This.

 

Search. Seriously...read the stickies and THEN ask questions, then people will rag on you less.

All s2000's have had no real "problems" the earlier generation had quirks that were ironed out. That is all-

 

 

You will be good after a couple of days. Man when a 14 year old is telling you not to get one. What more does it take.

 

Also, if you don't respect (and fear) the potential danger of a light(ish) RWD sports car coming from people who have driven the car more than "two days" you'll learn a hard lesson.

People are being pretty harsh, but we don't want you to wind up on the front page of a newspaper after a wreck.

If you don't respect it, she'll bite you.

 

s2ki.com is a community. One that has been around for 17 MILLION posts and people that have known each for years.

It's a funny thing, though. We get new "guests" coming in here, "BURSTING OUT ON THE SCENE!!!!" and DEMANDING REZPECT, YO!!!!

But when in real life do you enter a community and demand anything? You don't show up to a skate park and walk up to a group of friends (that you've never met before) and DEMAND that they show you how to ollie. Or walk up to a group of guys at the community golf club and DEMAND that they tell you which equipment is best.

You ask.

And you ask politely.

We're here and we're helpful. And a great community of owners and enthusiasts.

Even though some of the posts are harsh and don't directly answer your question, they do contain very helpful information.

This car is dangerous and in the hands of people who don't recognize this, it ends badly.

My advice: STi if you think that RWD is easy to master.
S2000 if you'd like to learn how to drive. Keeping in mind that on a scale of 1-100 of driving ability, a 19-year old without RWD experience is probably around a 15/100.

If you do pick up an S2000, go meet some of the local autocrossers. You'll quickly see the difference between a mediocre driver and a good one.

And P.S.
Did you really think that starting your first post with, "My dad is being gay" was going to be a positive first impression? Did you stop to think about the feelings of community members who aren't hetero?

 

honestly, i'm with most of the other people here. an 18-19 year old kid with barely 2 years of driving experience in an S2000 would, to me, be considered a much greater risk than someone who has been driving for ~10 years. again, if you get some auto-X experience or go to a legitimate driving school (where they teach you how to drive a car, not to preach traffic laws), it would certainly help.

that's not to say that a 40 year old guy or gal couldn't get into this car, completeyl aloof, and wreck it in the first week because they didn't know that VTEC'ing through 3rd gear through a curve in the rain is a dumb thing to do.

i just remember when i was 18, like most of my friends, i felt pretty invincible in many things that i did. i drove my hand-me-down 1987 plymouth reliant K-car station wagon (actually shared it with my sister) and i drove it relatively hard, or as hard as a 90 HP car could be driven. actually, flooring it in that car really didn't qualify as "hard" as its 0-60 must have been 15 seconds or something. however, if i had 240 HP, with all the cruising around late at night with friends, i would have been putting myself at a significantly higher risk for an accident.

i would say you'd be better off getting something like a 2006 RSX 5-speed base model or something. it's a peppy car, safe, and i think it looks pretty darn good, plus it has some utility to it to boot. if you somehow convince your dad to drop ~17k on an '05 S2000, best wishes. i hope you get a good feel for what the car can do for you and for what it can do TO you.

good luck.

 

We are giving you a hard time because these are easy cars to crash and die in and you clearly don't understand or respect that fact.

You can get a 2006+ with stability control for under $20k Get a 2006+ or get a different car.

 

FWIW, there are plenty of "ohnoes my subi STI is upsidedown in a ditch and my passenger is deadwtf do ah doooo!!!" threads on nasioc. I wouldn't put that high on the list for a 19 year old driver.

 

VSA will help you keep the car pointed in the right direction when you screw up. If you're going to get a high HP car or something that can bite you like an S2000, stability control is a very very good idea.

Reality check - I've been driving for ~20 years, have autocrossed several times including a school, owned over 30 cars and daily drive a supercharged AP1 in the snow. All of that, and I'm not as good a driver as you think you are.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm trying to show you that your expectations of this car are not in line with reality.