What to Look for when buying?
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 1
What to Look for when buying?
Hi Everyone,
New to the forum and s2k's in general. I'm coming from a Evo X which I've loved dearly, but want to change things up and get something more reliable (N/A) and I'm looking at the S2k for the next car.
I found a clean low mileage 07 AP2 S2k in the Lakewood, NJ area and I'm planning on going to take a look on Monday.
What types of things should I be looking for / listening for during the inspection and test drive? If it's clean, estimated 2 owner and less than 20k miles, what would you be willing to pay?
Also for those familiar with the area, where do you guys recommend I should go for a PPI?
Thanks!
Bonus pictures of the Evo X...
New to the forum and s2k's in general. I'm coming from a Evo X which I've loved dearly, but want to change things up and get something more reliable (N/A) and I'm looking at the S2k for the next car.
I found a clean low mileage 07 AP2 S2k in the Lakewood, NJ area and I'm planning on going to take a look on Monday.
What types of things should I be looking for / listening for during the inspection and test drive? If it's clean, estimated 2 owner and less than 20k miles, what would you be willing to pay?
Also for those familiar with the area, where do you guys recommend I should go for a PPI?
Thanks!
Bonus pictures of the Evo X...
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 13,816
Likes: 1,543
From: Chesterfield VA
What's your goal?
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
Community Organizer
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,418
Likes: 155
From: Eastern Ontario
This thread may be a little extreme but it is great to reference when looking at a potential purchase.
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 1
What's your goal?
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
Here's a link for the listing
This thread may be a little extreme but it is great to reference when looking at a potential purchase.
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 1
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 13,816
Likes: 1,543
From: Chesterfield VA
Photos are stunning! Only 1800 cars in that color imported to North America compared to 13,000 Silverstone like mine!
They want a lot of money for a car that's only a couple of months newer than my late '06. Too valuable a car for me to mess with.
I retained all the OEM parts I've replaced (air system, exhaust, orange side turn signals, etc.). They're all bolt ins, nothing welded or chopped off.
These cars are fun autocross cars but that's it without the modifications and money the serious guys throw at them. Unless you buy autocross wheels, tires, and tune the suspension for each particular course you're just there for fun and you can have just as much fun with the stock car and a Gernby FlashPro tune. I'm settling for some nice performance drives with friends in the country a couple of times a year. I have too much fun driving the car to spend hours under it tweaking the suspension for Turn X or autocross where I'll be an also-ran at most.
-- Chuck
They want a lot of money for a car that's only a couple of months newer than my late '06. Too valuable a car for me to mess with.
I retained all the OEM parts I've replaced (air system, exhaust, orange side turn signals, etc.). They're all bolt ins, nothing welded or chopped off.These cars are fun autocross cars but that's it without the modifications and money the serious guys throw at them. Unless you buy autocross wheels, tires, and tune the suspension for each particular course you're just there for fun and you can have just as much fun with the stock car and a Gernby FlashPro tune. I'm settling for some nice performance drives with friends in the country a couple of times a year. I have too much fun driving the car to spend hours under it tweaking the suspension for Turn X or autocross where I'll be an also-ran at most.
-- Chuck
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Registered User
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 8
Likes: 2
From: Atlanta
Hey there! That car looks amazing. much cleaner than the examples I found when I was looking down here in the southeast. That is extremely low mileage too, bonus. When I did my test drives I looked for oil leaking around the front of the engine block, the vtec sensor, any vibrations at speed on highway, defects in the top, and whining or noise while doing cornering (found one that made awful noise only when doing tight circles!), checked all the body panels for fitment issues (repairs done/accident) and made sure the top and both doors were in good mechanical condition. A friend tipped me off to the valves and wheel hubs/bearing/axle problems that can come with AP1 cars, I am not sure if that was corrected with the AP2. it's hard to imagine anything being wrong with a car that has driven so few miles, but you never know. The clutch buzz is very prominent for mine, which I'll be trying to fix up soon. Also, the exhaust has a rattle but I believe that to be an issue from the cat being clogged and mine is clocked @140k miles. However, I will say that mine is gorgeous for its age and mileage and the ride is great even though I am looking to freshen up the suspension.
Even for that car, though, $30k seems extreme.
Good luck with purchasing!
Even for that car, though, $30k seems extreme.
Good luck with purchasing!
Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 82,468
Likes: 1,193
What's your goal?
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
If you're going to race it or put big wheels on it, a supercharger, non OEM spoilers,etc a matching numbers car doesn't matter, you'll bugger that with your first modification.
If you want to enjoy the car and keep the value then the starting points are matching numbers, no damage whatsoever, and low miles. I doubt many or even anyone will let you pull the valve covers and check compression and valve clearances. But you can try.
Complete maintenance history? What's in the Carfax if you're lucky.
My rule of thumb here in Ohio is based on a 2006 car with 50,000 miles for $20,000. Plus $1000 for every newer and +$1000 for every 10,000 miles less (and vv in both cases). By your description this could be a $24000 mile car here in Ohio in early summer. Seems to work here, but NJ is different. Winter is coming and these are summer-only cars. Mine goes in the barn in a month or so until Easter.
-- Chuck
Here's a link for the listing
This thread may be a little extreme but it is great to reference when looking at a potential purchase.
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Link for potential buyers.
Good luck!
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 1
Thanks everyone.
Anyone know of a good shop in the Lakewood area that they would trust to have a PPI performed?
There's a Honda dealership right by the dealership that has the car, but would rather trust a reputable performance shop.
Thanks!
Anyone know of a good shop in the Lakewood area that they would trust to have a PPI performed?
There's a Honda dealership right by the dealership that has the car, but would rather trust a reputable performance shop.
Thanks!