I hear these cars are very reliable, but not ACCORD reliable. They are indeed a sports car and I hear they do have expensive parts, things that break and are expensive to repair or replace... I'd like to know what they are and when they usually go? Clutches, transmission issues, blown rear ends... differentials etc etc. I have a feeling there is more to it than "oh it's a honda beat the snot out of it"... a friend of mine strayed away from an EVO because he was intimidated by a $1,500 clutch job (parts and labor) and I think that this car might be pretty close to that...

 

This was a concern when I was shopping for a sporty car. Here is a break down on what things typically cost for me so far?

Oil change:
Dealer $35 (Conventional)
My Self $28 (Mobile 1)

Transmission Fluid change
Dealer $50
My Self $14

Rear Differential
Dealer $50
My Self $16

Spark Plugs
Dealer ???
My Self $90 (once every 100,000 miles)

Four new OEM tires, about $800 installed

New Clutch w/ labor $1300 quoted at dealer


Now if you where to damage a major component, here is a rough break down for parts cost:

New Cylinder head $4000
New Engine, short block $3500
New Transmission $3500
New Rear differential $3500

You gota' pay to play.

Hope this helps.

 

So are those expensive components far fetched issues? I wouldnt think so considering these cars require some hard driving to get the best out of them... how many miles before your clutch went splat?

 

S2000 Talk not UTH

 

the car is one that can be beat on, but most of us don't.

clutches usually go late in the car's life or need to be replaced when you get over ~300whp with FI. the part that people break driving hard is the differential on launch. i have no idea what they retail for, but, you can usually pick up a used one for $500.

to give you an idea of the engine's durability, the user modifry had his engine for 167k before it went, and i think more than half of the miles were supercharged, so it was running a lot more power/pressure than the OE spec. i've heard a few folks say he's didnt go easy on it.

also, there was a post not long ago where a guy blew his engine at about 50k. he had been routinely cruising on the freeway in third gear (6000RPM+) for 10+ minutes at a crack the ENTIRE time he owned the car. he learned his lesson, but i think that's a testament to the car's engine too.

i haven't heard of a tranny going yet except for due to a mechanical overrev (money shift).

again, diff's break, but it's almost always from the launch, and usually people breaking them do one of the following:
1/ drop the hammer from near 8k/9k rpm hundreds of times first
2/ drop it with R compound tires
3/ drop it with FI

over the life of the car, if you stay stock or bolt-on, usually tires are by far the biggest expense for most owners, assuming you buy low treadwear high performance tires. if you go FI, it depends on how and what you do, but you can break things if you arent careful.

 

mechanical overrev hurts the tranny????

 

Not expensive to maintain.
Expensive Replacement parts.

 

The car really isn't that bad at all. If you go into the classified's on this forum you can find anything you might break. You'll pay 4k for a head brand new. But you're pretty silly if you do that!. My buddy just picked up a diff for 550 shipped. The clutch will run you about 400 in parts from hondaautomotiveparts.com, or if you can get a discount at your local parts dept. Just to clear up that first comment. It is accord reliable. Maybe not in the hands of a 16yr old. Or in the hands of a "street racer", but otherwise it's the most reliable sports car you can get your hands on. Just don't break it. But if you do the last thing you want to do is go to honda for the expensive components.

 

The S2000 is like the NSX's little brother(in almost every way). Several magazine writers have said, the NSX is the cheapest Super Sports Car to own. I believe the S2000 is one of the cheapest Sports Cars to own. If you drive it like 95% of us, it will likely cost as much to maintain as an Accord(or very close).

 

Tires tend to add up, but other than that its actually pretty affordable