Questions on a few issues with an '04 I'm looking at
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Questions on a few issues with an '04 I'm looking at
I think this might warrant its own thread, but if not please feel free to merge this into the Official thread.
I went and checked out this car today, with the handy dandy "What to look for" post printed out:
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4359556758.html
My idiot phone decided to start taking B&W photos at some point... please disregard that... I wasn't trying to be artsy
I found quite a few issues which I was surprised with. The car looks clean from the (terrible) pictures, and it was "original owner" and supposedly garage kept and only 51k miles. The car is DEFINITELY not worth the $15,500 asking price, but I'm not sure if I should just walk away, or make a low offer.
Issues:
Front bumper. Obviously this car hit something, and when I asked the owner he said it has been like that for 2 years and he "honestly isn't sure how it happened". Behind the bumper the splash shield in front of the tire is completely missing, and the splash shield behind the tire is dislodged from its mounting screws.
Scratches and dings in various places, nothing terrible but not what I expected for a low mileage "garage kept" car.
The tires are not matching all the way around (I mean the brand, not the size)
Front brakes are pretty low and need replaced.
There is a small tear in the top. I think it can be repaired with the vinyl+RTV fix that was posted here, but still this should factor in to the price.
I think all 4 rims have been curbed, and one of them had a healthy chip/chunk out of the edge.
Paint is peeling on the "hinge" (?) next to the trunk. Is this common?
The rear taillights and rear bumper are not quite sitting flush. I don't expect this is normal from a Honda product.
So, the guy is definitely not a car guy. I gave the car a thorough inspection and I think he got a bit nervous when I got my rubber gloves on.
The car drives fine, clutch feels good, top operates properly, oil/clutch/brake fluids are looking clean and full. There are some leaves under the hood which is not in keeping with a "garage kept" car.
So my options are to just walk away, or to make a low ball offer like $9-10k maybe. You guys are the experts, so I'd really appreciate your input.
I'm pretty disappointed, as I was prepared to offer about 14 if this car was as clean as I was expecting.
Waaahhhh! 
I went and checked out this car today, with the handy dandy "What to look for" post printed out:
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4359556758.html
My idiot phone decided to start taking B&W photos at some point... please disregard that... I wasn't trying to be artsy
I found quite a few issues which I was surprised with. The car looks clean from the (terrible) pictures, and it was "original owner" and supposedly garage kept and only 51k miles. The car is DEFINITELY not worth the $15,500 asking price, but I'm not sure if I should just walk away, or make a low offer.
Issues:
Front bumper. Obviously this car hit something, and when I asked the owner he said it has been like that for 2 years and he "honestly isn't sure how it happened". Behind the bumper the splash shield in front of the tire is completely missing, and the splash shield behind the tire is dislodged from its mounting screws.
Scratches and dings in various places, nothing terrible but not what I expected for a low mileage "garage kept" car.
The tires are not matching all the way around (I mean the brand, not the size)
Front brakes are pretty low and need replaced.
There is a small tear in the top. I think it can be repaired with the vinyl+RTV fix that was posted here, but still this should factor in to the price.
I think all 4 rims have been curbed, and one of them had a healthy chip/chunk out of the edge.
Paint is peeling on the "hinge" (?) next to the trunk. Is this common?
The rear taillights and rear bumper are not quite sitting flush. I don't expect this is normal from a Honda product.
So, the guy is definitely not a car guy. I gave the car a thorough inspection and I think he got a bit nervous when I got my rubber gloves on.
The car drives fine, clutch feels good, top operates properly, oil/clutch/brake fluids are looking clean and full. There are some leaves under the hood which is not in keeping with a "garage kept" car.So my options are to just walk away, or to make a low ball offer like $9-10k maybe. You guys are the experts, so I'd really appreciate your input.
I'm pretty disappointed, as I was prepared to offer about 14 if this car was as clean as I was expecting.
Waaahhhh!
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I think this might warrant its own thread, but if not please feel free to merge this into the Official thread.
I went and checked out this car today, with the handy dandy "What to look for" post printed out:
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4359556758.html
My idiot phone decided to start taking B&W photos at some point... please disregard that... I wasn't trying to be artsy
I found quite a few issues which I was surprised with. The car looks clean from the (terrible) pictures, and it was "original owner" and supposedly garage kept and only 51k miles. The car is DEFINITELY not worth the $15,500 asking price, but I'm not sure if I should just walk away, or make a low offer.
