I currently have a '99 Honda Prelude. I also just got rid of my Honda CBR929RR (sportbike) and I was thinking about getting a S2000. I was wondering what the advantages of either leasing or buying. I want to keep my car payment small though as I am getting married next summer and thinking about buying a house in a few years. Any suggestions? Is used an option or would most used S2000's be abused? Any information you could provide would be helpfull

 

HAhaha.. I'm in nearly the exact same situation as you, 99 prelude, except I just sold a R6, rathter than a 929.. Anyways.. I'm either going to buy a used one or lease a new one. I personally feel the market for s2000s will be down this year, so some time in winter will be a really good time to buy one, hopefully 2000 off sticker. With an out of pocket payment of $3000 or so, the lease price should be in the very low $400 range. Or about the same price as buying a 00-01 for $25-26k with a slightly larger down payment. I would like to buy a house in a few years, but if you are stuck in a lease, you are stuck in lease. If you buy a used one, chances are you would be able to get a decent price out of the car when you go to sell it to get a downpayment for the house. If you want to keep it, it's up to you, if you lease, your options are limiited. As far as buying a used s2000, I would think you would find that there are a lot of people that had to have the hot toy to pose in. These people would barely ever take it into vtec and they should be in great shape.. but at the same time, an enthusiest who worships the car may be a better buy because you know that they took care of the car as best as anyone could... oil changes, was, interior ect.. I've vteced the living SH** out of my prelude, and at 50k it's easily faster than it was at 10k miles. Runs like an absolute champ, I hope the s2000 is the same way...

 

Well i didn't exactly sell my 929.... i totaled it in an accident. I was following a guy and he hit his breaks suddenly in an intersection to turn left. i grabbed too much front break and i pulled the king of all stoppies. rode it out for about 40 feet and then flipped it doing about 35 miles an hour. My insurance company told me it was totaled. oh well.... i need a toy and my Fiancee doen't like.... no... hates motorcycles... so i asked her if i could get an S2000 and she said yes. So i'm just trying to figure out how to afford one. I still owe 11,000 on my car. I want to get the S2000 but i know i'll need another car for bad weather driving. I don't want to take the S2000 out in the snow. So I could sell my Prelude and possibly get a cheap winter beater that runs pretty good. And then have my toy for fun stuff.

Bye the way - how much does everyone pay for insurance... i live in PA and have just one accident (my bike) on my record. No speeding tickets and State Farm is my company.

Oh yeah... i V-Tech the crap out of my Prelude too.

 

Somebody has this in their sig but VTech makes phones and VTEC is in honda's. I don't know something like that.

 

I'm kind of in the middle of a very tough decision... Keep prelude, buy new 02 R1, or maybe vfr, zx9r ect... or sell prelude and get s2000 and no bike. DECISIONS DECISIONS!!! The whole idea of going 0-140 mph in 10 seconds makes me want to get the bike and the prelude is a pretty darn good car to keep. There isn't a WHOLE lot of difference in acceleration between the prelude and the s2000, it's noticable, but not eye opening. Not to mention the space of the prelude, and the stereo I currently have installed in the prelude, and how quiet it is on the highway (compared to the s2000) with the windows up, ect... all had me set on getting a new bike... but then the new pics of the new R1 came out (...so so..) and the thought of having a rwd sportscar/2 seater/conv is kind of swinging me back the other way... I just can't decide. I guess I could always supercharge the s2000, but I'm thinking that a speed demon like me will always lust after the "ungodly" accelleration of a bike... even a supercharged, NOS, mugen s2000 wouldn't cut it...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by drwhojm
[B]

Oh yeah... i V-Tech the crap out of my Prelude too.

 

Yes - happiness is owning a honda - My car is a honda... and my bike.... was a honda... I tell you the CBR929 is such an awesome bike... the acceleration was phenominal!!! 0 to 60 in like 3 seconds... i've had it up to 170mph. 1st and 2nd gear wheelies... phenominal handling.... it was a wet dream on wheels! But I found out the hard way that too much front breat is a bad thing. I tried to avoid hitting a friend of mine who decided to stop suddenly in the middle of an intersection and I hit the breaks... the rear wheel came off the ground (just like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2) I rode it for about 40 feet but it eventually flipped over. Fortunately I was wearing all my leathers and helmet though. So that left me with the decission of getting a new bike... which my fiancee hates... or getting something else... something fun. Enter the S2000. One of my friends has one and he tells me it's like a 4 wheeled motorcycle - sounds good... and he tells me how much fun it is. Well I want one. I'm thinking about trading my car in for a 4 door winter beater and getting an S2000. I'm just not sure if it would be smarter to lease or buy outright. I'm not sure what advantages either of the two options have. Can anyone else help me out here? Does it make sence to lease for 3 years and then buy it or does it make more sence for me to just buy it on a 5 year loan? I'm assuming that if I lease it for 3 years .... i'll turn around and buy it .... and end up taking a 5 year loan out on it then...... does that make sence? is that what anyone here is planning on doing?

If anyone is leasing or buying it outright... can you tell me how much you put down ... and what your monthly payments are.... that would be a big help to me in making my decission. thanks

 

I am currently leasing my S2000, I put 5k down on a 36 month lease and my payments are 475 a month...insurance is 480 every 6 months...hope this will give you a rough estimate..

 

Buy one !
Buy mine

A little more than 800 miles, 4 months old, all stock + rear/front spoiler+alarm, oh yeah...2001 yellow spa.

Look at my earlier thread.

MatDj

 

To get back to the original question, Consumer Reports had a useful questionnaire about buying and leasing in the April 2001 car issue. Depending on your answers, it channels you in the right direction. My recollection of its gist was, basically, if you:

1. Have little in the way of trade-in or down payment;

2. Need to keep your payments low now (with the understanding that it will cost you more later);

3. Keep your car in good shape (including not carrying kids or pets, at least not often); and

4. Drive 12K or fewer miles a year;

...then you're a good candidate for leasing. If you're self-employed and buy the car for your business, I believe you can also deduct the cost of the lease (rather than having to depreciate a car you actually own).

CR also has a ton of advice about negotiating a lease. You can probably find the issue in your local library; I strongly recommend it.

PS: I'm not a great fan of leasing, and own all my cars. I did the math, and leases really do cost quite a bit more. Since I could afford the higher up-front costs, I've never been tempted to lease.