kjte36

Hi all. I'm looking into buying a 2002 S2000 and the seller noted that there is rust on the rear fender wheel arches. I've attached some pictures. I just wanted to know how severe this rust looks and how much work/money you guys think it would be to have it repaired. Is it bad enough to halt the sale all together or is it a repairable fix that can be worked into the asking price of the car. Thanks!

Orjinal

It can be fixed but why not find a car that's not rusted in the first place?

kjte36

I'm looking at this as a fun weekend/autocross/track car so if I can get it for a really good price, it doesn't have to be perfect condition. The car is said to be mechanically sound with red interior and around 95k miles. What would be a good price considering the rust?

Orjinal

what year?

any modifications?

kjte36

2002, bone stock. 95k miles. Silver with red interior, aftermarket radio.

V3rtigo

The one side is bad enough that it needs metal replaced. The other side might be able to just be ground down and repainted. If it's just a track car you could get someone to do a quick job that won't looked the best but will get rid of the rust. If you are looking to look like there was never damage it will cost more than a grand.

Orjinal

Late ap1's with around 100k miles sells for about 10-12k these days.

kjte36

That was what was seeing on KBB also. I just wasn't sure how accurate those types of sites were. I came from the NA Miata world where those "car value" sites were not representative of what they were going for on the open market.

I'm assuming with what I told you about the condition of this car, it would probably be towards the 10k range? Is the all red interior really worth anything more than the standard black?

Orjinal

The only condition of the car I know is the rust in two spots so I won't say how much is a good price for that car. Is the car for sale from the first owner? Are maintenance records present? Any mechanical problem? Any accidents? Are all the VIN stickers on the body panels match each other? Overall is the car in good condition or beat up? Some cars with similar age/mileage are extremely well taken care of and could pass for a sub 40k mile car while others look older then they really are. Where is the car for sale? Generally speaking, most s2000's I see on facebook and craigslist are beat up and cars here on s2ki are in better shape.

All red interior in general is more sought after since fewer of them were made but its not that much of a difference when combined with sebring silver exterior. Those are the most common ones with the all red interior.

kjte36

The car spent all of its life in this southeastern PA/NJ area (car is currently in central NJ). It is on its 3rd owner according to the Carfax. First owner owned it as a lease vehicle. No maintenance record other than what is on the Carfax, which are a few oil changes and generic "serviced vehicle". Clean title. Mechanically sound, bone stock with no leaks or oil burning. Overall exterior condition is OK, inline for a ~15 year old car, there is the rust of course. Interior is very well taken care of with no issues to note. Seller is claiming that he needs the money to pay for student loans and that he may possibly need to move for his job. I'm guessing he's fairly young. He has only owned the car for a few months now, prior to him, the previous owner had it for 10 years and the original lease owner had it for ~3.5 years.