It has skunk2 springs, which are okay for me. I won't bother replace them with until they need servicing.

I seen a lot of people use buddy clubs coilovers(LHT recomnends them)
And I know someone with Apexi coilovers and it rides well.
So I would probably pick one of those

 

You're much better off going with a used set of Ohlins or KW V3. They do go fast once they become listed. Appearance wise, sure, there's no difference between Buddy Clubs, APEXI, KW, or Ohlins... But what you pay a premium on the KW/Ohlins and other higher tier'd coilovers is the research and development. As I said, the S2000's suspension is dialed in perfectly from factory. Sometimes an addition is a subtraction.

 

I personally don't care how good of a deal it is, the only way I would ever buy a car from a friend is if I knew that they were truly mechanically competent, passionate about cars, and they had something incredibly rare that I really wanted and couldn't likely obtain anywhere else without a lot of effort. So for example, I might consider buying something like a LHD S800 from a friend while fully understanding the risk that this puts the friendship at. But when it comes to S2000's I would give this one a hard pass. When you buy from a friend, you have to go into the deal assuming all responsibility for anything that goes wrong or for any unexpected issues that creep up later. As soon as you start to think about your friend possibly being responsible in any way then your friendship is going to take a hit.

There are plenty of other options out there when it comes to finding less than great S2000's, especially as you are open the idea of buying salvage title cars. In addition, you never mentioned where are you located at or what your storage/parking situation is like. Those things do matter when you are buying something that you plan to hang on to — don't ever plan on selling it as I believe you put it. (Don't ask me how I know.) Also, you've noted that you would go up to $7,800 for this car knowing that you'll likely be sinking a couple thousand more into it. What is your true overall budget when it comes to shopping for a S2000? In all honesty if I were in your shoes I would much rather find one of these cars in nicer condition that I know has actually been well maintained, even if it has well over 100K miles. Regular oil changes alone do not count as properly maintaining a car (did you happen to check to see if it has the correct oil filter mounted?). By the way, when somebody puts 50K miles on a car, in my mind that goes well beyond simply giving a hobby a chance. It actually sounds to me like you've already made up your mind to buy the car and now you are trying hard to justify doing so.

My apologies for being so blunt, but the combination of this particular car along with the fact that it's being sold by a friend of yours truly raises some red flags for me. But you did ask for advice, so that's what I've tried to provide. Regardless, I do wish you the best of luck going forward, whether that involves this particular car or another one.

 

It seems as if you've already made up your mind and you're hoping to get a bunch of people to tell you that it's a wise purchase, to reinforce your decision to buy it. Personally, I don't like doing business with friends - you're less likely to try to drive a hard bargain, and if there's a problem then it can quickly become awkward and uncomfortable. I agree with others on this thread and say to walk away and keep looking.

 

Hope you bought the car before someone else did. As someone else said, you could probably part it out and get your money back if you didn't like it, or I'm sure someone looking to get into a cheap S2000 would take it off your hands. A lot of people here go on about "forever car", "and never getting rid of it", but life and circumstances don't work that way. As far as buying from a friend, if he's not misrepresenting the car, and he's giving you a deal, that's a win, win, and you should have more friends like him. Ultimately, its your decision, just my 2 cents, for all its worth,

 

The KW are expensive.
How do these compare? https://www.kamispeed.com/products/b...it-00-06-s2000

Are the kits you mentioned really that much better?

That's the reason I figured I'd start at 7k and limit 7800. I feel I could re-sell it if it's bad.
I'm in the process of moving(was/corona happened) And my new place will have a garage and driveway. So I still have time to consider. I was mostly set to buy i Just wanted to get an idea of price. Because I don't see any red flags with it.
I might have forgot to mention, but I was there when he bought it. So I have a lot of insight into the condition of the car.
I'm in Bay area California and S2000 prices here are pretty wild, hovering around 20k for an 04 and some salvage titles at 10k.

Not to get off topic, but do people really pay those prices on craigslist or do the sellers quit or something?

 

These seem legit asking prices. I've seen hooptie cars with over 130,000 miles and horrible paint (among other things) advertised for $26,000! Yeah it was a late DBW car but...

The days of the general S2000 selling for $7,000 ended long ago. Expect to pay above $20,000 for a 2004+ with low miles and unmolested so $20K for an '04 meeting that criteria seems like a reasonable asking price.

-- Chuck

 

Bay Area California pricing are insane, that's where I am because I'm passively looking for a 2nd track beater. But prices are insane here.

As for the KW/Ohlins, yes. If you ask around the forums, most will tell you they are well worth the price. ALL coilovers will give you the visual appeal, but KW/Ohlins are the bare minimum if you consider actual performance upgrade over stock.

 

I live in the foothill area east of Sacramento. I found my car in Phoenix. It was at a dealer when the original owner either died or had a serious cardiac issues. (I found medical info in the secret compartment) It was a 2009 Rio Yellow with 30K miles in pristine stock condition. I wound up getting it for book ($26.5K) in 2012 sight unseen. It took me two weeks to fly down and drive it home. I entered into a written agreement with the dealer that the car must be as advertised and like the plethora of images. It was and the dealer was a straight shooter.

The nice thing about western cars is the lack of corrosion. Don’t be afraid to look out of the Bay Area.

 

This is a great option to consider whenever buying anything of value under certain circumstances. I don't know whether or not it would constitute a legal written agreement in my case (the seller was certainly under no obligation), but I included very similar wording when I initially contacted the seller of my S2000. I essentially noted my intent to buy the car at the full asking price if it proved to be as presented in the listing. In my case the seller was an individual as opposed to a dealer, but the outcome was the same as yours. The key here is in how the car is presented. If there are few details provided in terms of images included or statements made regarding the car's condition then this approach would not make sense.