Ouhei

First, I'll say that I have a history of not keeping cars for a long time (I'm 25 and on car number 7). I've had my current (2006 Berlina) s2000 for 16 months now and I love it. Due to some amazing things at my job this year I was able to pay the car off in October and am currently enjoying life without a car payment. My car is in great shape and even has an extended warranty that will carry through next year, it has about 74,000 miles on it now (bought it with around 68,000). I was considering selling the s2000 and picking up a Subaru BRZ next year but the pricing and specs of the car just don't seem worth going back to a car payment for, especially since I want to buy a ring for my lady next year and I'm saving to buy a house in early 2013. I've decided that I just love the s2000 more than any other car around and want to have one forever.

Ideally I'd much rather have a white s2000, I've always loved them and wanted to buy one when I got my berlina but I got a good deal on it and it was fairly close to me. If I'm going to keep an s2000 forever I'd like it to be my ideal s2000. I had a AP1 before and loved it, my AP2 feels largely the same but there's just something almost mystical about the AP1 that has left me kind of wanting to go back to one as of late.

I'm considering selling my 2006 and picking up a GPW AP1 (I would LOVE an 02 with the all red interior). I figure I can sell my car for 18-19 as is and I've seen plenty of AP1's for 10-12. That'd leave me a lot of money to make it my ideal s2000 with enough left over to pay for a ring without having to save much at all.

Everyone around me (that I've told about this at least) thinks I'm crazy to sell my car and effectively buy the same thing, especially one that's older and doesn't have a warranty. As you may expect they're not all car people, so I'm putting this here to gauge the opinions of car people, specifically s2k people.

Pros:
+ White s2000, my favorite color
+ AP1 fun
+ Able to finish up the car (make it my ideal) with money left over
+ Money left over can help me pay for a ring for the lady friend

Cons:
- I already have a perfectly good 2006 Berlina that I love
- New car means I don't know it, there could be fixes that come up with it that I'll need to pay for.
- Without a car payment it won't be THAT hard for me to save for a ring anyways.
- Selling and buying the same car
- Continues my habit of changing cars often

So, what say you s2ki? Should I keep my current Berlina and add to it over time or go for a GPW AP1?

Reckon

If the financial situation presents itself, I don't see why not. Get what you want to be happy, but before you do, ask yourself if you truly see keeping the S2K long term? If so, then go for it (as long as you don't put yourself in a worse financial situation). Otherwise, enjoy the one you have for as long as you want and then move on to other things when ready.

I plan on keeping my S forever, but sometimes things don't work out that way so you have to be prepared.

Good luck!

jaor.s2k

i agree with reckon^^
i plan on doing the same and i'll eventually trade my silverstone s2k for gpw or lbp and keep it forever!
and if your car is worth what you say it is, then getting a good condition ap1 should leave you with extra cash as you said

so i say go for it and enjoy! good luck!

GT Motoring

Your call alex! The FR-S/BRZ will likely have tge spirit of the s2000, but a little more daily friendly with its hardtop and 4 seats etc. From a practical standpoint it has its advantages. you'd be financing like 5-6k in the end maybe?

If you are looking to keep the s2k long term, then get what you want, but find a clean white one you your liking so you dont get consumed by repairs or normal wear and tear stuff. As you know ,the s2k is pretty reliable, so its not much worry really as long as you get it checked out.

GSteg

Keep your AP2. If you want some of the AP1 traits, then start off with swapping the steering rack from the CR. If you value color that much then there is no choice but to get rid of the AP2.

Toreus

I think some of this is the 'wanting what we don't have' aspect of human personality that we all have to deal with.

You had an AP1 before, but something drew you to a Berlina AP2, which by all accounts you've turned into a pretty sweet car. That thing looks amazing.

Consider that you might be taking some of it for granted... if you got rid of it, what are you going to miss down the road, similar to how you miss things from your first AP1. I would venture to guess that there may be even more from your current Berlina that you will miss than with your first.

If you have considered all of that, I would say go for it. It sounds like this is a responsible financial move as well as it allows you to potentially kill two birds with one stone - getting the car you want, and the ring for the wife. Just be prepared to miss some things you probably haven't really considered yet.

TougeS2k

trade you my MY00' Ap1 w 35,000 miles

TougeS2k

I have been seriously eyeballing the brz/frs though, dayum, super sexy specs, and honestly 200hp would probably be enough for me in a DD, there will be cool performance mods to make it 215-225hp too.

Ouhei

Yeah, the BRZ is a bit more practical, but I would need to get suspension and wheels done almost right away (the stock wheels are so ugly). If it had a bit more power or was priced lower it'd be a much more tempting option but for ~24-25k it just doesn't seem worth the added cost.

I sold the AP1 because I totaled my motorcycle and didn't want a car payment on top of higher insurance costs and was generally panicking about my finances at the time (just graduated), sold it for a integra that I spent the entire time I owned it trying to fix it, so I sold that for a brand new Civic Si which I sold because I missed the s2000. I got a 06 because it would carry the warranty and would be newer (less chances of it being worn out). I'm in a much more stable position financially now so I can handle the occasional repair. as Greg suggested I'd make sure I found one that wasn't beat up and needed lots of work.

They're going to be a lot of fun. If I were still financing the s2000 I'd probably get one but going from no car payment and an s2000 to a car payment and a BRZ just doesn't seem worth it considering how short of a time without a payment I've been going.

I appreciate the replies everyone, I still have a lot of thinking to do.

trAP2

why not just use this time to save as much money as possible since you have no payment and when u have enough you can trade ur s for any car u want and add cash without getting into another car payment