I sold my S almost five years ago and I've wanted another one ever since. I know everything there is to know about this car, I don't have any questions about what to look for in a used car, modifications, do's and don'ts, etc. What I really need to know is how much the car has changed over the last five years, meaning how much they generally cost, to buy and insure.

I just started looking at used cars and the prices are all over the place. I guess that's what happens when you want a car like this. Realistically I wouldn't want to spend more than $12,000. I'm looking for an AP1 with no more than 70,000 miles. Does this sound like it could work or are people asking a lot more than this? I found a few cars in other areas (I'm in NJ) that were generally following that price-range/mileage, but I'm not sure if those are few and far between. I'm graduating from college in May and I'm most likely going to law school in a year and a half. Part of the reason I want to buy one of these is because I'm most likely going to a law school in the south where it wouldn't be a problem to have a RWD car year-round. Financially I would be able to pay the car off before I leave for school, which is why I have a pretty strict limit.

I asked about insurance, and I know that's pretty broad...I'm not looking for an exact number here. I'm 25 years old, I haven't been in an accident in 8 years and I have no tickets or points on my license. I would most likely be buying an S that is MY00-MY02. I wouldn't imagine that the insurance would be sky high, but I've been fooled before.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

 

I was in your exact position. I was fortunate enough to find a 2002 with 48000 miles for 10.7k, from my understanding this is not the norm. But the deals are out there you just need to be stubborn. Weird I also live in nj and go to Rutgers. And will be graduating in May.

 

You sound pretty knowledgable about the car but my advice is to have a friend go with you to look at the car so you don't make a dumb decision. I found a lot of these cars have damage that doesn't show up on internet reports. Check to make sure the vin tags match the vin. Throw it up on a lift and inspect... yada yada. You probably know all this already haha. Good luck.

What type of law are you planning to do?

 

Might be tough to find a clean one with that little mileage for your price. I sold my very clean 00 GPW red/black with 140K miles on it last summer for 11K.

Insurance should be cheap at 25 with a clean record. Probably $70-100 a month for full coverage if not less.

 

Read my post above yours. It's a tough economy especially for a small, impractical roadster

 

$12k is dead on for an AP1 with around 70k. I paid $12500 for my GPW with 76k miles, mostly because I was getting tired of scouring the country for a 2003 GPW/Tan in great condition.

I am also 25, homeowner, married, 2 other cars on my policy. I pay about $50/mo for the S when she's not in storage, $100 comp ded and $600 collision ded.

 

I'm not sure what type of law yet. I'd like to do Personal Injury but we'll see. I'm planning on making that decision when I'm in law school cause my friends that have gone through already said you change your mind a lot.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. This is all up in the air, I have a 2004 Civic that's obviously paid off and will work just fine, but I'd love to have another S for the next 3-4 years. We'll see. Insurance sounds reasonably cheap, and I wouldn't be driving it that much so I might be able to keep it way down.

 

As always with insurance, call/browse around and get quotes specific to you. Asking here isn't the way to handle insurance cost questions. There are too many variables involved and you've provided nowhere near enough information for anyone to even attempt to give you a reasonable guesstimate (which wouldn't mean anything anyway).

 

I know, that's why I said I was basically looking for ballpark numbers for a person my age with my my record, and I got that. Thanks though.