So I found an S2000 locally that was a really good deal so I decided to go down to the dealer (used car dealership...blah) and take it for a test drive. 2002, suzuka blue (not my fav color, but with it being priced as it was I cant resist), with 41,000 miles (awesome milage for an '02 imo). Drove great, clutch felt good, handled great, enjoyed it better than driving the '05 AP2 that I did last week. So to make a long, but enjoyable story short here's the issue:

CarFax shows that the vehicle had been in an accident in Aug, '07...major damage, airbags deployed. So Im looking underneath the hood for weldings in odd locations, ripples in the frame, etc...nothing.

So can an airbag deploy in an s2000 without major damage (excuse my ignorance)? Paint matches perfectly, looking at the car you could never tell, alignment was great, no problems.

Im taking it to a Honda dealership to have an inspection done as well as get them to specifically look for frame differentations from one that hasnt been wrecked.

Anyone have any other suggestions or comments?

 

Do the VIN numbers on the fenders and hood and nose match? All of them have a sticker on them with the number on them.

Be careful.

mlc

 

Well, you have price, but you don't like the color and you know its been wrecked. I'd keep looking.

 

VIN on windshield matches rear VIN...didnt check under the hood. Will be sure to do that, thanks.

 

Relax. Don't buy something that you are not comfortable with. There will be other good deals. Be objective! Don't "fall in love" with one car. There are other S2000's for sale so make sure it is in good shape and what you want.

Get it checked out throughly! If it's not in GOOD shape move on. It's okay. You will find "your" S.

mlc

 

Why roll the dice? This is an avoidable situation....so avoid it. Too many S's out there for sale to have to worry about purchasing a wrecked one.

JMO.

Tim

 

Yeah, if you're not comfortable don't get it. That said, if the repairs were done correctly then you really don't have anything to worry about. As far as the airbags go, they can deploy on comparatively lower speed impact if it gets hit on the money spot. I've seen cars get wrecked severely withou the airbags deploying because of high hits which missed the sensors.
Also, my car was hit fairly hard in a hit and run incident on the front, hood was folded 45 degrees, radiator and condenser were all gone, but because no one was in the car, no airbags deployed.
Anyway, car was repaired and all is well, better now than it was before, just me sure the frame is straight and all will be fine.

 

Be sure to let us know how it checks out at the dealer.

 

^^^will do. Am going there in the morning

 

I don't know how much the price is, but I got my Suzuka for $19k with 30k miles. Also an '02 but no accidents as all the body panels, bumper, etc, have the VIN and they all match. So that will give you an idea on pricing.

But like everyone says, I would prob pass.