Part of me was excited to restore his S2000 back to life and make it into something beautiful but I feel like it will end up just being a money pit. I found a beautiful 2000 S2K with only 76k miles at a dealership for $13k but because of the age of the vehicle I can not finance it. And finding used clean S2000's in Tennessee is so hard. I either see beat to hell ones or super nice modified ones for 20 grand.

 

Walk away from this one. Restoring a car back to health is fun. But look at your skills and what the car needs to see if it's a good match. This one needs body work for sure and unless that's your skill (which it's not for most of us), that will be expensive. The other thing that's a bit more unique about the S2000 is that it's not trivial to rebuild the engine - often it's better to swap a used one for $3-5k. You don't know anything about the health of this motor and as others have pointed out, judging by the how the rest of the car looks, it's unlikely to have been well maintained and used lightly.

For me, I knew I wanted a car I could reliably track. I also knew that tracking it would mean damage to the paint so that became a lower priority for me. I did want a rust free and clean body. I didn't care about brakes and tires as those are easy to fix. Even the clutch wasn't a big deal - just budget close to $1k for Honda parts if you can do it yourself.

You see where I'm going - decide on the aspects of the car that matter most to you and also what you can do yourself. That will help you identify a car that's a good fit for you at a price you can live with. Also, you may need to travel to pick it up - sounds like there aren't a lot to choose from where you are. I drove 4 hours each way but at least didn't have to get on a plane.

 

I'd keep the Si, possibly sell the older Civic and find a S2000 that has been taken better care of.
Levi

 

I am still going to go check it out tomorrow and see how it looks in person. I will record a video for you guys of the car what specifically should I focus on when I scope it out? I will suggest to him I feel my car is worth more and a straight trade I will do but no cash on top.

My goal would be just take the soft top and motor out and put a hard top on, Get a new fender, attempt to align the trunk, detail the engine bay and strip the paint from the valve cover and re-paint it, get those smaller carbon fiber side mirrors, get new seats, get a new steering wheel then I would feel it would be a good looking S.

 

My civic is nice but I do not love it. And I drive my 2004 civic and the Si just sits here. I know I will love an S2K and truthfully I want to build it as more of a track/weekend car rather than a daily driver it will honestly sit there un-driven most of the time just like the Si. So it doesn't bother me too much that I need to put some work into it I suppose because I can see the potential.

 

So true with local banks and credit unions, but go online and see what you can get for financing. I did mine through Lending Tree, having excellent credit will help. The value of a taken cared of S2000 will hold its value so do not be concerned financing it.

 

Unfortunately my credit score is only a 620. I feel my chances of financing are not possible.

 

And truthfully I do not want to finance because I hate debt. If I could do a straight trade for an S2K and call it a day that would be awesome because then I can focus more funds on bringing that car up to spec if that makes sense.

It's like finance a nicer one and pay over time and then modify.

Or trade my already paid off car for one that isn't very nice and pay to make it nice and also modify.

I am not sure which route is more cost-effective.

 

Walk away IMO. The black paint is already trashed.....it will take a hell of a lot of effort to bring that car back to being reasonable.

 

You've heard from everyone so far with same message. Hells no!
That is one nasty example of an S2000. I'd be ashamed to own such an example. How that owner sent those disgusting pics over to you is just beyond me. Even the dashboard looks disgusting.
Keep your very well maintained Si and save up to get an S2000 to join it in your stable. I wouldn't replace one with the other.