BaT Auction Success Story: NSX-T, Round Two

BaT member macmacma sold his 1995 Acura NSX-T on BaT in November 2016—but as the highest bidder on a 2022 BaT auction, he earned the opportunity to buy his old car back. He recently wrote in with an update covering the last few years:

I sold my NSX on BaT in 2016 and bought it back on the site in 2022. Since then, I’ve put over 12,000 miles on it. I’ve been updating my car’s history files and thought it would be fun to share my experience with the BaT community.

Round One—My first ownership and the interim

My NSX-T was mostly stock when I first bought it in 2015, but it had a Comptech exhaust system, Tein lowering springs, and TSW Snetterton wheels. The paint and leather interior finishes showed some flaws, but it was nothing that couldn’t be repaired. This car was my second NSX, actually. I had previously owned an identical 1995 model year car finished in Brooklands Green over tan, but it got T-boned in April 2015 while I was driving to a friend’s house. I had to own another one and found this car in California. I bought it ASAP. I enjoyed the car, but sadly, I was frustrated with the leaking CV boots, a failing AC control unit, and failing driver window regulator, and I didn’t have money for the repairs. I was getting married (and ready to buy an engagement ring) and had a chunk of debt to pay off, so I sold the car on BaT in November 2016 after putting on 3k miles and fixing some of its issues. I did not get to track the car during this time but took it on an awesome road trip from Monterey, California, to Elko, Nevada, and back, driving around Yosemite (north on CA-108) and hitting some of the great high-speed roads in “the middle of nowhere” (Nevada’s Mono Lake Basin Road heading East, to be exact). It was great exploring the handling capabilities and the upper end of the speedometer. I recalled being surprised by how much oil the engine consumed on that road trip and remembered pouring a full quart of oil in to top it off. This concern came back to bite me later.

BaT member RJ_in_Paradise bought the car from me and posted his own Success Story about it back in 2017. I looked back on picking him up from the airport and vividly remembered standing in my driveway as I watched him drive away with my old NSX. I felt like I had made a mistake!

The subsequent owners put some money into the car. They worked with Ben at Daisy Auto Import, who repaired the A/C and axle boots, replaced the clutch, rebuilt the steering rack, and completed a variety of maintenance services (replaced the rear main seal, VTEC gaskets, cam seals, and spark plugs, performed a transmission flush, valve adjustment, and TB/WP). And they made some cool aesthetic improvements—WORK Emotion M8R wheels and a carbon-fiber center console cover with a modern Pioneer head unit.

The car made its third auction appearance on Bring a Trailer in October of 2022, and I was the highest bidder, but didn’t meet the reserve. BaT put us in touch and I worked out a deal with the seller and drove the car home from Ben’s shop! Ben’s shop was very impressive, and I started a good relationship with him, which has proved invaluable since. I felt like I bought the car back in better condition than when I sold it. I was very happy driving the car home from New Jersey to Indiana. Talk about many, many smiles per gallon!

Round Two—My current ownership

I was thrilled to be driving my NSX again! It brought back very strong memories from the 3,000 miles traveled during the first chapter of my ownership. Above all, I had not forgotten about how great the handling was. When I first sold the NSX, my next ride was a very different animal: a 2017 Mustang GT. Coming back to the NSX, the Mustang felt like a boat to me.

I drove the car locally and enjoyed it at car shows, but sadly, not for long. A rough start to 2023 ensued. I was involved in a small fender bender (victim of a hit-and-run pulling into my neighborhood). As upsetting as it was, it was an easy fix and repaint. My second, and much worse incident, came in February 2023, 3,000 miles after buying the car back. While cruising at about 70 mph on the highway to work, my engine began making a rustling and clacking sound when the oil pressure went to zero. I had just gone through an uphill right-hand sweeper. I pulled over and towed the car home. It had spun a bearing. I failed to check the oil regularly. Like many older sports cars, the manual recommends checking the oil level every time you fuel up. I will be doing this from now on! Either way, the bottom end was toast, and there was a crack in the block; one bearing had spun, and one rod cap had broken. I was pretty miffed about this and understandably bummed. A couple of the valves were touched, but the camshafts were intact, and the heads weren’t damaged. I assumed I had to source a used C30 to install in the car, but I checked into the availability of a new short block to see if any were still around. Ben at Daisy helped me source a new C32 short block (again, Ben is amazing) since we were not able to find a new C30 short block. I was amazed that any new short block was available.

