I was inspired by a fellow friend who consulted me in the purchase of a used S2000. He ended up deciding to lease a new one and buy it after the lease is up. I'm in the car business, I'm an independent used car dealer, and a lease broker with the ability to get and lease/finance/sell any make/model. I was working the numbers for him and kept the thought in the back of my head.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I called my insurance company to see how much the insurance would be if I added an S2000 on to my policy. The numbers were ok, but it came out to about $600 more every 6 months compared to the BMW X3 that I already have on my policy (Wife's car). I then figured what the heck, so I called the other insurance company I have my business/dealer insurance with. My current dealer policy covers my premises, lot, inventory and personal cars, among other things. I also have a Scion xB that I use to go back and forth to work with, which I recently changed from my personal auto policy to the business.
Here's where things get sticky.....I have 2 cars....I only need two cars.....Do I need to get another car? Do I get the S2000? Here's the bomb....The dealer policy I have, if adding the S2000 onto it, my premium increases $50 per year. Yes, that's FIFTY DOLLARS PER YEAR! So now the car would cost me practically nothing to insure, and only cost me a lease payment. I called one of my Honda reps who had a Suzuka Blue S2000 available, but only lasted a few hours. It was sold. She then told me that she had a Laguna Blue coming in "sometime in August". It gave me the impression that it could be weeks away, so I figured It would give me time to think about it. The next day she calls to tell me that she has no idea how, but it came in! The pressure was on. Do I get it, do I not? My wife was against it because she doesn't think we need another expense, which is true, but it's an S2000 that's free to insure and cheap to lease! One other note is I've been dreaming about this car since it came out. I remember walking into a dealer when it first came out and having them refuse to let me sit in it because I wasn't a "serious buyer" at the time.
I pulled the trigger. I had to lease it under my business and guarantee it, which is no problem. At first Honda refused to approve me because they saw that I was a leasing company and thought I'd be brokering the car out to people. Push came to shove, my rep got it approved at the best rate ater 4 days of beating up the bank (My credit is A++). My family all kept convincing me that I didn't need it, but deep down I wanted it so bad! I sorta convinced them that it was already too late, and got the car the next day (8/4). My father, who is also my mentor, was the most tough about him thinking I didn't need it. I only say that because he did assist me in my purchase of the business that I now own, so I had to run it by him. I am 100% independent, but I do still consult him about certain things. It's a matter of if I actually listen to him or not, that's another thing... The start since the acquisition, things were shaky, but thank g-d, business exploded and is very good. I busted my ass for the last 4 months doing more than I ever thought I could possibly do. I deserved this! I knew he wouldn't go for it, but I need to give him a heads up so I really don't get my ass kicked about it (business expense). I had it delivered to me last friday. Its a beaut!


It's hard to drive the car easy for the break in period, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I only have it for a week, I just broke the 600 mile mark. Loving it!
I don't plan on modifying it though, I already have enough money invested in all of my toys, the lease itself was enough. All I did so far was give the windows a light tint (35%), and had the 3M clear bumper protection put on the front and rear bumper, and about 16 inches of the hood and fenders (clear bra). The only other thing I am going to add is XM satellite radio, as I have it in my Scion and can't live without it. Speaking of which, where's a good place to buy a unit for the XM ready radio?
In the end, I had to shmooz my wife more than my father. She was pissed, because I didn't "fully discuss" this expense with her. She was like oblivious to the whole thing, even though we were all discussing it right in front of her on thursday night. My wife refuses to go in the car until my father does first, as a confirmation that he's ok with it. I picked him up in it the next night, he was cool about it. Not only that, I sat with my parents and my brother that day for a few hours, I was talking about the car the whole time, giving my father the opportunity to bash me with anything he might have to say, and he didn't say a damn thing..I guess he approves! I got him to take my mom for a ride, so now the smoke is all clear, every one is happy, and nobody has anything negative to say about this whole ordeal.

Looking forward to seeing and writing many useful threads!

Eddie

 

Congrats! I am sure your S will bring you unknown numbers of shits and giggles. You are right to enjoy a stock car. I just got my MY06 a week ago, and I am loving it. I came out of a MY02. Great color. I would have gone Laguna if I didn't go GPW.

 

On second thought- I have one mod for you: de-vanity plate that front bumper!

 

Nah, I'm going to keep it on, the cops here are nazi's about anything you do wrong. I am going to get personalized vanity plates though, named after my business. After all, it IS a company car!

 

My only complaints about the S2k is the rear tires are a pinch narrower than the rim(even with the rim guard on the tires), get too close to a curb and it's all over(as that's already the case with my right rear wheel ), and related to that same issue, tilt-down side view mirrors would have been nice to help prevent that. The radio has the nice cover that you can keep closed and control the audio with buttons at close reach. I'd like to know what station I'm listening to, or what track I'm on without having to open up the cover every time. And speaking of the open cover, the edge of it is about a half inch from my right knee, so one wrong move and ouch! The hood is a tad long, making it a little difficult to see where the front of the car is.My father already hit the rear bumper of my Scion while parking behind it, something I'll remember for a looong time. Lastly, a power door lock switch would be nice. The latches are so close to the dashboard, at night you can barely see it, especially if you're reaching over to unlock it on the passenger's side.
I've driven many different types of convertibles, Z3/Z4, SLK, SL, CLK, 3 series, 911/Boxster etc... and none of them even come close to the feel of this car. It feels like it's wired to my brain. Everything about the drive is so perfect. I thought the low torque would make the car a dog at lower speeds, but so far it's been above satisfactory to me (then again i've been driving a 107 hp Scion in 5 speed for the last 16 mos).

 

 

As for the rim scratching, I always adjust my mirror before I park (small price to pay for keeping my rims in tact hehe). I also tend to park somewhat far away from the curb (I think 12-inch is the furthest you could park without getting a ticket and blocking the road).

The radio door ... I agree with you. The door does get in the way quite a bit, especially given that there isn't much space to begin with. (good thing is that I rarely listen to music/radio anyway)

About the power lock, it's one of those things that a lot of owners complain about. Among the complaints are quality of stock sound system, no tilt-steering, no heated seats, no heated mirrors, lack of storage space, no footwell lighting, no incremental settings for wipers, no one-touch down for passenger side window, no one touch up for driver's side, etc.

In any case, welcome aboard and have fun with your new car!

 

Oh- I didn't know you were in a state that required a front plate. Well, that makes it different. As far as the parking thing goes, I was used to having about an inch of rim/tire sticking out past the fenderwell with my ap1. I am pretty adept at close curb parking. You will get better as you familarize yourself with the dimensions of the car.

 

Regarding the whole parking close to the curb thing, I'm so used to it because when driving the Scion, 9/10 times I'm about an inch off the curb. The tires do a great job of protecting the rim on the car (I have 17's on it). I've rubbed many curbs and have yet to get any curb rash at all. I park so close to the curb because I park on the steet at home, and we do get a good share of speed racers trying to race to the next stop sign. I already had one incident with a truck trying to squeeze between the parked cars and a garbage truck and chewed off my rear 1/4 panel on my Infiniti (at the time).