hello everybody,

I was just wondering how much maintenance would cost for a used NSX. I'd be assuming that the previous owner(s) took real good care of the car, changed the oil and all the basic maintenance stuff. what are the parts that are most common to fail due to old age or high mileage? and how much would it cost to replace?

I could afford a used NSX for $30000-$36000 but I'm not gonna buy one if MX is gonna drain my wallet. If I did get this car keep in mind that I will be doing basic mods and would be driving it very aggressively


[Modified by BlueShadow, 12:29 PM 1/21/2002]

 

Scheduled maintenance is very predictable, but it depends on how many miles you put on the car over what period of time. Check the NSX FAQ section on maintenance, at http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Maintenance/Maintenance.htm which has sections for the maintenance schedule and costs. Decide how many miles you're going to put on, look at the maintenance schedule, and look at the cost for the various services at each mile and time interval.

Add to that the cost for tires (which last 5-10K miles rear, 10-20K miles front).

There is no set number of miles that a clutch lasts - some last less than 30K miles, others go 100K miles - but you will eventually need to replace it, at a cost of roughly $2K parts and labor.

Other repairs will be unpredictable. The NSX is very reliable, but if it does need a repair, it can sometimes be expensive.

If you're buying a '91-92, ask whether the timing belt and water pump have been replaced, and check the receipt to make sure this was done. This is recommended every 90K miles or 6 years, whichever comes first, but many owners have not had this done. Cost is around $1200. Feel free to use it as a point in negotiating price.

How do you know that you need mods, on a car that you don't even own yet? See how you like it first, and THEN decide if there's anything you want to change.

BTW, don't plan on buying a 1990 NSX. No such thing, at least not in North America.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 11:15 AM 1/21/2002]

 

Agree with everything Ken just said; but if you are planning to buy this car and your primary concern is maintenance, then I think you might need to reconsider. Again, like Ken said, the car's relaible but if something does break repairs and maintenance can be expensive, and if your wallet is easily drained the NSX might not be the right car for you.

 

Do a search on http://www.nsxprime.com or http://www.nsxsc.com. This question comes up often. If you are worried about maintanace cost you might consider a different car. The costs can be expensive. Mine has been very reliable, I have yet had to do anything but change the oil. I will shortly need to replace my clutch, cost $1500.00. Not a $200. Integra clutch. But the joy of owning makes it easy.

 

It really depends on the car and how it was maintained. And even a well-maintained car will have things break. Plus it depends on how you use it. So far, things I've had to replace since I got the car are include the electrical part of the ignition switch (flaked out on me once, and I lost the faith, so I had it replaced), the coolant bottle (cracking), coolant hoses (one of them blue up, which wasn't pleasant), both O2 sensors, thermostat, amps in the stereo, timing belt, water pump... and that's about all I can think of. Oh yeah, I need to lube my windows (and probably realign them, although I do have updated regulators). And the metal-look trim on my console and door control panels is starting to bubble. And my climate control brain just stopped responding to any inputs on the fan speed ****, and when I press the off button the air input selector stays lit and the fan keeps blowing. I'm not looking forward to having to fix that. My A/C compressor has also been dead since I got the car, but I don't think I'm going to repair that.

Tire wear is manageable if you just go with a slightly harder tire and reduce rear toe-in.

It's definitely more expensive to maintain than, say, a civic, especially because you'll just get into a sequence of parts dying here and there from just being old. But if I had to guess, if a civic costs $500/yr to maintain, then an NSX isn't more than $1500/yr. And I'm saying that from a point of view of having bought a 50k mile car and put 30k miles on it in a year and a half. A lot of them driven quite hard.

But it's worth it. God I love that car.

-Mike

 

Mike, seems like you've had a lot of bad luck. You've had WAY more things go wrong on your car than I have on mine.

Of course, some of the things you mention are really scheduled maintenance items, not repairs. Like the timing belt and water pump, for example. Also, I had all the cooling system hoses on my '91 replaced a couple of years ago, just because I thought it was a good idea as a preventative after nine years. Sounds like I was right.

