2nd car advice
 

Hey guys and gals,

So I just graduated college last May, have a solid job in the SF Bay Area, and already own a 2011 Audi A3 with less than 17k miles that was a fully paid-off graduation gift from my parents. I'm super thankful for everything that I have, but lately I've been completely obsessed with the idea of purchasing a used Acura NSX at the end of this year. It has been my #1 dream car for several years now, and if I had to choose between ANY other car and a clean NSX to own and drive on a weekly basis, it would be the NSX (assuming, of course, I can't just sell a more expensive car and buy an NSX). It's completely irrational but I figure if I'm ever going to fully enjoy a car like this, the time is now.

Things I've been considering:

1) NSX's are rare and often have lots of miles on them. Does Honda reliability still apply to a 15-20 year old supercar?
2) Right now I live in an apartment by myself and pay $$$$ for rent. In July or Aug I will move into a house with housemates and will cut this cost in half, plus I'll have a garage for the NSX.
3) A coworker suggested I should trade-in my A3 (right now I'd probably get $19-20k for it, so even less by the end of the year) and drive the NSX as a daily driver since I'm still young and don't "need" a practical car. How safe will it be to do this in the Bay area? Theft/vandalism scares me.
4) Are there any particular model years of the NSX that are worse/better? I can't find any affordable 2002+ models (under $40k) with the flush headlights, so it seems I'm limited to mainly early 90's models.

Any input/advice/experience is greatly appreciated.

As far as i know, there isn't anything super fragile about the NSX. The motor and trans are very similar to those found in lesser honda/acura models, and the body isn't crazy expensive carbon or anything.

I would imagine you'd be okay daily driving one, but vandalism would be a concern in the bay area. At the vary least you could buy it as an investment as they should be considered a "classic" in a few years time and might make a nice return if you sell it.

I say go for it.

This is what I was thinking. It's one of those cars that is guaranteed to become a classic. Hell, it already is a classic. But I'm also wondering what kind of price is reasonable. I don't want one with 100k miles on it. 60-70k would be fine, but the few I've found cost roughly half of my yearly gross income.

I share the same dream of you, and am very jealous to see you approaching it much sooner than me.

Honestly, the A3 is a great asset and you will lose money trading it in. If you can swing it (insurance + parking for both) i'd stick with 2 cars. A clean NSX is something I wouldn't be putting as many miles on and definitely wouldn't drive everywhere (groceries, downtown bars, etc.).

My current plan is to daily drive the FR-S for about two years and then purchase a used "practical" car when I can swing it to allow the FR-S to become a bit more of a hobby car.

Honestly, this isn't something I should even be considering from a practical/financial standpoint. Like I said, it's totally irrational. If I had gotten a BRZ like I had originally wanted (I had $500 down to reserve one back in March 2012) then I probably wouldn't be shooting for an NSX right now. I love my A3, don't get me wrong, but I have realized some of the limitations of FWD after owning it for half a year. I have done some mods on it, including an APR Stage 1 ECU tune, subframe engine/tranny mount, short ram air intake, and new Nitto NT05 front tires, so trade-in value definitely won't be great.

Seems like 2 cars is the way to go if I really want an NSX.

:sigh:

Take a hard look at your finances. Keeping the A3 will mean insurance, gas, parking (possibly) and maintenance costs. Add on top of that the loans/payments, etc. for an NSX.

Given patience and wide searching range, you can find a clean NSX at a decent price. I wouldn't be quick to jump at the first one you see, etc.

ill make this simple

you make enough money to have 2 cars... go buy what you want :D

depends on what you need it for, what you like to drive... here's a great example

me:
may 2012
08 camry 98,442 miles
Scion FR-S 8 miles

Today
08 camry 99,177 miles
Scion FR-S 23,012 miles

i used to drive the camry more when i had the celica, now i cant get away from my FR-S....

Just do it and get it over with. I know the itch you have and believe me it won't go away. I had a love affair with the 911 from the day it first came out. It gnawed on me till I bought one about 10 years ago. Within a few short years I sold it and bought a Miata. I no longer turn my head when one of them goes by. Buying one is the only solution.
:thumbsup:

My advice would be go for it ... but in a year or so. I graduated 2 years ago and was in the same boat, oh man I make great money have so much to spend and bought a lot of random toys.

Unfortunately when your income rise, your cost of living seems to rise as well (go out more with friends, buy nicer things, hobbies, etc) so I'd say save for a year and make sure you can afford everything and pick one up next winter when they are cheaper. Around December/January you can score good deals on people offloading stuff to make up funds for Christmas.

