I joined the board so I could read up on the S2K and find out more about the community. I live in the Bay Area and have been looking at S2000s for about a month now. I've been to check out a number of them and am still on the lookout for the right one. I currently drive a classic MR2 (1986) and have been looking to upgrade to something a little more modern, not that I don't love my Two.

I'm new to the community but also had a quick question about paint when looking at S2000s, how much does a professionally repainted fender or door (matching vins just covering up a scrape, with appropriate blending where needed) drop the value of the car long term?

I found a low mile car but the owner repainted one side due to someone keying - I plan on keeping the car long term (and just want it to a)look great and b)hold value long term). Right now the car looks fantastic but I wonder how it will look in 10 years (I plan on daily driving the car so it won't be low miles in 10 years)

Thanks for the help.

 

and welcome....

 

I guess a lot of how it looks depends on the quality of the work done, how well you keep it waxed, if the car is garaged etc. Let us know in 10 yrs how it looks.
Levi

 

I agree. If the work was done many years ago (> 5 years), the original panel was preserved, and you still cannot spot the repair, then I wouldn't worry about it. If it was repaired four months ago, it would be an issue for me. Poor body work does not hold up well as time passes.

 

Looked at two more today, both low miles great looking cars... I've seen a few with normal wear on the top and both sellers just played it off as no big deal... As a buyer it seems like a big deal... maybe that's just me but if I know I'm looking at another 2k to replace the top in a year shouldn't the value of the car drop some too?

Still considering at least 3 that I've seen, these cars don't seem to sell that quickly here in the Bay Area unless they are priced to move.

 

HEY! i went from an '88 SC to an S2K, well worth the trade i must say, though i do miss mine here and there

 

Buy mine!!

I'm trying to do a del sel project..

Ap2 tranny and diff!
I also did the retainers already

 

And... still looking. I guess it is really hard to find the perfect car. Basically I’m trying to find a 2007+ with low miles (30K or less) that is in excellent condition. Color isn’t as important, but Silver would be nice. I’ve been out to look at a bunch and all of them have something. And by something I mean they all have a repainted fender, or damage on the top. I’d take damage on the top over the repainted fenders (these are all of the list for now), expensive to replace but people expect the top to wear out. Guess the search pushes on. So far I’ve seen two cars that I would consider buying out of 6 or 7, should have bought the first one… but it was the first car I looked at and didn’t know enough about them to decide. Other one I’m waiting for the price to come down… it has a rip in the top (repaired) and I can’t bring myself to pay full price for a damaged top.

Because I'm planning on buying with a loan the out of state out of area thing is a little more difficult to do, and given my experince looking at cars here the last thing I want to do is fly out of the state to look at a car and find out that it has a repainted front fender even though the dealer/owner swears the car is perfect...

I almost gave up and bought a WRX but I think overall I'd be happier with the S2000. After test driving the WRX it was fun, but I can't get over the driving position. Its like siting on the couch or in my desk chair at work. Even my current daily driver (old school 86 MR2) has a better driving position. I'll keep looking give my self a few months until I find the right one, until then just refreshing craiglist everyday.

 

might want to give carmax a try, thats where i found mine. like you im planning to keep my car long term and wanted to get one that was in pristine condition. didnt want to deal with wasting time going everywhere checking out cars and possibly settling for something i didnt originally set out for. a buddy of mine knew someone who picked one up at carmax and was pretty happy with it. theyre like a higher end mega used car dealership, you can look through their entire nation wide inventory. theyre stricter with what they accept into their inventory, so you might pay little more but if youre patient like me you can find great deals. the car i ended up with was a tiny bit higher than what i originally budgeted for but had much lower mileage than what i was expecting within the price range. winter is also a good time to buy a convertible since theyre in much lower demand. personally i wouldnt settle for a damaged top, especially if youre looking at 2007+. anyways good luck finding one, just be patient.

 

Autotrader.com Search 2007 S2000 within 500 miles. Plenty of clean examples out there.