hey everyone, i might be buying my aunties honda s2000, 2003 reg with 23000 miles on the clock but the car hasnt moved in two years. can anyone advise on what to look for or anything that could be wrong with it.

help would be much appreciated, many thanks, dan

 

replace all the fluids - full tune up.

Additional maintenance items

- empty gas tank/fill with new gas - odds are the gas is bad now.
- check/replace tires - sitting that long - odds are there's flat spots
- battery will have fully discharged at this point - get a new one or recharge existing one.

Don't buy before getting it back to running.

 

Tires will definitely be warped. I stored a vehicle for 1.5 years without moving it and the tires would make a god awful sound. Replace them right away.

 

Agreed, and check for any leaks that may have developed from siting for so long. My buddies car was once his dads and was siting around for a few years and rats chewed many wires including the radiator hoses and overheated the car so be careful for things like that.
Make sure there is no rust or anything underneath the car.
If you don't want to replace the tires make sure they are pumped up.
The battery might be salvageable but your better off getting a new one.
If it runs fine than purchase it. sounds like it is probably in good shape

 

-Replace all fluids (diff, trany, engine, coolant etc)
-Check for flat spots on tires

Was it stored with the roof up or down?
anyways make sure that its not cold when you bring the roof up or down.

check for rust

only 23000 miles so it should be good !

good luck

 

Check for nests. The car is probably fine, but new fluids will be good to do. The one thing you don't want is to find the wiring looms chewed through by mice that moved in.

 

the roof was up, if i get it serviced would they change all the fluids and how much is a service for an s2000, also what do you think about the brakes? the car was kept outside so are covered in what looks like rust and i know once you drive it should clean it but would anything else be affected?

thanks for the help so far. dan

 

It should be a great s2000.
just replace all fluids, battery and wipers
look for rust and cracks.

any pictures of the vehicle ?

 

The rust on the brakes will cause some noise, it should scrub off after a few stops though.

 

Not entirely sure about this, so I'll bring this up as a question. Should OP not try to start the car?

I've heard advice in the past that because the fluids have lost their lubrication properties over time, starting the car may cause unnecessary wear/damage.