Ok, first of all, I'm hoping that no one will take one look at this and jump ahead of me on it (if anyone else has seen it before). If I decide not to do it, I will happily share the location of the car. Anyway, that being said, here is the deal.

I have found an '02 black on black s2k with 3,xxx miles on it. It has been hit in the front end pretty hard, but the airbags didn't deploy so maybe it wasn't that bad. According to the seller there is a little suspension damage, but it starts up just fine. It has a clear title and it is selling for $12K (I haven't tried to dicker with the guy yet, so I might be able to get him even lower; i dunno).

I have pics at the following links. If anyone would be so kind to tell me what you think about it, I would be greatful!

https://webspace.utexas.edu/NATHANDR/black%...20s2k/20780.jpg

https://webspace.utexas.edu/NATHANDR/black%...0s2k/20780a.jpg

https://webspace.utexas.edu/NATHANDR/black%...0s2k/20780b.jpg

https://webspace.utexas.edu/NATHANDR/black%...0s2k/20780c.jpg

I am still working on gathering all of the info I can on the car, so I will update this post if anything major comes up. I'm really just interested in whether people think it might be a good deal. I would like to rebuild it to use it as a daily street driver, so I'm not talking about stripping it down to a track car or anything like that.

Thanks for your insights!!

 

the links require a password to get to. Without seeing it i would say that you're not going to come out much ahead on any projects like this. Costs ad up REALLY quickly and before you know it you'll have spent just slightly less than a pampered used MY00 would cost.

-Steve

 

I think the pics should work now; I forgot to share the files publicly.

 

Wow.....a little suspension damage. I don't think that front suspension could ever get true enough for street use. This is just looking at the very front view of the car....so there is a good possibility that I may not be seeing how severe the damage may or may not be.

If you're thinking of turning it into a track car, then I take a try at it, but for street use, I wouldn't be so sure of that.

 

ok they work now. First of all, does it worry anyone else that the airbags didn't go off?? It looks like it got tagged head on pretty good. The only thing i can think is that it might have hit just enough towards the passenger side that nothing went off. Either way that thing got KNOCKED OUT! there's no way i would buy that to make into a daily driver. I do'nt even think i'd make that into a track car, parts car is about all it's good for. If you can get it for under 10 grand and the engine and drivetrain are all perfect then it MAY be worth it, but even then i'd be wary.

my .02
-Steve

 

Okay, been down the road of restoring cars for a while now and this is what I can gather from the pics. First of all, There is moderate suspension damage regardless of what the seller told you. I am pretty sure that the rack on this car would have to be replaced entirely, since the wheel is cocked right and the wheels are going left. You are not going to save too much money on this deal and I certainly would not make it into a daily driver!, Also, it would be a gigantic pain in the azz to sort through the front end to see what (if anything) can be salvaged. To be honest, the seller could make more money sellng the car for parts than as a whole. If I owned a MY-00 or 01 I'd snatch up the top , frame, and wiring in a second. Personally I was wondering about the idea of buying a crate motor for my stook when the time comes. I dunno, just a humble opinion.

 

Well, I guess its a pretty unanimous decision then. I just got my hopes up because, unfortunately, I can't afford an S quite yet and I was hoping maybe this would be a viable option. I guess I'll just have to keep saving those pennies. Thanks for the input and I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on it as well.

 

Like everyone else said, this looks like a risky deal. As far as saving money by buying a wreck is concerned, it depends on how you plan to fix the car back up. If you are in the business/hobby of restoring cars and you plan to do all the work yourself, then you should know how much it will cost you to restore the car.

But if you are not planning to do the work yourself, then take the pictures down to a trusted body-shop and talk to one of the adjusters there. They will not be able to give you a detailed estimate until they see the actual car, but they can at least give you some ball-park figures how much it will cost. Suppose the ball-park figure is $10,000 to fix it up, would you be willing to pay $22,000 for such a car, knowing that it has been crashed previously?

The other concerned is the title. Although you think it has a clear title, it may not be the case. Check with your insurance company to see if they will insure a salvage car. Just another wrinkle to consider.

If you want to see what fixing up an S2000 (with similar damages) looks like, go to this link:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...611#post1095611

But the repairs are paid for by the insurance company. Good luck with your decisions.

 

I agree pretty much with what everyone else has said so far. I wouldn't want anything out of this car more than maybe just the engine. The body frame looks like it could be bent, which basically makes the car close to worthless.