No Parts Available. What Would You Do?

When Honda announced that S2000 production was coming to an end, the reactions were wide and varied. You had people giving in and buying the car anticipating that the car’s value would only increase. You also had a huge group of proud owners determined to hold on to their cars and at the same time another group saddened that an era had come to an end. Make no mistake, by cancelling the NSX and stopping production on the S2000, Honda signaled that times have indeed changed.

While the debate on Honda’s new direction will be unending, the question that comes to our mind is to what extent one would go to find and source a part for their S2000. As days go by, it will be a matter of time before supplies dwindle. OEM hardtops are increasingly hard to come by and, when available, command a premium price.

It is likely that other parts will also become more difficult to source in the decades to come. In that situation, would you still be inclined to keep your S2000 running?

A time will come when new parts won’t be available, even if one is willing to pay a premium. The only option would be to purchase used parts or alternative parts that one may have to jerry-rig to keep their S2000 going, but even the used parts market may dry up eventually. What then?

Mercedes and Ferrari owners have it easy as they will always have factory support for any restoration or parts they need for their cars. We don’t foresee Honda getting into setting up a factory restoration service for older Honda models, primarily because the market for restoring older Hondas is not big enough. Forget Honda factory support, most dealerships have no clue how to handle an S2000 with care. Stories abound in the Tell Honda forum of nightmarish experiences at dealerships.

Ask any Honda owner (except S2000 owners) and nine times out of ten, we are sure they will consider their cars expendable. Who could fault them? It’s not like the Accord Crosstour or Jazz/Fit are classic designs that inspire owner pride. It will be partly Honda’s fault if someday its 50th anniversary gift to the world decomposes and rusts. That is because, although reliability has been the focus, Honda simply lacked the vision of building and maintaining heritage beyond the lip service they provide today.

There is a sliver of hope though. Older British sports cars like the Triumphs, MGs and Jaguars continue to run to this day owing to the dedication and stubbornness of their owners. If all of us, the S2000 owners of the world stuck together and remained united in our determination to keep the car running, our clout and market size could be large enough for a parts supplier to consider making parts for our car.

We suggest that you hold Shigeru Uehara-san’s words close to your heart and always keep the S2000 by your side, safe from harm. Don’t let the fact that a part is missing bother you. As long as the S2KI community holds together, we have no doubt that our cars will keep running. So now tell us, to what extent would you go to find a part to keep the S2000 running?