Hey guys, i desperately need a second opinion on something
there is a guy selling a 2001 s2000 for around $25,500. I checked carfax and the car is perfectly clean, however i talked with him and he said that he bought the car from an auction (which could mean it was roughly used by the 1st owner). He also owns his own body shop, so for all i know is that he fixed the cars dents or even engine and didnt let people know about it. When i asked him if it had been in any accidents he said "carfax is clean, thats all i know". I am getting suspicious of him now.

 

if it doesn't feel right, don't do it.

however, you should take it to another body shop for evaluation and/or a honda dealer to get it checked out if you are concerned. a competent bodyshop can tell better than most people here if its been painted, pieces have been removed/moved/etc. never know, it could be a great deal. but your hunch might turn up to be true.

 

Every body panel on the S2K has a VIN tag on it. Start with making sure that those are all in place and don't look to be tampered with. CarFax only reports on what insurance companies and state systems have in their data bases. It coudl have been bought with heavy damage and repaired by his own shop. Look the paint over in flourescent or halide lighting (basically any bright artificial light). Sunlight helps hide imperfections. Look for all of the panels to match with their reflective quality. Check the top edge of the hood (near the wipers) for any rough areas and look at all the connecting hardware from the front 1/4's to the frame (in the engine bay). It sounds like a good deal (miles?), but a thorough inspection by yourself and then a $75 inspection by a licensed appraiser would be a worthwhile investment. How many miles? Good luck...

Wouldn't hurt to get the VIN and post it on S2Ki askiing if anyone had whacked it and bought a new one...

 

VIN number is JHMAP11451T003465 and it has 18,000 miles. But there is something really fishy about this guy. He owns a honda repair store (http://www.hondahaven.com) so he must know a lot about hondas. I have this weird feeling that he bought it from the auction damaged and figured since he has been repairing hondas for a long time, he could fix this without telling the insurance people.

 

Another thing, when i asked him about it being in an accident, he didn't give me a straightforward answer, he just said carfax was clean. I could sense something weird in his voice. Not only that i asked him when he bought it from the auction, and he said that he bought it a month ago and drove it around for 1 month then decided to sell it (drove it or repaired it, i dont know).

 

Get a magnet and check for bondo. Also look under the car for unusual amounts of overspray. Personally I wouldn't buy it!
Also have the alignment checked and a damn good unbiased Honda mechanic shop check it out. If you are serious the money you will spend will be well worth the return. I would also ask him if he had service receipts. That might tell you where the car came from. Flood damage is most likely what has happened to the car but the title shoud say "Rebuild". Don't buy it!

 

Someone posted the link on ebay of this car on the car talk forum. I noticed in the pictures it is missing the s2000 emblem on the front fenders. Didn't all model years have these? I am not saying it is but this could be a sure sign that the front fenders were replaced or repainted.Nsxus another thing to check is the battery if the car was in a frontal collision most likely the battery would be destroyed otherwise an 01 should have the original battery.

 

Just pony up $8000 more and get a new one.

-Spoon

 

Yeah, good deals are rare. I would not buy it myself and spend a little more with a car that didn't have a suspicious history.

 

As tmorrow said, check the VIN's on the body panels. They are stickers and should match (each other and the engine). Also, the stickers are self-destructing. This means that if someone removes the VIN sticker, it will come apart, the VIN on the sticker will no longer be readable, and it will leave part of itself on the surface it was removed from. If the stickers aren't on all the body panels, or don't match, your suspicions are correct.