I am in the process of purchasing a 2003 Silverstone S2K for 24k.

the car has 8200 miles on it and has been taken care of very nicely. always been garaged and the car looks like it just came off the lot. i couldn't believe how clean it was. ran everything, carfax, test drove it. car is all stock.

any opinions? good deal / bad deal?

also any tips on the whole procedure of buying used car from private seller?

any feedback would be great! thanks guys!

 

What? You didn't kick the tires?




Actually, 24k for a very low milege '03 sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Where are you located? I am also looking for a 02+ s2k, but in addition to the things you listed im going to have my mechanic friend do a complete inspection on it before I buy.

 

Sounds like a pretty decent deal. I got an '02 with just over 10k on it in great shape for $21k here in Florida.

A clean carfax is a good thing for sure, but it is not foolproof. Check to make sure all of the body panel gaps are even, and for extra piece of mind have a reputable shop perform a compression/leak down test on the engine.

If you can find a knowledgable owner in the area have them go with you to examine and test drive the car.

Best of luck!

Craig

 

What are you waiting for?

 

what does a compression/leak down test on the engine do?

i'm located in south orange county.

thanks for your input guys!

 

The compression/leak down test will reveal if there are any issues with bent valves or damaged piston rings along with other possible problems. In other words, there is always the possiblility that the previous owner was hard on the car/engine and could've done mior valve damage. This may not be totally evident during normal operation (especially to someone unfamiliar with how the car should run) and if there was any damage evidence of it would turn up during these tests.

Not trying to scare you at all. It's just a little extra piece of mind to have when purchasing a used sports car from an unknown party.

Craig

 

my loan is squared away and i will be cruising in my 2003 s2000 tomorrow morning! woo hoo!

 

I highly doubt anybody would let you just do a compression test on a car that your interested in buying unless it is done at a mechanics shop.

 

Hey ek5686,

I think I was looking at the same car as you (autotrader)... but I think you beat me to it! Found another 2003 with slightly more mileage for around the same price. Best wishes to you and your new ride. I might be picking mine up tomorrow as well