athapa23

Hi guys and gals,

I have never owned a S2000 but it has been my dream since high school to get one. I am not planning on using this car as my daily driver. Here's the question...

There is a 2001 model that has a clean title. However, on the title, the private party has told me it says "NOT ACTUAL MILEAGE" because the current owner said the previous owner did a motor swap for the AP2 motor. The car is clean, inside and out, except for a few minor dings on the outside and a little wear and tear on the leather and carpet inside. The odometer reads 117,000 miles but that is basically chassis mileage. The current owner has a cousin who works for the local Honda dealership and has owned it for almost 4 years. I talked to him for almost 25 minutes on the phone and seems like a knowledgeable and honest person.

I asked him if he has had any problems with the AP2 motor. He says no. The only problem is that he doesn't know when the motor was swapped. He has put 35,000 miles on the motor. All this being said, we don't know how many miles were on it before the swap and it's not clear on the Carfax when the swap occurred or if it was done in a garage at someone's home or at a shop ... the KBB value on the car, on a normal AP1 2001 model with 117K miles in good condition is $9500 ... he said he would go down to $7500 ... is this a good deal? I don't know how to adjust for the uniqueness of this situation ... PLEASE ADVISE ... THANK YOU !!!!

windhund116

Guess it's best to have engine tested by a good mechanic. Any photos?

athapa23

I have photos of the interior and exterior (it's grey) but none of the motor. He said he would be more than happy to let me even take it to a Honda dealer to have them look at it. What kind of testing should this mechanic do? I assume you suggest that I take it to someone who is familiar with Hondas ... right?

windhund116

I would take it to someone with specific knowledge of the S2000, if possible. Should do usual compression, leak-down. Visual inspection. Belts, pulleys, etc. Prolly, best to check the other parts of the car. Look for potential issues, down the road.


Good luck!

mosesbotbol

How are the brakes and tires? Good tires are absolutely critical and going with lower quality tires is not allowable. Are they the original shocks/struts? Imagine doing the tires, shocks, struts and bushings... Does the car still make sense? How's the top? This car can take endless miles, so if the body is clean and the wearable pieces have been done, that sounds like a nice car for the money.

For me, I can't believe how well this car model has maintained value! I mean you are buying on the bottom end and it's still an 8K car. Put it this way, as long as you keep the car up to snuff, you'll get 8K+ for it, for the next decade or more...