That is a lot of rust. Top dollar for this car is zero. You can find a car in a location that doesn't salt the roads and drive it to PA,. except you should make it a summer car or it will soon look like the one you pictured, and that would be a shame.
Larry

The dealer accepted it:
(1) as a trade either without knowing the amount of rust, or
(2) hoping that the next owner wouldn't know better since they all live where the cars all rust away or
(3) got a sale at such a good price that as a dealer they can just eat the difference.
For you, if you want a non-rusted car they are available, just not where you may be so you have to find one some other place and drive it back..

 

It’s worth noting that AP1 cars are generally selling for less these days, but I don’t personally believe that any of these cars are significantly better than others. Yes they have their differences, but they tend to be far more alike than different and not all of the changes made were seen as improvements by everyone. If anything, this strikes me as a better time to be buying an AP1 model as I can’t help but think that values of AP1 and AP2 cars will eventually even out in the coming years.

 

Thinking all S2000s are alike can be a major disappointment for buyers when they may discover missing features. We've covered the improvements extensively. I've yet to see a list of setbacks in the design and execution from owners of these later cars. This easily makes the list of "best" S2000s read in reverse year order. Newer is better. Better condition is better. But that's assuming we're making rational decisions regarding old, used toys. Some guys think color is important!

The Endowment Effect highly influences our preferences and our recommendations to others. I can't in good conscience recommend a pre-2006 S2000 to anyone wanting the best S2000 they can get and the pair of mini-Dachshunds sleeping at my feet remains my recommendation for best dogs. -- so I'm not immune to this either.

-- Chuck

 

I really wanted it to work out, but after seeing a video of the chassis, which I can’t post because of the size limit, I decided to walk away. They wouldn’t budge at all from 30K even after I pointed out all of the rust on the subframe and suspension components. I told him I wanted it for 25K and I thought for sure we could find some middle ground but they wouldn’t even budge so it made the decision easier I suppose.

thanks for the feedback guys!

 

I live in Wisconsin (you're lucky to get 10 yrs out of a car that isnt fluid filmed and driven in the winter) and would never dream of buying that or any S2K that shows any signs of being driven in the salt for any more than like 15k, regardless of milage. Honda engineers paid exactly zero attention to corrosion mitigation for this car and the body structure is such that there are hundreds of crevices for salt to get trapped in and once its in, it aint ever coming out and will cause rot from the inside out.

These car's have no business ever being driven in the winter or where salt is present and that is a huge red flag for how the previous owner(s) treated the car. If just the visible the underbody looks like looks like that, I cant imagine what it looks like behind the bumper or fenders or pinch welds or whatever else you cant see. If you want a restoration project, this is a perfect candidate, but not for anywhere near that asking price. Let it rot at the dealer, or make a really bad offer and buy a ton of PB blaster and an impact wrench.

I've seen posts of rust in the most wild and inconspicuous places on these cars, check out some posts on the UK side of the forum.

Side note, my 02 has not a lick of rust anywhere (lived in VA and MD, bought in IL) except the trunk pan which was filled with water for god knows how long and I was able to poke a hole through the rust. That is not a result of salt/winter driving but rather water leaking into the trunk and settling at the bottom of the pan, it is available to buy from Honda and is a PITA to weld and seal in but its not at all critical and fairly straightforward if you are handy with a grinder and welder. Suspension mounting points, captured subframe nuts, inner quarter panels, frame rails, subframe tubes, etc are the biggies. I would not walk away from a car with a rusted pan that is otherwise spotless, but for top dollar, it better be top quality.

EDIT: Started this post before your reply... congrats on walking away

 

13k mile just went for $30K on BAT: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...a-s2000-243-2/

Granted the exterior is silver and white is more sought after but I do feel that you made the right decision if that's any consolation.

 

You are a better negotiator than you may think. The willingness to walk away is crucial. Good job.
Who knows? They may come back in a bit with a lower offer when the things sits there not moving at all.

 

This is your opinion. Not fact.

There's plenty of subjective up-sides to AP1's, and they're becoming more sought after than you think.

My observation about today's S2000 market...

At the moment, apples to apples...it seems like the 04-05 cars are the least "desirable" because they stand out the least.

A really well kept, stock AP1 is about as sought after as an equally well kept 06-07 car.

08-09 cars still hold the most desirability.

This is just my current observation of popular opinions.

I think any S2000 is a great car, FWIW. And desirability seems to change. So really, whomever is buying just needs to decide the right model year for themselves.

 

I will add to what you opined about desirability. I was thinking of this earlier today. CRs have gone off the charts in desirability and yet they really don't offer a significant relative increase in performance/beneifits than a basic S, especially compared to other track cars out there. What they have going for them is rarity. Back in 2015, you could easily find a descent CR going for a bit more than a really nice example of a standard S. Not anymore. I think of what Vanishing Point sold his perfect collection of CRs for. Oh my.

 

The car on BAT shows well, but had some paint touchups. The driver's side door sill looks like the owner had a lot of trouble getting in and out, for a car with such low mileage.