cosmomiller

Alarms. As ChuckS was on the money about people disregarding alarms. Much better are GPS/SMS alarms that let YOU know when an event occurs and lets you know where your little roadster is going. Lojack (limited in some counties) is a universally accepted system by law enforcement and insurance companies. Others are good, many have subscription fees.

May want to install a kill switch.

I have seat locks and I put decals on the side windows to let perps know there are seat locks so they will go elsewhere for low hanging fruit.

Hfreak

You may want to wait a little on buying an S2000, once you have completed your studies and start to establish your new way of life you will likely enjoy the car more than you would at this point. I know of a doctor that has an '08 or '09 that he purchased new and still has it and drives it to work nice days, just for the love of the car. Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Jae2K

Ok, so there's a ton of misinformation on this thread, and it's psyching this poor guy out. There's a lot of information missing to know weather or not any of this stuff applies to you. How old are you? Where do you live? Do you wanna modify this car?

I'm 21, I've owned the car since I was 19. Bought it with 108k has about 120k now. Clean title.Taken it on road trips SD to SF. I don't own a garage. I drive the shit out of it. Lightly modified, wheels, tires, suspension, exhaust.

Look, as long as you're smart, don't be scared into not buying it, don't listen to these guys. My tops never been slashed, seats never stolen, nothing major has ever broken on me. That being said, I don't leave it at my local mall over night. Buy a damn alarm. If you're that paranoid, buy seat locks, which are a couple bucks.

Car doesn't vibrate that much. AP1s (2000-2003) are pretty harsh compared to your moms 2015 honda civic, but its a sports car so get over it. 2004-2009 models are very forgiving on the street especially with low milage. Seats aren't that uncomfortable. Basically, drive one for yourself. Don't be told what to do by these guys online. Best of luck.

darcyw

I just thought about something- consider a manual shift BMW Z4 with the power hard top. Hard top security. Convertible fun. Torque.

darcy

Conedodger

Like others have said, it is a location dependent thing. I bought mine new in 2003. It is not daily driven, but gets ~6K miles a year. It is garaged at night for the most part, but also spends a few nights a year in motel parking lots. Mine still has the original top. You just have to be smart about where and when you park it. I would not leave mine out in an apartment complex lot or on the street on a regular basis. I do have seat locks.

As far as trips? I regularly take 6-8 hour trips in the car and don't think twice about it. My wife and I spent 10 days and about 6K miles on a trip out west a couple of years ago. One of our favorite vacations and we are still reminiscing about it! (We were in our late 40's at the time and were comfortable.)

Buy the car. Get seat locks and good insurance. Rent a garage at your apartment complex. Enjoy life!

Car Analogy

To add to latest, more realistic posts. I 3 season dd my S. I drive it everywhere. When I first got it, I left it outside year round. Then I reorg'd the garage, and now its inside every night. I am happy its out of the weather. I never worried about theft, as I am in a good area. Keep in mind a lot of guys own these cars because, compared to other sports cars with similar performance, they are not expensive to buy or maintain. Such owners don't always live in the best neighborhoods, hence all the paranoia. The seats in these cars are coveted by the Civic ricer crowd, and they will cut the roof open to get them. Avoid overnight parking in ricer areas, and you will be fine.

The car is not difficult to maintain, but it is different. Its all too easy for a mechanic, even a dealer mechanic, especially a dealer mechanic, to assume its just another Civic, and do something stupid. You need to either maintain this car yourself, or find someone tuat knows how to.

The car does not vibe, not a harsh car. But it is a raw car. If you are a drivers car type of person, its awesome, even on longer trips. If not, it will just seem like a stiff ride.

The best ergonomic position is the next one. As in change positions often to avoid stressing your body. The problem here is this car locks you into one position. No way to move around on longer trips. If you are young and pliable, may not be a big deal. This is why such disparity on how comfortable it is on longer trips. Its not uncomfortable, it just doesn't let you change positions or stretch.

I think the best advice I heard in this thread was buy an FRS. Its not a convertible, which seems like its one of your main criteria, but that is what avoids all the parking issues. Also avoids the find the right mechanic issue. Of you kust have a convertible, get a Miata. The above are better cars to learn stick on anyway.

Once you reach the point where you can afford to live someplace with a garage, get your S. You'll be better prepared for that by then from FRS or Miata ownership.

Whatever you do, don't get the P car. Maintenance costs will kill you. Even doing your own maintenance is a huge pain with a german car.

jeffreygebhart

My 2 cents worth: I wouldn't shy away from an S2000 if you don't perform your own maintenance, although it would be beneficial if you did. I'm not handy at all yet am a new owner. I agree that you will, however, need to find a good mechanic. I took my car to two local Honda dealerships and it was very apparent that neither wanted to work on it. Much better to find a mechanic or shop that caters to S2000s. I second the waiting on the Porsche. And if you do ever get one, don't modify it. How many modified Porsches do you see on the streets? Expensive to do and irreversible mods would destroy the resale value of the car. A friend just bought a used FR-S. He said that it's lightweight and fun to drive.

MrFunk

I'd buy a 25k S2k before a 25k boxster any day. One is top of it's game and the other bottom of the heap.

The seats obviously do not get stolen out of every single s2k... and no they won't be stolen from the car every time you go to the store... obviously... BUT - Unless you have a garage to keep it in overnight I would not park it outside daily. Just me.
I wouldn't leave any convertible (soft top) parked outside daily either - regardless of stolen seats or not. Roofs leak, water seeps and it's just not fair to the car. If you do end up getting one and will park it on the street regularly then I'd recommend getting a hard top for it.

If your budget is 25k and you're looking at getting a car for roadtrips etc - I would also check out other cars. VW R32? VW Golf R? VW GTI? Audi A4? Audi A3? BWM 3-series or 2-series? Lots of great highway cruisers that you can actually fit a few suit cases in and passengers... not that I'd have any hesitation of spending several hours in mine on a road trip.

To me the S2k is a great second car.

WVCR-V

I'm 6'2" 220 and can drive my S for 6-8 hours with no problems. How big are you? If you are smaller than 6' 180, I don't think comfort would be an issue. It also depends on what you are used to driving. I'm 41 and have never owned an automatic car. Been driving stick since 15. I've owned some older Z cars from the 70's and 80's that rode harsher than the S2000 because they had urethene bushings and lowering springs. Last year when I finally purchased my S2000, my first thought was...wow this car rides comfy for such agressive handling. To me the S2000 is not too harsh at all.....for a sports car. But a sports car it is and you have to really be into such a car to not be bothered with the ride and cramped interior. I also think a BRZ, FRS may be a bit better for college. You have back seats to toss your books into, cram some extra (small) friends into in a pinch and not have any concern over the soft top security. If you aren't totally sure about the comfort suiting you, try a Miata. Heck, by the time you are a Doctor, you should have a 911 or a Lotus anyway. Start slow and build up to the ultimate sports car.

879

I'm a student as well (taking the MCAT in June) and the car is perfectly fine for what I do.

A few thoughts;

You will go through rear tires quicker than a civic, it's just part of the game.
It can wear you down after awhile of being in the car, it's not awful and you just get used to it, I don't mind being in the car.
It has been 100% reliable for me
If you're worried about any silliness from others with the car, get a hardtop.

Really, the car isn't a new Honda Accord, you won't have the trunk space and you won't have the ride quality, but I wouldn't want to take an Accord on a back road and it sure doesn't look as good as a S2000.