So i am going to travel 3hours to buy this s2k. 2003 w/ 14k miles. I know no one has x-ray vision but does anyone see any red flags? its a one owner car with carfax to prove. some of the stuff to me looks oxidized--he states it has been in a heated garage and the body looks as if it has. Also, If you zoom, there





Is that red supposed to be there?


Is that red supposed to be there?
are RED screws/bolts bolting a part down, which i found weird.

Thanks

 

Low mileage cars are getting rarer and 10 VIN low mileage cars even more.

A look under the car will assist with judging corrosion. Nothing egregious in the photos. Top radiator supports typically oxidize.

Don't know about the red paint residue but the rest of the engine bay looks normal to me. My '06 engine is different so I can't look for red paint. VTEC solenoids look like this; tacky but normal. Brake fluid should be changed regardless as it absorbs water from the air and should be changed every three (?) years as routine maintenance. Tires oxidize in time not just miles.

-- Chuck

 

You are correct about the paint marks for the most part. We use paint marks on bolts the are torqued manually by hand, or ones that are confirmed by hand. Bolts that are tightened by a robot or DC tool we do not mark.
That is because we have electronic data showing the angle and the torque achieved by the said tool. Furthermore there a some specific fasteners we don't paint specifically for appearance (head cover bolts for example).

 

 

Curious what the asking price is.

 

25,000. too much if you ask me. No mods, he says he is the original owner and that the plate was at one point transfered to his businnes to him.

 

 

It's fine painted all red. We use some sockets that we put felt inside to hold the paint so it is applied as we torque (saves time and ensures the bolt was torqued and not just colored). Likely they just topped up the paint and that fastener was next to be done.

 

Is the car located somewhere near the coast or salt water? The salt air can accelerate oxidation on unprotected metal parts like the ones pictured.

 

Here is a photo of my engine bay from a similar angle. If you can zoom in on the photo you'll see that the two bolts attaching the fuel pressure regulator to the fuel rail or not red on my car. Instead they've been marked with a strip of yellow paint at the factory. My S2000 is a 2005 model so some variations might be expected. In one of the photos that you included there is a bit of corrosion on the solenoid for the VTEC system — this is not at all uncommon.

It I'm not mistaken, jaymz actually works for Honda as part of their manufacturing team so his input is as good as anyones. The asking price on that car seems a bit on the high side. Where are you located? Are these cars hard to come by there? I drove three hours to buy my S so I can understand why you would want to get as many answers to your questions as possible before contemplating doing the same. Good luck!