Get a cheaper car and you won't have to work as much.

Law school is no joke, very little free time, lots of homework.

Get the s2000 when you have the money and time to enjoy it

 

j-rod. pm me. i am looking really hard right now too and i have a dealer/friend is getting me one wholesale. im getting a 2004 ap2 with 40K for $18,000. Ill give you his number and mine. we'll talk

 

If you do decide to get it, that's a pretty good deal if the car is in good condition. It's hard to find a 04 for 22k OTD not to mention a GPW one. If your like me and must have means must have, you'll know if it will kill you to get it or not. Look at me, I ended up paying 34K OTD for the only GPW one I could find 50 miles radius of me (don't use me as an example though). Hope you're not crazy like me for a GPW . Good luck with your decision.

 

I think in your situation you'll be afford to afford that GPW...

 

Your responses on this thread make it evident that you've got your head about you, and are competent enough to know what is and isn't good for you. You've got your mind set on an S2000 - good. Its not the end of the world if you find out the car isn't for you - so just stick with your plan and don't let anyone talk you out of buying the car.

Either one, both AP1 and AP2 are great cars. I've driven numerous versions of both cars. The AP2s display a bit more polish with regards to driving dynamics and look better inside and out IMO but thats just one man's opinion. If it was me, and I could swing it, I'd probably go with the AP2. That said, the extra 1000 rpms of the AP1s are great fun, and I don't think you could go wrong with either version.

Drive both and you decide - is the difference worth it or not. Good luck and hopefully we'll see you on these boards soon.... as an owner

 

Thanks for the replys.

Yeah, I've been looking for a long time. I was going to buy one back in the spring(should have) but I held off. So I've done tons of research, contemplated the $$$ aspect of it over and over and over.

I've driven both Ap1 and Ap2 S2K's, and I really liked both, I liked the tq in the Ap2, and the 9k in the Ap1 was a blast . . . I know I could be happy with either version. I'm not too picky.

 

Coming out of undergrad, I was in the same position, only at that time, my target car was a used 944 (ok, I'm dating myself a bit here). Like you, I could have done it but would have stretched a bit. I was going on for my graduate degree and had a certain confidence that I would ultimately be OK. In the end, I went conservative and bought a used Audi instead. Looking back (almost always a counterproductive thing), I made the sensible choice but certainly missed more than a few great times by not following my heart. OK, enough stories about me. I'm sure you've done a search and found countless AP1 v AP2 threads. That said, I'd probably look for a MY02/03. Glass window (good for IL), still has the higher redline, can be had in the $17/$18 range. Changes to the AP2 generally make it more comfortable but there is a noticable hike in prices. Your price for a MY04 is good but you can get nearly the same car for $4k less. That can buy a few textbooks.

 

I am in the same boat my friend. I have 1 year left of undergrad. However, my last year is going to be a $%^$#. My major is International business, co-major is Marketing and my concentration is in Chinese. All 3 will be on my diploma and its 188 credit hours for the freakin bach degree im getting. Im learning the language in my final year! I hear its easy(sense the sarcasm please people)

I have a celica that im looking at arodn 6,500 for a trade in on and i just paid that off last week so no money cept that as a down payment. I make about 1200 a month working part time though and no rent or anything like that (thanks mom and dad). Only things looming over my head is a cell phone 50-60 bucks and insurance which is currently 65 bucks for 180 hp 6 speed car. still on parents insurance ^^.

My debate is 100% the same..i love the 04's because of the looks and the vsc(im afraid cause i have never driven rwd, plus i live in an area that gets blasted with snow 3 1/2 months out of the year) Yet the 01-02 i HATE the plastic rear window. 02-03 are decent but 04= want one so much more, in silverstone! Don't want any car with over 30k on the clock regardless.

 

at 1200 a month you're in a better position than I am, but you'll be much busier than me. I'm a full semester ahead in college, but since I'm going to go right into law school, and I want to remain on my parents heath/car insurance until I'm out of school for good, I need to remain a full time student all the way through, so I'll only be taking the minimum 12 hours a semester this year. I only need 15 more hours to graduate, so the other 3 classes I take will be blow-offs and easy GPA boosters(currently above a 3.8, but wanna do better).

So I could potentially work more hours this year. I made 7.50 an hour last semester, but I think I might bite the bullet and go back to Best Buy this year, where I can get more hours and make $9.00 an hour.


and as for being too busy to enjoy the car in law school, well, that's part of the reason I want the car. I know I'm going to be extremely busy, but knowing that I'd have something like an S when I want to take a break from it all would be really nice!

 

I think that you should drive the tiburon until the wheel's fall off. There's nothing worse than being buried in debt.

In 5 years you'll make enough money to have an S as your 2nd or 3rd car.

There will ALWAYS be hot cars to buy. Be patient and focus on what's important... school.