Hi
My name is Larry and I am new here. I am 54 (as of this past Friday). I have been wanting a sports car since Iw as a kid reading about Triumphs and Helay's etc. Now I ma finally in a position to go out and buy a car. I thought about the BMW Z cars or boxster.
I have been owning Honda products since 79 Accord LX . Right now I have an MDX touring with Nav, my wife an Accord V6 and my 21 yo son a Civic EX. So you can see, I have been a fan of Honda products forever.
Now that life circumstances are allowing me the ooprtunity to look for a sports car just for fun, I want to seriously consider the S2000. I love it's looks nad reputation. I have never driven it. I have driven the Porsche. It is a really nice car.
The otehr consideration is that this is a car just for fun. I want drive it many miles. It would be in the garage, maybe even witht he top down, waiting for a nice day to get out and enjoy the open road.
In "your" collective opinions, what year makes the most sense to buy? I will probably only put on about 3K miles per year. I want it to retain the most value possible so I want the depreciation to be at a good point at the time of purchase. From the reviews I have read, it seems like somewhere around a 2003 might make sense in terms of features.
Also, another thing I have noticed is a really wide range of prices on similar vehicles with similar miles. Do you all notice the same?
Lastly for today, what is the besy way to locate a car in great conditon. The dealerships are the most expensive it seems. Is it the "net", the local papers?
Please let me knwo your thoughts.
Best Regards
Larry

 

Larry-
I purchased my MY 00 in January, 2007 with 5,900 miles on it. It was a rather exhaustive search. In the end, the owner had it on Ebay, but was within 2 hours of me. At the end of the auction, I contacted him and struck a deal for the vehicle.

The car will be used exactly as you describe your need for---fun weekend car. So far, it has been fun polishing it, adding parts, and most of all----DRIVING IT! What a blast with the top down and the engine singing along as you row through the gears!

I did notice the price differences. One suggestion is to buy during the winter when people want covertibles off their lot, or out of storage so they don't have to pay for it.

So far after 2 months of ownership, I have put a whopping 100 miles on the car Then again, it's been snowing and cold in Chicago, too.

Good luck---you WILL enjoy it!
Shumax

 

Happy Birthday Larry and welcome to the forum. You really should take one out for a test drive, I almost guarantee you will be hooked. Look in the FS forum https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showforum=107 here on s2ki.com or autotrader.com or e-bay. Happy hunting
Also, you are welcome to come hang out in vintage https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&f=117

 

Sounds like you should buy a 2001, slightly higher mileage, supercharged S2000 with the glass window upgrade. Come to think of it... I know where you could get one

Seriously though, the plastic rear window on the 00 and 01 models cracks very easily and it's close to $2000 to have someone replace the top so watch out for that. If you're concerned about depreciation don't be scared of a little mileage, afterall "It's a Honda." Just make sure it's been cared for and not overly abused. Good luck with your search, check the for sale forum, there is always a good selection of very nice cars.

 

Not sure I would worry about the glass rear window as it sounds like this will be strictly a sunny weekend car, so that would make all years good for you. The S has not really changed over the years, yes, I know 2L vs. 2.2L motor but for a sunny weekend car, the plastic back window won't matter and you can get a early car.

Myself, I would never own a car and worry about depreciation, car ARE NOT investments, they are depreciating assets and since they all depreciate at about the same rate regardless of miles, I prefer to count my smiles per miles and enjoy them.

Ok, same year car with fewer miles will be worth a little more than one with more miles but not enough to not enjoy the smiles per mile experience. And yes some cars are appreciating assets but the S2000 is not one of them and not likely to be one of them in our lifetimes, it requires a prancing horse or similar logo on the hood for that to happen and I don't mean Mustang's.

 

Yup i have seen prices vary a lot. I think the key is patience, if you dont need it just sit back and watch the ads. I'm in a decent sized town so i saw them come and go. Finally got my 02 w/38k for 16,900. I saw the SAME car at another dealership for 23K! Literally the same car.

I am ahead on this car as far as what i owe and what its worth, but I dont plan on getting rid of this thing unless my life changes for the worse. Its my weekend/sunny day car now.

I think the time of year is key for getting a good deal on a RWD convertible like the S2k like someone had mentioned. And here its getting really nice and im going to look at the prices and see what they do.
Where i used to live (North dakota) you could get a great deal on one since they are barely driveable for more than half the year. Although they were very rare and if you waited for a good deal and passed one up, might be awhile before you see one again!

Good luck

Nate

 

Agreeing with what others said, its best to buy our cars (or any convertible for that matter) when its cold in your area. Also, the value of the car would probably be slightly more in a warmer climate than in a colder one.

There are always deals out there, just have to be patient. I'd recommend getting an 02 or later, just because you wouldn't have to deal with the plastic rear window. Even if you don't plan on using the car all the much, on the off chance you do use it with the top up, you'll appreciate the glass much more.

I got my 03 back in December with under 32k miles on the clock for under $20,000, from a dealer. Just keep an eye out. . .sometimes dealers do have good prices. Best places I'd recommend online are autotrader.com and cars.com.

Good luck with your search. Go and drive an s2000 and you'll see why everyone on these boards has a permanent smile on their face while driving.