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