What part of Texas are you in? It may be worthwhile to check your local sub-forum for leads on cars, and to see if there's an experienced owner that will help inspect potential cars.

 

As a former S2k owner and now NB Miata owner. If you pay $10,000 for an NA/NB Miata, that thing better be the latest model year with super low miles and absolutely no imperfection on the body!

But, the real reason I wanted to post was also to take a long and hard look at some other things you might not be considering such as:

1. Parts availability for an older car as well as the prices on them. The longblock on an S2K is not cheap!
2. Insurance
3. Is it your daily driver? The S2k has pretty crappy torque if it's not revved higher so it could get annoying having to be in the lower rpm range every day and all the time. Think traffic.


Other than that.. I am pretty sure there's a sticky somewhere with what to look for when buying a used S2K. Also, there should be some general guides for other cars on the internet that should overlap and pertain to the S as well.

 

There are buying guide threads with lots of useful info. Search for them.

As others have said, this is a difficult price point. Your best bet is to look for stockish, higher miles but decent shape cars. The S can go the distance if well maintained and no low oil incidents. There are cars with over 300k miles still running very strong.

With miles comes depreciation, but not necessarily poor condition or poor performance. But the right S is always hard to find, and with your specifics even harder. If you are patient, and diligent, you can find your car. But it will take time and effort.

 

Here's a nice one at your price point: 2002 Honda S2000 Base Convertible 2-Door | eBay