for double or more! Yes, they may 'work', but actually - if you were fussy - there's probably a lot of work to do in order to make them factory fresh again. The worse trait is the leather, which can make them look the inside of a very well used taxi. The seats can really date the car; a shame given the great view you get from the driver's seat!
I would argue this is the same for many cars which have gone up in value. The Porsche 964 for example, was also very cheap and just because theyr'e now expensive doesn't mean they're neccessarily any good! In fact, they have far more 'issues' than an NSX.
Can't give much road driving experience as i've only really used NSXs on track. Did get an Irish car with less than 100k miles with a valve that had gone though, so either badly looked after or perhaps they're not quite as bullet proof as made out! Otherwise, parts rarity is the problem more than cost. I know a guy who had a seized crank (never used the car) and he bought 1 of 2 new ones available in the world - extraordinary price too.
If i were to buy another one as a 'keeper', i'd also get a cheap JDM import just for spares - they can still be had for £15k.
I wouldn't be worried about the mileage on the NSX, Ive had 4 of them and all of them had suffered from exactly the same defects over the years so you know what you are looking for. Popping noises from the amps - new ones can be bought from bose or you can get them reconditioned for around a $100 in the US, window pully's break, door handles snap ... all small things and well documented on threads over at nsxprime.com in multiple threads.
i don't drive my current NSX its in storage but all of the previous cars were driven daily all year round, never missed a beat in 20 years of owning these beauties!
i don't drive my current NSX its in storage but all of the previous cars were driven daily all year round, never missed a beat in 20 years of owning these beauties!
I don't get that. The 'nearly' car that achieved a number of firsts in terms of it's aluminium construction, suspension design and titanium engine interals.
I think the issue was, whilst 280bhp at the time was fine against it's then competitors, as the years rolled on it was deemed slow because Honda left as-is. That's fair enough, but judge it in the timeframe it was released and you cannot make the same judgement.
I don't think they ever attempted to make it an exotic - it was a Ferrari 348 rival, not a Ferrari F40 rival! And despite the 348 looking just as dated, and generally being a bag of crap, they're currently worth more than your average NSX.
There's a pretty horrendous Top Gear video of old where Tiff Needell does a road test of the NSX and basically makes it out as too safe. Roll on 25 years and, compared to modern cars, the NSX actually has much of the character people are yearning for - great induction noise without any engineered theatrics; one of the best gearshifts out of any car; and no electric steering.
I do agree that the styling is a bit quaint these days. However, the facelift cars look still really fresh to me.
I think the issue was, whilst 280bhp at the time was fine against it's then competitors, as the years rolled on it was deemed slow because Honda left as-is. That's fair enough, but judge it in the timeframe it was released and you cannot make the same judgement.
I don't think they ever attempted to make it an exotic - it was a Ferrari 348 rival, not a Ferrari F40 rival! And despite the 348 looking just as dated, and generally being a bag of crap, they're currently worth more than your average NSX.
There's a pretty horrendous Top Gear video of old where Tiff Needell does a road test of the NSX and basically makes it out as too safe. Roll on 25 years and, compared to modern cars, the NSX actually has much of the character people are yearning for - great induction noise without any engineered theatrics; one of the best gearshifts out of any car; and no electric steering.
I do agree that the styling is a bit quaint these days. However, the facelift cars look still really fresh to me.
Edited by hondansx on Wednesday 26th October 17:39
Given the residuals on these and the fact that they seem pretty immune to economic concerns or other things that might affect them, just like air cooled 911s, selling 100k+ mileage examples for strong money shouldnt be an issue. That isnt high mileage in any sense for most 1990s+ modern cars really. What drives that concern is poor/lax maintenance which so so many people are guilty of, its those lazy or tight fools that make people wary of higher mileage cars
As has been said, mileage is truly irrelevant for this era of Honda, its the service history and consequently the vehicle condition that matters.
What would concern me greatly is fear of crash damage that may have been covered up, these cars are so vulnerable to major chassis damage at the front with even a low speed impact.
As has been said, mileage is truly irrelevant for this era of Honda, its the service history and consequently the vehicle condition that matters.
What would concern me greatly is fear of crash damage that may have been covered up, these cars are so vulnerable to major chassis damage at the front with even a low speed impact.
Kateg28 said:
Black S2K said:
Fair point - the car's cheap, but it's worth reminding people that parts costs - even from Acura - can be eye-watering. It's not a Civic, and some of those parts can be quite expensive, too.
You would be surprised as some of the parts are from cheaper models in the line up.However I do remember the water tank being ridiculously expensive.
Shameless bump for my thread of my trip in my father's car:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=118...
Did the trip again the following year and it went without a hitch, and then again three weeks ago but this year was in the CLX for various logistical reasons.
I am now permanently insured on the car and able to use it whenever I want!
And it's always worth checking specialists like SOS in the US for special deals. The specialist dismantlers are invaluable, too.
But anything NSX specific that cannot be robbed from an Insight or S2000 tends to be a bit "eek!" So don't crash the bloody thing...
The other thing is, some parts for early cars are getting troublesome to obtain from Honda, as the homologation ended some time ago. Fortunately, bits from later cars might be adaptable.
Overall, it's really quite a good classic to own - you CAN get the parts and they aren't needed that often. And then there's the driving experience...any exotic that doesn't have a propensity for hedges or tow trucks may not appeal to everyone, but it certainly does to me!
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