Do any of you regret buying an S2000 with high mileage?
 

I see so many posts on here with members claiming that the S2000 can do 250,000+ miles no problem. In my search for my second S2000 I've mainly been looking for one with less than 50,000 miles, but for $15,000-$17,000 all I've found are AP1s and I would like to buy an AP2. I upped the mileage to closer to 100,000 and obviously there are more options, and some AP2s available.

So my question is, have any of you purchased an S2000 with more miles than you initially were looking for and regretted it because of maintenance costs or because maybe the car didn't feel as crisp as one with lower mileage? I've never driven one with higher mileage than 80,000 or so, so I really wouldn't know if you can feel a difference. The way this car handles and the crisp transmission is what I like most about these cars, and it would be worthless to me to buy one that didn't feel as great as I remember.

...and obviously the cost factor matters too

My 00 AP1 has 150k miles on it. I have zero regrets about buying it, it drives quite well.

One of my best friends has an 03 AP1 with 260k on it. He burns less than a quart every 5k miles & the car drives better than AP1/AP2 I've driven with less than 60k miles.

Just drive the car, if it has higher mileage & drives well, boom, you're set.

The only thing low mileage translates to is better resale.

I picked up a stock AP2; 2006, 70,000 miles for about 15K off of Bring A Trailer. CA car, nearly perfect condition other than the usual rock chips on the front bumper. I feel like I got a good deal.

As far as needs/issues related to mileage? Just routine stuff.

Brake pads were paper thin, replaced those last week.
Added the Modifry soft top straps; originals were shot due to age.
Changed fluids, which were all clean.

Oh.. I think the windshield washer pump might be shot. So there's that. $53 OEM, $20 generic. (I'll go OEM).

Seriously, if at all maintained, these cars are very long lived. Main thing I'd avoid is rust. Watch Savageese's S2000 videos, the most recent one specifically shows what to look for, what to avoid.

Bought at 70k. Now has 140k. Drives perfect. Handles crisp. Very tight. Shifts great. Uses less than a quart every 5k miles. Good compression. Good power.

Under the hood it looks like a brand new car. The interior is near mint except some minor wear on drivers seat. Paint is decent, could use paint correction.

I would have no regrets if I bought my car as it sits now at 140k miles.

I bought low mileage cars. But, I would not hesitate to buy a high mileage car if it checked out well - including compression test. The Savagegeese video gives a good overview. To me its all about the seller. Do you trust him? That is the number 1 question I ask myself. If not, I move on to other things. And, can you be confident it has had regular maintenance and no hard hits? A replaced or resprayed front or rear bumper cover would not bother me in the least if I knew there were no hard hits. Just try to estimate the cost of repairing any issues and factor that into the price you are willing to pay.

We do read about a fair number of higher mileage cars with burned valves - almost all of them are DBW cars. So, I would do what it takes to see compression test results.

I do think, like any machine, (or human for that matter, :)) the likelihood of repairs increases with age. But if maintained, these Hondas really do just keep on running for a very long while. I would not consider cars with less than 100,000 K miles high mileage. Many folks report very reliable performance up and well over 200,000 K miles. Also, because they are largely used as summer cars, you don't see a lot of corrosion on most of them, even when they are from the north.

The first s2000 I bought was a cheap ap1 with 95k miles from a shady dealership in front of my neighborhood with a shady carfax. Rough around the edges, clearly beaten on, then found out it was ran on nitrous formerly. Came with H&R coilovers and an aem v2 intake. Interior was mint, exterior wasnt. Found all the signs of a nitrous install after I bought it, and also found front end damage hidden under the bumper.

With that said... It never once disappointed me. The only thing that ever failed was the A/C, and it just needed a charge. Looking back at not only its previous life, but especially how I beat the crap out of that car and never let me down, makes me have a lot more faith in these cars. In my area, I have seen a lot of ap2's for sale with really high mileage and all bone stock. I always see the same s2000's running around being daily'd by old people here.

I'm not saying buy a p.o.s. ap1 like I did and hope it works fine hahaha, I got lucky. But a well maintained car has well over 200k in it, especially ours.

Personally I would consider even 50 million miles high mileage.

Do it. Just check that oil like a crackhead checks the floor for his last piece of crack

Thanks for the replies everyone. The last two were awesome.

I definitely wouldn't buy a car that's been neglected, or at least I'd try not to. I'm not looking to spend $10,000 or something, my budget is higher so I hope I can find one with significantly less than 100,000 miles but if I can't it's good to know how reliable they are.

Realistically I'd probably put 200-300 miles per month on the car so I wouldn't rack up mileage that quickly either.

Good luck with your search man, hope you find the right one for you.