Long time lurker and new member. I have spent a lot of time reading various posts and have gotten a lot of info out of them... Thanks.

​​​​I'm in my 40s and have longed after an S2000 for years, and I'm at a point in my life where I can afford to buy one. But I have a few questions and situational caveats... I need some advice.

First is car condition. I read a lot from folks about making sure all 10 Vin stickers are intact and things like maintaining 100% stock, low miles, meticulous care, etc. However, some of this seems to come from folks looking to maintain a mint status icon, rather than a regular use auto. I don't plan to use it as a DD, and while I prefer stock, I won't fret over small things like an upgraded stereo, new bumper from a fender bender, etc. I want a good condition specimen, but not a collectors item. I plan to drive it and enjoy it, not fret over future value. Am I wrong in my view? Are some of these nitpick items not so critical?

Second (and this connects to question 1 above), I have no garage. My DD (2015 Acura TLX AWS) sits in the driveway. And I live in the northeast. It's it sacrilege to not have a garage? I might drive it in the cooler months (but no frozen temps or snow). Options and thoughts?

And, timing in purchase? I was planning to wait until spring, and I know I risk increasing prices, but I would prefer to wait, purchase it and then be able to drive it. Care to share thought on this point?

Thanks. Feel free to ask any questions if I haven't provided enough context.

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car condition
Your thinking is correct. The "A" cars with low miles, few owners, garage kept, matching numbers are indeed the "collectors items" and generally are bought for similar limited use, though sometimes just to be put into regular service which is OK. Others can weigh in but I'd say 2K to 3K a year miles.
I'd say the "B" cars may have had an incident but still a clean title, more owners, more miles. They also may have some tasteful (reversible) mods and often come with the OEM parts. So wheels, stereo, BBK, intake, exhaust, etc.
The "C" cars are still clean title but have been in DD use for part of their life, show signs, high miles
I'm going to say the "D" cars is where you get into title issues but the "Rebuilt" kind. These cars have been inspected and restored properly, good repairs, hopefully a chain of known issues resolved.
"E" will be the Salvage cars. These flooded, were totaled by insurance, or theft loss and if repaired, it is undocumented and not re-titled as inspected and done.

I agree with your thinking, why pay the ultimate premium for an A car when you may want to mod it, drive the piss out of it, take it to a track, etc. As a matter of fact, your choice between B-C-D has a lot to do with how long you will keep it and potential resale issues. Where an A car might be over $20K, a B car mid-to-high teens and a C can vary a lot but say $9K to $14K or more with valuable parts like extra wheels that are worth $2K themselves for instance. You can buy a D or E car but understand that something like HALF your potential buyers (or more) will not even consider one of these at any price. The option is there to buy a salvage car for a few thousand wrecked or under $10K fixed and a rebuilt from a good source, with a history, could be a $18K clean title car for only $12-$13K. Of course, your resale will be low too but it is a car you can worry a lot less about.

no garage
Well, a few things to consider. The worst is you wake up any morning and find your car on cinder blocks missing wheels/tires and possibly top cut open and stereo, radar detector, GPS and personal items, possibly seats stolen. Or, the whole thing is gone just towed away. Other than that is accelerated wear on the roof, paint fading or if you use a car cover, the eventual damage to the paint. They all scratch the paint, just can't keep it clean enough inside.

Timing for purchase
I'd buy the car when the right car for you is available. I live in Maryland and bought my first S2K in Ft. Worth and drove it home (the car I wanted), second and third ones local and on the day they were listed for sale, zero wait, got the money right away and went and bought them. No transport cost and both would have been gone in another day if I didn't jump. Fourth one I bought as a broken engine/trans shell in LA sight unseen and paid to have it trucked to me. Had the value I wanted, no regrets. This year I was going to Detroit (fly) and drive back my new-used "work and tow car" but at the last second, when in TX again, found a better one, bought it and drove it home too. Use cars.com, cargurus.com, ebay, craigslist (use dailylister.com and searchtempest.com) and start making a list of acceptable cars and know the value for A-E cars and location. There are significant value differences based on location and time of year so it is up to you, I'd be looking at the end of season (or now) if in a winter area and trying to buy locally, better negotiation than in spring when everyone is in heat.

