My story started in high school when I rode in a friend’s Suzuki Samurai with the top down. I loved the feeling I got when I saw the open sky above me as we were cruising along. When I got my first car it was an ’86 Accord and I became convinced that Hondas were bullet-proof. I thought the Del Sol was cool but it had the same vibe as the Miata. When the S2000 came out though, I knew I had to have it.
Fast forward to 2007 and I was headed to Iraq on my first deployment. There were rumors that because the Army was losing so many mid-level officers because of the wars they were considering offering a bonus. I told the wife this and said that if it happens I was going to buy an S2000 with it. Incredulously she relented. The next February I got my bonus and I started shopping on S2Ki immediately. I found one from a member and my wife with a friend when to close the deal. I came home a few months later after 15 months to a loving wife and an S2000 in the garage.

 

My story starts circa 1996 when I recall seeing a mock up of the soon to be S2000. When it went on sale in 1999 I knew I had to have one.

I finished college, got married, moved out West and started a business in the years that followed. All those choices forced me to delay my purchase of the car.

One summer in the depths of the recession I decided I had to buy one. Started my search. All the local dealers were asking 22-24K for an 04-05 with <60K. Unfortunately it was more than I wanted to spend. So I stopped searching.

One day my wife sends me an email with a link for one for $15.7K on a BMW lot. We debate via email driving the hour to see it and if I should bother. I call that afternoon and the car is still there. Pick the wife up after work, go for a test drive and we agree to buy the car.

I was as high as a kite on the drive home. Carefully following my wife in our sedan the hour long drive home. It has been over 13 years since I wanted to buy it. 2010 was to be my year. The 04 with 59K drove like new and showed little signs of wear.

Since then I’ve autox, road tripped and tracked the car to 109K. I moved states, divorced my wife and entered the dating scene again. With the S fully paid for I could never justify selling this car, all it’s required is regular service and my nearly 50K have been some hard miles.

What’s really impressed me about the purchase, not only the fact it was a long time dream, was how much joy it still brings me 3 years later. Every time it starts up, I smile. While the women I date change, and their reactions to the car very (they get my 05 Legacy GT winter beater for the first few dates) the car remains part of who I am. I’ve never felt any emotions towards a car, but this one is rather like me. High strung and understated. It's a pure and humble sports car, designed and built for one reason. You all don't know me but that describes me to a T.

 

Had an Acura meet at my house and one of the guys (friend from Austin) drove up in his red AP2. I test drove it and the search began.

I was looking for 06+ in LBP. I found one in SoCal (I live in TX)that was a dealer leftover. The list on this 08 in Dec of 09 was 27K.

Negotiated terms. Flew out to close the deal and arrange shipping back. Dec 29 2009 it arrived in my driveway. it had 236 miles on it when I test drove it in CA, and I just turned 23000 last month.

I track it, autox it, and enjoy just being behind the wheel.

It has opened up the community of S2k people and that is the added benefit.

 

Was a complete impulse buy. After literally 3 hours of haggling I drove it home that day thinking to myself..."After all this time, years of waiting, I am finally the owner of this S2000." It was a good day.

 

For me it started in 2002 in was early September weather was warm still from August, I didn't have my license at the time so my brother pick me up at night, I was expecting the usually BMW 540i to be outside. That night he switch cars with his buddy, so to my surprise there was an 2001 Yellow S2000 with top down, I was very excited to see a new car and be in a new car, drive home I remember the cool air around me with the top being down, watching the gauge cluster as the RPMS rise and fall, I knew then and their I needed to have an S2000.

Fast forward to summer 2012 I was rocking a Civic hatchback after many Civics, BMW and Mustang I wanted a change. I look at my Civic and wrote down cost of everything I would do to the car, at the end of the night my total was over $12,ooo, at that point I compare what S2000 where going for and decide I could own an S2000 instead of a Civic. So in August I sold the Civic and started my search, but it seems like all the cars I look through the ad where either too much or not the color I wanted. When one boring afternoon I search ebay and located a white on black S2ooo, I remember reading the description over and over to make sure I didn't miss anything. After that I called the dealer, after coming up to a price and delivery I bought the car and sent a check.

