Many of you saw my sad thread about how I can't afford a new S2000. So whats the next option, wait a couple years and buy used. I know the S2000 is a car that is driven hard by most owners which makes me kinda nervous about buying a used one. What are your thoughts?

 

buy a 2002 - it should have most, if not all of the fixes since 2000, and there is a difference between driving hard and abusing. Personally, I wouldn't mind a hard driven s2000, as long as it was taken care of (oil changes, etc.). Breaking in an engine in a harsh manner has shown to produce a stronger motor over time...... could be the difference of up to 10 hp..... you can do a search for breaking in. I have access (I don't know him personally) to a tuner in the socal area who's built race engines for BMW and his advice is: If you want it to go fast, beat it.... as long as maintanance was taken car of and there's little wear on the interior, I think I'd be satiisfied. The biggest thing with pre - 02 s2000's are the TSB's. Make sure the tranny and spark plug fixes have been done and you'll be okay......happy hunting....

 

yeah, i totally agree. there is a big difference between driving hard and abusing. i drive my cars hard, but i also make sure they get the proper maintenance. personally, i'd rather buy a used car that has been driven hard, but pampered maintenance-wise versus one that has not been driven hard, but neglected maintenance-wise. of course ideally, the best buy is an s2k that's has not been driven hard, with low miles, and meticulous maintenance, but we don't live in an ideal world... as for TSB's, as long as you purchase one that is still under warranty, you can take it in to have the repair done, even if the original owner has neglected to do it...

 

The spark plug fix was for everyone. The tranny and clutch TSBs were only for those with problems. My '01 transmission shifts perfectly and has not had the transmission TSB. My '01 clutch is not noisy and that TSB has not been done. I have done the oil jet bolt upgrade, though, at my own expense.

My advice is to shop carefully and get a warranty.

 

my plan was to get a 2000 in about a year or so, I wanted the HID, rear glass and the tweeters in the doors also. thanks for the comments.

 

Alll S2000's come with HID... if you want rear glass and tweeters in the doors you'll have to get an '02 or newer.

 

Have you looked into the option of leasing? Right now you can get one for $399 (maybe less) a month with nothing down. If you have a thousand or two to put down, your payment should drop $30-$60 a month.

 

I didn't buy a used S2000 for the exact reasons talked about in this thread, you never know how it was broke in and drove.. also the used ones around here were almost as expensive as the brand new ones

 

I don't know I've never really like the idea of leasing. I don't like the fact that I pay for something for 3 yrs and then have to give it back. Also I drive a lot, so I would go over my given millage.

 

leasing makes sense for many people. it's just the psychological hurdle of not technically "owning the car" that deters most folks. if you think about it, assuming you put 12,000 miles a year on an s2k, after 3 years, you would have accumlated 36,000 miles. a 3 year old s2k with 36,000 miles in excellent condition will be worth around $25-26.5K on the streets (if you trade in the car or if your car is not in excellent condition, you will lose even more money). assuming you paid msrp, you'll have lost $6.6K just from depreciation alone. on top of that, assuming you have been financing your s2k throughout that 3 years, the finance charges you have paid throughout that period will be an additional monetary loss. lastly, unlike leasing where you pay tax month to month only on the amount of the payment due, buying/financing a car will require you to pay the tax on the whole purchase price of $32,600 up front (as opposed to tax on $14,364 ($399 for 36 months) spread out throughout 36 months from leasing). furthermore, unless you put down a large downpayment, your monthly payment for an s2k will be in the ballpark of $600 a month. so if instead you lease and invest the difference in payment amount as well as the downpayment in a short-term bond, you will yield on average 4% (after tax) per year on that money. so the potential investment return you are not earning will technically be an additional monetary loss for financing instead of leasing. ALSO, if the residual value after the 3 year lease is significantly less than the market value of your car at that point in time (assuming you put very little miles on it and kept it in immaculate condition), you can pay the residual, and then turn around and sell the s2k yourself and make an additional profit!! as you can see, there are many advantages in leasing a vehicle. my advice is that if you plan on keeping your car less than 4 years and do not plan on putting over 10K miles per year on your s2k, then consider leasing instead of buying. as for the "not owning your car when leasing" issue, technically, when you finance a car, the bank "owns" your car until you make your last payment. another thing, if you are planning on purchasing a house in the near future, leasing instead of financing will result in less debt on your credit report, which equates to your qualifying for a larger morgage for the house of your dream. all the reasons above are the main reasons why most high paying professionals opt to lease their bmw's and mercedes as opposed to buying/financing...