A little background first, lady is selling her car that she had bought for her ex-boyfriend so im just dealing with her and her limited knowledge. She knows he put in a stiffer clutch and possibly lowered the car but that is all.

It is an 03 s2k today with 120k miles..it was pretty ruff to say the least. The paint on both front fenders was worn all the way through but there are zero dents, cracked windshield, but it did have a new top and some left over plasti dip from dudes DIY project...smh

going from 1-4, the comp measured 196,186,195,210 ...I found it odd that #4 had the highest, but w/e. After the test drive it was obvious the TCT was going bad. She doesnt know of the valves ever being adjusted so im not sure if that played apart in the comp readings but I didn't hear any valve chatter.

The clutch had a bit of chatter off the line, im guessing from the guy not aligning the clutch properly? The one thing that really had me scratching my head was the transmission. All the gears shifted fine(even under load) except for going into first gear at a complete stop..it would grind some. Anyone have any idea on that one?

She was originally asking $6500 for the car...which there is no way in hell that would happen, but seemed pretty enlightened when I started explaining everything I was finding and she seemed pretty open.

I have no issue rebuilding the motor if I cant get the comp up. Never been into a transmission before though.

What would you guys consider this car being worth in its current state?

 

crack the valve cover open and look at the retainers. that paint thing is concerning. Obviously a sad state for an s2000 to be in- assume all maintenance has not been followed. provided its got a clean title, not winter driven (ie. no rust issues), if you're willing to put in the work, it will be a good project- or it will completely ruin you. That front bumper is out of alignment on the passenger side- I'd be leery if it had any history of accidents- may be why the bumper is out. Crawl up under it.

I would not pay any more than $5000- if she'll take $4000 then you stole it- maybe she's just looking to unload it- bring cash money.

If it was my project, i'd paint it myself. Replace the clutch and flywheel with OEM parts myself. I'll bet the driver seat is crap- so i'd recover or replace it too. I'd do all the maintenance and when the engine lets go, replace it with low mileage example. Replace the whole suspension, replace any necessary bushings/alignment bolts.

set a budget.

I think this could be fun if you could do everything for under $10,000 all in.

good luck and keep us posted.

darcy

 

Does the car drive OK? Tranny shift OK? Steering? If mechanicals is fine and you can do body work or know of a good shop...

 

The car has no history of any accidents. I noticed the bumper as well and the lady said it was from curbing it....which makes sense. The seats didnt have any rips but they definitley show signs of use..same with the carpet.

I was thinking $4k max. I could easily find myself north of 10k trying to get this car back to its original condition even with doing all the work myself. I would probably go the vinyl wrap route as I know how to lay that down and it would be a bit cheaper than a repaint for sure.

 

I wouldn't assume a car in this condition ever had an oil change! Or brake fluid, engine coolant, or gearbox and differential oil changes.

Needs paint, headlights, and badges. Even fixing those the car will be worth less than you can buy a better car that didn't need those and this will still have 120,000 miles on a questionable engine and gearbox and has been buggered with an aftermarket clutch and suspension. It no doubt has crap tires on it too.

Unless you're going to turn this into a race car I'd not touch it. A $3000 money pit with a couple years work due -- not a daily driver.

-- Chuck

 

I think it's safe to say you hit the nail on the head with that post. The 2 rear tires were no-name and they were smoked. I did check the brake fluid, which surprisingly looked decent. A huge area of concern was the diff and tranny fluid, which I'd have to agree with you..probably has never been changed.