get a car for yourself, not your girl.. not your mom.. and not to impress your friends. One day you'd regret getting it if you got your car for any of the reasons above

 

hey guys, i know you all are s2k fans but i'm looking into this sports car market at the moment. I'm a little undecisive about which to get. I have test driven the 350z, z4, rx-8 and s2k but still can't decide on which to get. Is there anything else i need to know as far as future maintenance issues or problems that I should expect to encounter 3 or 4 years down the road. I was an owner of several large SUVs and have gotten sick of driving large vehicles. I want something smaller now and more manageable on the road. Please help. Any inputs will be appreciated.

 

If you want help and advice, perhaps you could learn to be a bit more polite when you are new here:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...881#post2180881

 

NEED4SPEED:

At last rating, Consumer Reports rated the s2k as much more reliable than average. The 350 Z, Z4, and RX8 are all too new for any reliability data to exist. But I or someone else in my immediate family has, now or at one time, owned one of these cars predecessors, with good long term reliability experience. If your price range goes up to a Z4 with the 3.0 liter engine, might as well test out a Boxter and a Corvette (though reliability reports on these two haven't been great, I have friends who have them with no problems). It all boils down to what "fits" you and your driving style, as all these cars approach performance using different formulas.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Gee, I didn't think NEED4SPEED was being impolite, XV.

Anyway, I was just struck by his comment about being sick of driving large vehicles. To that I can only chuckle. The S2000 is about as "smaller and more manageable" as you can possibly be.

I'll just say this, the comparisons NEED4SPEED is mentioning are pretty valid -- especially if you count the new Z convertible rather than coupe. They are pretty much apples-apples. RX8, maybe not, except the sporting aspects of it are very similar to the S2000. The Z4 is indeed encroaching on Boxster / Vette pricing, but not quite.

IMO, only the Boxster strikes my eye as desirable. The others don't do it for me.

And looks notwithstanding, I would point out that the S2000, while a 4-5 year old design, loses no edge at all on technology to this esteemed crew. The S remains a technological tour de force, despite its age.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Intrepid175
[B]Hi TJS2K, Personally, I'd consider anything below 30k for a new S2000 "without" any options to be pretty good.

 

Hello all, newbie here.

This is a great thread, thanks for starting it Viper.

I test drove an '03 S2000 yesterday and it was phenominal. Good power for tooting around town, and really gave me a nice seat of the pants feel when I got on it.

I am looking at purchasing an '01 S2000 with low miles on it. I would like to know if the tranny really weak or just a few owners' cars that seem to be talked a lot about? What's the deal with the checking oil every 300 miles? I am not going to check it THAT offten, every 1000miles if it's lucky. What is typical? I drive a Saturn, it burns though plenty of oil but I don't have to check it every 300 miles.

Thanks guys, looking forward to chatting more.

 

With any new car, you should check you oil level frequently at the beginning to determine what the consumption rate is BASED ON YOUR DRIVING STYLE. Remember, oil usage goes up the more you VTEC (in general). We have a ceramic type of cylinder liner. This is not your your average engine. An '01 "should" be well broken in by now and "should" not be consuming oil at a high rate but that having been said, it's not worth the risk until you have determined for yourself what that rate truly is.
It has been said that the clutch is weak, the tranny is weak, the rear diff is weak, the CV joints are weak ............. yada, yada, yada. I suppose in a small percentage of the cases, this may be an "issue" due mostly to the way the car is driven on a regular basis.
I have a S/C with 4.44 gears and my clutch, tranny, rear diff and CV's are doing fine after nearly 5000 MILES and the car has over 25,000 miles total. (Touch wood! )
ps. My car now consumes about less than 1 qt between oil changes and I change every 3000 miles.
You "could" still be using 1 qt. in 1000 miles depending on how many miles its got and how it was broken in.

 

I check my child's diapers rgularly, every other tuesday.......

 

I may be going out on a limb here, but I suspect that many of those with drivetrain problems have either installed turbos or SCs and made other heavy duty mods without beefing up the drivetrain as well. Either that or they have driven their car in competition a lot. Still, I'm sure there will be drivetrain problems reported from owners who don't fit these categories. The s2k remains in the "much more reliable than average" rating by Consumer Reports mag, and is rated much more reliable than its main competitors. This car's got a distinct personality, and the main question for a prospective buyer is "do you like that personality?"

Thanks,
Richard:) :) :)