Issues:
Front bumper. Obviously this car hit something, and when I asked the owner he said it has been like that for 2 years and he "honestly isn't sure how it happened". Behind the bumper the splash shield in front of the tire is completely missing, and the splash shield behind the tire is dislodged from its mounting screws.
Scratches and dings in various places, nothing terrible but not what I expected for a low mileage "garage kept" car.
The tires are not matching all the way around (I mean the brand, not the size)
Front brakes are pretty low and need replaced.
There is a small tear in the top. I think it can be repaired with the vinyl+RTV fix that was posted here, but still this should factor in to the price.
I think all 4 rims have been curbed, and one of them had a healthy chip/chunk out of the edge.
Paint is peeling on the "hinge" (?) next to the trunk. Is this common?
The rear taillights and rear bumper are not quite sitting flush. I don't expect this is normal from a Honda product.
So, the guy is definitely not a car guy. I gave the car a thorough inspection and I think he got a bit nervous when I got my rubber gloves on. The car drives fine, clutch feels good, top operates properly, oil/clutch/brake fluids are looking clean and full. There are some leaves under the hood which is not in keeping with a "garage kept" car.
So my options are to just walk away, or to make a low ball offer like $9-10k maybe. The guy definitely has money, as houses in this neighborhood were HUGE and valued at about $800k++. I'm not trying to take advantage of the guy, but there are numerous issues with this car and honestly it is misrepresented in the ad. If I can leverage that along with the fact that he's well-off, I will. So you guys are the experts, so I'd really appreciate your input.
I'm pretty disappointed, as I was prepared to offer about 14 if this car was as clean as I was expecting. Waaahhhh!
I went and checked out this car today, with the handy dandy "What to look for" post printed out:
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4359556758.html
My idiot phone decided to start taking B&W photos at some point... please disregard that... I wasn't trying to be artsy
I found quite a few issues which I was surprised with. The car looks clean from the (terrible) pictures, and it was "original owner" and supposedly garage kept and only 51k miles. The car is DEFINITELY not worth the $15,500 asking price, but I'm not sure if I should just walk away, or make a low offer.
Issues:
Front bumper. Obviously this car hit something, and when I asked the owner he said it has been like that for 2 years and he "honestly isn't sure how it happened". Behind the bumper the splash shield in front of the tire is completely missing, and the splash shield behind the tire is dislodged from its mounting screws.
Scratches and dings in various places, nothing terrible but not what I expected for a low mileage "garage kept" car.
The tires are not matching all the way around (I mean the brand, not the size)
Front brakes are pretty low and need replaced.
There is a small tear in the top. I think it can be repaired with the vinyl+RTV fix that was posted here, but still this should factor in to the price.
I think all 4 rims have been curbed, and one of them had a healthy chip/chunk out of the edge.
Paint is peeling on the "hinge" (?) next to the trunk. Is this common?
The rear taillights and rear bumper are not quite sitting flush. I don't expect this is normal from a Honda product.
So, the guy is definitely not a car guy. I gave the car a thorough inspection and I think he got a bit nervous when I got my rubber gloves on.
The car drives fine, clutch feels good, top operates properly, oil/clutch/brake fluids are looking clean and full. There are some leaves under the hood which is not in keeping with a "garage kept" car.So my options are to just walk away, or to make a low ball offer like $9-10k maybe. The guy definitely has money, as houses in this neighborhood were HUGE and valued at about $800k++. I'm not trying to take advantage of the guy, but there are numerous issues with this car and honestly it is misrepresented in the ad. If I can leverage that along with the fact that he's well-off, I will. So you guys are the experts, so I'd really appreciate your input.
I'm pretty disappointed, as I was prepared to offer about 14 if this car was as clean as I was expecting.
Waaahhhh! IT IS 10 YEARS OLD and the guy drove it as someone should. I bought my 2002 knowing I was going respray front end which I did, but the fact that my car was a 1 previous ADULT owned S2000 was more important that a few bumps and bruises. Don't be unrealistic because S2000 that sell for only $9k usually are beat to piss and have 150K miles......
I'd say your offer of $14k is low and you'd be lucky to snag the car for that...
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I'm pretty sure I could find a car that hasn't been beat to hell for $14k. This thing needs several thousand dollars of work IMO. I know you guys have a vested interest in seeing your cars' value remain high but this thing is a bit rough around the edges. I appreciate your input though! Thank you!
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From: West Los Angeles, CA
This is the best "what do you think" post I have seen in a LONG time. You obviously tried to do your homework and provide the best background info that you could before asking people's opinions. THIS is how it's done!
The question I have for you is will you be happy with the car --regardless of price-- knowing what would have to be fixed to make it "right?"