Yeah, the plan was to buy one in late 2013, not now. I have no way to afford it right now. Tax returns + savings from sharing a house will allow me to afford one with at least a $10k down payment sometime in Sept or Oct.

I'm also curious as to what kind of financing I can get directly from a bank, since I'd most likely have to buy an NSX from a private seller. My only lines of credit are 2 credit cards, but my credit score is is in the low to mid 700 range. I'm hoping for at most 3.5% for 48 months.

Depending on what you start with. The NSX should hold it's value longer and better than the Audi. The Audi will depreciate with every mile and every extra month of ownership. That doesn't happen so much with a classic super car that is rare and sought after.

The drivetrain on the NSX is stout. Hell anything Honda makes is pretty much bulletproof but the C35 or C32 found in the NSX is a great engine. I have had multiple friends own them all with varying mileage and I can't think of a single time any of them had engine or drivetrain issues. Most of those cars ended up with a SC or Turbo setup as well. A SC'd V6 NSX is an absolute beast..hard to beat light to light, damn near impossible to pass on the highway and an absolute riot on the tracks.

Yes, you can daily the NSX. Any supercar worth it's salt can be driven daily assuming you keep up with proper maintenance schedules. Luckily the NSX, being a Honda product, isn't expensive to maintain and the parts are relatively cheap when compared to even Audi replacement parts. If you do end up with the NSX get a decent alarm AND --- CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH --- a proper GPS tracking setup. Should go without saying but so many people either cheap out or completely forget the GPS aspect.

If I were you, I'd buy a first gen NSX and swap the front end to the latest gen style. Was never a fan of the old school looking pop-up headlights. Get some NSX-R add-ons and call it an amazing day!

Good luck on your decision/purchase

I actually like the pop-up headlights. They're old-school but that's part of the appeal for me. Glad to hear the NSX maintains Honda reliability. What kind of mileage should I really be looking for if I'm looking to spend a maximum of $35,000 with a $10-12k down payment?

My brother has a red 90 nsx with decent miles... He's been thinking about selling it. Pm me so you guys can agree on a deal. He's in Los Angeles.

In case you were on the fence

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1118/rigweb.jpg

Ooooooh...


Nice photo, too. I like it. :)

What are the chances that I could find a NSX targa top with <75k miles and <$35k in the next 6-9 months? It would be so perfect for this glorious CA weather that I'm finally becoming accustomed to.

Considering I just did a 5 minute search on Autotrader.com and found multiple cars meeting that criteria, fairly good.

When you get one, I'd be interested in a ride-a-long haha. Hoping that is enough to satisfy my itch and not have me trade the FR-S in to get one.

Really? I couldn't find a single one within 500 miles of San Jose that is less than $35k and less than 75k miles. Also needs to be a manual.

EDIT: never mind, if i expand search radius to all of US, there are several meeting that criteria. I wouldn't mind flying out to somewhere like Arizona, picking up the car, and driving it back to Cali.

I didn't notice your targa top requirement. Personally, I'd be willing to extend my budget 10-15K if it meant cutting those miles in half or getting a cleaner car.

There are also a lot of forums worth lurking around in to find cars (looks like someone on this thread has one for sale as well!)

Plus these are used cars, people are willing to cut a deal.

Hola.
If I were to get an NSX I wouldn't daily drive it if I had to go any considerable distance, since they'll probably be worth some good amount as collector cars in a few decades and so I wouldn't want to put a lot of miles on it or risk it getting damaged. Vandalism in the Bay, I dunno, probably depends on area. My MR2's previous owner was in Santa Cruz and it got keyed there (gigantic 4 foot gash in the hood :( ), but I haven't heard of anyone getting their car vandalized in the Bay.

Also personally I'd try to get a '97 or higher since they had the composite liners (3.2L) and 6 speed gearbox.

I'd say go for it as a second car if you have a garage, you can always sell the A3 down the road, but why go through the hassle now if you have the means to keep it?

By the way if you get one that's in good condition, consider getting it wrapped in Ventureshield or whatever, my car has gotten a crapload of very bad rock chips in just ~1000 freeway miles. Every time I take it onto 580 I will hear at least 2 very loud, nasty clunks against my car and numerous small pebbles pelting it. Roads here suck as you probably noticed.

Great advice.

What exactly is the advantage of the 3.2L over the 3.0L? It doesn't seem like the extra displacement increases power output very much. Is it more reliable? And is the 6-spd just better for freeway driving?

Obviously I'd like a newer NSX if possible, but the pricing is just so much higher on them. Like 40-50 grand versus 30-35.

