I bought a new s2000 in July of 02 and love it...wife loves it...16 year old son REALLY loves it.

Am interested in new 04 but have not demo'd or even seen one yet. From articles I have read the 04 has good improvements...torque, suspension, styling tweaks etc..

Is it really worth it.


Any comments from previous owners who now own new 04s???

 

I think the '04 is definitely worth a $5000 upgrade over a used '02. So, if you could trade in your '02 for a new '04 for less than $5000 (incl. sales tax on the '04) then I think it's a fine idea. Somehow I doubt the numbers will add up in your favor however.

Even if they did, if you love the '02, and if your wife loves it, and if your son loves it... why spend all that money on a car that's 95% the same, unless your '02 is a lease?

 

You would be lucky to get within a $10k spread.

 

Well, I'm sure he is looking at the fat that his car is 2 years old, and no longer has that new car smell. With that, the only thing I can say is for you to decide. Dont let someone else tell you what to buy, expecially since it will be your car and you will ahve to live with the decision every day.

Go down to the dealership and let them know you want to test drive the MY04. Then take it for a spin and fall in love all over again. Then decide from there if it will be worth it for you

 

$5000 = SC

SC = and and


You would seriously need to drive one to see if it's worth it to you. SOme things I like about the 04, but I still love my 02 and will keep it at least for another year

 

No offense to '04 owners, but I will never trade my first gen S2000 for a newer one simply because I feel that the newer ones are watered down in some ways. Loss of the 9000 RPM redline, they took away the insanely quick steering ratio, and softened up the suspension. Those are just some things to think about too.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ninegrand
$5000 = SC

SC =

 

I just went though the same thought process, and was considering trading my '01 for an '04 or an M3 instead. I went w/ a Vortech S/C, saved a lot of money, and have a much badder car now. I'm glad I went the S/C route, as it totally transforms the car!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ninegrand
$5000 = SC

SC =

 

i think you should test drive an 04 before you make any drastic decisions. i love my 04, but i don't think the differences from an 02 to an 04 justify the cost of the upgrade at this time, especially when there are other mods you could do to really make your baby scream.

 

I test-drove an '04 and had the opportunity to push it around a bit (a guy let me test-drive his, and it had just under 1k miles on it already). Being an avid AutoCrosser, I felt that the balance just wasn't there like it was on the previous cars, and that the powerband was too flat in the middle. The times when I could use the low end grunt in 2nd gear on the new car, I would be downshifting to 1st anyways on the course. It didn't make sense for me to do that.

Based on the fact that my original '02 had paintwork done to it, and since the shop couldn't get the new front bumper cover to match, they repainted the entire car, which thereby 'screwed up' my entire car. I just traded in my original '02 on another '02 this last Friday. I went from a car with 16,4xx miles on it to a car with 4139 miles on it and only spent $2800 in the process. I now have that new car smell again (the car was a garage queen and was almost never driven -- and was literally NEVER driven in the rain -- I gave it its first oil change on Saturday and the underside of the car was spotless!)....

I'm happy with my decision and plan to keep this car for at least 10 years. I'll be driving beaters as my daily driver and 'saving' this new car for my weekend drives and for AutoCrossing duties.