Hi everyone,

I've been a lurker for a LONG time now and it's finally time to buy an S. I really wanted an 02 due to the changes they made, but came across a 2000 White with Red/black interior with 14,530 miles on it at a John Holtz Porsche/Audi dealer.

They were asking $18,995 and I managed to talk him down to $17,050 before taxes and fees. The car is in mint condition, and the only thing I could find wrong with it is a small ding on the drivers door, which part of the deal is that they will fix it for me (It can be fixed with the ding doctor). Everything else looked great, drove smoothly and I didn't see or hear anything fishy. I've driven at least 6 of them in the past 2 weeks as well, and this one looked good.

The only thing holding me back is that he told me the car has been in a frontal accident I then looked at the carfax report and it came up perfectly clean. Everything checked out just fine on the carfax. Because of this, I worked it out that I can still back out of the deal because he's going to get a report on the repairs made to the car because it was serviced at the same shop. He's also going to find out if all the TSBs were done to the car as well, and fax me the information in the morning.

The lady that traded it in was 46 years old, bought the car in Florida, and then drove it back to NY where she lives. The car had 4 miles at the time of delivery on 02/04/2000 and then had 952 miles on 07/20/2000 in NY when the title was issued.

So it all comes down to what information he gives me on the accident. I can make a much better decision if I knew what was replaced and what was not. In the mean time, I'll take any and all opinions on this particular situation of mine.

Thanks for all your help.

PS - What's also puzzling me is that the "S2000" logo on the fenders is placed behind the parking/corner light about 6" below it. So it's just about smack dab in the middle of the fender (Height wise). Is this correct? I always thought it was right behind the light. Or maybe the fenders were replaced? Thanks again

 

It's supposed to be right behind the light. The fenders were definitely repainted. Check for VIN sticker to see if they were replaced. Every body panel on the car has a VIN sticker.
Also, in my opinion, the MY02+ seems like less worry (about the rear window, remaining warranty, and soundsystem, if those matter to you). But if it's not a big deal to you, the mileage sounds right.
Good luck finding your S.

 

I hate when the auto body shop can't place an emblem in the right place.
I had an Accord that was rear ended and they placed the "EX" emblem in the wrong place. IMO the whole point of the repair is to make it look like it never happened - but as soon as I looked at this car I knew it had been hit.
I suggest you move on with your search, find another.

 

carfax does not catch everything...and should be taken with a truckload of salt
i'd pass, who knows what was damaged in the frontal accident...

 

Carfax and Autocheck are not as reliable as you think. As many things don't get reported. In fact, I believe there is a lawsuit against Carfax at this time, as dealer's are using it to say, "This car is Carfax certified." Then, later down the road, the buyer finds out that the Carfax report didn't show damage, accidents, etc. Shady dealers.

I still use them just to pull up basic info on the car, but I don't trust them entirely, as there is always missing info. Have the car inspected by a mechanic and a bodyshop to find out the extent of the damage. If it's minor (bumper only, no body/frame damage), then it may be a good deal.

 

carfax does have a disclaimer. at least the dealer is being honest (I think) about this.

That is a good price, but it is that low for a reason. Under 20K is a lucky find, but that's well under.

 

Take the car to a body shop that you trust and have them put the car up on a rack and look at it. Then take it to a mechanic that is familiar with S2ks and have him shake the car down. That's about the best that you can do to protect yourself, a used car is always something of a risk.

 

Keep resale in mind, you don't want to get stuck with this car if you miss something seriously wrong with it. A friend of mine damaged his Civic Si to the point that the front end had to be pulled back together 1 inch and a new cross brace welded in (talking structural damage here) and it never showed up on Carfax. You could be getting yourself into a mess for that low price.

 

Thanks for all the replys

I got the appraisal that the sales person faxed me. Here's a list of the things replaced:

-Front Bumper Cover
-Front Bumper Impact Bar
-Right & Left Headlamp Assembly
-Hood
-Right & Left Fenders and fender liners
-Radiator
-Air Conditioning Condensor

These are the major things that were replaced with OEM parts, but the list is actually 80 lines long where most of them are clips and screws, gromets, plugs, emblems, hinges, lamp bulbs, even the labels for the srs caution sticker and coolent notice. Pretty much everything in that front end was replaced including the emblems on the fenders (Where they put it on wrong).

It does look there their is no structural damage though, however I'm going to have an auto body mechanic take a look at it just to see what he thinks. Doesn't all the main parts of the S sit behind the front axels? Cause everything in front of it was replaced and there was no charge for any additional labor other than refinishing and installing.

The weird thing is that the dealer is a very reputable dealer in the Rochester area and they're offering me an extended warrenty on top of their "Engine for Life" warrenty. If the car had something major wrong with it, I don't think they would have taken it as a trade in. Or even if they did, they probably would have thrown it to a car auction and not back out on the lot.

Oh well, looks like when something is too good to be true, it probably is. I'm going to have it checked out just out of curiosity but I'll probably pass. I'm not quite sure yet.

Wish me luck in my quest for an S.