Hi guys

I've been looking for a while at getting an s2000 to get into track days with and as a weekend/summer car.

I'm going to be near this car for work, and wondered if anyone could give me a view as to whether the price looks about right (£12k) or if I shouldn't bother going to view.

Has been serviced almost every year until 2020, and has been under sealed/few other bits and pieces over the last few years. I don't think the current owner has done that much with it or driven that regularly. It's at ~93,000 miles.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Chris

 

Moved thread to UK section for better/more relevant responses.

 

Lots of photos of the wheels and tires but none under the hood/bonnet nor under the car itself. Plenty of information and threads here to allow an inspection of the car. No way for us in North America to comment on the price as our market is much higher and even the hard top can add $5000 (£4000) to the car's price. How long the car has been advertised at this price can be an indicator -- for sale for months or days?

Mileage is reasonable for a 2006/2007 car (judging by the AP2V2 wheels on the car) but the lack of stone chips on the front of the car and seemingly pristine paint condition of the rest of the car makes me suspect a repaint especially looking at all the gravel and rural setting -- which doesn't affect your intended use, just mentioning it.

20 year old car with an almost irreplaceable/nonrebuildable engine.

-- Chuck

 

What I always do is look at mot history

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk...ckRecalls=true

Mixed, not bad
Look at under the car, look at service history, google the plate
The HT is worth £2k here so that's a plus
It's a £710 to tax car so factor that in, I think price is good

You wanna check that arch rust, could be very expensive, if you are not allowed to pull out boot trim and take a look walk away

 

I would take a good look underneath, in pic 5 the rust spot in the rear arch area on ours meant a section of panel being replaced due to blocked soft top drain, another area for examination, alignment been done? Can be costly. Car looks to worth considering, be handy if someone local can look with you.

 

This looks to be a nice example to be fair. It's 18 yrs old and will no doubt have the odd ding or scuff somewhere, picture 5 looks to be the only indentation I can see (unless that's the gravel reflection). There looks to be the start of corrosion near the rear near side jack point, you'll see this on probably 50% of UK cars at least, however it can eminate from a blocked convertible roof drain. They can take years to rust up to the upper arches if the car is garaged or ran in warm weather only, but as you may / may not know, the rear arches are double lined and they rot from the inside out. The blockage can be cleared with a thin pokey tool. Looking through the history on MOT is a normal story, corroding brake pipe is nothing unusual (covered in underseal), so at some point it will need doing. Definitely not an expensive job.
Prior to that in 2019, the engine MIL more than likely to have been the lambda sensor failed. They're exposed to the elements underneath. Most lambdas last 60-70k miles, so to me it's a good thing that it's been replaced - but check in the history that it was this. I'd bet it was.
Washer fluid fail in 2017 again is a good thing, it'll means you'll have a new washer motor as these are prone to gumming up after many squirts. Less of a headache for you to do as they are a faff. They're a £10 pattern part for when it fails again. Everything else looks cushty : brakes binding or handbrake lever re-adjust is just normal for the age and they look to have been addressed. It will likely have seen new rear calipers at some point as it's a notable weak point on the s2000. As are the rear wheel bearings. Check for grumble / whine, usually if a rear wheel bearing has had it, you'll hear it around 50mpg upwards. I replaced mine on the rear, and you do have to replace the rear hub assembly, but again it's not expensive.
But as others have said, probably a good thing to peel back the lower boot carpet. You'll need to pop off the clips with a flathead carefully (they can snap so ask the owner to be gentle) to reveal if the boot floorplan has corrosion. Also, check the rear number plate surround if it's wobbly. They rot like mad on the support bracket especially if it's been in the elements alot. Run the car for 5-10mins so the oil is warm. Switch off. Start again, does the car emit an immediate faint rattle, which goes away? It's the familiar TCT check. Not a biggie, as it's an easy DIY replace or refurbish. Overall for the money though, if it's ran through the summer months to avoid the full year tax, looks a bargain to me.

 

Thanks for your advice everyone.

Tried to haggle the price down a little to budget for repairs but sadly missed out. The search goes on!