shirty

Hi Guys n' Girls,

My car lease is up on my BMW 123d and I'm thinking about opting out and taking the cash (£580/month). My finance director has told me that I can get a convertible if I want which is why I'm on this forum.
I fell in love with this car since my old neighbour got his and driving the S2000 on Gran Turismo religiously.

I have a couple of questions which will help me justify the S2000 to my girlfriend whom wants a family car - I don't have kids just yet!...

1) Does anyone use their S2000 to commute on a daily basis all year round and what's it like in snow? What was your experience from last/this year?

2) I'm thinking about the S2000 GT so I can shove the hardtop on for any motorway driving. How hard is it to put on and do you need to take the soft top off? Also how long does it take to put it on?

3) I'm into a lot of outdoor activities such as mountain biking and paragliding. I don't think paragliding is going to be a problem because I can probably squeeze it into the boot, but I'm not sure if there's a bike rack for the S2000. Anyone tried this?

4) What's your average mpg on a long motorway drive? I don't do a lot of business miles (<1000 miles / year) I've seen a lot of different figures posted around on parkers and other car review websites.

5) Lastly is there anything I should be looking out for when buying a car? This is my first convertible and not sure what I'm looking for when buying.

Any answers to any of the above would be hugely appreciated

Let's hope I can justify the car to my girlfriend and become a S2000 owner

Cheers!

Rich

vadhert

emissions will shaft you.

Dan Hale

No they won't, "opting out and taking the car allowance" means tax on the cash not the car.

Wording in the thread title is maybe misleading

I used mine all year round without any problems. Put the hardtop on for the first winter and haven't bothered since - it's still in the shed.

2 person job to be safe - takes less than 5 mins to do it all assuming you keep it somewhere accessible.

It's not brilliant in the snow, but fitting some winter tyres improves it a lot.

I have no idea about economy - din't buy it for that.

Before you buy one, make sure you get some insurance quotes, some people are surprised when their quotes are to much for them and whing about it after they've bought the car.

HTH

Wobbly

Hello and welcome. I'll answer your questions as best I can, but I'm sure everyone will have their own differing opinions.

1. I commute all year round, not a great distance now, but a year ago I was covering over a 100 miles a day, and it made the long commute almost enjoyable. The S in snow on normal tyres is absolutley horrible!

2. I really wanted a GT and that's what I bought, on reflection I wish I hadn't. The roof takes up a suprisingly large amount of space when in storage, and it's only fitted for about 2 months of the year. It takes 2 people about 5 minutes to fit, and it fits over the soft top when thats folded down.

3. Not sure. I think there is a tow hitch available so I guess you could mount a bike rack to that. There is quite a lot of space in the boot, especially if you take out the tool tray and the false floor in the well.

4. When I was commuting the 100 miles a day I was geting around 320 miles from the 50 litre tank. Now with the shorter journeys, it's dropped to around the 250 mark.

5. Read the FAQ, it's all in there

GrittyShaker

There are bike racks available.

PaulF

To answer a few of your questions:

1) There are many of us that use our cars as daily drivers, and I don't think anyone has any complaints. As for the snow last year and this; I faired OK in most of the February snmow last year, but the extra dustings we got this year scuppered my plans to use the car as it wouldn't get up the hill I live on (it's actually more of an incline than a hill!), but to be honest, that suited me just fine as I really didn't want a random accident in my pride and joy (2nd pride and joy if Wifey's reeading this, obviously ).

I'm lead to believe that with a decent set of winter tyres the S is as stable and competent as any other car, 4X4s aside. I've never tried them so can't comment.

2) No idea, I don't have a hard top.

3) You can squeeze a suprising amount into the boot of the S, especially if you remove the tool tray, but I have no idea about a bike rack.

4) If you drive sensibly, you can get 320 miles per 45 litres of fuel (sorry, can't be arsed to do the conversions), I struggle with sensible and regulary get 240 miles per 45 litres, on mainly urban and blats.

5) There's a buying guide here https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=301506, but I would advise you read the whole thing as it will highlight any questions you will need to ask prospective sellers.

Hope this helps.

shirty

Guys,

Thanks for your all your replies.
I've printed out the buyers guide and will read it tonight. Lot's of information on this guide which will be very useful when I buy my car next month. Thanks Bassoctopus for putting it together.

Dan, thanks for the insurance advice. I'll have to get an insurance with business cover which will defiantly bump up the price considerably. Planning on doing <15k / year (business and personal combined) which *should be manageable. Commute to work is only 4 miles :-)

I'll do research on google and see what bike racks are available that may retrofit the S2000 and post my findings on this site.

Paul, thanks for the mpg figures... it looks like the S2K is capable of doing around 28mpg (320 miles) and 21mpg if you struggle with sensible as I do

I've done some sums and a long run (York to Ipswich = 450 miles) if driven sensibly it will personally cost me around £24.86 if claiming £0.13 / mile on fuel - I think I can live with that

Rich

GavB

Yes lots of people. I use mine about 35 miles a day round trip. B roads, A rounds and dual carriageway, rain or shine. The S2000 is not an uncomfortable car to drive so no issue with regular use.

In the snow, any incline is a big problem, It even struggles with road cambers sliding the back sideways. Winters tyres are the only solution, but if you live somewhere flat you would get home.

Soft top stays on in the folded down position.

Saris Bones and Hollywood racks fit, probably others too, I have used mine with a rack. Just have to bare in mind theres not much behind the rear bumper so it flexes if you have a rack that wants to sit on it.
The boot is deceptivaly big, but an odd shape, so you'd have to try the paraglider!

To some extent it will depend on the age of the car you buy. Expect 30mpg or better for long distance crusing in a newish model.

Again this will depend on the age of the car. Check all things you would on any car - tyre condition etc. But have a look at the roof and in particular the area on the inside above your shoulder and the corner closest the door handle. Ask if its ever been wheel aligned and when, may help judge if the suspension bolts are siezed. Check the history to see if the diff oil change has been missed (should happen at 3 years). If out of warrenty check the condition of the alloys, some corrode worse than others. Ask if it has any non factory mods, many people tinker and upgrade - but it could be cheap tat.


Only thing I would say, is that I would struggle if this was my only car - I changed the wifes from a Clio to a E39 estate last year so I wasn't stumped when it came to buying large items.

Feck it, just buy one

Bettarn

You should have no trouble living with an S2000 as a daily driver - I have for the last 5 years or so.

The downsides I find are:

1) Long motorway journeys are not always great fun, cos it can be pretty noisy (no need to put hard top on though - don't think you'd want to put that on / off all the time).

2) You may want to consider a cheap hatch / estate, even just for carrying stuff - especially with your hobbies. I've got tons CDs and books stacking up on the floor 'cos I need something to take to Ikea or wherever, to get some furniture! I'm looking for a cheap Aerodeck or similar. Christmas tree goes in the passenger seat every year!

Otherwise just go for it. I love my S2000 and I can't see anything affordable which I'd like to replace it with except for another, newer one.

tej

I get 36mpg if I do a steady 60-70mph on pure motorway.. 26mpg average over the past 3 months, and around town its usually around the 24mpg mark.. so not too bad!