I would not be thrilled with the "I don't know how that happened" statement. I am not saying he's lying, but how the heck does something that significant happen to the car and you don't know how it happened? That's not something inflicted by another vehicle. That's something someone drove over. If this were the family hauler or an econo-box, that kind of thing wouldn't surprise me. But somehow I expect more from someone who owns this kind of car. I might expect too much though. Did he provide maintenance records? I guess I just wonder what else was he clueless about. Mismatched tire brands, not ideal. Not the end of the world if they are at least matching fronts and matching rears, though. I wouldn't like it and I would fix that if I were buying it, but that's me. I'm currently running mismatched tires myself... Dunlop Z1 and Dunlop ZII due to poor timing of when I wore mine out, but sometimes that's how it goes.
The question I have for you is will you be happy with the car --regardless of price-- knowing what would have to be fixed to make it "right?"
I would not be thrilled with the "I don't know how that happened" statement. I am not saying he's lying, but how the heck does something that significant happen to the car and you don't know how it happened? That's not something inflicted by another vehicle. That's something someone drove over. If this were the family hauler or an econo-box, that kind of thing wouldn't surprise me. But somehow I expect more from someone who owns this kind of car. I might expect too much though. Did he provide maintenance records? I guess I just wonder what else was he clueless about. Mismatched tire brands, not ideal. Not the end of the world if they are at least matching fronts and matching rears, though. I wouldn't like it and I would fix that if I were buying it, but that's me. I'm currently running mismatched tires myself... Dunlop Z1 and Dunlop ZII due to poor timing of when I wore mine out, but sometimes that's how it goes.
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Thank you for the compliment on my post. I've been around car forums for a long time, and I admin one, and I like to think that my posts are constructive and well thought out.
Good question... I'm OK with having to fix the car up to make it right, so long as the purchase price reflects that. I don't want a car with 4k miles that I'll be afraid to drive and get a scratch on. I don't have a heated garage to keep this thing babied in, and I want to be able to drive and enjoy it. At the same time, I don't want to drive around in a beat S2000 with a smashed up bumper and curbed rims all the way around. I'd want to make those things right first, which is why I'm saying the car might only be worth $10k to me at best.
Good question... I'm OK with having to fix the car up to make it right, so long as the purchase price reflects that. I don't want a car with 4k miles that I'll be afraid to drive and get a scratch on. I don't have a heated garage to keep this thing babied in, and I want to be able to drive and enjoy it. At the same time, I don't want to drive around in a beat S2000 with a smashed up bumper and curbed rims all the way around. I'd want to make those things right first, which is why I'm saying the car might only be worth $10k to me at best.
Joined: Jun 2013
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From: San Francisco
I don't know man. I'm trying to get into the market of getting my first S2000, and I don't think I would even continue with this car. I'm sorry, but mis-matched tires is a telltale sign that a car has been neglected.
Lastly about the rear bumper, at the very least it looks to have been taken apart before(for whatever reason).
None of your findings are consistent with a "garage kept" car, so who knows what else he's hiding?
Lastly about the rear bumper, at the very least it looks to have been taken apart before(for whatever reason).
None of your findings are consistent with a "garage kept" car, so who knows what else he's hiding?
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I'm pretty sure I could find a car that hasn't been beat to hell for $14k. This thing needs several thousand dollars of work IMO. I know you guys have a vested interest in seeing your cars' value remain high but this thing is a bit rough around the edges. I appreciate your input though! Thank you!
$9-10K is ridiculous. I am not saying settle, but if you find the "Cream Puff" you are looking for with 50K miles, they aren't going to sell it to you for $14k.
http://www.carsforsale.com/used_cars...04_honda_s2000
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From: socal
I wish you the best in terms of finding a car at a good price but I'm in agreement here. Maybe you're not familiar with the used S2000 market value but $9-10k is very insulting. That's the price of high mileage AP1 and some salvage titles even. $14,000 is reasonable.
The best way you would find something out about the car that he didn't tell you is to run the plate on Carfax and Autocheck. Carfax should be a must when you're in the market anyway. If it's not on carfax it doesn't mean it's clean but I don't know, those things don't exactly look like it's "beat up". It's a 10 year old car and I'm sure it hasn't been garage kept for all 10 years of its life. The bumper in the front most likely ran into something on the freeway like tire debris, which does occur. If the car drives straight and the suspension look good, it's clearly not major damage.