Welcome in advance, everything you need to know about the car is here on this site. Join your local FB groups and the sale groups there to find out about local things but I'd depend more on this site for accurate info :-)

Whatever you decide

 

People prefer the all original, low-mileage cars for a variety of reasons. But as these things aren't important to you then it would seem that this actually works to your advantage. As long as you're confident of the car's overall mechanical condition then you 'll be able to pick up a higher mileage car with swapped panels or other intentional modifications for considerably less money. While you can find better deals on these cars this time of year, the money you save would be likely be negated by the insurance costs you'd be paying during the time you won't be driving the car waiting for nice weather to return. I personally wouldn't want to own one of these cars without a garage for a variety of reasons, especially in an area with harsh winters. However, I understand that's not feasible for everyone and perhaps others will comment with advice on how to deal with keeping a convertible outdoors during the wintertime. If you live in an area where car theft tends to be higher you probably should look into theft rates for this car. I've had a car stolen before (a convertible with a kill switch installed) and that experience sucks.

 

Thanks guys. Regarding the garage side, I neglected to mention I live in a very rural are on 3 acres and around here no one locks their cars (sometimes not even the house). I'm not too concerned about theft since my house is about 300 yards from the road and I can park it in the back. I've considered a shelter-like garage that would provide some cover, but I would be one of those pole/canvas pop-up jobs.

I definitely wouldn't track the car or use it as a DD, but I might consider putting in a new stereo or doing the seat heater mod. But I'm not the kind of guy to start swapping exhaust or intakes and such.

 

Only people who nitpick over perfect, all original cars are people who want a collector car or have money to burn. There is a big jump in price between the collector grade cars and the ones that see regular use. The ones that see regular use may also be in better condition mechanically but not cosmetically.

These cars are now holding their value if not appreciating. Low mileage collector grade cars seem to be selling in the $25k to $32k range. Cars that were modified, used as daily drivers, are in the $8k to $15k range. If you buy a collector grade car and do not keep the car in collector condition (garaged, all original, low mileage), the car's value will drop enormously and you will have one of the few S2000 that depreciated.

My biggest concern if I did not have a garage would be theft. Especially if you were looking at a 2000-2005. Those are the years with seats that are most prone to theft. Since that does not seem to be a concern to you, my next concern would be weather damage to the interior, paint, and convertible top.

You could get a car cover but my experience with car covers that are used outdoors is you will get micro scratches in the paint from wind buffeting.

I would buy when you find a car that is fairly priced and in the condition you want. You will see more cars offered for sale from the Spring to Fall. Collector grade cars, I see maybe 5 or 6 a year that are offered for sale and the ones that are reasonably priced are gone within a week. If you are not looking for a collector grade car, you will find many cars to choose from. You may need to travel, but they are out there and don't seem to have the same feeding frenzy as the collector grade cars.

 

If you find a car you want then get it now. Really makes no difference if the car sits at your place or the sellers other than some one else may buy it or like you mentioned it may cost more in the spring.
Levi

 

I agree with the advice from the posts above. All I would add, since I live in a rural area too (but I have a garage space for my S) is to invest in some kind of cover. Even an $800 shed from Costco that you can get the relatively small S in would help our especially in the winter. Buildup of snow and ice is going to be tough on the soft top. If that will not do, I think I might get some hard top car cover (like a low budget car "port" shell) and then keep it covered (after a wash and wax) with a nice car cover for the season.

 

This leaves out the range where you're most likely going to find a nice S2000 for sale, the $15K - $25K range. These are the cars that make the most sense to me as they tend to have "reasonably low-mileage". An ideal example would have been driven somewhere in the range of 2K - 5K miles per year with records of proper maintenance. Since you will be driving the car for pleasure (and not DD'ing it) but will be storing it outside, I would be more concerned about maintaining the overall condition of the car than adding to the mileage. As time passes, the number of miles that will be considered "low-mileage" will rise, but "mint", "near-mint", "excellent condition", etc. are terms who's meaning does not change. With that in mind, the shed recommendation is a good one.

 

Thanks, all, I'll definitely look into the shed option.

 

I was in your camp in not trying to find a garage queen. I found one with ripped seats (from a dog), 2 panels and front bumper painted, an '06 with 92K and paid $11.5K. Most on this board would have puked on the car but I couldn't be happier and have no doubt I've got the full "S" experience.

Given your circumstance don't turn away a non "Unicorn" car. Make your decision as much about the owner of the car as the car itself and be prepared to commute to pick the right one up.