Well, I've owned my MY03 for about 3 years now but I think I'm going to have to give it up. I truly enjoy the car but after some calculations I think it would make more sense to trade it for something less costly.

I bought the car with 55k miles for about $15k financing $10k, I'm sure I overpaid a bit. I was 20 and I saw it as a good opportunity to build up some credit history. I use the car as my daily and after totaling the costs of maintenance, payments, insurance, and gas, I was a little surprised by what I came up with. I never really paid attention as I was just happy driving her.

The car currently has 91k miles on it and I still owe about 5k on the car. I looked up the kbb value of the car and it's saying my car is worth anywhere from 11-13k which I think is on the high side but great if I can really get that much for it. After looking at a civic (2006+) and comparing the cost of ownership I found I would save around $3600-4000 a year. I can find them for about $9-10k with between 55-70k miles. Taking into consideration the cost of ownership, and I think the car is getting old at 91k miles, plus some of the maintenance it needs now, it would make the most financial sense to let her go. I would trade her in for a civic, hopefully getting $11k for the S, after paying off whats left on the loan I would only have $3-4k left to pay. My S is pretty clean with some small dings and scratches from daily use, I also installed a new Robbins Canvas top around this time last year. Car is stock except for some audio equipment and TSW Nurburgrings on her but I'll be putting on the stock rims and pulling out the audio before I trade her in. I would drive the civic as my daily until I finish school and have my career going. With the money I would be saving I could buy myself a decent S in 2-3yrs (total time from now), as long as I can still find one.

I wanted to get something that was cheap to maintain and pretty good on gas that I wouldn't mind driving for 2-3yrs. So far I've looked at a 2007 corolla, and wow that thing has no personality and a bore to drive IMO. I've already looked at one civic, a white 2006 EX Sedan, carfax is clean, 68k miles, manual transmission, navigation, inside and outside is pretty clean and they want $10k for it. I'm sure I can drop that a bit. I'll be looking at a black 2007 SI Sedan with 73k miles for $10.8k. I'd be saving more with the EX but the SI sounds like it could provide some fun. I don't really drive the S hard, everyone says I drive like a grandma, but I do like to have fun on open roads once in a while. The mpg on the SI isn't too bad either. I think these prices seem fair. Does anyone have an idea as to how much extra maintenance the SI would require?

I'm sure I'll regret letting her go but it will be that much more of a motivator to get another one when I'm finally stable. Plus the money I'll save in the meantime will most likely go to a new one, or maybe a 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is (so sexy lol). What do you guys think the chances of finding a clean S in about 2.5-3yrs is? Overall, I think I'm making the right decision but I am going to miss her badly, I tear up a little just thinking about it sigh...

 

Your cost of ownership is only going to change in regards to the payment; everything else between a Civic and S2000 is going to be virtually identical in cost. The only thing I can think of would be rear tires that would cost $50-100 more per set, but that's almost nothing.

If you really just want to eliminate debt then it would be a good trade-off. Keep in mind a 91k mile S2000 is still pretty low miles, especially if maintained properly. It's not going to suddenly blow up on you just because it's about to hit 100k.

 

You will miss her. I am currently selling my 2011 Si sedan civic so I can get an AP2. But good luck with whatever path you choose!

 

I'm sure you will save alot of money over the year on insurance on a Civic over an S2000 at the age of 20. Fluid change/tires should not be significant enough because they are both Honda still.

I'd keep driving the S, 91k miles is not much. Trade in a car and buy another used car is like win win for the dealership.

Hipopkboy

 

i regretted selling my first S even tho i netted $3000 more than i paid, ended up back in an S

 

The car is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
A lot of people use KBB as starting point when negotiating to buy a car and will not be surprised if you also use it. Put it up for sale for $13k if that is what you saw. You can always negotiate lower; negotiating higher is challenging. Most of the time the asking price is not what people sell the car for. Keep in mind that you own a fun and rare car with under 100k miles.

 

As for savings, I'd be spending $50-75 less for gas, $30-60 less for insurance (depending on coverage chosen) a month, which together add up to $960-1620 a year. For payments, that is a huge chunk of $2100 a year. As for tires, I'm really hoping I'll be saving more than a $100, my S eats up the rears within a years time roughly 12,000 miles. I'm spending on average $700 in 2 years on tires (Hankook V12) for a pair of fronts and 2 pairs for the rear. Realistically, I'd get some higher tread wear tires, high 300s mid 400s, no need for the extra grip as I don't think a civic will need them. My mother's Mini has had the same tires on for about 30k miles, and my friend's focus has had the same tires on for the past 2 years. I think I can get a good 2.5-3yrs out of them, and by that time I may be able to find myself a low mileage S.

91k doesn't seem like a lot to most, but when I constantly see clean AP2s with 50k and less I keep thinking of how old my car is getting. I could pay off the S but she also needs a good $1000 in maintenance (mounts, fluid, misc.) and for less I could just get a more practical car to daily for the time being. I haven't completely made up my mind yet and if I don't get what I want for the S then I'll be keeping her. Do you guys think $11k trade-in is realistic?

 

My AP2 has 92k and is running flawlessly. I have no idea how you're going through tires @12k miles; my Star Specs have 26k now and still enough treadwear for a month of next spring before being replaced...

 

I'm in the same boat right now. I got my S earlier this year and I love the car to death, but I'm 22 now and I want to move out. Right now I'm looking to buy something cheaper and sell the S sometime next year (I too still owe my credit union a bit of money). We are still very young and there will always be time for another S, although they do keep getting rarer to find in good condition. If money is your priority like me, try to find something that you think will still be fun to drive so you won't feel too bad about letting your S go. Proper planning when you are young will lead to an easier and happier future.

 

I thnk you are overestimating the costs of maintenance on the S2000. All fluids cost around $60 or so for the s. did you tear an engine mount? Or st think you should change them cause of the mileage?

The only thing that costs a bunch for this car is the tires since most run soft tires that wear quickly! Everything else fluid related is the same as any other Honda give or take a couple bucks.