Appreciate your advice on this. I'm thinking about purchasing an older S2000. Yesterday, I viewed a 1999 (V reg) one that had around 25k miles on it. It looked immaculate inside and out, and drove well. It had one lady owner until last year, when the current owner picked it up. He had a genuine reason for sale. The car had been garaged over winters etc and had obviously been looked after.

The one thing that is concerning me is the service history. It all been stamped up til 2006 (18k miles). After that, nothing. So, obviously, if I bought it it'll need a full service straightaway. But, could there be other problems (currently unforeseen) that result from buying a car that has little attention over the last five years.

One thing I noticed was a very stiff clutch. I don't think that's normal but I've read on the S2k website about possible causes for this (and some quite cheap fixes, etc). I can't believe it would need replacing given the mileage, unless it had just failed through lack of use?

Anyway, I was thinking that I'd get a Honda dealer to inspect it prior to purchase? What do you you think?

 

Good idea to have any car inspected prior to purchase, I think you may have found a real gem. Good luck.
Levi

 

^ This. Mileage by itself isn't something to worry over. Problems uncovered by an inspection are.

 

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/775...-a-used-s2000/

Read the link above, get it inspected, drive it thoroughly (test drive) and make sure it is what you want it to be.

Good luck...seems like it should be a real keeper!!!

 

A good idea would be to have a compression test to see that the engine is in tiptop shape, or like others said having a trusted mechanic take a look. Probably unlikely anything is wrong, but one of my friends bought an older s2k with a really low mileage and ended up having a scored cylinder wall. yikes.

 

stiff clutch probably means it's an aftermarket clutch, soft clutches mean they're worn out

 

As long as the inspection comes back OK it sounds like a keeper IMO low-mileage is nearly a non-issue with these cars if they've been garage kept -- they're still Hondas. I bought my 2002 S2k ~2 years ago, and the original owner had only done ~700 miles per year (it had 4,702 on the clock when I settled in to drive it home!). She didn't have receipts for maintenance she had done (which was only annual oil changes), but that didn't bother me one bit. Tires are about the only thing I can think of that might not be in good shape, but I can't think of much else. Good luck with it!

 

I would worry less about the total miles and more about how often it has been driven. If its been driven every month, low total miles wouldn't worry me. As for the clutch, not sure what you have driven before, but the s2000 clutch is heavier than most DD's(Imports) and catches fairly quick.

 

Good place to ask info on low mileage s2000's:

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/800...ge-s2000-club/

 

Yes, you should be concerned about low mileage S2k's. The cons of having so little miles, is that the car will last forever, and you might be stuck with it for years to come.