Hello. I may potentially be a new MY05 SSM AP2 owner. The car is and has been owned by my wife's uncle and by him only since purchased new in 05. I took it for an extended test drive this past weekend thru ortega hwy in southern california and thought that the car ran very strong for having 160k miles.

Pros:
Single owner and know owner personally,
Seemingly mechanically sound,
Never involved in an accident,
Has 10 matching VIN stickers,
Never been modified,
Convertible top was recently replaced,
Clutch was replaced (not sure when).

Cons:
Gears engage nice and tight but the shifter itself has a lot of slop,
The steering wheel will either need to be re-upholstered or replaced,
Door cards seem to be smudged with sunblock or some other type of lotion,
Font bumper needs a complete re-spray,
Side view mirror covers will need to be re-sprayed or replaced,
Passenger taillight has accumulated some dirt/dust inside (no idea how),
Needs some PDR and will need to be fully paint corrected and sealed which I don't mind doing but not sure if I can salvage every single panel.

He said he's going to think about really selling it for a few weeks since he's grown very attached to the car and is entertaining throwing a blower on it. If he does end up deciding to sell, we'll negotiate prices after I get a CarMax estimate and a PPI. Aside from what all the videos on YouTube mention, is there anything in particular that I should keep an eye out for? Also, given the vague description, what would you all expect to pay? He had mentioned CarMax + $2k and KBB has the car valued around $16.7k in excellent condition which this car is definitely not.

Thanks!

 

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/775...#entry18385384

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/102...replace-first/

First link is what to look for when buying an S2K. The second link is what to do with it once you get it home. Lots of good info and links.

 

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

 

Sounds expensive to me but I really don't know the market anymore. Taillight seals are likely bad to cause that dirt. I'm surprised the shifter is that noticeable, in the way that you describe it. I'm going to guess engine mounts and/or transmission mounts. I had to replace both on my car and, even at that, wouldn't have described it as having a lot of slop pre-replacement.

 

My buddy's a broker and said that dealers would offer 11k for the car based on the VIN. I guess I'll have to take it to CarMax and surrounding dealers to get a good baseline.

I've never driven an S2000 before and the only other MT cars I've driven haven't had as much slop. My buddy's 05 TC didn't have as much slop and my 17 GTI definitely doesn't have as much slop but that's a much, much newer car. Thanks for the info. I'll look into the cost of mounts and taillight seals.

 

My S2000 had less slop at 19 years old and 153k miles than any other manual car I’ve driven, including new ‘sports’ cars.

 

Gear shifter needs a rebuild, is all. These cars have the BEST shifters ever put into an automobile, hands down. However, they wear just like everything else. Luckily, rebuilding them is a VERY easy process (and noted in the links I provided).

Bottom line, don't let the gear shifter turn you off to this car.

 

Most definitely not. It's all going to come down to price at this point.

 

I just got my oem parts to rebuild the shifter. Took about 2 days from ordering them so they're not on backorder. Be sure and order some Honda high temp grease with it.

 

noted for if i do end up buying. thanks!