Hello everyone, I’ve been looking into getting an s2000 for a while now I have found one recently and the car looks good, priced fair and has clean title. I test drove it too and it sounded fine to me but there’s one issue and that would be when I opened the engine bay, owner said he does not drive it often but turns it on so the battery does not die. Just wanted to ask to get an opinion on this and make sure if it’s alright to buy, hope I just need to get it cleaned and do the regular maintenance instead of having to deal with a bigger problem, many thanks to anyone who helps

 

Hello Silky !
Definitely a bit dirty under the hood. You didn't mention the year and mileage. Is he the original owner? It's good to get as much info as you can.
You say he "turns it on". Does that mean he starts the car and lets it run for a while? That's ok to do in the winter if it's stored.
If you can get back to us with that info it would help us give you some advice.

If the owner is willing will he let you take it to your mechanic?

I'd want to know these things if I was putting down the cash.

 

Might not be a huge deal depending on how often he's done this, but it's certainly not ideal to just turn the car on to let it idle without driving, especially in the winter when it's cold. You don't get good oil circulation while idling cold, so it can cause significant wear on the cylinders if done regularly. Also the engine doesn't get up to sufficient temperature to evaporate away ingested water, which means you'll have that trace water sitting in the engine after it's shut off, causing corrosion. Same reason you ideally don't want to start the car just to move it a few feet and then shut it back off and let it sit. Ideally you want to get it fully up to operating temperature most times you start it, and certainly if it's going to set for a long time afterward.

If I were looking to buy this car I'd get a leakdown test at least.