Hi Everyone,

I am looking to purchase a used s2k, and I searched the forum for some good used s2k buying advice, but I wasnt able to find much.

I will be taking a look at a few cars tomorrow, and I would like to go into the situation knowing as much as possible. Is there anything specifically I should look/listen for when trying out the car. Also should I keep an eye out for something specifically? I'm look at year 2001 models and above, I would like to avoid the plastic rear window.

Please, any advice would be great.

Thanks!

 

clutch buzz is common on the cars.. if the car makes a buzzing sound when you are decelerating, it is not a problem, but rather a side affect of the type of springs used on the original clutch disks. mainly just check everything you would normally check on a car, also before you drive it.. be sure to check the oil.. sellers often forget to check and by checking it you may catch them in the act of how they treat their car. S2000s burn oil and can easily get away from someone who isn't checking.. people buying S2Ks with 3 quarts of oil or more missing isn't unheard of.. GL with the purchase.. go for low miles, these cars don't get driven that much so if you are looking at one with 100+ K miles on it , skip it.. unless you only have a little money to spend.

 

I would have the valve retainers inspected before buying a used s2k. If the car was ever over-reved, the retainers could be damaged and this could lead to catastrophic engine failure.

Also, you said you wanted to avoid the plastic rear window, so adjust your search to 2002+ models. 2000 and 2001 models have the plastic rear window.

 

Pretty comprehensive thread:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=590849

 

one word...service records...ok two words...
the more documentation of maintenance...the better off you'll be...
owners can boast about caring for the car...but if you don't know them from adam...
you want proof!

 

Highest VIN number with the lowest miles.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I took at look at a 2002 with 40 thousand miles on the car for $13,000. I really like the way it looked, it was clean all around. all stock including rims, which is a good time right?

Something that worried me though, when I was engaging the clutch without gas, it was making a weird clunking noise, but when i used gas and got it up at 3,000 rpm then engage the clutch, it didnt make that noise. the owner told me that b/c the clutch is a stock s2k racing clutch it needs some gas otherwise it will make that noise. Is this true? It didnt sound or feel like the car was about the stall, b/c it wasnt jumping around. I will try and take a look at the car again tomorrow and see if i can get it to make that noise again, to make sure it wasnt stalling noises. that is my main concern with this car. the owner is a older male with 3 kids, so I feel like he would not be modding the car and racing it out bc he has 3 kids who depend on him.
also i would need at least 1 new tire, he said he messed up when parallel parking and got to close to the curb, it scuffed up the tire and pulled some rubber off the tire wall.

I live in Los Angeles California, is this a reasonable price for the car? Any other advice will help. Thank you everyone for posting the replies already.

Special thanks to 8ball for the link to the thread, that will be very useful the next time i take a look at the car.

Also, just throwing this out there, if anyone in the los angeles area can come out with me next time to take a look at the car and drive it, breakfast/lunch/dinner is on me. I live in Alhambra (zipcode 91801), and the owner lives in the burbank area. i am willing to drive to pick you up and drop you off. My email address is GUNMETAL5@GMAIL.COM

Thanks again!

 

hmmmm, it sounds like something may be wrong and this guy is throwing out BS. The only clunk I am used to hearing is when you sit at a light, clutch out, light changes and you put it in gear quickly before the internals slow down. If this is what you are referring to I would consider it normal (although the guy is still talking crap) Having to engage at 3k is ridiculous. Yes, it is a low torque 4-cylinder but you should still be able to get off the line at 1,500 RPM or less in a leisurely fashion. There are a lot of S2000 out there, this would be enough to keep me looking.

Props to you, however. It seems like you are taking your shopping seriously. Best of luck.

 

^ yep, same here. that's the only 'clunking' sound of the clutch I get. you shouldn't be hearing any clunking sounds by just pushing the clutch in.

 

Also worth noting, if this is how he has been driving the car, expect to do a clutch job on it in the near future should you decide to go with it. IMO one more reason to move on.