S2000: Buying Advice Required Please!

[Darren156]

Hey guys,

I'm getting married next month and then after that me and the missus are going to be buying a convertible, her idea not mine, but I'm trying to be a bit sneaky with this, lol

She has always wanted a BMW Z3 / Boxster / S2000, she doesn't mind which, so it's up to me to make my mind up and pick one. But there's just something about the Z3 that I can't bring myself to drive or be seen in one, no idea why, as they look nice and probably go like murder with that 2.8 engine. They just aint for me I don't think.

The Porsche Boxster looks like a nice big roadster, and I think I'd be comfortable enough in it, but once again there's something about it I'm not feeling... If we went with the Porsche we'd get the 2.5 Manual, which has 201BHP. Any hints or tips about these at all?

Her father has a 1999 Honda S2000 on a '99 plate, and I've driven it quite a few times and have to say I've fallen in love with it. It seems to fit me like a glove, even though the seat is right the way back as far as it goes, it's still extremely comfortable with or without the hood down.

However, the main thing I've fallen in love with is the sheer speed of it. It's one rapid mother!!!

To me, the S2000 seems like the most logical choice. It has the smallest engine so should therefore return the most MPG if driven sensibly. It has the simplest engine to work on from the looks of it. It has decent reliability from what I've read as well.

The only thing concerning me is the insurance, being 23 and 21 me and the other half aren't exactly group 20 insurance policy potentials, lol. So far the best quote I've gotten is offf Admiral for 10 months, £900 fully comp. But then again it's only a few hundred quid more than the Porsche and BMW...

If anybody has any buying tips or advice on what to look out for with the S2K's it would be appreciated. We have around £6000 or so to buy one with, and looking on PH there are a few in decent condition for that price. We want to get a UK spec model on a 99/00 plate, that way we can stay in the old tax bracket.

Thanks in advance!

Darren

[Dracoro]

hop over to www.s2ki.co.uk lots of buyer guide/faq etc.

You'll struggle to get a good one for £6k.

[mikey P 500]

As said above www.s2ki.co.uk will have all the answers really, but I think you sound like you have your mind made up. I also considered both your other options when I bought my s2000. The main down side you have already worked out is the insurance £900 sounds quite good given your both below 25. Your budget should get you a fair example, mine car is early 2001 and bought for around that budget and still has the cheap road tax (think it changed in April 2001).
Good luck with the wedding btw.

[Dracoro]

Road tax is only about £15 more for post 02 models. As long as pre-06 then OK.

[DanL]

Darren156 said:

It has the smallest engine so should therefore return the most MPG if driven sensibly.

That's an excellent theory - I thought that when buying mine. However, a year and a bit later I've yet to make a single journey in it where I've kept out of the VTEC zone the whole way.

[havoc]

If your budget is £6k then tread carefully with all of them, esp. Porsche and S2000, where only the oldest/tiredest are down at that level - both can have £££ repair bills! S2000 is typically a bulletproof car but a leggy one may need any/all of the following:-
- clutch
- synchro's (if driven unsypathetically)
- dampers
- seized suspension-adjustment bolts (replacement = whole new wishbone or after-market polybushes)


I know what the pub-comments are re: hairdressers, but have a look at an MX-5 as well...£6k should get you a good-condition supercharged car, some of which were factory-built Mazdaspeed conversions. It'll be about as quick as the S2000, albeit as old as the S2000 and with a manual hood and a bigger rust risk...so pro's and con's!

[mikey k]

I moderate the UK section of s2ki and manage the For Sale list.
I think this one might tick the boxes!

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=719...

[Darren156]

Mikey, that one looks great for the money, so it seems my budget should get a decent enough example I reckon.

[snorkel sucker]

of the 3 cars you have listed i would say the S2000 is the one to go for. If you have already fallen in love with it then thats the first hurdle - the S2000 really is a marmite car, but having owned one, i love them.

running costs arent excessive, and some simple changes such as which tyres you use and having the geo correctly setup will make the car much better for day to day driving. yes, they can be a handful in certain conditions, but no more so than any other powerful RWD car with no traction control - you will swiftly learn the art of smooth driving which will serve you well no matter what car you drive in the future.

insurance costs are, as you noted, potentially prohibitive, but shop around and you may be suprised

great car - get one before summer is out!

[ADHDboy]

I've just bought a 2003 S2000 for £7500, has been fully checked out and seems fine, 80k miles though so above average. Bargains are out there at the moment it would seem after shopping around for 2 weeks.

[Cathar]

Is she going to drive it as well? Alone? In the wet? Then I would definitely recommend to get a newer version with stability control, unless she is experienced with twitchy cars fitted with LSD.

[havoc]

Cathar said:

Is she going to drive it as well? Alone? In the wet? Then I would definitely recommend to get a newer version with stability control, unless she is experienced with twitchy cars fitted with LSD.

Do give it a rest, FFS! My wife drove our S2000 (an 03 MY, so allegedly one of the twitchy ones!) for half of our journey to Anglesey last year, and she got the torrential rain and standing water we drove through. Bizarrely enough, we made it there unscathed...

Set-up properly, and on sensible tyres (not S02's), it's absolutely fine as long as you don't drive it like a cock in the wet...



Anyway, did you not read the chap's budget?!?

[snorkel sucker]

havoc said:

Cathar said:

Is she going to drive it as well? Alone? In the wet? Then I would definitely recommend to get a newer version with stability control, unless she is experienced with twitchy cars fitted with LSD.

Do give it a rest, FFS! My wife drove our S2000 (an 03 MY, so allegedly one of the twitchy ones!) for half of our journey to Anglesey last year, and she got the torrential rain and standing water we drove through. Bizarrely enough, we made it there unscathed...

Set-up properly, and on sensible tyres (not S02's), it's absolutely fine as long as you don't drive it like a cock in the wet...



Anyway, did you not read the chap's budget?!?

havoc, obviously, your OH must be called sabine....

terribly sweeping statement cathar with regards the S2000 in the wet and dark - man, woman or even numpty can drive the car as long as they remember they are on a road, not a racetrack, when conditions get damp.

I personally drove an MY00 car so allegedly the worst of the bunch and im certainly (well, i wasnt 3 years ago when i was 24, thats for sure) no rwd king.

great car - docile enough to be driven to the shops (sticking with the sexist theme) by the wife, but bansai enough for the weekend hoon; of course, by the man

joking aside, a great car for all occasions.