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I had seen the '01 S2000 brochure and it had a Spa Yellow centerfold. It was love at first sight. I called a couple dealers and they said they were selling for 4-5k over sticker. There was no way I was going to do that. I also had to get over the mental hurdle of buying a 3rd "toy" car which would only be driven in good weather (which...around here is like 3 months ). I put the idea on hold, although every time I saw one (which was rare back then), I would drool. Later, my lease on my last BMW 3 series was up and I ordered a new '02 but it was delayed on the boat getting here. I had to turn in the one car and would have been left with nothing to drive except my dealer (best in town) decided to cover me and let me "use" a new red Z3 M version for 2 and 1/2 weeks. It was a 40k car. Had like 12 miles on it. At that point I decided I HAD to get me one of these. By then the S2000 could be had for sticker. So once I decided to take the plunge, with a little nudging from my kids, I looked at both cars. The S2000 pricing was better unless you wanted the weak 2.5 version Z3. Plus, as far as I'm concerned the S2000 is the most beautiful car every designed IMHO. I can sit there and stare at the front for hours. Lastly, I heard the Z3 was going to be discontinued and that was the final nail for them. I felt bad for my BMW salesman because he's always taken care of me, particularly letting me use a 40k brand new car for 2 1/2 weeks. He couldn't say anything but I think he knew I got the better car. He's been bugging me to drive it ever since. He wants me to take it to the dealer which I haven't done yet because sales of Z4's would plummet that day.
Always wanted a convertible but could never afford it. I almost leased a 00 Mustang GT in Dec 99 (the salesman was desperate to move the car being winter and all). He gave me a sweet deal (24 month lease, no money down, $450/month)... I almost took it. But I really wanted to buy one and my wife doesn't like mustangs.
I continued to rent convertibles everytime I went on business (Z3, Mustang, Sebring, 911, Z5) but at ~$200/day I was spending about $3k/ year on rentals. (It wasn't that much after I got reimbursed for a midsize car at work but still...). When I saw the S (Dec 2000) I decided to get one. So no more rentals.. all that money saved for the downpayment and a lot of convincing on my wife, even got a 1/2 day test drive from the dealer.
After two years I finally paid the 'beater' off and was able to save enough for a downpayment and here I am driviing my six week old 03 Suzuka!
first saw an S in person back in 2000 - a white one that I raced (and barely beat) in my Passat 1.8t. After a couple light to light bursts - the guy in the S asked me what kind of car I had (it was modded and debadged) and mentioned that he had to shift at half the available RPM range becasue it wasn't broken in yet. That impressed me...
Fast forward to 2001 and I have my TT heavily modified and I raced a Spa yellow S late one night and barely pulled on him. So when the TT started to have electrical gremlins and other isssues that i just didn't want to deal with - I started thinking about the S that was my equal performance wise - but that if I bought - I wouldnt have to drop 10K in mods into to be happy with.
The idea percolated for a while (I joined S2Ki and some other forums like iclub to research various cars) Got laid off, sold the TT, got a job, got laid off again, got a better job where the owner of the company (and race car driver)was friends with a Honda dealer. Hooked me up with the guy and I now have my S. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Still the best sports car out of the box that I've driven (and I've driven them all) in terms of pure sports car feeling and fun. Other sports-cars just seem sedate in comparison.
I was following the development of the S2000 from the beginning - SSX, SSM, the pre-production models... I don't remember exactly when but sometime in mid '99 Road & Track had an article about the car. It was the first test I'd seen that had a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds. As soon as I read that, I immediately thought to myself "This car is gonna be hot!" I took advantage of an opportunity to purchase in Nov 99, and haven't looked back since.
I hated the S2000 in the begining. A Honda? Come on, I said. I digital cluster? Real cars have dials.
Driving it once changed all that. Was also considering a Boxster S but was having a hard time justifying the $$$. The regular Boxster was just too slow though.
Also I remember in December 99, when Gran Turismo 2 (Japanese Import Version) was released, the cover art caught my attention... I had never seen the front of any car so stunning before.
). I put the idea on hold, although every time I saw one (which was rare back then), I would drool. Later, my lease on my last BMW 3 series was up and I ordered a new '02 but it was delayed on the boat getting here. I had to turn in the one car and would have been left with nothing to drive except my dealer (best in town) decided to cover me and let me "use" a new red Z3 M version for 2 and 1/2 weeks. It was a 40k car. Had like 12 miles on it. At that point I decided I HAD to get me one of these. By then the S2000 could be had for sticker. So once I decided to take the plunge, with a little nudging from my kids, I looked at both cars. The S2000 pricing was better unless you wanted the weak 2.5 version Z3. Plus, as far as I'm concerned the S2000 is the most beautiful car every designed IMHO. I can sit there and stare at the front for hours. Lastly, I heard the Z3 was going to be discontinued and that was the final nail for them. I felt bad for my BMW salesman because he's always taken care of me, particularly letting me use a 40k brand new car for 2 1/2 weeks. He couldn't say anything but I think he knew I got the better car. He's been bugging me to drive it ever since. He wants me to take it to the dealer which I haven't done yet because sales of Z4's would plummet that day. 
Great story.
