Hello all,
I have been a big fan of the s2000 for a couple of years now after a random test drive while having the CRV inspected at my local dealer. It was love at first shift and turn. Best standard I have ever used and cornered like a spooked cat. Hard to describe but the car was controlled frantic, almost maniacal in its abilities and persona. So on to my search story....

Damn these cars hold their value!

Carfax is BS!,

I was hoping to get one this summer but I now realize summer is the wrong time to shop for one. My goal is an AP2 (2004-5 model years)with less the 60k on the clock, as Hondas are just getting broken in at this mileage. I wanted to stay below $16k and this has proven very difficult so far. Hence why I am now in a wait and see pattern as summer winds down. This will be a fair weather toy, a very expensive toy at that.

On to my carfax statement, let me double down. Carfax is a big steaming pile of s..t. I have looked at quite a few s2000's with the "clean" carfax history only to find cars with an entire side(front fender, door, quarter panel) a different shade of blue/silver/whatever stock color of the car with overspray on the undercarriage/wheel well plastics/ etc. Is this a common issue with theses cars? I am quite particular so when I inspect a car I look at the gaps in body panels, fluctuations in paint shades, overspray, body panel fastener color and other telltales of work done. I am finding a clean carfax is not always indicative of a cars history.

This is a great site and I hope to post pics of an s2000 in my driveway soon.

 

I'm new here as well. Looking at a 2005 S2000. Yes, Carfax is BS. I once owned a Subaru Forester that received fire damage from a vehicle that caught fire next to it. The Forester was repaired/re-painted by a very reputable shop ($9K) and the event never appeared on Carfax or Autocheck. I was glad, of course, but it should have. State Farm paid the claim, too.

Good luck on your quest.

 

 

Welcome

 

Welcome.

Check out the link in my signature.

 

Welcome Exo !!!

I think you just have to be patient. They're out there. And yes, they hold their prices very well.

You may have to go out of state, but if I were you I'd jump on the first clean, unmodified '04 - '05 that you come across. Unless of course you have a definite color in mind.

Good luck with your search. Hope you find one soon !

 

Hello all again and thanks for the welcome. So I have found a car finally that I think is the deal I have been searching for and wanted to ask the members here if they think this is a good deal, if you do not mind.
It is a 2005 with 23500 miles silver with red/black interior some scratches mostly on trunk area and deep(6 if I remember right and through paint layers) 2 owner with clean car fax, 2 new front tires and original rear bridgestones (DOT 3104) so the miles are correct. All original equipment from radio to exhaust, test drove and car was straight engine sounded good, braked straight, no pulling . Price is $19500.

I think the price is really good. Financing is a bit of a problem as rates through credit union on loan is 7.49% (ouchies!)

 

I'm thinking the rear tires have also been replaced a bit ago, they usually don't last as long as the fronts.....any pics?
Levi

 

I think the rear tires are original as that dot # indicates they were manufactured the 31st week of year 2004, did not take any pics when I test drove it but panel gaps are all good, original paint so body is straight. Car Fax can be misleading so I always do a detailed visual inspection and every thing looked original. No paint overspray anywhere vin stickers on all panels, undercarriage appropriate etc etc

 

For that price I'd think you could get an '06 or later. These cars are tune-able without buying an aftermarket ECU. Mine has the VTEC dropped to 3,600 rpm and became an entirely higher performance car after the tune. The cars also have traction and stability assist that the purists (who think sliding is faster) can turn off with a press of the switch on the dashboard. Just the tune-able factor alone was enough for me.

You're gonna want new tires all around but these are fine for now. The OEM tires were high performance -- 11 years ago! The technology has moved fast since then.

-- Chuck