test_monkey

i will be in the market for an nsx come december or so of this year (2002). budget is 20 grand down and willing to make moderate payments. looking at nsx's between 25 - 35 thousand

my question is what are your experiences with nsx's with over, say, 30,000 miles? i want to make it my daily driver but im wary of cars of this type with "a lot" of miles.

for example. will i be satisfied for about 3-4 years with an nsx that has 60k and growing, being a daily driver? is maintenance pretty outrageous as far as the cost, compared to my integra?

i would appreciate any input

-monkey

PBCrunch

I don't know a lot about maintainence costs on a machine like that, but I know insurance premiums are sure to be ridiculous. It is a mid-engined exotic, and on top of that it is made of aluminum. There are like a half dozen shops in the US that can do hardcore bodywork on an NSX.

The Captain

25-35K, you will be looking at older NSX 91,92. I don't think you will be able to find a low milage one at that price. keep in mind that u will be getting a car that is 10 years old. mileage and age will cause some kind of wear and tear.

somes like you wanted as a daily driver. Like any other exotica car, repairs can be expensive. The aluminum body makes body work expensive. It will be alot more expensive to maintain then you integra.

arch iceman

Expect expensive maintainance bills. I just had a service done on my NSX that ran $2,800 at the dealership. That was the charge and inspect the AC, 45,000 tune up, and $1,500 of it was for a belt service.

test_monkey

i was afraid of the maintenance/insurance costs. having an nsx doesnt seem too feasible if i want to have any extra toys.

looks like i might have to "settle" for an s2000

FastNSX

The NSX makes a great daily driver and it is not an expensive car to own. I would consider anything under 75K miles to relatively low miles. I know a guy who got 150K before having to do a simple overhaual (rings and seals) and he drives the crap out of his and sprays a 150 shot of N2O.

You will need rear tires every 10-15K miles and the 60K service is several hundred dollars, but they almost never break.

Go to www.nsxprime.com and look at the FAQ. It is a great resource.

nsxtasy

The NSX is as reliable as any Honda or Acura automobile. Things rarely go wrong. However, when they do, parts can be more expensive than other cars.

Even an NSX with 50K or 75K miles is relatively "young" and, if well-maintained, shouldn't experience a lot of problems. The NSX FAQ (answers to Frequently Asked Questions, located here has a lot of information about these. There are two problems which occur often enough and are serious enough to be a concern. One is with the window regulators on the '91-92, and is totally preventable with the purchase and installation of the $15 "window fix-it thingies" from Dali Racing. The other is the snap ring transmission problem, which affects most '92 and a small percentage of '91 cars; see advice posted here.

As David mentioned, there are certain wear items you can expect. He quoted 10-15K miles for tires, but the great-handling OEM tires which were designed for the NSX (and even to be used on specific corners of the car) will last much less than that; 5-8K is typical for rear tires, 10-15K in the front. Also, the NSX clutch can last anywhere from 30K to 90K miles; expect to pay around $2K to get it replaced. (It's much more than that for a '97 or later clutch.)

That depends. The cost is not particularly high. But will you want to take an NSX anywhere you need to go, any neighborhood, in any kind of weather? Most NSX owners have another car they also drive, for less-than-ideal circumstances.

Check the "Schedule" and "Cost" sections of the NSX FAQ, under the "Maintenance" heading. You'll find that the maintenance schedule is similar to other Honda/Acura automobiles. Costs are somewhat higher, but not outrageous. For example, a major service at 60K is $800-1000.

Not at all true. In fact, my insurance rates are less on my NSX than they are on my Integra.

While the NSX is relatively inexpensive to insure, insurance rates vary by state, by neighborhood, by age, by driving record, etc. If you're considering buying an NSX, the best thing to do is to call your insurance agent (or check an Internet shopping service like http://www.insweb.com ) to find out how much it would cost for YOU to insure, before you commit to buying the car. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Also not true. I know of half a dozen shops in the Chicago-Milwaukee area alone that have lots of experience fixing NSXs. When the NSX was first introduced, Acura trained technicians from 75 body shops around the country, and plenty of others have experience repairing the NSX and other aluminum-bodied cars.

That being said, I wouldn't take it to just ANY body shop; if anything happens, I would want one fixed by a body shop that has previous experience working on NSX repairs.

That sounds like a lot more than normal. A 45K service typically runs $600-800. The "belt service" was probably the replacement of the timing belt and water pump, which should run around $1200. This is specified for once every 90K miles or 6 years, whichever comes first. Even though this is now overdue for any '91-95 NSX, many of them have not had this service, so beware (or use it as a negotiating point during the purchase process).

Charging air conditioning can be expensive if you keep using Freon (R-12). The '91-92 NSX can be converted to the R-134a refrigerant used in later years; the conversion kit costs around $60, plus $40 refrigerant and a couple of hours labor.