Trying to buy a nice used S2K is quite the experience so far...
07-04-2017, 02:38 PM
#11
Ive said it once already but I'll reiterate because I care about you. I still think that buying any car should be a memorable, exciting, joyful experience - especially for the buyer.
There will be other units for sale without the hassle of an annoying, dickish seller. For example, I just bought an AP2 from the 2nd owner, older guy that was so friendly and respectful, told me everything about the car, offered my wife and I lunch at his house when we drove a few hours to get the car....none the less it just felt 'right' if that makes sense. He really enjoyed the car and appreciated the fact the car is going to another enthusiast.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
There will be other units for sale without the hassle of an annoying, dickish seller. For example, I just bought an AP2 from the 2nd owner, older guy that was so friendly and respectful, told me everything about the car, offered my wife and I lunch at his house when we drove a few hours to get the car....none the less it just felt 'right' if that makes sense. He really enjoyed the car and appreciated the fact the car is going to another enthusiast.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
07-04-2017, 07:27 PM
#12
Ive said it once already but I'll reiterate because I care about you. I still think that buying any car should be a memorable, exciting, joyful experience - especially for the buyer.
There will be other units for sale without the hassle of an annoying, dickish seller. For example, I just bought an AP2 from the 2nd owner, older guy that was so friendly and respectful, told me everything about the car, offered my wife and I lunch at his house when we drove a few hours to get the car....none the less it just felt 'right' if that makes sense. He really enjoyed the car and appreciated the fact the car is going to another enthusiast.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
There will be other units for sale without the hassle of an annoying, dickish seller. For example, I just bought an AP2 from the 2nd owner, older guy that was so friendly and respectful, told me everything about the car, offered my wife and I lunch at his house when we drove a few hours to get the car....none the less it just felt 'right' if that makes sense. He really enjoyed the car and appreciated the fact the car is going to another enthusiast.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
07-04-2017, 11:07 PM
#13
IThere will be other units for sale without the hassle of an annoying, dickish seller. For example, I just bought an AP2 from the 2nd owner, older guy that was so friendly and respectful, told me everything about the car, offered my wife and I lunch at his house when we drove a few hours to get the car....none the less it just felt 'right' if that makes sense. He really enjoyed the car and appreciated the fact the car is going to another enthusiast.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
That being said, I've professionally photographed the car and am sending him a framed photo of the car with the the shift knob that he added as a token of my appreciation.
My wife and I had an experience similar to yours, however we bought our AP2 from an older woman (granted, I'm no spring chicken myself). She was wonderful, obviously loved the car and had taken great care of it. But the rather stiff ride had started to cause her great discomfort even after driving the car for short periods of time. We really enjoyed meeting her and ended up taking up a fair amount of her day by the time we both took turns riding with her and driving the car ourselves. There were a number of people in contact with her trying to convince her to sell to them during the time were in transit (it took us more than three hours to travel to her location). I'm so grateful that she held the car for us to see first. I have no doubt that she could have easily sold the car for more money to someone else before we could get there but she was far to classy to entertain other offers until we had our chance to buy.
I will say that when I first emailed her I was clear that we had been searching for a S2000 that was still stock/original and intended to keep it that way. I was also sure to let her know that I was aware that she was offering the car at a very fair price — no attempt at haggling was ever made as the car could have easily sold for a few thousand more here in this area. I believe that writing a straightforward, honest note worked to our advantage in this case. We feel very fortunate to have found this car, especially given that the seller was so fantastic.
No pictures were made/sent, but I did contact the seller later to let her know that we named the car after her in her honor (we aren't in the habit of naming all of our vehicles, but with a special car like this we couldn't resist). It only seemed right, and it made her happy. It feels good knowing that she's glad we ended up with her car.
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daiheadjai (07-06-2017)
07-05-2017, 12:47 AM
#14
I'm sure that a good number of people selling their S2000s still care about the car quite a bit.
My wife and I had an experience similar to yours, however we bought our AP2 from an older woman (granted, I'm no spring chicken myself). She was wonderful, obviously loved the car and had taken great care of it. But the rather stiff ride had started to cause her great discomfort even after driving the car for short periods of time. We really enjoyed meeting her and ended up taking up a fair amount of her day by the time we both took turns riding with her and driving the car ourselves. There were a number of people in contact with her trying to convince her to sell to them during the time were in transit (it took us more than three hours to travel to her location). I'm so grateful that she held the car for us to see first. I have no doubt that she could have easily sold the car for more money to someone else before we could get there but she was far to classy to entertain other offers until we had our chance to buy.
I will say that when I first emailed her I was clear that we had been searching for a S2000 that was still stock/original and intended to keep it that way. I was also sure to let her know that I was aware that she was offering the car at a very fair price — no attempt at haggling was ever made as the car could have easily sold for a few thousand more here in this area. I believe that writing a straightforward, honest note worked to our advantage in this case. We feel very fortunate to have found this car, especially given that the seller was so fantastic.
