Anyone who tracks their car would beg to differ with this statement.

 

Beyond understanding the condition of the cars you are considering, or how many miles have been accumulated, etc,. I think you would also be wise to understand how you will be using the car. Where are you going to be driving it, what are the roads like where you're at, are you going to be taking it to the track, etc.? How much to you want to interact with the car (or "work at it" as Chuck puts it)? Personally, I love working this car — that's more or less what it's all about for me. In my mind that is pretty much the attraction when it comes to owning a sports car. I want to interact with it as much as possible. The more opportunities I have to work the gearbox in the S2000 the better. The thing is, I'm not that accomplished of a driver. In fact, even though almost every car I've owned since 1978 featured a manual transmission, I had never tried heel and-toe-shifting before purchasing the S2000. I do believe that the better your driving skills are, the more you will be rewarded by this car. Regardless, I still have a blast driving the S2000 and I can tell that as my skills increase so will my enjoyment of the car. From the sounds of it, an AP1 might lay bare my driving deficiencies even more so than the AP2. Yet if somewhere down the line I were going to be spending part of my time wringing one of these cars out at the track I'd probably be get a bigger kick out of driving an AP1 with the F20C motor. But given the reconfigured powerband of the F22C motor along with the other changes made to the car after 2003 I still feel like the AP2 is a better fit for me given how I actually use the car.

I just got done watching a few of the "Garage Quinn Motors" videos over on youtube (these were pointed out elsewhere on the forum), including the reviews that he did of his AP1 and his AP2. Of course his cars were modified quite a bit, especially the AP1, so you have to keep that in mind. Things like the responsiveness of the engine or the handling characteristics are likely going to impacted a fair amount by the changes he's made. But the videos do give you some feedback regarding the personality of each model from the standpoint of the same reviewer. When I was trying to make sense of the differences between the AP1 and AP2 models, I found this article to be one of the most detailed when it came to noting all of the AP2 changes in comparison with the AP1. Of course, even more changes came with the drive-by-wire cars (2006+). Whether you decide to go with an AP1 or an AP2, find the nicest one you can afford. Either way you're going to wind up with a great car.

 

Keeping it stock? No competitive events? Difference in mileage between the two is not a big deal if they were well cared for. Go with the cleanest car for the money.