I planned on removing my engine and shipping it to him, so he could salvage and recondition what he could and build up a new engine for me. I had a great experience and learned a ton while dropping the rear subframe with the engine and transmission. I shipped the engine to Ben, and he sent the heads out to be crack-checked and reconditioned. The valve seats were worn, and since a few had touched the pistons, we replaced them anyway. No upgrades—just standard OEM parts.

When the engine was ready, I took a week of vacation in June 2023 and trailered my car out to Daisy Auto Import to help reinstall the engine alongside Ben. We also installed a set of Spoon rigid collars and removed the Tein lowering springs that the car was riding on to return the suspension to stock. I brought the car back home and broke in the new C32 block in for 500 miles before changing the engine oil. I was delighted to have the car back on the road after four months down! It was interesting feeling the difference between the stock springs and the aftermarket Tein units; the stock suspension is much more supple and soft, allowing for plenty of body roll and pitch. The C32 felt much stronger than the C30. It was also torquier, but with the same great sound.

Driving around, I always thought it was silly that I could see both Acura and Honda badges on the car at the same time. There were only three Acura badges on the car (excluding the wheel center caps), and they were easy to swap out with Honda emblems, all on the hood, airbag, and center taillight. This was my little fun change to the car. All Honda now.

By October, I had put another 3,000 miles on the car and was up to 88,500 miles. While driving over to my dad’s garage, the clutch seized to the flywheel…this was a a single-disc Spec clutch that had been installed before I bought the car back. I went back to a stock twin-disc unit, and man, does it feel better! It’s probably the easiest clutch to operate out of every car I’ve driven. It took me until February 2024 to order the new clutch and I finally got around to dropping the engine and gearbox again. It was much easier the second time around! While waiting for the new clutch, flywheel, and bearing to arrive, I added a few more goodies: a Cedar Ridge Fab baffle welded into the oil pan, Type R front chassis bars, and NA2 sway bars. By the end of March 2024, I had the car back together and home from my buddy’s shop.

2024 was a far better year for the car than the last two! I drove the car daily and completed several trips around Indiana and Michigan. I got up to 90,000 miles and finally took the car to two track days!

By May 2024, I had 1k miles on the new clutch and took the car to Putnam Park Road Course—my first time on track. I was really impressed with the NSX-T except for the amount of body roll with the stock suspension, and the stock seats didn’t work well holding me in place. I was using my knees and arms to keep from sliding around, and that compromised my ability to focus on racing. I did another 25 laps at Putnam in June 2024. In September, the car hit 92,000 miles, and I changed the oil and filter. In October, I did yet another track day at Putnam Park and got down into the 1.21-second lap times.

By the Winter of 2024, I was able to focus on some fun upgrades for the car instead of repairing failures. I ordered a new Pride exhaust system, Type S suspension, Recaro ABE seats, and a set of race harnesses. By mid-April, I had them all installed. I was ready for the summer season! My goal was to have the car back on the road for the NSX Club of America’s regional MidEast meet in Charlotte, North Carolina. This thing was made for a perfect weekend road trip!

In the end, I had a great time at the NSX Club of America’s MidEast Meet and really enjoyed meeting several folks in person that I’d gotten to know online from the NSX community. The car ticked over 95,000 miles on its way home, and I’ve now put 12,500 miles on it since I bought it back in October 2022. The C32 block now has about 8,500 miles on it. Barely broken in!

As of recently, I just scored a set of BBS LM wheels on BaT and put them on the car this summer!

Thanks for writing to us, macmacma. We’re glad to see the NSX is treating you well (and vice versa) after some rough patches, and we wish you many more fun miles!

If you have a Success Story about a car you’ve bought or sold on BaT, please send a few lines and pictures (or a video) to community.content@bringatrailer.com, and we’ll send you a $50 credit to the BaT Gear Store when your story posts to the site.

We love to hear from satisfied BaT buyers and sellers, and a Success Story feature is a great addition to any car’s history when you’re ready to sell.