I don't want to go full on corvette 1 of 1 mode here but doesn't white on red demand a little bit of a premium? For the right person anyway.

30k does sound high for a AP1 even in that color combo for a car that is not squeaky clean top and bottom. That's dealer pricing for you though. I ultimately pretty much ruled dealers out in my 6 month search.

 

Wait! A dealer, a used car dealer is selling this car?! You can be sure he maybe spent a few hundred dollars "detailing" the car. Looks great -- that's all he's concerned with. Eye appeal on the lot. Mine looks as good or better after detailing but the underside looks exponentially better. He bought this at an auction for thousands of dollars less than his "lowered" $30,000 asking price. There are AP2V2 and AP2V3 cars available for the same asking prices and these are significantly better cars with larger wheels, tunable ECUs, traction control, etc. Nothing wrong with the older cars but not at this price.

The car can probably be restored but I'd still not pay that price after it was restored.

Let me guess. The dealer is offering financing too? He'll be making money there too. WWDRD (What would Dave Ramsey do? )

-- Chuck

 

Chuck S eloquently put my thoughts into words when I came back to this thread and read what he did as well.

I bought my S from a Phoenix dealer after the original owner died. (I found the cardiac paperwork in the secret compartment) They tried to sell the car for almost a year on eBay, as well as the lot, but the reserve was astronomical. I had been watching that auction month after month, never reaching reserve. I finally inquired, (They wanted a minimum of $34.5K in 2011/2012 ). I discovered this, and had a heart to heart talk with them. They came down significantly and we agreed on what actually was the market value of the car which in early 2012, a 2009 with 30K miles, Arizona car: was $27K. I flew down 2 weeks later and drove it home to Sacramento.

I spent more than a year searching for the right car. A car from the midwest/east coast was almost an automatic rejection due to corrosion problems. I was pickey about the color and I got what I wanted in a 2009 RYP, bone stock, unmolested, low mile car. Only 38 of those cars were sold in the USA for 2009. (A 2008 would have been perfect as well)

Take your time and money. You will find your car. Don't fall for the first flash in the pan.

I might add a couple of years ago I was assisting my daughter purchasing a used Acura TL. A used car dealer advertised one that seemed to fit the bill and I swung by to take a look. I popped the hood and we were done. It looked like the engine compartment of the S in question here. The dealer was shocked and I said this was not a California car. He insisted it was so we went inside, at my insistence, and viewed the history. Sure enough, it lived in New York freaking city. Not only was corrosion a problem but I could not imagine the impact from all those potholes might have left on the poor thing. I spent a fair amount of time in Manhattan on business layovers and I have seen what vehicles have to put up with.

Good bye, have a nice day.

 

I am buying the car with cash. I haven’t been searching for one, nor am I interested really in doing that. I don’t want to obsess over the car (I’ve done that before and it isn’t good for my mental health!)
i check Autotrader about once per year and saw this one last month. Since it was still there a month later I thought I’d give it a go. I hope the video reveals it isn’t too bad bc I don’t mind paying 30k for a good example. If the rust is more pervasive than I thought then I’ll have to lower my offer. They’ve had it since March so I might have some luck negotiating.
appreciate the feedback from you all!

 

I'm also from the Chicago area.

Bruv that is WELL rusty.

Rust bucket? No.

But well rusty.

Look at the state of even the aluminum parts! You've got stars in your eyes about it. ..but this is like a $18-20K car.

A few bolts and control arms is not going to fix the appearance of the underbody or underhood components, but it will make a small dent. You're gonna pay someone a couple thousand dollars to cut out the old bolts and toss in new LCA's? Consider that within your offer.

You're going to have to fight for your life every time you need to get a bolt off....and you're gonna need a tetanus shot.

 

This alone tells you it's overpriced for its condition.

-- Chuck

 

It looks like it sat outside, near the ocean. IF the dealer is willing, have the entire underside dry ice blasted. It will remove ALL rust, and then you'll see what the car really looks like.

The only concern are brake and fuel lines. They are a pita to replace and if you aren't able to do it yourself, it's expensive.

My '03 was a dd for a senior during spring, summer and fall in South Jersey (Bridgeton) before I bought it. The car was, well, dirty and ugly but I saw through the ugly. The car has very little surface rust anywhere on the car. I pulled the taillights (a great area for rot) and there's a couple of places I had to treat and prime I took this pic yesterday. I have to polish up the headlights again. (about every 3 months) I've had it since Oct 27, 2012. Two days later the garage it was stored in down there was under 8 feet of water from Sandy. The left rear looks high because the right front is in the drainage swale in my driveway.

 

Get some pre-cut Expel film, or have a shop do it for $160, and cover the headlights after polishing. You will never touch them again. Here are mine with Expel film I installed myself. Coming up on ten years.

 

This has been enjoyable reading all the replies. I live at the Jersey Shore (or Joisey Shure if you're a New Yorker) a mile from the ocean but my '08 doesn't look anything like this '02. Living its entire life in a garage has helped tremendously. It was DD for 4 yrs and a funmobile for thre last nine since retiring.
If I were in the market for an S2000 I'd cool my jets and wait patiently for a better deal!

 

Values of S2000s in general have come down a fair bit since the post-pandemic highs seen earlier. However, if you are specifically after a white car with an all red interior, then this really limits your options. I agree with most of the others that the price for that particular car seems high given its condition. As the car is being sold by a dealer I’m not really surprised. I would think that you could get the price down some more, and the fact that this dealer has been sitting on this car all summer long seems pretty telling. In the end I suppose it really comes down to just how badly you want that particular color combo. Good luck!