I owned an 01 s2000 in highschool as a sophomore, traded it in over a year later for an srt-4. I drove it like hell and after my brother blew the engine by shifting from 5th to second (probably overshooting fourth) it had a third gear grind at high revs, 8500. Now that I'm more mechanically aware, I think that the shift linkage wasn't properly aligned or the synchronizers went out. Other than that the car gave me no issue. Since I was 16 insurance was $300/month, six month term.

Fast forwarding to modern terms. I recently purchased an 02 with 63k for $12,500 in July. I've replaced the fluids, with mobil 1 in oil and trans and synthetic gear oil in rear diff as well as performed a brake flush with regular dot3 fluid. I've probably spent $200 in fluids, and have about 67,500 miles to date. I also purchased two 245/50 ZR16's from Tire rack for $350 to my door, shipping was only about $20.

I believe it's beneficial to go with an Ap1 but probably an 02-03 model which had some improvements from the first generation. At any time you can simply swap the crank shaft, or other parts over (radio door, center console, bumper, etc.). The Ap1 has more sought after cam shafts.

As far as getting regular parts for the vehicle I'd shy away from the dealership. There are great Honda OEM resources available via the internet that will save you money. Places like hondaparts.com have stockpiles of OEM parts for the s2000. Only use dealerships if you absolutely must. Obviously being mechanically inclined is ultimately the best route,

If you're a person that just wants a personal vehicle this car will deliver on all bases. As the community is saying, you can get laundry, haul books, groverys, and even two small malteses and a wife (proven); so if that's all you need your vehicle to do than I'd say dive in.

The s2000 is obviously superior to the Si (unless it's a Mugen RR) in performance aspects. That's the real niche of owning this vehicle is that it's a race car. Honda built the s2000 using F1 technology and engineering as Honda's foundation. And it was the prototype for the successor the K series engine.

 

As a college student with no friends....this is an accurate statement.

/foreveralone.

 

Most of my friends own at least one car (even when I was an undergraduate), so I do not see the need to fit 4/5 people in a car. As a graduate student, most of my friends work and tend to meet up at locations in their own car.

 

be aware of the theft and vandalism associated with this car. Do you want that risk/worry?

I WOULDN'T OWN ONE UNLESS I HAD A GARAGE.


-m

 

I daily drove a 500hp ap1 when I was 17, only cons about the ownership is me being paranoid when it's parked, ride height, and it being a two seater.

 

#1... Call your insurance company and ask for a ungaraged at night s2000 quote on a unmarried male under 25 years old.

I second, just saving cash and waiting until college is over. The S2k can be your justification for getting through college and getting a job. Then reward yourself

 

Honestly, for the most part I think you've provided me with enough questions and concerns that I don't think the s2000 is a very good option for you at this point in your life.

Granted, I'm 21 years old in also in college but we have quite a few differences. First, while it kills me to do so, my car is never brought with me to school, mainly due to vandalism and concerns and mainly due to the almost impracticality of it.

I feel like at this point in your life, stretching to make the purchase and the costs of insurance and other concerns such as maintenance provide me with enough information that the timing just isn't right.

In terms of responsibility, I have no question you can handle the car (there are plenty of people who feel differently but I've never had any huge issues handling my s2000, I also attend AutoX days to attest to this and learn from mistakes should they happen).

I offer you this, mainly because I did the exact same thing. Keep your 2006 Civic for now, sure it isn't the sexy option but a reliable car and one you won't have nightmares about while at school hoping somebody might mess with it is much more easing (I had an 02 RSX Auto my freshman year).

Keep that full-time job you proposed and use that a your motivation to buying the car at a later date. My RSX was paid off and my parents proposed that once I had $10,000 in saving I could purchase an s2000. It makes achieving that much greater. But most importantly, don't strap yourself financially at 18 years old, it's just not worth it worrying about insurance and car payments if you can't swing paying the car in full plus having the income to pay for insurance.

You'll find that while at school the vehicle would be idle most of the time anyways. Set goals, be patient and opportunities with come up, why settle for a higher milage AP1 when I purchased an 00' with 22,000 miles because I waited.

Choice is yours, hope this advice helps.

Cheers,
Tyler

 

oh well...that sounds not good...actually do i really need a car if i live on campus? or a bicycle is enough?

 

"don't strap yourself financially at 18 years old, it's just not worth it worrying about insurance and car payments if you can't swing paying the car in full plus having the income to pay for insurance."
well thats true...probably i got to put my dream aside for a while...

 

A pair of legs is good enough if you live on campus. I get 24 mpg on my car and I am in vtec way too often.