No pictures were made/sent, but I did contact the seller later to let her know that we named the car after her in her honor (we aren't in the habit of naming all of our vehicles, but with a special car like this we couldn't resist). It only seemed right, and it made her happy. It feels good knowing that she's glad we ended up with her car.
My wife and I had an experience similar to yours, however we bought our AP2 from an older woman (granted, I'm no spring chicken myself). She was wonderful, obviously loved the car and had taken great care of it. But the rather stiff ride had started to cause her great discomfort even after driving the car for short periods of time. We really enjoyed meeting her and ended up taking up a fair amount of her day by the time we both took turns riding with her and driving the car ourselves. There were a number of people in contact with her trying to convince her to sell to them during the time were in transit (it took us more than three hours to travel to her location). I'm so grateful that she held the car for us to see first. I have no doubt that she could have easily sold the car for more money to someone else before we could get there but she was far to classy to entertain other offers until we had our chance to buy.
I will say that when I first emailed her I was clear that we had been searching for a S2000 that was still stock/original and intended to keep it that way. I was also sure to let her know that I was aware that she was offering the car at a very fair price — no attempt at haggling was ever made as the car could have easily sold for a few thousand more here in this area. I believe that writing a straightforward, honest note worked to our advantage in this case. We feel very fortunate to have found this car, especially given that the seller was so fantastic.
No pictures were made/sent, but I did contact the seller later to let her know that we named the car after her in her honor (we aren't in the habit of naming all of our vehicles, but with a special car like this we couldn't resist). It only seemed right, and it made her happy. It feels good knowing that she's glad we ended up with her car.
07-05-2017, 08:55 AM
#15
I bought my s2k last summer from a lovely 80 yo women about three hours away. Her son and law was helping her with the sale. She and I hit it off instantly. I drove three hours to see the car and we agreed on a price in five minutes. I trusted her implicitly. I sent her the purchase price before I picked up the car. She sent me the title. I got a new title issued in my home state and then I took a train down to a town nearby her home. Her daughter and son in law picked me up at the train station and drove me about 1/2 hour to her home. I drove the car home. Her only request of me was that I take good care of the car which was a 65th birthday gift to her from her deceased husband. She confessed at one point that she never liked the Honda as much as the Miata because the Honda is silver and she preferred red, which was the color of her Miata. The Honda had 8.5K miles on it. Its a 2002 MY.
Sending the check might have been a bit risky. But, I knew that this lovely lady would never abscond with the money. My trust was well placed.
The car is a gem.
Sending the check might have been a bit risky. But, I knew that this lovely lady would never abscond with the money. My trust was well placed.
The car is a gem.
Last edited by rpg51; 07-05-2017 at 08:57 AM.
07-05-2017, 09:36 AM
#16
What part of the country are you living? I have a 2006 Silverstone with red/black interior. 34.5K miles and nothing changed but tires, filters, oil, plugs and drive belt.
If you are close to 30080 you might want to take a look. Finally time to sell just before my 74th bday.
If you are close to 30080 you might want to take a look. Finally time to sell just before my 74th bday.
07-05-2017, 11:25 AM
#17
What part of the country are you living? I have a 2006 Silverstone with red/black interior. 34.5K miles and nothing changed but tires, filters, oil, plugs and drive belt.
If you are close to 30080 you might want to take a look. Finally time to sell just before my 74th bday.
If you are close to 30080 you might want to take a look. Finally time to sell just before my 74th bday.
07-06-2017, 06:24 PM
#18
Similar situation here.
Previous owner of my 2003 was an older gentleman who was replacing it with a 911.
I spoke with him a few times on the phone (in fact, I first dealt with him last fall, but unfortunately having just finished B-school with a baby on the way, it wasn't the right time).
Turned out to be a great experience - he let me drive the car (of course), and we spent the better part of an hour chatting with the top down about the history of Honda's cool cars, the cars we had enjoyed, etc. (he was a former VP of marketing for Honda Canada).
He insisted I take it on a longer test drive, complete with a nice highway run and a good swig of VTEC goodness (his rationale - if I didn't experience VTEC, I'd never know what the car was about).
Ended up having a great experience (in fact, he gives me tips from time to time about how to care for the weather seals, the soft top, etc.).
No need to stress about a seller who isn't that interested in selling you their car.
Previous owner of my 2003 was an older gentleman who was replacing it with a 911.
I spoke with him a few times on the phone (in fact, I first dealt with him last fall, but unfortunately having just finished B-school with a baby on the way, it wasn't the right time).
Turned out to be a great experience - he let me drive the car (of course), and we spent the better part of an hour chatting with the top down about the history of Honda's cool cars, the cars we had enjoyed, etc. (he was a former VP of marketing for Honda Canada).
He insisted I take it on a longer test drive, complete with a nice highway run and a good swig of VTEC goodness (his rationale - if I didn't experience VTEC, I'd never know what the car was about).
Ended up having a great experience (in fact, he gives me tips from time to time about how to care for the weather seals, the soft top, etc.).
No need to stress about a seller who isn't that interested in selling you their car.
07-07-2017, 07:49 PM
#20
Good luck, patience will eventually pay off.