itm

I'm thinking of buying an S2K for summer use only. Past form suggests that I'll do no more than 3,000 miles per year. At the moment I'm considering a 2002 model with 66,000 miles on the clock. Is there anything that should concern me re. major mechanical jobs which may become due at this sort of age/mileage?

iamhomin

The general consensus believes the S2000, like all Honda's will last a long time.

I bought mine (a used 02 AP1 with little less than 50k miles) and has been running great. Just make sure you change most of the important fluids (differential, MT, oil) to ensure optimum performance. A lot of members also do valve adjustments and run some diagnostics just to be safe- but it may be overkill. It all depends if the previous owner has the maintenance documents, etc.

xviper

60K miles was the last major service, however, not knowin the maintenance history, it would be wise to change all fluids (except engine coolant, which should be inspected). Engine oil, tranny fluid, diff fluid, brake fluid, clutch fluid. Virtually all major components on the car should be at least inspected and dealt with as necessary.
I trust you are getting the car completely mechanically inspected before purchase, in particular, compression and leak down tests.

Emil St-Hilaire

Check the overall appearance;if it looks good,most of the time,it will have been well maintained.
If it loks like a POS,well,chances are it is...

johnny

Pretty much like everyone's said... If it's been maintained properly, then you'll be fine... I'd def. run a compression / leak down test... Let us know how it goes with your purchase!

steven975

the compression/leakdown test is very important. low compression means low power.

a good clue to how well taken care of the car is...look at the tires. are they a good brand and the right type? For example, if they were something like General All-Season radials, I would assume that the car is not very well cared for. Tires show me that the owner isn't afraid to put the right amount of money into maintaining the car.

trnc

^^
or it also shows the owner just sold his rims and needed some quick replacement tires. but generally you are right.. A car that looks well taken care of, probably is. A car that has all it's leather cracked, dents/scratches all over/marks in rear window... probably is bad news

Jsmply

Although I guess its not as big of a deal with a 4+ year old car as I suppose it might be normal for a minor fender bender here or there, if you want to inspect the car for previous accidents try to locate all the vin stickers on the car. There should be one easily visable on just about everything. Front + rear bumper, doors, quarter panels, fenders, chasis, etc.

In general though, I would say the mechanics are more important so make sure to have it checked out by a qualifed mechanic who knows s2ks.

Chazmo

Follow xviper's advice. You really want to have compression checked (as suggested) because, unfortunately, there are folks out there who overrev these engines and compression problems will usually result.

Bottom line, I wouldn't be at all afraid of the mileage... Just make sure the condition is carefully examined, and the fluids will tell you a lot.

Best wishes!

SFMarine0331

You can't really prevent leather wear/cracking especially on a car with 66k.. But like everyone else said check all the fluids looks over the car carefully. Run a compression test check how the clutch is etc. and if you have a trusted mechanic have him look it over as well. But in all fairness it is a honda they're great cars as long as they're not overly abused. The s2k's can take a little abuse i mean with a 9k redline..... ya enough said.