also, climp under that biatch. check for dirt clods in the frame rails as well as any scorring sp* on the nuts and bolts for the suspension bolts. that way you can tell if something has been replaced. also the vins are very easily seen on the major panels. good luck

 

If you have never driven a perfectly sound S, then that will be a tough one. Sorry if what I posted freaks you out on your test drive now

VTEC should be felt between 5,200 and 6,000 RPM's - you'll more than likely feel it at 6. The car should feel pretty sluggish in 1st gear up till 3,000 RPM's or so. It should increase a little after 3,000 pick up nicely at 6,000 and be a rush to 9

Cylinder head issues typically throw a check engine light, so obviously look for that nasty devil being lit up - eventhough it could mean all sorts of things.

I don't know exactly how much finger gap is in a stock S2000, but I'd say if you can get your fist in there, then there may be some spring spacers still in.





I assume you're at the dealership, so if you read this first - just go in to drive, touch, smell, listen, kick the tires and all that good stuff. Hopefully you'll find a salesperson you're comfortable with. Ask questions about whether they have a value added service program (free oil changes....blah blah blah) and take a tour of the facility. Even though you might not service your Honda there regularly you never know what you may need to take advantage of from them

The biggest thing for tonight is - DO NOT BUY THE CAR right now. Come back here and tell us what you think. Even without us to give advice, you always want to "sleep" on a car purchase. If you really love the car, then leave a refundable deposit, but do not contract on it.

 

again

 

buy my s2k

 

After my first Test drive, I definitely have the itch, but its not like i didn't before. There is another one close by that i'm gonna drive next week. I'd like to drive another one, to see if they feel any different. I apolligize for this being so long

After my test drive and car fax Im a little weary of what to think about this individual car. It was a MY02 Sebring with all red interior. Upon visual inspection the car looked to be in very good shape, the wheel were rash free, vin's on body panels all matched, and the lines checked out and the over all paint looked very good, except for a few places..... There was a 2 in scrach in the shape of a "Y" on right rear fender, a paint chip the size of the tip of an eraser on a pencil on the rear bumper (down to the plastic), and what looked to be a shoe scuff mark on the driver side door sill. These three spots on the paint werent all that bad.

What did bother me was the front end. The front end (No lip) had obviously been curbed a couple of times. The bottom inch of the bumper was all scrapped. I noted this and asked the sales man to see what i could get off. The next dude on the totem pool said that it must have gotten messed up parking at the front curb (where they park the cars facing the street) Said he'd take care of it. This bothered me in two ways. Should I be worried about letting a Crysler dealership paint it? Im worried about it matching. I also asked what he would take off if he didn't paint it. Cause Im pretty sure a front lip would cover it (370 painted to match from hardtopguy ). He told me that it would only cost him 150$ to paint, but would drop 200$ off. Would that be fair for a quality Paint job?
The All red interior looked great, i liked in much better in person then from the pictures ive seen. And seemed to be in great condition, including the seats.

The drive...... This was the first time I had every driven one....
Does the gas gauge have a black bar between the last gas LED and the Empty Red LED, or was one dead?
The drive was a blast. Only thing sucked is that it was around the end of rush hour so there were a lot of cars on the road. At 6k you could hear and feel the VTEC kick in...
I know the rid on these cars is much bumpier then normal cars, but does it sometimes feel a little shuttery....this was at lower speeds.... I think it was just the tight suspension, but not sure.

The CARFAX....scares me the most.... It looks like it sat on the lot for a long time and sold at auction twice. Would this bother anyone?

1/12/20002 11mi
02/13/2003 26mi
03/10/2003 1277mi
04/24/2003 1716mi
11/17/2003 3964mi
04/14/2005 27544mi


Date:
Mileage Reading:
Source:
General Comments:


01/12/2002
11
Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Miscellaneous service performed
State inspection completed


01/21/2002
North Carolina
Motor Vehicle Dept.
New Bern, NC
Registered as
personal vehicle


12/30/2002
Service Facility
Vehicle serviced
Lubed oil and filter changed
State inspection completed
Miscellaneous service performed


02/13/2003
26
Service Facility
Vehicle serviced


03/10/2003
1,277
North Carolina
Motor Vehicle Dept.
New Bern, NC
Title #775355030692037
Registration issued or renewed
New owner reported


04/24/2003
1,716
Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle


10/21/2003
New York
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Lindenhurst, NY
Registration issued or renewed
Registered as
personal vehicle
Passed safety inspection


10/21/2003
New York
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Lindenhurst, NY
Title issued or updated
New owner reported
Loan or lien reported


11/17/2003
3,964
Inspection Co.
New York
Vehicle Inspected


04/14/2005
27,544
Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle


04/19/2005
Dealer Inventory
Fairfax, VA
Vehicle offered for sale


04/23/2005
Virginia
Inspection Station
Fairfax, VA
Passed emissions inspection

 

Doesnt yours have a bad clutch?

 

my car sat in the garage for over a year.... (dealers garage) and i've had no problems


as for your bumper... i say you try to get them to get you an oem lip.. other then that everything you've mentioned seems to be fine...

 

zeems, you don't want a sebring/red. One thing that you'll notice is that all s2k have a personality of its own. So keep that in mind. The red in a little overpowering on the passenger side, but looks kick ass with the top down.

The scrapes on the front bumper happens. I was careful with mine, but I still have nice little scraps. Of course, nothing that the OEM front lip won't take care of. But once you learn how low your car is you'll be more careful. I've even lowered mine even more. Now, I'm more careful.

But its a great car, and you'll love it. If you notice anything out of the norm, post it on the boards. I'm sure one of us will give you some input.

Enjoy.

 

for the paint they could take it to a body shop but i doubt it, there are guys that come around to dealers that touch up cars, quick light sanding on the clear coat and actually spray paint on the bumper. if it's a quality touch up company it will look fine....they properly mask off and everything to not have any over spray, but just don't committ to the purchase until you see the end result.

the carfax looks ok....people think car auctions are a bad thing when really they aren't, the first time was probably after lease, so it was a one owner then, looks like the next owner kept it for a shorter time and then traded it in, so that dealer took it to the sale again (at the time of year it was the dealer probably got top $ for it at the sale so it was worth there while....now it's in fairfax....as long as there is no title problems showing on the carfax it should be ok.

it would be a good idea if you are not sure to go and test drive another one just to see....shop the dealers to get your best deal....keep them honest and also make certain it's what you want to do.

any other questions let us know.....good luck....as long as your comfortable with the dealership you should be ok.....check on the standard warranty they offer with the car, just in case something unforseen should happen

 

That Carfax wouldn't worry me. Just looks like there were a few owners in there - no biggy - I am the 3rd owner of my car.

As for paint work....the best body shop in my area is actually a Buick dealer - the body shops related to Honda dealers down here are iffy - sometimes it is phonemenal, sometimes it sucks.

I would negotiate a front lip instead of paint work on the bumper. Most S2000's are scratched up underneath the front bumper - the car sits low - it is almost impossible to avoid putting that thing on the ground after 27,000 miles. I have put a stock S's front bumper on the ground before

Definitely check out some other cars for comparing