As most of you already know, I sold my Civic HB a couple months ago so I could get something nicer for a race car. I got a good price for my 92 Civic and more money selling extra parts from it plus I have been saving up in addition to that. I decided that I want a pre-owned Honda NSX.

Please don't try to suggest I get something else at this point. I have already heard it all. I wish I had a dollar for everyone who says for the price of one I can get _______ (Fill in the Blank). I am quite aware of what I can get for that money. But what I want is what matters and what other people would get is irrelevant to me.

So the other day I found one in my price range on Autotrader. It was one of the newer ones with the bigger motor (3.2L) and one of the colors I wanted too. I called the guy (private seller) and asked him about the car. He said it had low mileage and he just bought a new house etc... and wanted to sell it and get something more practical. It's a 1997 NSX with about 29,000 miles. Silver w/black interior, 6 speed manual, and factory wheels etc...

I have half the money in cash and I already got a pre-approved loan from my bank for the other half at a pretty good interest rate. Once I sign on the loan it will take the bank 3 days or so to get me the money. I told the guy I would come out and have a look at the car. He told me that if I wanted to buy it I could give him $500 down and he would hold it for me for a week or so to get my bank loan money together and everything to buy it. He said he wasn't in big hurry to sell it.

 

Me and my good friend Neal headed out the next morning to have a look at the car. When we got there the guy was out golfing but his wife was there to show us the car. She asked for a copy of my license and gave me the keys and told me to take it for a drive etc...

The car was absolutely beautiful. At first glance it looked super clean. We opened the car up and looked at the interior then we popped the hood in back and looked at the engine. I checked the block. Indeed it was the C32 (3.2L). Everything was bone stock. Good sign. Everything was OEM Honda, wheels, exhaust, airbox etc...

 

Looked in the trunk behind the engine compartment, it had a CD changer and a few belongings.

 

We got in and I started her up. The engine purred. Super light clutch just like a Civic. Smooth easy shifter. The seats had huge side bolsters at the waist and shoulders, yet were still very comfortable. AC was cold. Factory Bose audio system was nice. Power everything of course, seats, locks, windows etc... I adjusted the seat, put it in gear and away we went.

Driving through some curves in the neighborhood it was apparent that the car handled like it was on rails. This car was made to turn! It yearned to be steered through corners. It was also very torquey and the power was linear. The throttle response was instant at any RPM. It was not at all tempermental. Very easy to drive. We finally got out of the neighborhood and got going in traffic.

Took it down the road a while and waited for the engine to get to normal operating temperature, then pulled a U-Turn after all traffic cleared going the other way. The turning radius was as good as if not better than my little Civic HB. :o Nothing but open road ahead. I puched it in first gear and the car pulled hard as fuck all the way to 8000 rpm, hit 2nd gear and wound it out, hit 3rd and stayed in it for a couple seconds and started running out of road. Let out and looked down and we were going about 90mph. Both of us were grinning ear to ear and noted that we left the A/C on.

Punched it a couple more times rolling in 2nd and 3rd gear and caught back up with all the traffic. I could very easily drive this car around town and never even use 5th or 6th gear. The gearing seemed tall, but the car had plenty of power to wind them out. The brakes felt strong. Drove it back to the sellers house to have a closer look at everything.

 

I looked in the rear trunk a bit closer and noticed that the rear quarter panel bolts seems weird. NSX's are unique in that the body is made of aluminum and the rear quarter panels can easily be removed and replaced just like the front fenders can on most other cars.

The bolts weren't painted the same color as the rest of the car. I popped the trunk in front and it was the same as the back. Different color silver bolts. We've never got this close and personal with an NSX so we weren't sure if they were that way because they are all hand built but we had our doubts.

In the picture you can see what I am talking about. All the bolts were a different shade of Silver than the paint. I've never seen a factory Honda like this ever.

 

I got out my camera and proceeded to take pics as Neal methodically went over every inch of the car. The more he looked the more signs he found that something wasn't right. In this pic you can see that the rear diffuser isn't flush with the car on the driver side.

 

Here's a close up of the rear diffuser. For anyone who knows Hondas, this not the typical excellent fit and finish we come to know and expect of even a $10,000 Civic let alone a $90,000 flagship sports car.

 

The next thing Neal noticed is the that the car had been buffed to the point that the paint had been rubbed off in a couple small areas down to the primer. I resized all these pics a bit so I could upload them to TR so it's not real easy to see what I'm talking about here.

 

Here is another panel edge that fell victim to a buffer. We suspect that the rear bumper was not aligned perfect. This means it had been removed or replaced. When the rear quarter panel was buffed the bumper stuck out just far enough to wear off the paint on the edge.

 

A closer look at the rear side light and again we find yet more evidence that something isn't right. Fit and finish not Honda like at all.