number7

Hi all, just made a journey to look at a 56 plate in moonrock. Lovely car with just over 30k on the clock.

Couple of issues dealer has said they will sort.

1. The hood has a tear (probably 1-2 inches .... near to the drivers window). He has said they will get it sorted by taking the section of the hood out and replacing it. Does anyone have any experience of their hoods being repaired?Looks like it had had a knife in it!

2. Can anyone confirm that the gearbox seems to have some vibration/movement when on the move ..... obviously it's quite a raw drive so don't expect everything to be quiet and smooth .... just want to make sure it's normal.

3. Clutch had a very high bite point ..... are they all the same? is it something I should be concerned about?

The car will come with 12 months Honda Warranty etc etc BUT I assume clutches are not covered?

cheers
Paul

loftust

1. Replacing just a section of the hood will undoubtedly be untidy, unless a real pro does it. It is usually just easier to get the hood replaced, as it is likely that there will be wear elsewhere too. This can cost around £700-£1000.

2/3. These issues could be related. The gearbox shouldn't vibrate unwantedly, although it is normal for the gear stick to judder about at high speed. The high bite point could mean that the clutch needs replacing, although it really shouldn't with such low mileage. Mine does not have a high bite point, and I'm 99% certain it is the original with ~ 85k miles on it.

I doubt that clutches are covered, but do not know about the warranty in depth.

HTH

number7

Hi, it's probably more of a judder than vibration ....... but it did judder even at lower speeds (I didn't actually get it up to high speed). The hood looked fine ..... just think someone had knifed it. I'd expect HONDA to use a professional but you never know.

cheers
Paul

loftust

I'm no expert on Gearboxes, but it doesn't sound right to me

FWIW, I'd expect Honda, and any other dealer, to get the hood fixed for as little as possible, maximising their profit margin.

There is a thread in the For Sale part of the forum dedicated to cars for sale...I'd recommend taking a look in there as the majority of S owners look after them very well

lovegroova

First thing to do would be to test drive another car to find out if it's a "they all do that" thing.

loftust

Good call Simon.

r8byb

Where are you from?

I'm sure someone in your area wouldn't mind taking you in their car..

the roof I'm sure they'll replace properly so wouldn't worry with that one.

Gearbox I think you're feeling the rawness of the car, all s2000 gear sticks move about and it could simply be not giving it enough revs that caused the juddering.

gt750boy

First of all, if you have little experience with an S2000 you should look a few cars, even if you are not interested in them, to find the 'they all do that' and 'just this one' things.

My questions are:

Is this from a francised Honda dealer?
What is the cost of the car?
Is it in the dealer's best interests to pay 700-1000 for a new hood or just throw a patch on it?
What does the service history look like?

Certainly with that mileage there should not be any clutch issues, but that all depends on how the car was driven and cared for. But have a go in another one and see how they compare. Also, make sure you look for any abnormal wear on the hood in the normal wear points (read the FAQ). If that tear is over the drivers right shoulder it could very well be a well known fault.

IIRC clutches are not covered under warranty, hoods definately are not on an extended warranty.

lower

Is the rip just behind the drivers window, approximately above the drivers shoulder?

If so its not a knife cut, its down to wear caused by a sharp edge on the the hood frame so that would need to be dealt with at the same time as the hood material itself is replaced.

number7

Rip - yes I'd say approx above the right shoulder. They're saying that they will take that section out and put a new piece in ..... I'd expect it to be done well BUT you never know. It also has a bad parking type ding (not just 1 small ding but a line with a few small dings) ...... I'm not parting with cash until I've seen the repairs but the dealer wants to do the deal and then sort before I would pick it up. I just can't do a deal on that basis.

Some very good advice from a few of you - trying some others just to see what are characteristics and what aren't, totally agree. They have an 07 plate in one of their other branches so was thinking of trying that but just didn't have the time.

cheers