Looking for S2000, do they all have a rust issue?
 

Hey All,

This is my first post so any help and guidance would be appreciated!

Im based in the UK and have been looking to buy an S2000 for a couple of months, so rare to track a decent facelift model down! My budget is up to £8k and ideally a 04-06 plate (facelift) to avoid the ridiculous tax. I would love the car to be low miles too. Just wondering if any members know of any decent ones out there?

Also i have seen a few and most seem to have a rust issue on the rear/ engine sub frame, mounts and steering arm. I know the underside isnt well protected and rust can happen on the undersill and jacking points, but is the engine bay common?

Any help and advice is appreciated

Thanks :)

You may want to post this in the UK/Ireland regional forum, you'll probably get better answers than in the general interest area.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/forum/25-...000-community/

I watch enough Wheeler Dealers to know that the climate in the UK is bad for avoiding rust on cars.

As for your search, here in the US you can use a website called AutoTrader to search for cars near your ZIP/Post code, they have a UK version of the site:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/

Without putting a post code in, the site shows 49 cars.

Good luck!

Hey Sparksf20c. I am surprised to hear about rust in general. I use one of the S2000s (MY06) as winter car. Here in Minnesota, the winter is harsh and long. All kinds of stuff used on the roads: salt, sand and some chemical stuff. In seven years of winter driving, the car is completely rust-free. Every single time the car is put on the lift for any work, I ask them to inspect for rust; none at all. In fact, the mechanics are surprised to see how clean the under-body is.

Only issue I had was with the left front rim. The rust caused a slow-leak. They simply cleaned it and remounted the tire. I do care for it fanatically though. The parking is heated; kept around 55F. It also has car-wash bay. So, I wash the exterior and under-body every single week; no exception.

So, it probably comes down to maintenance and up-keeping. Keep looking; you will find a clean sample.

cheers.

Hi Guys,

thanks for your input, i have posted this on the UK board, hopefully i'll get more advise and insight.

Aviator - the UK do use a lot of salt in the winters and i'm assuming this has somehow accelerated the rust? but as you said maybe its just the cars which haven't been well looked after and underside not treated. I have seen about 8 cars already and they have all had rust on the rear/front subframes to varying degrees! i did think that was odd.

wish me luck

Thanks :)

Environment is huge. When I tried living in Minnesota (Edina and Burnsville) (for a year and a half when I was hired, before the Lutherans, mosquitoes, and high taxes threw me out) I discovered what salt can do to a car. It was not uncommon to see cars rusted through, a sight not seen in California. In MinnesotaI had an older Plymouth Volaire as a beater car and it became so rusted through I used rubber mats and expanding foam to keep the trunk dry for my suitcase.

One of my cars now is 20 years old and there is not a hint of rust anywhere. Nothing. They use the southwest in the USA for aircraft parking lots for a reason; it was the same one that narrowed my choice for an S to come from that area. No way was I going to get a car from the east/midwest. Sometimes heated garages can be worse on a car if it goes out in the salty, wet winter conditions and then comes back to bake at rest.

You will just have to not drive it in the winter or wash the underneath.

Cosmomiller, sorry to hear Minnesota didn't work out for you. Actually, this place works for a very small group!! Yes, they do exist!! Your comment about Lutherans is funny! But, it's possible to stay out of trouble (coming from an atheist!!). :-)

As I mentioned, my winter S is completely rust free in seven years. I suspect thoroughly washing regularly is very important. I was told that heated garage helps to get the salt and grit melt away with the accumulated snow/ice. I can see white residue on the garage floor. The techs have commented that they wouldn't have believed the car is driven in winter if I didn't mention! So, it's doable; but, needs fanatical care.

cheers. henry.

The only S2000 in California that I have seen with rust were from out of state.

Heated garage is bad, the warming causes it to react more, you would actually be better in a non-heated garage and washing frequently. That said, 7 years and rust free your doing something right.