The paint chipping on the hinge I had on my silver s2000 as well. Most likely due to age and sun exposure. Tops on these cars always go. The telling sign that he isn't a "car guy" would be the mismatched tires. Yeah it wasn't babied most likely and probably serviced for oil changes and the like but doesn't mean it was beat up. I'd take a "non car guy" who's somewhat ignorant about maintenance than someone who actually beats on the car. At 51k miles the drivetrain should be still great and you still have almost another 50k miles for spark plugs.
Most of the gripe is cosmetic and not even that much.
Obviously if these things are deal breakers for you PERSONALLY then I would skip this car. But if you like the car otherwise, maybe he'll let it go for $14k.
The best way you would find something out about the car that he didn't tell you is to run the plate on Carfax and Autocheck. Carfax should be a must when you're in the market anyway. If it's not on carfax it doesn't mean it's clean but I don't know, those things don't exactly look like it's "beat up". It's a 10 year old car and I'm sure it hasn't been garage kept for all 10 years of its life. The bumper in the front most likely ran into something on the freeway like tire debris, which does occur. If the car drives straight and the suspension look good, it's clearly not major damage.
The paint chipping on the hinge I had on my silver s2000 as well. Most likely due to age and sun exposure. Tops on these cars always go. The telling sign that he isn't a "car guy" would be the mismatched tires. Yeah it wasn't babied most likely and probably serviced for oil changes and the like but doesn't mean it was beat up. I'd take a "non car guy" who's somewhat ignorant about maintenance than someone who actually beats on the car. At 51k miles the drivetrain should be still great and you still have almost another 50k miles for spark plugs.
Most of the gripe is cosmetic and not even that much.
Obviously if these things are deal breakers for you PERSONALLY then I would skip this car. But if you like the car otherwise, maybe he'll let it go for $14k.
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From: fuuuuuuuuu
I can tell you this:
I went and saw this same care a few months ago. The guy was NOT prepared to let it go for under $15k.
Having seen the car: walk away, it is not worth it.
Not because of the damage, but because like you said "he is not a car guy." Dangerous combo for a sports car owner.
Spend the extra few thousand dollars and buy a nice example. I ended up driving to VA, bought a 2005 Rio for $18,600. It had 19,300 miles and was definitely cared for. You'll pay now for a pristine s2000, or later in repairs. It boggled my mind that the owner of that s2000 could have it sit with that bumper. I also didn't like that he purposely created an ad that hides all the damage.
PS: 2nd gear pops out by itself on his car.
I went and saw this same care a few months ago. The guy was NOT prepared to let it go for under $15k.
Having seen the car: walk away, it is not worth it.
Not because of the damage, but because like you said "he is not a car guy." Dangerous combo for a sports car owner.
Spend the extra few thousand dollars and buy a nice example. I ended up driving to VA, bought a 2005 Rio for $18,600. It had 19,300 miles and was definitely cared for. You'll pay now for a pristine s2000, or later in repairs. It boggled my mind that the owner of that s2000 could have it sit with that bumper. I also didn't like that he purposely created an ad that hides all the damage.
PS: 2nd gear pops out by itself on his car.
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I can tell you this:
I went and saw this same care a few months ago. The guy was NOT prepared to let it go for under $15k.
Having seen the car: walk away, it is not worth it.
Not because of the damage, but because like you said "he is not a car guy." Dangerous combo for a sports car owner.
Spend the extra few thousand dollars and buy a nice example. I ended up driving to VA, bought a 2005 Rio for $18,600. It had 19,300 miles and was definitely cared for. You'll pay now for a pristine s2000, or later in repairs. It boggled my mind that the owner of that s2000 could have it sit with that bumper. I also didn't like that he purposely created an ad that hides all the damage.
PS: 2nd gear pops out by itself on his car.
I went and saw this same care a few months ago. The guy was NOT prepared to let it go for under $15k.
Having seen the car: walk away, it is not worth it.
Not because of the damage, but because like you said "he is not a car guy." Dangerous combo for a sports car owner.
Spend the extra few thousand dollars and buy a nice example. I ended up driving to VA, bought a 2005 Rio for $18,600. It had 19,300 miles and was definitely cared for. You'll pay now for a pristine s2000, or later in repairs. It boggled my mind that the owner of that s2000 could have it sit with that bumper. I also didn't like that he purposely created an ad that hides all the damage.
PS: 2nd gear pops out by itself on his car.
If this car had a clean title and no accidents and mechanically checked out. I would offer $13k and work up from there a bit. I had my whole front end resprayed and my bumper fixed for $1800. The deal breaker for me on this car is the rip in top, but SOOOO many clean S2000 have some tears.....