Why is it so hard to sell an S2000??!!
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 45,172
Likes: 4,089
From: Arlington, VA
I feel badly for you guys who are trying to sell right now...I didn't buy mine thinking about resale. I bought it because I love the car. It's my toy. Fortunately, I'm not a daily driver, so fun is the name of the game for me. I guess I'll have to find someone like me if and when I ever want to sell it! Good luck!!
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 898
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From: Redlands
1. The S has been around long enough to loose some of its initial market interest.
2. There is good competition from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suburu.
3. The S has a limited market appeal. This kind of car isn't for everyone.
4. The market is tight right now. New cars are down and interest at 0%.
5. Your price is too high.
At some price it will sell immediately and that price is probably not comfortable for you. If you advertise something and it sells immediately you know you sold it too cheap. If you advertise and sell after a long time you sold at the highest price possible. If you advertise and never sell, you're priced too high. A free market economy is the pits sometimes!
2. There is good competition from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suburu.
3. The S has a limited market appeal. This kind of car isn't for everyone.
4. The market is tight right now. New cars are down and interest at 0%.
5. Your price is too high.
At some price it will sell immediately and that price is probably not comfortable for you. If you advertise something and it sells immediately you know you sold it too cheap. If you advertise and sell after a long time you sold at the highest price possible. If you advertise and never sell, you're priced too high. A free market economy is the pits sometimes!
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
From: Calgary
I tried last year for 9 months to sell my 2001. I started at $45K (Can.) and dropped it in increments to $40k (which was about $26,800 US at the time). It had only 11,000 km when I started trying to sell it, and it was in perfect shape. I had a few tire kickers, and a couple of absolute morons look at the car (one who was adamant that no car should ever be taken above 4000 RPM...I politely assured him that the S was designed to rev somewhat higher than that).
Finally I decided to keep the car...bought a set of snow tires and turned it into my daily driver. It's now got 28,000 km on it and isn't for sale. I enjoy the car so much I'll keep it for another year or two, then sell it privately for whatever I can get or trade it in on a new one.
I agree that there's a small market for the S, new or used. There are some other factors to consider as well.
1) An S is not an impressive car to drive until you're past 6000 RPM, and unless you've owned one or you're a knowledgable, experienced car enthusiast, you're not going to run it hard on a test drive. A used Z3 2.8, 3-series BMW, Boxster, etc...anything with more low-end torque...is going to impress more people on a test drive than the S.
2) A large percentage of the population who would appreciate and consider buying a used S...the enthusiast crowd driving modified Civics/Integras and even RSX's...still can't quite afford the S. In another couple of years, when the price drops a few thousand below what a new RSX costs, there will be many more potential buyers.
3) The car has a reputation (generally unjustified, IMO) for being somewhat unreliable. The 1-2 shift problem, noisy clutch, #4 cylinder failures, spark plug recall, etc. scare off potential buyers.
Finally I decided to keep the car...bought a set of snow tires and turned it into my daily driver. It's now got 28,000 km on it and isn't for sale. I enjoy the car so much I'll keep it for another year or two, then sell it privately for whatever I can get or trade it in on a new one.
I agree that there's a small market for the S, new or used. There are some other factors to consider as well.
1) An S is not an impressive car to drive until you're past 6000 RPM, and unless you've owned one or you're a knowledgable, experienced car enthusiast, you're not going to run it hard on a test drive. A used Z3 2.8, 3-series BMW, Boxster, etc...anything with more low-end torque...is going to impress more people on a test drive than the S.
2) A large percentage of the population who would appreciate and consider buying a used S...the enthusiast crowd driving modified Civics/Integras and even RSX's...still can't quite afford the S. In another couple of years, when the price drops a few thousand below what a new RSX costs, there will be many more potential buyers.
3) The car has a reputation (generally unjustified, IMO) for being somewhat unreliable. The 1-2 shift problem, noisy clutch, #4 cylinder failures, spark plug recall, etc. scare off potential buyers.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
From: stanford
You're price is high--that's it.
They aren't hard to sell, but people buying private party
are usually price hunters. You've priced yourself out
the market. Not much, but you have.
Put the price at $22.5k, and it'll be gone quickly.
I bought my '00 S2k back in September when the
economy was weak, but not as dead as it is now.
It had only 7500 miles on it, was very clean, and I
got it for under your current asking price.
If you consider that was about six months ago, and
that the economy is weaker, and your car has
considerably more miles, then I think you will understand
that your price is high.
It's hard to realize that you are going to get less, but
realize that you can buy more with less as well right now,
so it works out in the end. Besides, if you could afford
a car this expensive, taking a $2k adjustment probably
won't be tooo bad.
They aren't hard to sell, but people buying private party
are usually price hunters. You've priced yourself out
the market. Not much, but you have.
Put the price at $22.5k, and it'll be gone quickly.
I bought my '00 S2k back in September when the
economy was weak, but not as dead as it is now.
It had only 7500 miles on it, was very clean, and I
got it for under your current asking price.
If you consider that was about six months ago, and
that the economy is weaker, and your car has
considerably more miles, then I think you will understand
that your price is high.
It's hard to realize that you are going to get less, but
realize that you can buy more with less as well right now,
so it works out in the end. Besides, if you could afford
a car this expensive, taking a $2k adjustment probably
won't be tooo bad.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,594
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area
Originally posted by asin
My neighbor tried to sell his 2000 Porsche Boxster S for $35K (30K miles) ...no luck.
He finally traded in the car to BMW dealer for $29,500....the dealer is now trying to sell it for $40K.
My neighbor tried to sell his 2000 Porsche Boxster S for $35K (30K miles) ...no luck.
He finally traded in the car to BMW dealer for $29,500....the dealer is now trying to sell it for $40K.
good luck on selling that car... 40k is way too much, they will probably end up getting about 35k for it.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,594
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area
Originally posted by mikecl713
true 2001? 2002 and beyond basically made the 2001 and below def. harder to sell
true 2001? 2002 and beyond basically made the 2001 and below def. harder to sell
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 0
From: Farmington Hills
Originally posted by pfb
Different class or not, car buyers with a discretionary $22K (used) - $33K are opting for many of these vs. the S2000...
And plenty of S2000 owners make the required sacrifices and have the S2000 as their primary and often only vehicle.
Different class or not, car buyers with a discretionary $22K (used) - $33K are opting for many of these vs. the S2000...
And plenty of S2000 owners make the required sacrifices and have the S2000 as their primary and often only vehicle.
If you want to be able to actually put something in the car, the S is out again.
Different class, plain and simple.
Lance