Hello! Long time lurker, trying to get an S2000 now after sorting out boring stuff like a house and a driveway.

Test drove an '04 model (53 plate) today at an independent dealer, 42k miles, last serviced 6 months / 4k miles ago, HPI clear. Car drove well, didn't seem to be any issues with engine, clutch, brakes or steering and it had all the right tyres. Found a few potential issues in the engine bay though - are these things normal?

1) The main bit of the engine painted in red - at the front of it (as you look from in front of the car) there was a patch about 3 inches by 2 inches where the paint was a slightly different red, looked like it had possibly been repainted but couldn't be sure. Did a search and see that some people have had flaking red paint so could have been an attempt to fix that maybe.

2) Directly below the differing red paint, on the bottom half of the engine there were 5 or 6, what looked like, small chalk crosses (x)? The crosses had definitely been applied by someone, they weren't there by accident.

3) Towards the front left of the engine there's a big black plastic box (housing the air filter?) - at the left hand base of that there was a patch of rust about 2 inches by an inch which is odd for a 4 year old car? There was also another rusty bit (not on the actual chassis, some small piece attached to it) to the right of the bonnet clip.

Finally, on the test drive, the engine temp went up to 5 or 6 bars pretty quickly and then stayed there (on 20 min drive in and out of VTEC). I read it shouldn't go above 3 bars, is that right?

Bit disappointed as it was a 400 mile round trip to see a realistically priced car and I'd have tried to do a deal if it hadn't been for the above.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Cheers,

Neil

 

Not sure about the rest of it but the three bars refers to the older models, like mine, which only have a total of six or seven bars. Hence three bars is the normal "yes, now I can vtec mofo" temperature.
The newer ones have more bars in them, so I guess they're more accurate.

 

1. Alot of S's have them flaked, could be a over heating problem though!!
2. x's on the block or head? either way thats a bit odd
3. Rust is not uncommon, but seems a bit odd for the age of the car!!
4. The temp should NOT go above 3 bars, dependant on the modle, could be a thermastat problem and that could be causing the paint to flake on the rocker! did you check the oil cap to see if there was white gunk on the underside? this would suggest an blown head gasket!!

I could be wrong, without seeing it, its alway hard. It doesn't look good though! as the dealer to check this out as im sure they wouldn't be selling a car with these problems.

 

The newer cars have more notches, the 3 bars thing is a pre '04 thing.

 

If the temp bars are in a curve ( the newer dash layout ) - about 7 or 8 of them will be lit.


The 3 bars is for the older cars - and the layout is flat horizontal.

 

Just so you know, 3 bars maybe the operating water temp, however, it is doubtful if the oil is at its operating temp yet.

When the temp gauge gets to 3 bars, give it a few more mins for the oil to get fully up to temp before going crazy

 

Yes, the bars were in a curve so looks like temp's not an issue at least, ta.

 

I know, I've been told before. Doesn't stop me being tempted though. Ooh, floor it. Go aaaahhhhn, floor it. No, shut up. Ah, go on then, it's been ten minutes.

 

I have an 02/03 and does not have the slightest bit of rust under the bonnet, I paid over the odds and bought one from the dealers, but they had all its history and it is pristine.
I looked at many so called specialist to find a lot of tarted up trash.
Be patient and you will soon find your perfect S.
If you have any doubts dont buy it.

 

General rule of thumb is that oil takes twice as long as water to get up to temp, based on cars i've had with oil temp gauges.