I was a bit nervous because I bought the car site unseen. Friday moring I go into work waiting for a call from the driver of the truck. Early afternoon I get a call from the driver he is 1 hour away from my house, I was excited, called my dad to pick me up from work. Waiting for the truck to arrive I look out the window with my dog by my side. When the truck pulls up me and my dad go outside, car is clean runs great thank god I say to myself. Bit dirty from the ride and low on gas I take my dad and car to the gas station fill her up and take her home, I was so excited me and my dad hug from excited. I finally got the car I wanted for so long, same night I took her out to a car wash and she was shiny and nice.

Love my S2000 and people in the community

 

When I heard Honda was making a light, fast, fun sports car, I was very interested. But I was waiting for them to make a coupe version. I was never a convertible guy. Wind in hair, sun in eyes, yuck. So time went by, but I wasn’t in a position to buy a car anyway. I was interested in other cars, but after having 2 Audi’s for the family car, and all the hassle associated with maintaining them, I wanted a car that was reliable, and easy to work on. It also had to be fun to drive, with the emphasis on handling and lightweight tossability, braking, something you could take on a track day. Ideally it would also be somewhat fast.

So after a long wait, I was finally in position to buy something. This was to be the replacement for the muscle car, 1971 Buick GS, that I owned for, wait for it………………30 years. You heard that right. I still owned my first car, which I got when I was 17. But it was never the right car for me. I was never into that car culture, never even took it to one of those car meets. I really always wanted something that handled (thought the GS was pretty good at that for what it was). I even took the old GS to some autoX, way back when that first started (I’m a bit older than most here).

So I was looking for something that fit the bill. Light, fun, great handling, braking, a real drivers car. Something reliable, and easy to work on. Something I could use as a DD commuter. Something I could drive every day there wasn’t snow or ice. Something with a roof.

The S2000 was perfect, except for that whole roof thing. I figured I could just get a hard top for it. So I sold the GS, and started looking for an S. That was harder than I thought, since I wanted an ‘06+, for the VSC (DD, rain, cold, etc). Found one, but it was like 4 hours away. The wife was into this whole S2K thing, she always hated the GS. So we made the drive. The seller was an old guy, like me. Test drove it on some windy roads. Wow. Let the wife drive it back to the guys house. These kids in a Tiburon at a light see her, and they are all staring, pointing. She got a kick out of that. They took off, and we got stuck behind some traffic. They happened to turn down the same windy road that was our way back. Its finally her turn to let it loose, and in no time she is flying up behind these guys that had been way ahead. They were still awe struck when they pulled into their destination, still yelling and pointing. I told her they were saying, ‘Dude, that chick that just beat you was the same age as your Mom!’ She was sold.

The CAT had this nasty rattle, I knew what it was, so wasn’t worried about it. It was a SSM, red/blk, which was my #1 choice. So I negotiated on the CAT, and we gave a deposit. Got my financing in order, and about 2 weeks later, drove the 4 hours back to pick it up.

So it was about 45 min drive back to the hwy (this guy lived in the boonies), so I figured, why not put the top down, how bad can that be? Well, turns out its FANTASTIC! Why did I think I hated convertibles? Turns out you just have to wear a baseball hat.

Things I thought I didn’t like but turns out I love:

- Guacamole
- Reggae
- Pecan Pie
- Convertible sports cars (so long as you wear a baseball hat)

I still hate sweet potatoes though. There is no changing that. Ever.

I did put the top back up for the hours long highway ride home. Got 29 MPG, driving 75ish. Happy camper. I kept looking for the 3 gears that should come after 6th. Wait, I can’t be in top gear. Something must be wrong. I’ve always owned sport bikes, but it was still weird reving that high on the hwy.

That was the first day of Fall. I’ve been driving it the 40 hwy miles to work as often as possible. When there was too much junk on the road from all the snow storms, I parked it for a while, but I drove it to work today. If its above 30 degrees, I make the drive with the top down. Get a few weird looks, but I don’t care. Ears are a little cold by the time I pull in to work, but I love it (I have some ear muffs, but rarely use them). I won’t be buying that hardtop after all.

