Ok, please go easy on me, I am new to the site and looking for advice.

I am looking for a third car toy and the S2000 fits the bill (price range and convertible). I have been bouncing the forums and reading about reliability issues (vapor lock, electrical issues on starting, valve jobs, transmission grinding, etc...). My question is, can we get a poll of how many problems members have had with their vehicles? What kind of problems should I expect from a 2003 with 78k miles? The car is all stock, adult owned, no wrecks, very good condition; obviously I do not know how the previous two owners treated the car. The current owner has owned the vehicle 2.5 years and only put 3k miles on the car. I am looking for a reliable car to drive around town maybe 1500 - 2000 (good weather months) miles a year. No racing, no abuse, no vtecing.

Also, opinions on what kind of deal the car is - As I stated the car is a 2003 with 78k miles. White in color with camel (tan) interior. Black top has a few wear marks and two interior patches but no leaks, holes or tears. Leather looks very good, tires have approx. 80% tread remaining. Everything works as it should, I have seen a carfax it shows no wrecks, flood, damage of any kind. Car has been in Alabama for 73k miles and Tennessee the remaining 5k (Southern car no rust). Absolutely stock, no mods all original. If anyone has access to autocheck, I would appreciate a quick check there also.
The owner is asking $11,250, I am a cash buyer so hoping to be in the low to mid tens. For all the experts, can you give thoughts on car and price?
Thanks

 

sounds like a good price. You should be fine.. these aren't BMW's

 

good price for that color combo but if you get get it in the 10s, that would be even better. shouldnt have any problems, its a honda. But when you say "no vtecing", that doesnt make any sense to me... whats the point of people buying high reving hondas and not pushing it to vtec...?

 

You are contemplating the purchase of a Honda. Look at its service records so far. Anything done? Keep up with the scheduled service and don't abuse a Honda, and it will be free of trouble for a very long time - at least, that's been my experience. I put over 300,000 miles on my first CRX (5+ years of field service without a single breakdown). Oh, it needed some repairs here and there, but nothing related to the engine beyond the timing belt & water pump replacements. It never left me stranded. My wife had her '90 Accord for 17 years (only ~80,000 miles) and I would have hopped into it and started driving across the country on the day I sold it. All five of the other Hondas I've owned were amazingly reliable (the three GMs I've owned were comparatively abysmal).

I plan to keep the S2000 CR I own now for a very long time. It's my daily driver and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've thought about it. I even contemplated buying a daily driver so I could keep the miles down on my little bundle of joy, but I don't ever want to drive anything different. The weird thing is that I find it absolutely comfortable. On most days, I don't do the WOT thing, but there are moments at which it becomes irresistible and that VTEC smile plasters itself on my face. The car sounds like it enjoys it as much as I do. If you buy that car, you owe it the pleasure of the VTEC rush once in a while. Try it; you'll like it!

It's remarkable how fantastic these cars are for the money. I don't know how you could spend that sum better based upon what you indicated as your automotive objective - a toy. I know what you mean by that, but make no mistake - that car isn't a toy.

 

No VTEC? Maybe you should buy a Miata instead.

I suggest getting a compression test and a leak down test to make sure the engine is up to par.

I would be concerned with the condition of the top. Recognize that its a costly replacement and with some wear spots and patched hols a new one isn't far off.

 

Tops are around $700 - 800 new if you install it yourself. It is not that hard, just time.

I have had my 04 S2000 (white/tan also) for 5 years and have put on ~23,000 miles, and am only putting on about 2000/year now. The ONLY thing that has gone wrong was the clutch master cylinder, which I replaced for $100. I of course have done all the maintenance stuff, but other than that it just runs and runs without any hiccups. LIkely the car has been well taken car of, but you should still change all the fluids out etc. if you pick it up.

Has the car been kept in a garage it's whole life, or outside? The sun down south eats up paint and headlights.

 

I've never heard of any of those problems being common on an S2k. I have an 03 w/ 117k - aside from normal maint (clutch, brakes, tires etc) the only thing I've had to fix was a notchy 3rd gear, and all it took to fix it was changing the tranny fluid.

edit: oh yeah my top has some small holes I've patched up but there are more holes showing up - time for a new top. But my original top lasted 8 years of regular use which is long enough for me, I didn't expect it to last forever.

 

none of the issues you mentioned are major. These card all bulletproof especially if your going rop barely drive it. I would check the paint and make sure there is no bondo. Change all the fluids and driver off with an beautiful roadster

 

I have a MY02 and it hasn't needed any repairs at all mechanically.

My top is also wearing out, but 9 years is pretty good for a ragtop.

Mine has 72K and I do the maintenance myself. Apart from normal wear items (such as brakes) I haven't spent much, but I try to replace things (like the belts) before they wear out. I've done my own valve adjustments and anything else...the only thing I'll take it to someone for is a clutch (as I don't have a lift, but the original clutch is fine).

The weakest parts of the 00-03's engine are the valve retainers, and those only have problems when the car is accidentally over-revved (any other car would have grenaded the engine). The diff isn't strong either, but will stand up to semi-aggressive driving pretty much forever.

Really, among actual sports cars, the S2000 is very reliable. Hondas have a very good reliability reputation and this car is no exception (the fact that a car like the NSX, now 20 years old, is still quite reliable is a real testament).

 

If you're not willing to rev this car you won't enjoy it.. Find something else

my 2c