Welcome to S2Ki!

check out the “what to look for when buying a used S2000” in the “sticky” section at the top of this forum section—

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-ta...-s2000-775801/

It may be of help. The other stickys are worth scanning through too—-lots of good info there.

I see a bunch of rust and corrosion spots under the hood. The front two bolts on near the bumper fender corners are rusted. The clamp to the radiator hose, more hose clamps in the back, the VTEC solenoid. I would check this car for rust behind the panels, under the body, in the door jambs and corners and as others have said in the trunk, pull the inserts out and check for rust. For that low mileage this concerns me. To be fair I'm from the West Coast, but for that cash, there should be zero rust and corrosion IMO. When you open the doors, look down and inside into the fenders if you can. Open the gas tank. Have it hoisted up and look up and under everywhere.

I think other stuff has been replaced? Battery is using wing nuts, is that standard.

As others have suggested, find someone who knows this car, buy them lunch, take them there and do a real one over, have them test drive.

Good luck and welcome! :vtec:

This is the car at circle bmw, I was very close to buying this car myself for 22k. But after a third go around I opted against.
Im no expert either but I found the rust areas a concern the car was obviously not garaged missing vin tags interior quite worn no service records etc
i got a 14k mile pristine car for couple thousand more. I live in the area if u would like to check out my car u r more than welcome

Btw rust on door edges and slight on read quarter panel and clearcoat peeling under hood

Eh with all that rust, I'd hold off. It's a good time to buy, better deals with owners putting the S in storage for winter.

I'd try expanding your search to out of state and places where the climate is more dry.

My S has been a CA car the entire time and the bottom of it is in really condition, considering it's my daily driver.

Good luck!
Alex

Down to 23k now on their website. This looks like a really solid car that was always parked outside. Car lived near the beach per carfax. The zinc plating on the bolts and hose clamps is not very durable. No big deal. You could replace all those bits or have them re-plated. There will be some minor surface rust on chassis bolts, no big deal. If all of the vin stickers are present then I can virtually guarantee there is no body rust. (Door edge chips that weren't touched up don't count. Have a detailer fix them after purchase and that's that.)
The steering wheel and shift knob damage are from jewelery. Combine that with the curb damage on the wheels and I'm betting it was female driven, probably as a daily driver for a while. Also, those awful continental all season tires tell me that it wasn't owned by an s2k expert, just someone who wanted a cool car.
The top doesn't matter if it's a second car, you shouldn't be driving it with the top up anyway. If you need the top up drive your other damn vehicle! That damage looks very minor as well.
Just buy it and pay for a good detail, decent tires and maybe wheel repair.

I agree with 92gli said. If there is no rust underneath the chassis and 10 VINs match, I will go for it.

The findings shared in hmkrpa's post would put me off...

Oh.. I miss that one.. did not know the interior is badly worn out.

Specifics about missing vin tags would be nice.