I checked out a S2000 this morning, opened the hood, turned it on, and you could hear a clicking noise coming from the engine. My said the noise from the engine were the "lifters", and its proof that the car is in bad condition. He also mentioned how the tips of the exhaust were really black because of the smoke, and another bad sign. Is this true? Or just normal?

 

Tips black = normal. The F20C runs rich stock.

The ticking I would imagine is not a good sign.

 

Some lifter tick is completely normal. How many miles did the car have on it? Often the lifters will tick a fair amount when they are needing to be adjusted, which is part of normal maintenance.

 

Can lifter tick signify bad problems to come though? My dad has worked on cars for years, I trust him, but he might not be telling me the whole truth since he doesnt wants me to get a sports car, a "family" car instead. Maybe he's saying this to discourage me or something. Car has about 50000 miles, I explained my situation in a earlier thread, where its a used S2K vs. a new 350Z. Thing is I'll be saving a lot of money If I get the used S2K. I was thinking I could get the S2000 for now, and If I save up enough money before I go to college, I could trade it in for the Z, or later on.

 

Also, are extended warranties transferable? What would be the process? Do dealers require you to service the cars each certain miles in order to not void the warranty?

 

Tough choice for sure, but given the choice of the two I would get the Z. I love my S2000 but not enough so that it would make up for 50,000 miles of abuse from some unknown person. Lifter tick can signify a bigger problem in some extreme cases (bent valve, etc.), but for the most part honda 4 bangers typically do tick quite a bit with some miles on them. My old prelude (95 non-VTEC) required a valve adjustment with every oil change in order to keep the ticking to a sane level. As for the warranties, it all depends on what company it is through, each has their own rules.