I haven’t ever used the A/C, since its rarely been even near 70 out since I got it. So I’m looking forward to Spring. Did I mention I love convertible sports cars?

 

I had wanted one ever since they came out. It was Oct 2009 and was getting the ODY serviced and sat in a black one at the dealer. As I always did when at the dealer, if there was an S in the showroom, I would take it for an imaginary drive. I got out and said to myself that this would be the last time that I would be able to do this as production had stopped. Fast forward to Nov 2009, my wife gave the go ahead and I stumbled upon a dealer that had two new 2008's in the showroom. The dealership had gone belly-up and the new owners took over on that same day. One was NFR and the other was Laguna Blue. The Fleet Manager (about the only one working at the dealer) asked if I would like to go for a drive. Without hesitation, I said yes. It took about 10 minutes to get it the NFR out of the showroom (closest to the opening) and I have to say that was longest 10 minutes in my life. I was trying to look indifferent like I wasn't sure if I was that interested in buying it but there was no question other than NFR or Laguna Blue. I remember getting in the car and telling the Fleet manager that I had never driven a stick before (you should have seen his face). Took it for a drive and the rest is history. As an aside, while I was waiting for the car to be moved out of the showroom, I started taking pictures and sending them to friends, etc. To this day, the wallpaper on my phone still has a picture of the car siting on the showroom floor.

BTW, as a bit of trivia, the person who bought the Laguna Blue has already posted in this forum. Based on his post, it looks like we both paid the same for our cars (excluding the $2K tax credit that year).

 

wow, this thread is pulling up a lot of emotions outta me right now for multiple reasons. first, i cant belive ive been on this forum for over 6 years now. 2nd i swear i've posted in one of these threads in years past. and last...... i'm picking up my 3rd s2k in about 12 hours

lets start at the beginning, the very beginning. 1997 i think it was, the chicago auto show where the Honda SSM concept debut. i remember a massive crowd at the honda booth. i knew something new and exciting was going on but i couldn't get past the crowd to see what it was. few months later i see what all the commotion was about in motor trend mag. cool neat car. i thought it looked great. but at that time i was still too busy daydreaming of a blue with white stripe viper GTS. the s was not really on my list of dream cars. years later 2004 i was done with high school and trade school. had a job working as a lube tech at honda when a new silverstone come in off the car trialor. my service writer says to me, "wish you could own one of those do'nt you?" and i said to myself, "yes, yes i will own one someday. just to prove to him im not a lowly lube tech." months later i get a new job and start the search to replace my 92 eg hatch. i knew i wanted sporty, NOT-fwd, and manual trans. i spent a year researching and lurking forums for s2000, is300, rx-8, and vw R32. while driving around dealer to dealer i saw an r32 at a mitsubishi dealer and pulled in to check it out. almost every R32s i have looked under showed frame scraping. i list all the other vehicles im shopping for and the sales man checks his computer for any. he finds an s2k that was recently traded in. no pics of it yet and its at their other location. he puts in a call to have the car brought over. i go home and wait for his call while i continue shopping. i see online a silver s2k at a dealer and go out to check it out. its at a volvo dealer and haggle for a few hours. he is not budging at all and constantly brings up the fact that there are other people interested in the car and it will sell soon. at this point im getting tired of haggling and tired of car shopping ( it had been over a year since i started ). so i agreed to just $500 below their asking price.
i go home that day and for some reason i kept searching online for any other S for sale. i go back to the mitsubishi website to check on the other S. it's listed as sold. as i browsed their website i noticed something, both the mitsu and volvo dealers were owned by the same auto groupe!!! the S was the same one at both dealers and the "other" buyers the salesman was telling me of was in fact myself!!!!

