If it was truly fixed right, an alignment shop should have no trouble doing a proper alignment. You might want to take it to a good alignment place to see if everything is in order, or can be aligned to factory spec. A body shop can only eyeball it, which is not the same thing. You don't want to find out later that the frame is still too bent for the suspension/wheels to be properly aligned.

 

Stupid question to clarify what you mean,
Do you mean the same place that does alignments with the car doesn't drive straight? The same place the corrects toe and camber?

 

I made an appt to drive an '05 S2000 tonight at a dealer, and will bring car to check alignment before final transaction.

 

You're making a huge mistake. Never buy a car with frame damage, no matter how good the price. Get the 2000 with 19K miles instead. If you can't afford it, then wait until another S2000 is available or get yourself a different car you can afford.

 

It was fixed properly. Each body shop that I have talked to says that the damage was very minor and only cosmetic.

 

I'm going to look at the red one tomorrow night before I make any final decisions. Thanks for your input.

 

Theres no such thing as minor or comestic frame damage. Frame damage is frame damage period. The car will never be the same again, even if the frame is aligned using lasers and the best technology available.

 

Proper repairs can make the car structurally as good as new. For that matter, excellent repairs can make the car better than new. Inadequate repairs can be a problem.

The "frame damage" bugaboo comes mostly from ignorance. However, severe damage can very quickly become too expensive to be worth repairing.

I'd actually worry more about the paint job and the seals and the little details like that. The frame itself is relatively straightforward. It is the little touches that are harder to get repaired to quite the same standards as they are done in the factory.

 

if its frame damage, and its properly fixed then its not a problem. For an S200 0 or any high performance car, then ITS A PROBLEM. If this was some crappy used Oldsmobile, then ok.

The handling will never be as good as it was before, and that's the best thing about this car.

 

As usual, we will have to agree to disagree.

My old 01 S2000 was rear ended and had frame damage. They repaired it using laser alignment and supposely fixed it back to factory specs. When I went to pick up the car, I test drove it. The car wasn't as responsive as before. I told them, they agreed to look at it again. A week later, I went to pick it up, drove it, same thing. I talked to the owner and he told me that frame damage on a regular car, if repaired correctly it will not be noticed. As a high performance sports car such as the S2000, no matter how much they try and try, it will never be as good as factory and will never be the same again.

BTW, the shop I took my S2000 to is a high end shop that only specializes in repairing Ferrari's, Porsche's and NSX's. They were one of the few in my area capable of matching up the Spa Yellow perfectly so they agreed to do my car. They fixed it so good, that even with a full inspection, including of the undercarriage, the dealer had no clue it was crashed until I told them.

I traded the 01 in for my 02, literally drove it from the shop to the dealer.

If frame damage was so trivial, then why in Europe and Japan are cars with frame damage instantly totalled and destroyed?