Im looking to get a s2000 in the seattle area and compared to the prices in other states, even the bay area, its at least 2000 dollars more on average. Its ridiculous, and the quality of the cars in seattle at the current moment is horrible. Im just wondering why this is.

 

It rains in Seattle. All the time. Crash and rust.

Get a plane ticket to Phoenix and get one there. Thats what I did.

 

I bought my S up in Bellevue. Luckily it was always garaged, but yeah, for whatever reason they're expensive up there. I had to talk the dealer down quite a bit before I was willing to pull the trigger.

 

I must have just gotten super lucky. Got mine in Tacoma at the dealer I work at for a steal, and it's the cleanest I've seen for sale since.

 

I bought my first one up in Bellingham and at the time (8 years ago) it was a good price.
Hardly useful data now though...

 

^ what he said.

I think Cali prices are pretty reasonable too? Just due to more of them being there but then again, that's a great spot for a convertible almost (if not) all year round so maybe the demand exceeds the supply?

 

Looks like rain and more rain. Get one where it is dry.

 

I'd have to disagree with the consensus that NW cars rust. I was there not too long ago visiting family and noticed that the older Hondas had exceptionally clean undercarriages and paint. The rain they get doesn't necessarily rust out the car, and the vehicle I just bought recently verifies that.

I recently bought a 2001 4Runner with 200K from Seattle, WA that spent its whole life there. The 3rd gen 4Runner has a soft, vulnerable frame, which has shown to rot out if the underbody is not regularly washed in winter. Eventually the frame will rot out, relegating the whole SUV unsafe to drive. This is why I chose to buy a 4Runner from the NW. I paid $5450 and had it shipped back to Kansas City for $800. I was actually paying less even with shipping in comparison to the rusted out 4Runners in the midwest.

The underbody is immaculate. I will always buy cars from the NW from here on out.

Here's a pic of it on the shipping truck:

 

This is what I thought when I moved from Phoenix to Seattle. It is why I bought the hardtop. Then I got here and wondered what all the hype was about the rain. Seattle gets less rainfall yearly than a lot of east coast cities like New York. Yes it rains here quite a bit but it is very mild rain and we get very little snow and they don't salt much if any at all. I haven't seen many rusty cars like you see in heavy snow areas.

The market for these cars is all over the place. There is times when I have seen several for sale here that are fairly good deals. Other times I look and cannot believe the prices. Dealers are the worst for this as they often (see always) overprice these cars. I saw the same in AZ.

Oh and if you do look at cars in AZ the heat can be just a damaging as the rain. 120+ degree temps and 0 humidity cause much faster wear on rubber parts, batteries, paint etc. If it is a desert car make sure this stuff is checked out as it can be pricey to fix.

 

When pressed, I must admit you are correct. My dad's family is from Tacoma, Bellevue, and Bainbridge. I came very close to moving there with the airlines and I went to the library (dating myself) and looked at the solar radiation tables. There are some "banana belt" areas but even then, it does not rain all the time. I got into the habit of telling everyone that to keep them from moving there!

The big deal I found are places that salt the roads (Duh) like Minnesota and other Midwest/east areas. California has snow too but they only allow sand. My S is a PHX car but it was garaged and that helps mitigate the solar damage. Don't forget the aviation "graveyards" (long term storage) are all in the SW and / or desert areas. That is for a reason. Low humidity is a real advantage.