blacks2k

g'day to all fellow s2000 owners, my name is jason, i picked up a brand new 2000 model black/red s2000 on friday 23rd march.
it was a dealer car which is why it was 2000 plated with only 180 on the clock, and it had been in the showroom for about 6 months, i fell i got a good price, i dont know if it is appropriate to discuss numbers but i will say anyway (if others want to share their buying experiences then great). i paid $72k on road- got bodykit, airdeflector (now std on the 2001), tint, mats, premium plates, business rego (great compnay car).
anyway, my previous car was a my99 wrx, i spent a few $$$ on modifications, so i have some knowledge on go-fast parts. what else, i have installed carcom, a good investment i feel as my brother had his bmw m3 towed away on george st in sydney about 6 months ago, they found it a week later, totally stripped.
a question i like to know is insurance, i am currently paying about $1400 for a 25yo (me) with full ncb, garaged in newcastle. what r some of the premiums u guys pay.
i used to participate in the granturismo forum, they had a good community there, but this is a lot closer to home, and i guess i can share ideas with people with a similar interest.
if u guys want to reply then it would be great, share teh wealth i guess.
also, anybody bought the muz mat, is it a good investment, i was going to go and get an upholstery place to make one up, also, what is a good plastic cleaner for the rear window, i like the meguirs products, i have used the honda recommended stuff, pretty good.
the things i like best about the car- the power delivery, the exhaust note, the gear change, the freedom of convertibles, the things i dislike- the rear window, only 2 speakers, no cruise control, no climate control, no clock on mine (will fix this when i upgrade stereo), seat adjustment is only four way ( my younger brothers vtir civic even has tilt, wake up honda).
anyway, i ranted a little here, here from u guys

Rowland

Jason,

Congratulations! Welcome to the board! I am sure some of your neighbors will be answering your questions soon. Wish you all the best with your S2000.

DavidM

$1400 for insurace sounds pretty goof concidering you're less than 30 yeares old. I take it, you're rating 1? When I called up about insurance, good deal was about $1050 ... though, I'm 31 and don't get whacked with the 'under 30' premium anymore.

The price sounds good as well ... not sure about the whole 'ex demo' thing ... I'm not sure how much they dropped the price because of that. Though, only 3 months ago (when I was shopping for mine) a lot of dealers were not willing to talk 'deals' at all ... it was "take the car as for RRP or don't bother here". Though, after talking to something like 15 dealers (if not more), I found two that were willing to 'play' with the price and throw in things like the mats. Though, my 'price' is irrelevant as I used a trade-in as well.

ps. Your WRX sounds pretty good ... you'll find that the WRX was actually quicker in some situations (ie. city driving). If you're caught bellow 6k revs in the S2000, then the WRX is quicker even at low revs (we're talking 1 -2 car lenghts) ... it's only bellow 2.5k in the WRX that it's about even with the S2000. Then, at low speeds, even when you got 6k+ in the S2000, you will really be 'only' as fast as the WRX untill about 140km/h (end of WRXs 3rd gear) ... after that the S2000 only gets quicker while the WRX gets slower. Though,when you start talking handling then you made a big step up :-)

[Edited by DavidM on 04-01-2001 at 05:47 AM]

2kturkey

Welcome onboard Black - sounds like a godd privce for your Stook espec. with the body kit thrown in. FYI, the RRP goes up to $75k + on roads as of today (1/4). That will make a Stook now worth around $81k on road.

Muz

Do tell? That is an interesting bit of info.

blacks2k

i got the black because as the story goes, i actually wanted a silver with red, but unfortunately there were none in the country or no dealers were willing to swap one with my dealer (kloster honda- fantastic dealership, my father bought his bmw and my brother bought his jeep grand cherokee ltd there).
anyway, if i wanted a silver with red, then delivery would be in may sometime and the price would increase by $5k, which is a little too much for a colour, considering metallic is about a $200 extra anyway. so i went with the black.
btw, i get 2nd to 3rd grind as well, should i be concerned?

DavidM

Yeah, if you have a 'grind' then you should be concerned ... afterall, it can only get worse. I must be lucky so far as my gearbox/clutch have been perfect so far ... not a single grind (unless I missed the gear) and no sign of slipage from the clutch ... I'm very happy about that :-)

Report it to your dealer that way they'll be aware of the problem and replace if for you when it gets too much for you.

2kturkey

Gee, I gotta clean up my posts - there were a lot of typos in that last one!

Yes, Ron Hammerton of Honda (he started the HSCCs in each state) advised us of this 2 weeks ago and we were also told again by Honda at the Calder drive day last week.

Apparently this increase has been brought on by the declining value of the Oz dollar.

So it's not just US imports we are getting screwed on Muz, it's just about anything coming in from overseas.

blacks2k

another question, what rear window cleaners do australian owners here use, can we get plexus? i got the honda approved stuff ( a paste that leaves a residue on the roof trim if accidently rubbed there). and how many of the australian owners have the transmission problem?

DavidM

I use Meguiar's 'Mirror Glaze' ... works great and leaves no residue.

At far as gearbox and clutch go, I've had no problems so far ... both are serving me well. Though, I still have only 4000+ km. I have a feeling that the later models of S2000 get a better (stronger) clutch and maybe even better synchos in the gearbox.