Cat D N5XGC

[havoc]

That's because it's "only" an NSX.

Well, they did sell >400 in this country alone, and something like 15-20k globally, vs how few Mclaren F1's?

Insurance only care about cost/benefit analysis (£10m Macca is a pretty easy one to decide what to do with...) - if it'll cost too much to fix properly they Cat-C it, and then it's down to whoever gets hold of the car...

[drmikey]

You can't generalise about CAT C or D cars. Some will have had structural damage and some superficial. Also I know there are a couple of cars out there that have had structural damage but are unrecorded!

Honda produced a complete body repair manual which details how to replace any structural part on an NSX - literally a step by step guide. So it is possible to repair any NSX properly.

And it is quite straightforward to assess the quality of a repair on an NSX once the areas have been located. Again, the manuals detail distances, triangulation points and other measurements to assess trueness of the chassis etc..

Of course, there may be some bad repairs out there but a bad repair is quite easy to spot - eg if an area has been "pulled" or butt welded when a whole section should have been replaced

Assess a categorized car on its own merit, and dont assume just because a car s "HPI" clear, it has never sustained any damage!

[goldtop]

a bad repair is quite easy to spot ...

Assess a categorized car on its own merit

That's a fair point. But, and it's a big one, 99.9% of car owners wouldn't know how to assess a chassis repair of any car. The number who could recognise good/bad work on an aluminium car might be what - 1/10 of those?

I understand that you, Kaz, ATR and some others here have picked apart enough NSXs to be able to tell the difference, but for us mere mortals... not a chance.

Seriously, if any of you guys would give this car a clean bill of health, and a detailed structural report, and put some PLI behind it, I'm sure the owners (current or future) would pay a reasonable amount for the work. It's got to be worth about £5000 on the asking price. And it would bring a 'questionable' NSX back into the mainstream market.

But for now, they just look like liabilities.

[Papalazarou]

Mike's correct about there being cars out there with accident damage that were not recorded. My old blue facelift. Bought from salvage, repaired badly, then sold on to someone who put different wheels and a different plate on it then sold it through one of the 'NSX' dealers.
Looking at PH today, I see there's at least two others which have a serious history.
I looked at a car a few weeks back which was terrible. Not so much barn find but ocean find!
Anyway, the first thing I did was get the spare wheel out and look for chassis leg damage. My LBB car had creased at the base of the legs.
Another trick is to use American market body panels because they are generally cheaper, and weld over the indicator holes.
I've got no issue with repaired cars. I nearly bought one in Japan. But it's got to be documented and done right.
Insurance companies not cat registering cars with £30k worth of damage, in order to boost salvage sales, seems criminal to me.
Whilst on the subject, did anyone see that 91 manual on ebay with the side smashed in. That car sold for £21K! Amazing.

[dcnsx]

Does anyone know where it was damaged? Plans offer a collection and inspection service for a reasonable fee. Knowing where it’s had a smack it should be easy for them to spot any problems, poor repair etc.

[goldnsx]

I'd never ever buy a car that has been known to be damaged but I won't be presented with pictures of the damage.

[Hagasan]

Does anyone know where it was damaged? Plans offer a collection and inspection service for a reasonable fee. Knowing where it’s had a smack it should be easy for them to spot any problems, poor repair etc.

����Look no further than the above post.....

[Papalazarou]

I think to offer this service credibly. You should have a high level of structural, electrical and mechanical expertise.
This guy for instance, does this for Porsche, notably GT3's. http://www.porscheinspections.com/aboutus.php
As we all know, there's a lot to check on an NSX. The service should also be impartial.

Cheers.

[goldtop]

I guess the Porsche guy can create a specialist service thanks to the volume of cars (and perhaps the chances of crashes on track days)? Even then, the Ts & Cs limit the comeback in case he misses stuff.

If I was going to be interested in a Cat C/D NSX (and I was a while ago, and I spoke to the forumite who crashed one) and was going to buy one on the basis of a report from an expert, I'd want him to have PLI and no unreasonable clauses in the Ts & Cs. I'd guess the PLI would be prohibitively expensive.

And so we are where we are: no-one really wants to touch Cat C/D NSXs and they hang around a while.

Sadly, the advert for that crashed red JDM import you saw makes it clear that it's unrecorded in the UK and implies this is an opportunity for someone to make money (though at £21k + + I don't know how!)

[Papalazarou]

The Cat C/D thing's quite intetesting really. You crash a car 'say minimally' but the car is written off for whatever reason; gap insurance, uneconomical to repair etc. The car is then tough to move on. Often because no-one logs or keeps the repair information.
Anyway, the bottom line is that the car is worth half market value and is hard to resell.
Meanwhile, people are taking rusty 60's chassis's with a logbook to restoration garages, which rebuild pretty much the entire car and sell it as an authentic Ferrari, Aston Martin, etc....
I know it's economics and perhaps it doesn't matter if you don't know what you're buying. But it just smacks of rediculous.
Not only that, but you can paint it whatever standard colour you want.,and if you get it right, it's worth even more money.
Ever wanted to paint your NSX championship white. Well in 20 years time you can and it won't matter. Do it now and effectively half it's value.
We are a stupid creature who doesn't understand the real value of material things. ������