So I've got a deposit down on a 2000 S2K. Love the car. Have been test driving convertibles since last year. Sad fact is, I don't ride my motorcycle anymore ('03 VStar 1100 custom). So I'm gonna trade her in for an S2K.

They want $9400 for her and are giving me a reasonable trade in for my bike ($3300). She has 78k miles and seems to run pretty strong.

Here's the thing. They replaced the roof and there appear to be a few leaks. The roof wasn't factory Honda but allegedly met 100% of OEM specs. Hmmm. Some leaks may be related to the roof, some may not. They're going to try one more time to fix them tomorrow, after I have the car checked by a reputable mech. complete with a compression test.

I took the car home this evening and blasted it with the hose around the window edges and roof seams. Little tiny leaks on the sides, behind left of drivers headrest, right of passengers. Visible droplets on a plastic piece behind the seats on the outside that almost looks like it was designed to catch water? But in addition, there was a spray of water from the top of the driver's side window that got through. That's bad imho. Obvious leak in the trunk, not sure where it's coming from, but not a good thing. Seems to be coming from near the rivets on the top underside of the trunk near where the roof arm ends up when you open the trunk. My guess is its running down someplace that they didn't seal properly. Doesn't appear to be related to the trunk seal

There also seems to be considerable wind noise coming from the top of the windshield. No leaks there. But more noise than I think is normal.

I'd love to buy this car. I just don't want to deal with a leaking roof for the rest of it's life.

I'd really appreciate any input / advice. I'm an avid forum user for tons of other stuff online (Saab, Cessna, various programming groups). Seems like this one is the gold standard for S2Ks ... a group I'd love to join.

Thanks all,

D

PS. The front latches to rattle a bit when I go over bumps. Not sure if that's relevant.

 

The front latches may need to be adjusted or have the rubber hose trick done to them. As far as leaks my roof only leaks when I blast it through a high pressure wash so that is definately not normal for it to leak from hose pressure.

 

I replaced the bolt on the stryker with longer bolts and the wind noise drastically reduced! for leaks well typical spots for the soft top to have leaks might be some tiny holes i wud say black Shoe goo and some patches is ur friend..or get a hardtop

 

not sure about the leaks, could be a bunch of things.

But, I know exactly how to fix the wind noise. your top strikers are worn. buy OEM honda hard top strikers. they're the part about the size of your palm on the bottom side of the windshield frame. if you look at them, I bet there's a big gouge out of the metal where the latches go and it's loosened up over time. My car had this same problem when I bought it. I fixed it and it's still perfect 5 yrs later.

 

I would be concerned about the leak in the trunk. That could possibly mean the rain channel for the soft top is not installed right. I would tear the trunk apart, see if there's any rust behind the panels. Basically to replace a soft top you have to pretty much gut the interior behind the seats and with all those parts there's always the possibility something is not re-installed correctly or may be missing.

 

your trunk leaks because whoever put that top on obviously shouldn't be putting tops on. there's a channel at the back that carries water away. I bet thats where it leaks.