Not sure if this belongs here, so mods please move/remove/lock as appropriate.

Today I looked at an 00 Black Berlina with 66k miles advertised at Bill Kidd's Toyota in Cockeysville, MD. It was advertised as a single owner trade and asking price was $11,500. Carfax report showed one MD owner with regular service records and no accidents reported.

Car just came in so no pictures online, but the salesman texted a few and it looked nice. Salesman stated no obvious interior/exterior defects apart from worn driver's seat bolsters.

Upon arrival I noticed some significant spider web cracks in the back bumper, consistent with an impact. Some less significant but still quite visible cracks on the front bumper around the grille. Took it for a test drive, rode nice, engine and transmissions smooth.

Back at the lot I looked in the trunk and found the liner was damp beneath the tools. Lifted up the liner and there was a shallow pool of water.

Engine bay VINS matched windshield. No VIN visible on front bumper, looks to have been painted over. No VIN visible on rear bumper, looks to be either very, very faded or scraped off. VIN sticker on inside trunk lid had been painted over. Bottom of doors look to have been repainted, but this is conjecture on my part.

Sharing this to help inform fellow enthusiasts, and maybe save someone else a trip.

 

Im coming from a Subaru background and dont know much about the s2k...


So are you saying its not worth what they are asking?

In the Subaru world a wet trunk is from the tail lights leaking and takes about 15 mins and $10 to fix.

But from you looking at it you beleave it was in an accident? from that would you say to keep looking




The car is about 2 hours from me and is priced low for the miles it has

 

The car is about 2.5 hrs from me and given the price, Carfax and photos/description provided by the salesman, I drove down intending to buy it. After seeing the car in person I believe both the salesman and Carfax report were misleading.

The cracks in the rear bumper paint clearly show either the car hit something, or something hit the car. The VIN stickers on the trunk lid and front bumper were painted over, which indicates to me they were both repainted. Based on the shine/finish of the door panels looked, I would guess they were as well. You can infer what you like from that information.

It definitely drove nice, felt tight, transmission and engine were smooth. The water in the trunk was not a major concern for me as that sounds like a relatively common problem with S2000s and may easily be fixed by unclogging drain holes.

Whether it's worth the price is up to the buyer. I just want others to be well informed about the vehicle's condition before they decide to take a long drive to see it in person. It's unfortunate the salesman did not extend me the same courtesy.