since this was my first of 3 S2000s maybe i shall share my other "the day you bought your S".
i had been autocrossing my ap1 from above story for a while. and when news of the CR broke i heavily debated the upgrade. for months i measured the pros and cons of the trade. when i went to the dealer to inquire about a trade i was informed of a nearly $10K markup on the new CRs. deal breaker it was. so back to autocrossing my ap1. i was getting bored of autox and now ready for road courses. i singed up for my very first HPDE. it was a 2 day event. at the end of the 1st day i blew the motor. dropped a valve at the top of 3rd gear on the back straight of gingerman raceway. thankfully other S2ki members were in attendance and helped me find a uhual to get my broken car home 2 1/2 hours away. very sad that my ap1 is in critical condition yet happy that this was my excuse to get that CR. by now the CR had been on sale for about a year and dealers had over estimated the demand for CRs. 4 days after critically injuring my AP1 i found a used BB CR. bought the CR from carmax and was autoxing it the following weekend. my AP1 sat for the next year until i finally got around to fixing it. i got her up and running. word of mouth had spread that i was entertaining offers to buy her even though i didnt want to sell. but selling her will allow me more time and funds to focus on the CR. so ultimately my AP1 was sold the the GF's long time friend. he now lurks these forums. i was not looking to the future with my single s2000 and what may come with it. but not so fast, several months after selling the AP1 i find out the GF is preggo. time to grow up and plan for the family. i decided to trade in the CR for a newer car with warranty so the girl and kid have a safe reliable vehicle to travel in. in a matter on months i went from owning 2 S2000s down to none. i was sad, so sad, oh so sad. i really felt sick to my stomach the day i traded in the CR for a honda Fit. but it was the responsible thing to do. the GF knew how much the car meant to me. and she always felt bad for me.

its been 2 1/2 years since i sold the CR. the GF was always supportive whenever i talked about buying another S. but financially it wasn't the right time. in that 2 1/2 years we had a 2nd baby. and even though the cars were no more, the community was always there. we never left the community. we were as active with the group as ever. the cars brings us together but its the people that keeps us coming back. as i stated earlier, in about 12 hours i will be picking up my 3rd s2000. am i excited?.... you bet your assi am! the S i'm getting is from a member on this forum. the car is pristine. 04 silverstone red/blk interior. it's so clean you can park it in a NASA clean room and they wont care. of all the s2k purchases, i think this one might make me tear up with joy. many times in those past years i day dreamed on sitting behind the wheel of an S again. the perfectly snug cabin, pitch perfect shifter, wail of the F20/22 at full song, handling of a no excuse sports car, ageless styling that's classic into the next century, that is the Honda S2000. there may be faster, newer, lighter sports cars out there but none captures a drivers heart like the S does. its not just a car. its a vessele that brings bliss. it has brought people together and turned them into life long friends. i know i've made a few in the S2ki UMW. Honda S2000..... not a car but a part of my life.

 

I read this thread with interest - it also brought back some great memories...

I acquired my 2003 S2K by word of mouth about a year ago. A friend of mine told me about an S2K being sold by the estate of its deceased owner. It was supposed to have low miles and garage kept. As it turned out, that was an understatement of epic proportions!

I knew what S2K's were about, but never had driven one nor had thought about owning one. I remember though, one time on a road trip to Atlanta a number of years ago watching a yellow S2K merge onto I85. The guy was full into VTEC mode and the wail was just awesome. So based on that mental note, I made a stupid low-ball offer, sight unseen and this time I got the upper hand on the lawyers of the estate: they just had no clue what they had on their hands and agreed to sell me the car. Just to seal the deal, I sent a certified check overnight with a deposit and as it turns out this was a huge advantage. So, after a 7 hour drive a few days later, to pick it up I was lead into a purpose built garage where my 4,700 mile S2K had been stashed away. That was almost a year ago, and I still can't believe my good luck. The car is indeed all it is cracked to be and then some...

All I have done since then is change all fluids and buy a new set of BFG tires (why BFG's? CLICK HERE). The car has just been awesome! Finally, the S2KI.com Admin had the courtesy to allow me to write about my car in the Articles section - CLICK HERE for that. There is more info HERE.

 

On the day I bought my car the seller was crying as he handed me the keys, he loved his car and took good care of it, he just needed to sell it as his family was moving out of the country. I thought that was a good sign.

On the ride home (night time purchase) all I remember is how dark it was in the cabin compared to other vehicles I was used to. On the highway ride home I thought I was driving much faster than what I was actually driving, the driving experience was so unique it took a while to get used to the whole environment and new sounds that I wasn't used to.