And yes, bay area roads are crap. And the drivers are even worse. The tiniest bit of rain turns everyone and their Priuses into sloths.

I don't care for the extra displacement, but the composite liners are exotic, and exotic is cool. Just like how the NSX has titanium valves and rods, even though they didn't set the rev limit that high considering the stroke. And yes, 5 gears is lame.

Here's another question for you guys:

What's the best way to get a loan on a 20+ year old car bought from a private party? The autotrader loan application and the one through my bank both only accept cars around 15 years old.

personal loan. pricey, but i dont know what else to do.

What about credit unions? I did a quick search and people on other forums said they're the way to go for older cars.

Depends on the bank or credit union itself.

I was looking into older, more expensive vehicles not too long ago. Penfed has no year limits as long as the car is under 100,000 miles. If it is 100,001-125,000 miles you can get a two-year loan.

Best bet might be a personal loan though if you only need a couple grand and plan to pay it off quickly.

Well, if I found a suitable NSX in the next month or 2, I would need a loan of about $20k. Penfed looks interesting since I only need to pay a $20 annual membership fee and 1.49% APR is awesome. I will submit an app with them and see what they can offer.

I don't believe that fee is annual. Once you donate to one of those groups you're in Penfed for good, if I remember correctly.

Wow, even better. And it's tax deductible anyway.

that would work. i guess i just tend to see credit unions as banks. my credit union will loan me money for anything with a bluebook value. i was gonna note that but then i figured it would be a moot point since its been stated that the bank wont loan for cars older than 15 years or something.

credit unions in my experience have been great. super low rates and really easy to work with.

Cool. Well I found a 1991 Formula Red NSX with 72k miles, 5spd. More details here:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/3586944066.html

Also looked up the smog history here: http://www.bar.ca.gov/pubwebquery/ve...pubtstqry.aspx

VIN: jh4na115xmt000450

What are your opinions on this car? I am driving down to Santa Cruz tomorrow to check it out, and if I like it I may pull the trigger if it's still available in about a month.

Looks good to me, imo. It'd look even better with the OEM hood, which looks like he's keeping the aftermarket so even better.

If only there were deals like that around here. It's more like 40 grand for ones with 100k on them.

Just checked out the car in person. It's very clean except for a broken rear shock (would need to replace both rears) and some scuff marks in the back near the wheel. The interior is great except for scratches in the leather on the driver's side bolster.

At first the car wouldn't start but he fiddled around with a cable or something at the front near the battery and it started. Besides the broken shock the car rides pretty well. It's kind of stiff but that's to be expected. Engine is stock and there's an aftermarket exhaust.

I told him I'm interested but wouldn't be able to purchase until early March. We'll see what happens. This is so tempting...

Penfed's online loan app only supports cars from 1994 and on. I read somewhere that if the car is over 20 years old and/or has over 100k miles, Penfed will offer something ridiculous like 8% APR for 2 years. I'm waiting for them to call me to flesh out the details, but in the meantime does anyone else have suggestions on how to get a decent loan on a 1991 car?

This is a specialty thing. Hagerty no longer does it. JJ Best is a name I have seen when it comes to classic/exotic/etc lending.

Well that blows. I asked specifically about buying a car that was a few decades old and that's exactly the opposite of what they told me in the email I was sent a few months ago. I went to look for it but I must've deleted it. Maybe they changed it, or maybe they just misinformed me and you can only get it when you call.

Looks like a credit union or a personal loan is going to be the way to go. Unless you have a house and care to take out a home equity loan.

I came across this. Hope it might help a bit too.
http://classiccartradernet.com/2011/...car-financing/

Actually I think I might have been misinformed. I didn't get that info from Penfed directly. Saw it on the nsxprime forum. Anyhow, I submitted a loan app already and should hear back from them this week.

Any thoughts on saving money on a salvage title car if I plan on keeping it long term? This is assuming the car never had serious frame damage, just salvaged due to a replaced door or something, like this one:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/3530480819.html

Welp, got rejected by three credit unions because the car is too old and I have less than a year of full-time work experience. 4th time's the charm?

Got approved by a local credit union. Going to buy the NSX probably right when I get my tax return. Any last tips before I bite?

Also, how would you all value the car? It's a 1991 Formula Red NSX with 72k miles, a few owners, timing belt and water pump replaced fairly recently. It has 18/19 staggered SSR GT3 wheels, stock engine, aftermarket exhaust (not sure which), and lowering springs (not sure which).

The bad: One broken rear shock, will need to replace both probably. Front tires rub when turning hard. Large scratch on driver's seat bolster.