I was selling my 08 for 24. To say you wouldn't spend 25k on a used car is kind of crazy. There are some beautifully maintained s2k's on this site that are well worth that price.

Don't forget, you get what you pay for.

 

Definitely. I'm expanding my search even more, and have found that a lot of AP2's on the west coast go for onver $20k. At least the unmolested ones.

I'm gonna head up there this weekend possibly to take a close look at the car, and see if they can justify what they're asking for. It all hangs on the trade in, though.

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

found a 2000 s2k with 140k but the ap2 motor in it has only 50k.

the car is actualy owned by someone in the same apartment complex that i moved to. its super clean and sounds beatufiul

he wants 10k

http://annapolis.craigslist.org/cto/3935925881.html

not sure about buying a car with different motor and what not. input would be very useful thanks.

-paul

 

I love the red/ tan interior

 

Cars with mods *can* be giant nightmares, particularly ones with a LOT of mods like this one. If the work has been done well, then it could be a great deal, but it's tough to know. Anything you ever do on this car is going to require a mechanic with significant knowledge specifically of S2000s, and you can't assume anything was done in a manner consistent with how it would be done at the factory. Forget ever having a dealership do anything for you. If you live near Billman (an s2ki forum member who services S2000s), then maybe have him do the PPI and tell you what he thinks.

If it were me, I would keep looking. It *could* be a wonderful car, but only for someone with significant knowledge of these cars and a desire to deal with what has been changed on the car.

Good luck.

 

Yeah the NFR with tan interior is the first sign for me. Could be a winner, but could also be a major bust.

 

Man, that's a tough one. At that price it's hard to argue with. The guy spent a small fortune on all the ap2 upgrades and it looks pretty well put together. I wonder if it started out as a wreck... The price almost seems too resonable.

I would definitely have someone who knows these cars look at it carefully. But if it drives right and wasn't wrecked bad, it seems like a solid deal.

 

i actualy just took it out for a ride. its got normal wear on it cosmetically for a 13 year old car but driving wise it runs very strong and tight. he has all the stock parts and i met with his buddy who built the car they have owned several s2ks in the past. turbo and supercharged. i was very impressed but i also am not an expert by any means.

 

does any s2k experts live near annapolis md?

 

i actualy just took it out for a ride. its got normal wear on it cosmetically for a 13 year old car but driving wise it runs very strong and tight. he has all the stock parts and i met with his buddy who built the car they have owned several s2ks in the past. turbo and supercharged. i was very impressed but i also am not an expert by any means.
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Dude I would get it. That's a good price and considering he did the work for you by putting in a younger engine and a ton of nice mods. Mods dont ruin the car I dont get why people think mods are a bad thing but that kind of thought is more prevalent with S2000 and 350z owners than the american muscle group. Most of the stuff he did is Ap2 conversion and cosmetic and I would pay good money for that stuff. That stuff doesn't affect performance whatsoever.

And then the rest seem like simple bolt ons like exhaust and not even a midpipe or anything that would throw a CEL. I'd also want the coilovers and you can check the condition on those.

To be a little blunt, dont be a pussy haha I myself got over the whole "it's a used car, I'm not sure" thing and just went for it.

When I buy cars I check the car for a good hour or more. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE FOLLOWING and you should be good:

I used an used car checklist before but now I kind of remember from memory.

Ask him questions about why he's selling it, how long has he had the car for, is it a clean title, is it in his name and does it have it on hand? Is there a lien or back fees on the car? Get his license plate # and run a Carfax, I strongly recommend you do so.

When you are asking him general questions.. you are just collecting info. Police do this, they ask a ton of questions and eventually if he's lying he will make a mistake. I ask them all sorts of things when I buy the car but mostly related to the car. When was the maintenance done on it? Who does the maintenance? do you have the paperwork? Who did the engine swap? When was it done and do you have a receipt? Did you do a compression test on it? When was the tune up? etc. etc.

It sounds like a lot but when you meet up with someone, just ask them naturally as you walk around the car and inspect it.

Inspection:

Start with the body first. The questions you are asking him are more general pertaining to mech, maintenance and accident history as well as the seller's background to see if he's going to slip up about being a criminal or something.
When inspecting the body start from either front or back and look between the body gaps (i.e. space between trunk and fenders, gap between hood and both fenders, bumper alignment etc), gap between door and door jambs.. If the gap looks off it could have been in an accident.
Also look for fender, bumper, hood misalignment because sometimes after accidents it will not align perfectly.
From the back/front, look down the sides of the car and see if you see any ripples or weird fuzziness in the paint as it could be a sign of repaint or accident on the sides. Look at the edges and in the door jambs, under the hood in the engine bay to check for overspray to see if the car was repainted. If it was, you have questions to ask him.

RUN A CARFAX!! Carfax will tell you about most accidents. It's a double edged sword because sometimes it will have accidents that really were no big deals like a minor fender bender. Im not sure how they collect the info but if you know that Carfax says there's an accident and the seller says there was none, you can bring it up politely. If he has no explanation or acts weird, he's lying to you.


After inspecting the body, look UNDER the car. Look at the differential in the back and see if there's a leak or if it's wet. Use a flashlight. It should be bone dry.
Go to the front of the car, check under the engine bay and look for wetness or leaks. Do this again after a test drive.
Look under the passenger side and follow the frame and see if there's any bends or damage to the body/frame. Make sure the car has a catalytic converter. Inspect the driver's side.


