Hello all! So I purchased my MY2000 S2000 in January 2 years ago. I never expected myself to buy the car and in all honesty didn’t really know it existed for the longest time(I’m 22 now btw) I was sitting in tech school getting ready to graduate and decided I should start looking for a car. I wanted something RWD or AWD, manual, wouldn’t break the bank, and had a large tuning community. I looked at EVOs and Subarus, 335is, miatas, and many more I’m forgetting. I never even thought about an S2000 or knew anything about it until way later. Fast forward a little bit and I found one, test drove it, and wow I was instantly in love. The shifts felt perfect and raw, the car was light and nimble and the way power came on was totally unique and new to me. I’ve owned the car for 2 years and I will never sell it. Every time I drive it I smile and have a good time. It is my daily and thankfully I’m not married or have kids so I can continue dailying it with no real consequences. There’s been days where I was down in the dumps and I’d hop in the car to go to work or to run an errand and at the end of the drive I feel great and always have a smile. It’s an amazing car and I still want other cars but without a doubt the S2000 will always have my heart and always be a vehicle in my fleet.

 

Congratulations on your purchase and on-going love. You made a good choice on your purchase and you are young, yet wise enough to know how special the S2000 really is. Keep it special.

 

Congrats on your new S2000! Treat her with respect and she'll last for years to come.

I purchased my first s2000 when I was 20 (back in 2005). I too stumbled across a used one on a dealer lot. It was beautiful. One of the sales men came out and treated me with such professionalism and respect and asked if I would like to take it for a test drive. I obviously obliged. It was simply incredible. The car felt so "special", like nothing I had ever driven before. Mechanical and raw, yet so dialled in. I was sold.

Every day that I drove that car for the 5 years I owed it, I felt so proud. It didn't matter what everyone else drove, THIS was MY S2000.

I regretfully sold it in 2010 to help purchase my first home and I missed it every day

Nothing under $80k could ever come close to the driving experience of the S2000 and thats why back in another one now.

 

Congrats and welcome to the cult. Sorry for ruining other cars for you.

The only car sub $40k that comes close to these are the 987.2 Cayman/Boxster S cars with LSDs. Maybe the C6Z but that's a bit different in character and driving experience. If you can find a manual NSX well that beats them all.

I have had a few S2000's and have learned when I sell them I start looking at newer cars to replace them. The ND2 is REALLY close and so good already out of the box that I'm excited to see what the aftermarket does to them.

However I keep coming back. I loved my 987.2 Cayman S with the upgraded exhaust, Dundon intake manifold, and the race oil separator but I didn't like the attention it received due to my age. I'll definitely get another one but the next one will have an LSD added.


I even checked out the 981 and 718 cars but honestly a 987 with the hydraulic steering and the bit less refinded/muted character is really why I can see people going to them from the S2000.

 

My wife just picked up an ND2 RF. In my opinion, this car is VERY close to the S2K in terms of performance (I own a MY00 AP1 that looks just like OP's). My only wish would be for a short shifter to reduce the throw. However, the new Miata is TINY---even compared to my S2K.

 

Nice story OP. Yes, the S2000 is one of those rare special cars that gets under your skin ("you can take the driver out of the S2000, but..."). Seller's remorse is so common around here that people will end up buying a second, third, fourth, or more, depending on how their life's situation evolves. But even if they don't, it's not uncommon for former owners to stay active in the S2000 community. As with the car, there's just no other owners' group quite like it.
Cheers!

 

My relationship with my S is very similar only I got mine at age 65.