NathanW

Had a 63 plate Ibiza cupra 1.4 twincharged for over a year and traded in for a 2L diesel Leon FR for a year due to work miles. Now I work very local only doing about 80-100 miles per week so time to trade in and get a petrol again!

Ive looked at multiple cars, been quoted £1700 insurance on any modification (bar bigger charged turbo etc) on a Silvia s15...

however my heart looks set on an s2k. I've seen a couple modified going through Shrewsbury where I work the doors and the night time is filled with modified cars. Had a couple s2ks drive passed and the sound is unreal, one of the last night! I was sold after last night.

i have about 11k to spend and found a couple fairly standard ones, one with about 56k on the clock, dark blue, hardtop (v important for me) and looked very clean with good history for about 9.9k leaving me change to spend.

i know the question of 'do I buy a high mileage s2k' has been covered many times but I'll ask a slightly different question...

At what stage of miles does it start to get expensive with replacement parts/replacement updates parts? What parts that commonly fail/general wear and tear cost the higher margin on the s2k?

unclefester

It's not the miles so much as how the miles have been done and where it has been kept.

A car in good condition will cost you more up front but *should* be a better long term ownership prospect.

Geo / Roof / Rust / Brakes will be things to watch out for on older cars and possibly a clutch / gearbox bearings.

NathanW

the advert doesn't give much away but the one I'm looking at is 56k miles, full HSH and 03 plate so I assume pre face? So averaging about 4K miles a year and the car looks immaculate, the paintwork anyway. Don't think I could ask for a better example visually anyway. Have about 6 weeks until my insurance in my current is up so I would like to view and be taken for a drive in it.

Where are the common places for rust? Brakes should they be updated or are stock brakes suitable? My old car had 288mm stock brakes factory and had to update to 323mm brembos off a mk1 Leon cupra r before I could even think about performance mods on it.

unclefester

Rear arches for sure - also behind the rear bumper ... and have a look at t he AC rad and main radiator. If it's been someones garage queen then great - it's all about how it drives. Between now and then, go and drive some main dealer ones and get a feel for what's good and what's not. A dog will not stop and go in a straight line and will be nervous on the corners, drive a bad one and it really will be apparent. Sometimes just tyre pressures, sometimes (more often) it's bad geo / poorly repaired accident damage / seized / worn bushes and it's not a cheap job to do. If you can DIY it ... great but the parts aren't that cheap if you need lots.

Oh and check the oil ... pre facelifts like a drink, up to a litre per 1000 miles ... , facelift less so.

I had a Leon before the S2000, it had Porsche 4 pots up front and the usual 288mm upgrade at the rear, the S2000 is a little lighter and i think it stops perfectly well - my only "mod" is Ferrodo DS2500 pads. Brakes suffer from corrosion, in the slide pins/ carriers and also on the pistons.

If you track it you might want more but if you are coming from FWD to RWD you might want to settle in gradually before you go changing a load of stuff.

Calzonii

Nathan. I have the car for you. if interested PM me.

Monte Carlo Blue, Hardtop and reconditioned soft top,
New engine with 35k on it, was changed as previous owner has some blue smoke and changed it precautionary.
Chassis has 70k all mileage verified and full service history.
Facelift 17 inch wheels.
No Rust as been dry stored last 3 owners that i know of for 10 years, and
S2000xx plate.

Lots of other work done mostly maintenance and car is otherwise mostly standard
If you are interested send me a PM and ill send you all the detailsd and whatsapp you photos.

Thanks.

Cal

edit: added rust detail

richmc

At every stage S2000 parts are expensive, they wear like any other car, but the parts are very expensive. If you can afford them, and it sounds like you can that's fine. Example, the little piece of net in the door card if it gets torn is £100.

NathanW

Great info thank you. Yeah my old Ibiza cupra was the 1.4 engine facelift so it didn't drink oil, but the one before drunk it very similar to the pre face on the s2k, it used to drink oil, fortunately I didn't have that old engine type. My Leon is just a diese so I've not had issues with it.

i don't plan to track it, I want it as just a road car so as practical as a two seater can get really. But it would definitely be modified.



I know, virtually any car parts are expensive especially if you have to go to a dealer. Believe me with my Seat's, sh*tty things broke and cost ridiculous amount of money like boot locks, seat rails etc. However I had a DSG 7spd box. Mechatronics went after 20k fortunately I had warranty but that was £1200 alone to repair if I didn't have warranty. A simple clutch pack change was £1500 at least because of the box itself so I do know cost of any performance car is expensive.

lovegroova

Not all S2000 parts are expensive, some are actually pretty cheap. Brake pads and discs are actually pretty reasonable, in fact, for example. The correct answer is "it depends, really"

NathanW

its exactly like any other car. The big brake kits that I've seen are cheaper than the Tarox ones I could've gotten for my old Ibiza cupra.

As long as my insurance gives me the go ahead I'll be happy. As I'm 21 with 3 points and a claim, insurance can sometimes be dodgy but as I got a quote of £1700 all mods included on a Silvia, I think it should be reasonable

Chuck S

I've driven my 2006 S2000 close to 15,000 miles and never found the OEM brakes lacking. I see no reason to fit different brakes -- different brakes are not necessarily "upgrades" despite retailer claims. New pads and maybe rotors 3 summers ago by the selling dealer.

Honda tweaked the cars every two years mainly with suspension changes, most parts stayed the same for the production life of the car. Ebay has a constant supply of used parts. Incremental changes occurred in 2002 and every two years thereafter. The 2004 and later cars (called AP2 in North America due to their 2.2 liter engine), for example, got 17" wheels (called AP2V1 wheels in wheel shorthand) and tires which I consider a plus as the lower profile tires tighten handling a bit. The 2006 cars got drive-by-wire which enables their ECUs to be tuned for more robust mid-range power. They also got AP2V2 wheels. 2008 cars got AP2V3 wheels. Etc. All the information is here with a bit of diligent searching and reading. Guys who know suspensions and spring rates can mix and match springs and sway bars from the several generations to get the handing they want. Guys like me would just bugger the handling.

As implied above the S2000 is not a single, uniform car. There's enough difference in the generations to pay attention to them. Unlike the guys who bought these new we have the option of getting any generation we want. Also keep in mind all these used cars are rejects -- the previous owner(s) didn't want them.

Look at the generational differences and make a priority list. Items at the top are mandatory, those at the bottom nice to have. My list was headed by 2006 (DBW) or later followed by matching body panel numbers, low mileage, and condition. Interestingly enough color was at the bottom of my list but I know others have searched for a specific color. It's your list.

-- Chuck