Howdy fellow s2k lovers,

I am a 20 year old from Ohio looking to buy my first s2k, most likely an AP1. I know there's a wealth of information for these cars, and I am looking for a dependable buyers guide for purchasing a 90k+ mileage s2k. After completely paying off my first three years of college by working hard I think it's time to award myself and splurge a bit for a new, more fun car. I am currently driving a 99 civic. My question is: can I find a dependable s2000 for 10k and under? Thanks and I look forward to keeping you guys posted on my adventures on finding my dream car!

 

I bought my '06 S2000 two years ago and there was nothing under $10K I'd even touch! Dependable? Probably. Beat up? Certainly. Tasteful modifications. Probably NOT.

Depending on where you are in Ohio the S2000 is totally impractical as other than a summer car. In Cleveland mine will hibernate until at least mid-April. Salt and potholes will destroy these in a couple of seasons and the AP1 is notorious for snap oversteer (and wrecks) on even warm, roads for the uninitiated. Cincinnati will be better but these are not cold weather cars. Are guys driving these in winter? You bet, but not me.

-- Chuck

 

Under 10k? Sure if u look around hard enough and willing to take a trip to grab one. I drove almost 4 hours for mine. Try to find a 02 up so you don't have to deal with the plastic rear window because they suck. Hope your mechanically inclined. Some of these "under 10k" will need some kind of attention somewhere. Rips on the top, check light on, misfires, etc. I bought mine for 8900 with 130k and so far I replaced rear caliper, front+rear pads, new retainers, seals, valve adjustment, new clutch, new flywheel and plugs. Had it for 2 years so far. You should look for rust too since your in ohio. Never a good thing. At least they are very easy to work on. Easier then all my fwd hondas. Good luck

 

You can find a decent AP1 for around 10-12K. In some cases,it may be worth coming slightly outside your budget to buy something better if you're keeping it a long time.

Driving it in winter would be a drag. But the car is perfectly capable of doing so. Buy snow tires and use common sense. There's no such thing as snap oversteer.

 

I'm just outside of Columbus. Currently, it would have to be a daily driver, and I was planning on getting some nice winter tires and using it even in the winters. It'll have to be something to consider.

 

I'm waiting on my tax returns before I can determine the absolute maximum part of my budget. Not quite sure I would want to finance on a car that's 10+ years old already

 

Thanks for your inputs! My range is around 200 miles so that gets me some options in general. I'm not super familiar with engine mechanics, but I can do air intake swaps, able to change break pads, small things, etc. Luckily, I have a family friend mechanic who worked for the Honda plant here for his whole life. He is retired now and does this as his hobby, and he is so fair on his pricing. When I did my 100k maintenance on the Civic I paid like $400 dollars for parts and labor

 

I am aware that these things are quite "twitchy" in their steering. Hoping to be able to enjoy that aspect of the car and VTAAAAAK. Any other inputs on cars safety, other than being a RWD in snow.

 

It did very well in the crash tests. 4&5 star ratings. Its a safe car for what it is.

You have to respect it though. You need to know what lift throttle oversteer is.

The car is easy to work on, very reliable, and parts are not expensive, compared to most any other performance car. But a $10k example is likely going to need some tlc to get it to reliable dd status. Factor that in to cost to own, along with extra wheels and snow tires.

Sent from my SM-G920P using IB AutoGroup

 

Just get it checked before you buy it, and even then proceed with caution. Things are generally fine on these cars but 1 hidden issue is all it takes. After getting mine I found out there was air in the heater core and I was losing coolant, turns out it was just the radiator cap and not a head gasket but things like that won't show unless your pre purchase inspection is really detailed. And my uneven tire wear was just the alignment and not something bent. So yeah I had to spend a couple hundred but imagine if I had a few grand in repairs, I'd be constantly thinking about how I could have used the money just to get a lower mileage car.