In fact, come to think of it, the only significant thing I've had to repair on my '91 in 50K miles are the amps for the sound system. And oh yeah, and the struts that hold up the trunk lid and the engine hatch seem to need replacement after about six years. But all of these repairs are inexpensive. Unlike your A/C repair, which may run several grand, from what I hear.

Regardless, I think Hank's point is well taken, namely - don't spend everything you've got on the car, unless you can still afford a few grand for the occasional expensive repair, like a clutch or the A/C.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 10:56 PM 1/21/2002]

 

Well, you *are* the original owner. I'm the third owner on mine.

Exactly.

-Mike

 

Thanks for all the replies guys, I'm just trying to get a feel for the maintenace costs of an NSX. I've heard that it was very expensive to fix/replace the AC and stuff like that but I wanted to chech with you guys.

I didn't just want to go out and buy the first NSX that is available. I wanted to find out what parts are likely to need replacement first and how much. then there is the yearly maintenance. I can afford to do a $1500 clutch job and a $2500 AC job every 3 years. Now if I have to replace the clutch and AC every year than maybe the NSX isn't for me. I'm just using the clutch and the AC as an example, I'm just saying if regular maintenance is gonna be more than $3000-$4000 a year I'll look into a different car.

and NSXTCJR,

I may not have the car yet but I can dream can't I? :D mmm Twin Turbo's *drool* I'm into modding cars, so I figure with whatever car I get next I'm gonna mod it just like I did with my 99 Civic SI and my 01 Lude.

 

Again, it depends on how many miles you drive a year. If you drive 5,000 miles a year, your maintenance cost will be much less than if you drive 35,000 miles a year. In any case, though, you can make some assumptions, add up all the numbers, and see what you can expect.

For example, let's say you drive 15,000 miles a year. Here are your average annual maintenance costs, excluding unexpected repairs such as the A/C:

Oil changes (synthetic): 5 @ $50 = $250
Major service (assuming $600 at 15K, 45K, 75K and $1000 at 30K, 60K, etc): $800
Timing belt and water pump (once every six years @ $1200): $200
Brake pads (one axle per year average): $300
Clutch (once every three years @ $2100): $700
Tires (Yokohama A022H, 2 sets rear, 1 set front): $1300
Subtotal: $3550
Add to that another 5 cents a mile for unexpected repairs, and you get a total of $4300.

Do the math for 5000 miles per year and here's what you might get:

Oil changes (synthetic): 3 @ $50 = $150
Major service (assuming $600 at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and $1000 at 2 years, 4 years, 6 years): $800
Timing belt and water pump (once every six years @ $1200): $200
Brake pads (one axle per 3 years average): $100
Clutch (once every nine years @ $2100): $230
Tires (Yokohama A022H, 2/3 set rear, 1/3 set front): $430
Subtotal: $1910
Add to that another 5 cents a mile for unexpected repairs, and you get a total of $2160 per year.

You may need to adjust these calculations for your driving style and any other specific needs. For example, add forced induction and you're going to be replacing clutches more often, probably with a more expensive aftermarket unit. That kind of thing. But I'm sure you can figure this out for yourself... can't you?

 

COOL! thanks nsxtcjr, that gives me a good idea of what to expect. This car would probably be a weekend car for me, I would also be getting a real cheap beater like a old Civic.

I'll probably average 12000-15000 miles a year, maybe 500 of those would be "race" miles. Just a quick question though, do our prices under your 15000 mi example include labor for stuff like clutch, timing belt and water pump?

 

To say it simply, I've put 30k miles on my car in a year and a half, and I consider myself to be unlucky in terms of stuff that's died on me, and I still don't think I've spent more than $3k on maintenance, and that includes normal things like tires, oil, oil filters, and air filters. And some of that stuff are things that would have been addressed (like the A/C) if the previous owner(s) had actually driven the car.

-Mike

 

Yes, the prices above include labor as well as parts.