Open the hood, start the car up. Give it a minute and listen for any weird noises. Check the oil level using the dipstick right on the valve cover. Wipe it clean and dip it in and look at it. If it's really really dark, it could mean he didn't do an oil change for a long time. If it has metal flakes in it, run. Look down the engine bay through the cracks and look for any leaks.. near the seals of the valve covers, etc.
Next, look at the radiator and the hoses connecting to it and see if there's any coolant leaks. Check the coolant reservoir tank to see there is enough. If it's bone dry and crusty, could mean there's a coolant leak somewhere. Could be as simple as a hose or you could be having some head gasket issue or something.

Check levels of brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering. Turn the car off, look at the serpentine belt. Make sure you look at the ribbed part and see if there is any cracking. If so you will need to replace it. It's an easy fix and prob less than $40 at Oreillys.

Pop the trunk, look around the edges to see if there's damage or overspray. None? Move on.

Look at the interior.. pretty self explanatory. Sit in the driver's seat and check ALL the functions of the controls. Start with AC. Blast it and see how cold it gets. Fixing AC is a bitch and very expensive. Check heater. check all the vent controls and make sure they work. Check radio controls on the right. check windshield wipers, turn signals and headlights. Get out of the car and check the headlights to make sure they're working.
Push the clutch in and shift through all the gears with the car OFF. Is there any weird notchiness or is it hard to get into a gear? Could be a transmission issue. If it's buttery smooth, dont worry about it. Open up the glove on the center control, make sure the door works, etc. If you want try the cigarette lighter adapter.
Try the radio, listen to make sure both speakers work by adjusting the Fade and Balance. Adjust Bass and Treble.


Everything good until this point? If there are minor issues I would still continue. If theres a major issue like AC needs work or something I would still continue but take that into consideration later when making an offer.


Go for a test drive: Have him drive the car first. I usually do this because it makes me feel more comfortable getting to a large parking lot or a less crowded area and having the chance to listen to noises and not worry about focusing on the road or wrecking his car.

Get into passenger seat. Ask to test the convertible top motor. Put it down and keep it down and keep windows down. You want to listen for noise. While he's driving, listen for ANY noise. Squeaks, squealing, grinding, whining, knocking, etc. If a noise occurs note when it occurs and what triggers it. Then at least people will be able to tell you what COULD be the problem. Knocking could be an engine issue. If you hear whining that increases in noise and gets higher pitched as you go faster and it sounds like t's coming from the rear, it's the differential. Could be low fluid, could be damaged or worn gears.

request he shift through all the gears and downshift through each one.. request a WOT 1->2 shift and 2->3 shift under acceleration to check for transmission grinds. Listen for noises when hitting bumpers or dips to check for suspensions issues.

Finally, one of the most important ones in terms of mechanical and accident history. Ask him to center the wheel, coast and hands off the steering wheel on a perfectly level and straight road. The car should drive perfectly straight or have very little drift. The car will drift depending on the tire wear, alignment issue and depending on the road's level and bend. But if it drives straight, it's a keeper. Even if it was in an accident it means that it drives straight and it is alignable. (Doesn't mean it's perfect, id still check it out)

If it drifts a little it should be fine but if youre nervous, ask to do an alignment. you would have to pay for it or you can work something out with the seller. It's about $60-75 and if it's the last thing you need to check to make sure you're comfortable to take it home, it's worth the money. And he gets a free alignment out of it if you dont buy it.



Now get into the driver's seat. Do everything he did, just drive the car. Youre checking for any noises still but more focused on how it drives now. The function, how the gas and acceleration feels, is there any bogging. Shift through all the gears again make sure there are no grinds, pop outs, or weird issues. When in a parking lot, simulate parking and go into R->1->R->1, etc. to see if 1st and reverse has any problems with lock outs or grinds. This is something many people dont notice until after they buy the car cause most test drives involve going forward and around the block and back. If there's a R or 1st grind or lockout issue, you should know.

Once again check to see if car drives straight. Do a brake check and step on the brakes semi-hard to see how they work, if there's air in the system, if there's any crunchiness to the brake pedal.

How does the clutch feel? Ask him if the clutch was replaced ever? If not 150k miles could mean it's on its way out. Every car I had the clutch starts to go around that time. First, drive it and feel how hard or firm the car grabs. Does it grab hard and feels like it wants to GO. If so the clutch could still be healthy. How high does the engagement point feel? If it's too high you may need to bleed or adjust the clutch hydraulics and fluids. not a big deal.
How does the pedal itself feel? Is it really stiff? If it's super stiff and also the engagement point is REALLY short and grabs like hell, you could have a stage 2+ clutch. Just something to think about, could be good or bad but for a daily might get annoying.

drive and go into 6th gear at around 35mph and press the gas pedal more than 1/2 way to the floor. You should feel the car trying to work and move (but cant cause of the low speed/high gear) and the RPM should NOT go up. If you do this and the RPM shoots up but the car does not move, the clutch is slipping and worn out.

Come back, access the damage or things you need to take care of.
You can do all this and sleep sound at night knowing you checked the car up and down, left and right or you can pay for one of those prepurchase inspection things and the mechanic will do the same thing, if not less. Maybe he might get a better vantage point being putting the car on the lift but you can always bring a jack to see under. I'd say if there's any funny business from the basic checkup, THEN you take it to a mechanic to see what it is and how much it'll cost to repair. I dont pay for a basic PPI usually. Maybe if it was a BMW or something.


If all checks out, I'd buy that car. Good price.. if you can get it for $9500 even better