also, who parallel parks so fast that they take chunks out of the side wall. scuffs? yes.. put tire shine usually fixes that. rashed and chunked to the point of replacement? from parking at 1 MPH??

 

What do you guys think about this one? http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;j...01&aff=national
Yellow 2002 with 64,000 miles for $15,000. I called the dealership, they said that it has a new top installed. It has a clean title. i havnt gone by to take a look yet bc i've been busy, but is $15,000 seems like the price i am looking at for a used s2k...

 

I would start with a carfax report. Get the dealer to supply it. It isn't always as up to date as you might like and if an accident was paid for out of pocket it won't appear but it will indicate lemon law cars and you can see how many owners and for how long..., lots of owners over a short period is probably not good.

Take it to a mechanic as part of the deal (your mechanic) check the common things. Explain this clunking noise to them and go for a ride and point the noise out so there is no confusion. The nice thing I have found (being a Porsche owner) is to me the S is not very hard to work on, and not extremely expensive as some of the other performance cars.

 

That vehicle is listed as a lease vehcile and a fleet vehicle. I personally don't find that attractive.

 

I went to check out another s2k today. It is a fellow s2ki forum member btw, which I like.

He has a 2000 with 50k miles on the car, he wants $15,000 for it. I have pictures uploaded - http://picasaweb.google.com/NitianSingh - it is listed under s2k - eugeen. my diggy cam didnt properly save all the pictures, I will take some more pictures next time I go look at the car.

Something that worried me is the window is not glass, and it is starting to fade, but it is not unbearable. I'm kinda curious as to how much it would cost if i did need to replace it, be it OEM or aftermarket.. His top also had some wear and tear on it, but I will pour some water on it and check for any leaks next time I stop by.

Over all though, i can tell he took care of his car. everytime i did something wrong when shifting or with the clutch he made a noise, which is good IMO. He cares about his car even when he is about to sell it which shows he cares. He uses full synthetic oil in his car with a high perf oil filter. Does his oil changes ever 3k miles.

i didnt feel the clutch issue that i felt before, so i know that there is an issue with the other s2k i posted earlier.

the steering felt good also, i performed a handful of u-turns, and it felt tight, and there was minimum play in the steering.

all of the VINs matched up on the body panels, so they are all the original body panels. The front bumper had a dime size paint ding, but that is just cosmetic which does not bother me too much. he has an AP2 bumper installed.

He currently has AP2 wheels installed, but he said that he will be putting the AP1s back on when he sells the car. I have not looked at the AP1 wheels, but he said that the tires have 10,000 miles on it, and he said that they are in good condition. He will be emailing me pictures tomorrow, so I will see how they look through the pictures.

I have not run a carfax report b/c i would like to take another look at the car before spending the money on that. How much should I expect a report to cost anyways?

What do you guys think about this deal? $15,000 for a year 2000 with 50,000 miles with all the above factored in.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

i got my 2001 with 39,000 miles for 16K so I would say he's in the ball park asking price range, if the AP1 wheels have the original S02 tires on them, then they are garbage at this point no matter how much tread is left (assuming he bought AP2 wheels and just threw the Ap1s in the closet). after about 3 years tires lose their grip because they start to harden or whatever, 8 year old tires is a no go. if that's the case ask him if he'll sell it to you 15K- carfax repror and-new tires if the ones he trying to get rid of are old. Look at the vin number on the back of the tire, it think the last 4 digits tell you the month and year that they were made. Somebody chime in if I am wrong

 

15K for a year 2000 with 50K miles is too much.

^^ that also the tire being sitting for 8 years is not good.

 

Research the cost of a new top and tires and use it in bargaining the price. If the car is mechanically sound and has been well cared for I would not walk away due to things that can be easily fixed.

 

Okay guys, so i checked out another s2k last night.

This one is a year 2000 also, with 71k miles for $13,500. it is black outside and red inside with a carbon fiber hood, a front lip with side skirts. He has a AEM cold air intake, with mugen headers, and a aftermarket radiator. He also has a aftermarket headunit, with 2 amps in the trunk, no sub b/c he recently sold it.

The car is solid over all, it is in great condition inside and out. There are a few minor scratches on the body, but i am going to shrug them off b/c that is normal wear and tear of a car. The interior is in good condition. The drive seat is a little more wore than I would like, but I've seen that in many s2k pictures, so no biggie. The convertible is in great condition for the year. The rear plastic window is very clean, i can easily see out the back, also the top itself is clean. i did a water test already to check for leaks, no leaks. The top does make a noise when closing, but I'm guessing some grease will fix that right up.

I checked the oil level before the car was started, it is clean and at the appropriate level on the dip stick.

he says he has all the maintenance paperwork, though i forgot to look them over on my first visit... i will be stopping by in a day or two to check out the car again. No biggie.

the front two tires are wearing more than normal on the inside, which does bother me a bit, but he is purchasing new tires and is including that in the price of the car. but that may be a bigger problem in itself.

the clutch also is not smooth when coming up, though that is not a big issue, he say he took it to a mechanic and some fluid needs to be flushed to fix the problem. he said that he will resolve the issue before selling the car, just like replacing the front 2 tires.

so all in all, he will be replacing the front 2 tires, and fix the minor clutch issue. I will have one of my tuner friends take a look at the car tomorrow with me to give me a second option. I would like you guys opinion on this car also.

pictures - "s2k-Steve-black..." - http://picasaweb.google.com/NitianSingh

 

[QUOTE=clag,Sep 24 2008, 01:13 PM]Research the cost of a new top and tires and use it in bargaining the price.