For what it's worth, I bought my '02 CLK 55 in my early twenties. I did not own any property at the time. I found that having the car gave me a certain amount of "street cred" with the older business types I was sucking up to. Helped me make some good contacts. I don't think I would be as successful as I am now were I to have purchased a lessor car. Percieved image can be a powerful thing in all facets of life, not just chasing ladies. If you can reasonably afford the car and its maintenance (I hear they absolutely EAT tires), go for it. You are young enough that even a questionable decision such as the purchase of this car will not necessarily ruin your chances at a prosperous future. I would be curious to know how old MM was when he bought his first prancing pony.

Amen to that even my old W126 has started some interesting conversations.

Honda prices aren't low....ONE uper control arm for my honda (integral ball joint) is way...way more than a benz part...


And I thought in the USA only ACURA sold the NSX....it was outside the USA that Honda sold it...and contrary to popular opinion, Acura dealers don't have access to honda inventory system nor Honda access to the Acura inventory system...With my old DOHC ZC engine most parts were Acura only....and some were honda only and so there was no one stop shopping. Hond and Acura both had their own unique D16 engines....parts were basicly NOT interchangible.

Finding an NSX that hasn't been neglected/wrecked/abused would be a daunting task.......

32 years old, it should have been sooner but I was stuck on the beer and ladies.

Cheers for the notes.


Over here the NSX is a well respected and pretty sought after car; so most of them are more in the same realm as old Porsche 911's and Ferrari 328/348s, rather than the 'thrashed and abused' realm of BMW M3s, WRXs and such like.

Well the DOHC ZC is not an uncommon engine for you on the other side of the big pond....the 88-89 Civic Vti had it.....but it was never availible in the USA....the same for what I have now which came from a Japanese market '90 Civic SiR (half cut from Kobi wrecking yeard)which your equivalent would have been the 90-91 Civic Vti.....another engine that was not availible in the USA untill 1994.....

There are a lot of Porsche cars here that fit the thrashed and abused realm.....many of which you don't realise untill you sand the car down for a proper respray and find all the hidden bodywork from previous wrecks....and like any older car...who knows how the car was treated....and all complete maintenace records prove is that the work was done on schedule....

Here is what I like:

I like my 328 that I've owned for 17 years. Good car. In its time it was a fast car but not practical. If you do not do the maintenance on them yourself, the cars are very expensive to maintain. Parts are very expensive. Labor is out of this world.

Buy a used SLK32 AMG. I have a 2002 I bought new for my wife. Plenty fast, women seem to love it. I get nearly as many looks in it as I do in my Ferrari.

Buy an old 944turbo. I've got one of them also. I put an extra 3k in the engine and it'll stomp nearly anything. With the latest round of more modern (better tuned) goodies that would cost about the same, you'll see 400hp at the wheels yet be perfectly docile and happy around town, yet get 30 mpg on the highway easy driving.

NSX is a nice car and more practical than the 328. Guy I know in BMW club has one with a supercharger on it. We frequently duel at BMW events. It is very close in speed to my 944T.

I don't know. Buy what you want. I held back until I was 32 before buying an expensive car. It was the 450SL in my signature block.