Hi All,

So I've pretty much decided I'm going to purchase an S2K, however I am unsure of the year I am going to purchase and I have looked at the specs on paper and on paper it says: get an AP2.

Here are the facts in this area....

2006 - newer $21,000 or more. Typically have 40-60k miles or less.

2005 - older around $18,000, some as low as $12,000 or $11,000. Typically have $50,000 miles or more.

Now I know that isn't the AP1/AP2 break off, however that just seems to be the cost trend in my area, and the cost seems to really change at the 05/06, which I beleive was the engine stroke and rpm change as well as the speakers, electronic stability control and a few other things.

Are those upgrades really worth, roughly an extra $4,000 or are they really upgrades?

I just want one that is fun and crazy to drive, Can the stability control be turned off? When I test drove a 2002 and test drove a 2006, the 2006 seemed more tamed, however I was in an area where test driving it owuld not allow me to drive it nearly as wild as in the 2002 model; becaus I drove the 06 in a city and the 02 in the country.

Lets hear some opinions.

Thanks,
~Dave

 

I meant to say that reliability is also important? How many miles can I expect to get out of one?

 

I would get an 06+ if you can afford it. The main difference between 06+ and the 04-05 is that it's drive by wire. Also you can use Flashpro to tune the 06+ and get some more power out of it which is nice. There is the VSA button on the bezel (where the defrost button is on 00-05's, on 06+ the relocated that button to the center console) so you should be able to just press it and turn it off from what I know. These cars are very reliable, there are many here with 150,000+ miles with no issues, and only replaced normal wear items.

Good luck on your search!

 

06 models are probably the best value, since few improvements were made after 06. The suspension geometry was changed slightly each year until discontinuation, so the newer the better. Go to a meet, ride in a few, and look at the interior changes too.

 

how much better is drive-by-wire to spend the extra money on it? the purist in me loves the AP1, but I love the cosmetic and mechanical changes in the AP2.

 

The 2004/2005 AP2's have drive by cable throttle. That is what I chose. I test drove an '06 and it wasn't bad at all. However, I really like the fully-mechanical throttle.

 

Can you explain the driving difference between the two?

 

I dunno, it just felt slightly more direct with a cable throttle instead of DBW... DBW cars you can tune... so DBW probably better for most people. It's just my preference to have a traditional throttle. No VSC on pre-2005 cars, either.

 

I still think '03 is my fav. year for the car altogether '06 is my fav year for the GPW...love that all black int.

 

I appreciate the input. What do you mean about being able to tune dbw more? I've never had a car with vsc, but I've also never had a car that fast. How do you like living without it?