After much deliberation on whether to buy a new '04 Mazdaspeed Miata or an '03 New Formula Red S2K with 17K miles, I made the right decision and bought the Honda. The Miata was a sweet car and the turbo does transform it into a completely different animal than the standard Miata. But the Honda is in a league of it's own when it comes to power, handling and the unbelievably rigid structure of the chassis, and the looks are timeless and make the Miata look old and 350Z's look cartoonish.
I would like everyone's opinion that on the deal I got. The car was a 1 owner 60 year old man, has 17K miles on the odometer, new Goodyear F1 tires, side strakes, Viper alarm system and is Honda Certified with a powertrain warranty through 12/31/09!
I found 2 small dings that the dealer agreed to repair. They were originally asking $28,995 in an Autotrader ad. I looked up the Kelley Blue Book trade-in value and sent them an email offering them $1,000 over that (College Hills Honda in Wooster, Ohio) and they emailed back saying that they accepted my offer, which was $23,650.
I thought man, that was too easy, so I figured there was something wrong with the car. Outside of the 2 dings and some swirl marks from too many trips through a carwash the car is perfect. I got them to throw in the Honda Certified Warranty which even though it was advertised as a certified car at $28,995 they told me at $23,650 they couldn't do it. I told them the deal depended on it so they relented and included it.
When my wife and I went to the dealership and test drove the car we knew this car was it. She tried to squeeze them a little more, not expecting them to do any better and they eventually came down another $321 for a final price of $23,329!
I found out that the guy I was dealing with over the internet and at the dealership was the owner and he was anxious to sell it since the fall season is right around the corner. The finance gal told us he lost $2,200 on that car (he took it in July 1st) but had we not bought it he would have lost a lot more if it sat all winter.
Sounds like we made out pretty well IMHO. Anyone else agree/disagree? Let me know what you think.
Well, we are off to take a drive in our Red S2k.........

 

Congrats on your purchase.

 

SMOKIN' DEAL! But what do I know, I have not really begun to "neg" with a dealer on one of these yet. Plan on it this weekend though. Can I talk you wife with me for good luck? Just kidding.

There is actually one for sale here at s2ki.com for sale I really like. Hard to "neg" with individuals like you can a dealer.

Anyway, you did great. Right place right time!!!!!!!

 

u made the right choice. congratz.

 

Dealers are professional sellers...they do this for a living. Individuals are usually out of their element. Give me a personal seller anyday. My seller was out of pocket $10.25K when we paid off his loan.

Granted I would love this car in mid-25's. I REALLY love it for what I paid.

 

Awesome deal and welcome to the board.

 

congrats and enjoy!

 

Sad that the previous owner took the car through an automatic car wash, not really good for any car let alone a convertible. Also, the F1 tires are okay but the OEM Bridgestone S02 is an awesome tire and really make the car handle like it should. If your not going to be driving in the winter I'd suggest replacing the tires as soon as you can.

Other than that I hope the door dings are taken care of and it sounds like you got a pretty good deal.

 

Good buy. Maybe he was too old to handwash the car? I wonder how hard he drove that thing though? Chime over at the Ohio forum to see if anyone knew him and how he cared for the car just to be safe.

 

Sounds like a great deal to me too. Welcome.