Nope, not at all. But it will continue to drive up prices on those increasingly rare, totally unmolested S2Ks. Like mine

 

I think Miatias are more overpriced. I constantly see even the 1990 model being listed for $4-6k with 130k+ miles on them. And they aren't even in mint condition!

 

So maybe its the market correction from the down economy in 2008+. Before I bought my C6, I looked at an 01 Silverstone with 100k that was clean. The owner wanted 10k, but I think I could have gotten it for 9k. That was around 2009.

I think ALL years are holding their value quite well. Obviously the newest, cleanest will fetch the most. However, I think there are two factors buoying the early years value. This applies to very clean, lower mile cars.

The first, is there are a group of buyers that have no interest in AP2s or VSA/DBW etc. To the enthusiast buyer, most cars models, the newest year is the best. With S2ks there is a (constantly debated) distinction that gives the earlier versions a boost in relative value.

Two, while there are way more AP1s than AP2s, clean, un-modded or properly moded, low mile Ap1s are becoming much more rare. The older versions were cheap enough for a while that they were snatched up by people (ricers) that beat them, did crappy mods and very much lowered their desirability once resold.

The later rarer AP2s never got cheap enough to fall into peoples hands that molested them. So the bottom line, low mileage, very clean AP1 or AP2s will fetch top dollar. It seems the floor for those cars is 20k, regardless of year.

 

I suppose it boils down to what you're (we're) looking for

My quest for a 2-seater sports car didn't start with the S2000. It started with British and Italian cars. I've previously owned MGs, Triumphs, and Alfas so looked at them first. Nice TR6s ran $30K and the Alfa Guiletta Spyder I owned long, long ago over $100K! Once I got over the nostalgia and prices I remembered the costs of ownership and the plaque from the dash of my TR4A that read "All the parts falling off this car are of the finest British craftsmanship."

Then I thought about the things we take for granted these days: cruise control, air conditioning, and convertible tops that actually keep rain and snow out of the interior. I quickly remembered the S2000. Honda reliability. I'm a driver, not a fixer. (6 or 7 Civics and an Accord, a couple of generators, and an outboard that starts every spring in 5 seconds -- damn Hondas!)

So here I was. $30K for a "restored" Brit sports car with narrow tires, anemic engine, leaky top, no AC, no cruise or an S2000. Was an epiphany as they say.

But if price is an object: One of our mechanics at work just bought a Triumph TR7 "drop head" for about $500 on Ebay and spent $600 trucking it to Ohio. It's in his large garage now stripped. I mean the engine is out, and the rest of the car reduced to the body shell he's getting ready to paint. He's fitting a Buick V6 and automatic transmission to the car, new interior, wheels, tires, etc. I figure he'll be waaaaaay under $10K when he's done. But unlike me he's a "fixer."

-- Chuck

 

Its funny you mention that. Down the road from my house, there is a red TR6 for sale. Its clean, but not a recent restore. What a great looking car. Traditional British sports styling with the slash cut back end. Those I-6s sound pretty good with the right exhaust too. Those cars have lots of character. However, compared to the S2000, they are junk as far as build quality. As you know, anything and everything will go wrong.

Right now my S is the perfect combo of weekend fun and track day weapon. When I get a bit older the nostalgia of a Euro roadster, might win out for weekend fun. A stripped or beat S or Miata may become the track beater.

 

I have been using a 2001 NSX Cpe 3.0L as a proxy for early S2000 values using Hagerty Valuation data. The data show that the lowest value for this proxy car occurred in 2011 at the 10-year age point. The S2000 may be paralleling this path.

The greatest price jump occurred the next year in 2012 when annual prices jumped 7 to 13% for the various Hagerty Class 1-4 Condition cars. Annual prices jumped from 3 to7% in 2013 and from 7 to 9% in 2014. In summary, Condition #4 cars (daily drivers needing work and having mods) have increased 19.2% since 2011. Condition #3 cars (basically unmolested daily drivers) have increased 17% since 2011. Condition #2 cars (weekend cars) have increased 23% since 2011. Condition #1 cars (garage queens, time-capsules, museum pieces) have increased 29% since 2011.

What is odd here is that Condition #4 cars have increased slightly more than Condition #3 cars. My theory is that individuals are purchasing those cars that can still be saved as bargains, repairing them, and un-modding them to return back to stock condition where possible.

 

To agree with what others have said - what other cars are truly comparable to and therefore competitors to the S2000? Amazingly, in a world with so many cars, there aren't any. What other car is a true 2 seat convertible sports car with high performance and great reliability, for an affordable price?

As others have said, the Miata, while a fun car (I've had two), is in a different league with much lower performance. The Z3/Z4 aren't in the same league of performance, and certainly not reliability (I had one of those too, big mistake). The Boxster is probably the closest in terms of performance, but is a reliability, maintenance, and repair nightmare (I had a 2006 Boxster just before I bought my S2000). The performance of the cars may be similar, but with the Boxster you get intermediate shaft failure nightmares, and you can't even see the engine without taking some body panels apart. The S2000 is infinitely more reliable, much less expensive to maintain, and offers similar performance.

I think prices may be appreciating because there isn't even anything on the horizon which will be comparable to the S2000. Now that the specs for the new Miata are out, it looks like it will be another Miata - pretty to look at, fun to drive, but not a 'performance' sports car, and certainly not in the same performance league as the S2000. For the hard core who want a true sports car with this level of performance, maybe people are just looking to get the good S2000's while they can - there will never be any more.

A free market is just that - a free market. Buying a S2000, or anything for that matter, is an opportunity, not an obligation. If something actually sells for a given price, then it's not "over priced' - that's the price buyers are willing to pay for it.

 

Thank you for summarizing this overly long thread (which I seem to consistently contribute too myself )

 

By and large, the only ridiculous prices I see on S2ks are from dealers and s2ki members. Seems like every S2k I find on here for sale is vastly overpriced. Makes sense, people on here really love their cars and have, what I suspect, is a slightly distorted reality of what a realistic price for it is. I find CL is usually pretty overpriced, but people are easy to talk down several thousand.

 

Keep in mind that parted out, an S2000 is worth quite a bit as well. Since you can get thousands of dollars for major components, its value will never get real low unless it was wrecked and/or in bad shape.