good point.
go with the WRX.
it's the right choice for you.

 

Xaznx,
Welcome and you'll have to pardon some of the others for what may seem like harsh words. We (on this forum) get tired of the "whatever car vs. the S2000" questions, they get old rather quickly these days. I just bought my S in November and had also looked at the BMW 3 series coupe, Merc. Benz CLK and Lexus IS 300 and GS Series. It sounds like you are in a simlilar situation to mine, young and single and don't really need a practical car. I loved the 330 coupe but felt it was overpriced, loved the CLK but felt it lacked power and any sport tuning. I drove the IS 300 and ruled it out pretty quickly. I didn't like the multi-fabric seats or the tiny backseat, it was fairly sluggish and handled like a very heavy car. I drove the GS 300 and 400 and really liked the 400 but it just wasn't sporty enough. Then there was the S. If I were you, I'd go with the S, there are many intangibles that the S has that you CAN'T find in any other car in that price range. I have a habit of keeping a car for about a year before I get tired of it, I think that habit will be no more thanks to the S.

 

By "intagibles", you mean of course those sounds that the transmission and differential make but the dealer/shop never hears?

Seriously though, I'd think it over carefully and try to get more than 1 test drive that lasts over 15 minutes - Never do a test drive with the radio on (old salesman trick to cover noises) Test drive with top up & down.

Pros
- Beautiful car
- Convertible
- Powerful new engine
- Race-car-like
- Reasonable Gas mileage
- Good handling with proper tires
- Predictable handling
- Rigid Chassis
- Excellent shifter/transmission feel
- Cool HID headlights
- Can toast most other roadsters when properly driven
- 2 Seater
- 3yr/36000 mile warranty

Cons
- Loud (not so much the engine, but transmission)
- Convertible (poor winter car, poor visiblity with top up, wind noise, should be garaged or well covered from the elements)
- Not too torquey on the low end (better than some say, but not as good as we'd like)
- Race-Car-like (demands attention while driving- Really!)
- Bad handling w/cold tires & with worn tires in rain
- Tires are expensive...OEM recommended to keep same handling, OEM S02's can be difficult to "find"
- Loud (can't say that enough)
- Honda (friends: "its just a civic del sol with vtec")
- Less reliable than most honda's
- Small gas tank(normal for this size car, but if you've driven something bigger before- be ready to be surprised how often you refuel)
- little space (passenger seat becomes "cargo hold")
- Cheap soft top/plastic rear window (but w/a hard top option)
- Rigid Chassis (VERY bumpy ride)
- Headlights taunt other motorists (as if you are flashing them)
- Beautiful car (stands out and becomes a vandalism target)
- semi-expensive car from a dealership brand that is used to servicing civics (talking about customer treatment here)
- Warranteed repair- be prepared to fight for it
- Possibly toast compared to german engineered drive train durability (the jury's still out on this)
- High insurance cost
- No side impact air bags
- sold over MSRP in some places still, but again often treated by dealer like you got it at a discount
- Comes with a nice hole in the carpet!
- Factory speakers suck
- 2 Seater

As you'll notice, pretty much every Pro can be considered a Con to some. So that is why it requires much more consideration before you buy the car. If you don't have a second car, then these Con's become more emphasized.

I bought mine knowing about the downsides in advance and most of them don't matter to me. I wanted a sports car and not a day to day driver. But if you come to my house, you'll usually not see the car since its packed away in the garage 90% of the time. Part of that is my own worship of the car and trying to keep it as pristine as possible. My wife is upset because I never drive it- won't take it out in the rain, and didn't go anywhere with it in the winter. And I realize I'm treating it like a 100,000$ car rather than a $32,000 car.

-B

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by XaznX
[B]yea this is all true, don't get me wrong both are great cars, however one is sportier and the other a little classier with some sport into it, I live in an apt complex that has a gated fence with limited access, but from reading posts it just seems like most everybody has had things stolen off their car or top slashed, or is it just the one guy?

 

I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe...

 

Hard to believe, isn't it? I have several people calling to inquire about my 2001 Yellow S2000 classied ad in the paper. After I wouldn't budge from $32,500, I was *advised* (more like taunting to me) that I better lower the price to below $30K in order to get rid of it, as some dealerships in the area have begun to sell below MSRP due to the very slow pace to move the S2000's (in the winter).

I was given the names of two dealership who were doing business at "very friendly prices." One dealer was Brown's Honda in Arlington, VA and other one was Sports Honda in Silver Spring, MD. I called them up and was told MSRP is no problem, $1K under MSRP is doable if I can pay them a visit and purchase very soon. I don't know about other regions in the country, in one Sunday's issue of the Washington Post two months ago, there were a total of 10 ad's selling 2001 S2000's, 4 new ones from dealers, 4 used ones from private parties, and 2 new ones from private parties.

It IS EXTREMELY hard to believe...

 

XaznX,

Hey...I just got done messing with the IS300.net members from your post on is300.net:

http://www.is300.net/forum_new/Forum1/HTML/006407.html

 

Hey Unicorn, you need to reply to this dumbass (since I don't want to bother setting up an account there and your already have one):

He's obviously only going by things he's read!! He's probably never even ridden in a S2000 much less driven one!!

 

This question is *just* about as relevant as asking somebody what color you should get.

 

Being the owner of a GS, I have just two words for the Lexus driving experience, bland and isolating.
Decide on what you want from a car, before trying to compare apples and anything that isn't an apple.