I'm not sure I understand your priorities are or what is the question. Pulling an Accord from a stoplight? If so, don't buy an S2000. What this car does well doesn't show on the street but much more so on the track even then it needs some work to keep up with more modern high HP cars.

Or is this a question about how to buy an S2000 and what to look for? That is well documented within these forums. Prices for clean ones are going up with non clean examples you have to pick your poison.

Is the question owning this vs. Miata? Stock to stock any gen s2000 blows away any NC or early variant and perhaps an ND or at least that's my opinion.

Anyways sorry to be no help.

 

I wish I would have known more about what to look for. The PO had added a new top, new cat and new clutch, but I would have been much better off if those parts had still been the originals all worn out.

Whatever monkeys fitted these bad parts and did them badly, causing damage to the car in the process. Nothing horrible, but annoyances that now I have to redo these repairs with good parts, AND fix the stuff they broke. The PO paid someone to make their car worse than before the repairs.

 

Having just gone thru the buying process myself this summer, i would tell you to be oatient and find a well cared for example any where you can find it. I live in Atlanta and ended buying from houston....an 03 with a neat stack of service records, 68k miles, bone stock car.

 

It's easily faster than the 5 speed Mustang GT of that era.

 

You can easily avoid the heartbreak of LTS (low torque syndrome) with a 2006 or later DBW car and a Gernby FlashPro road tune which, among other things, drops the VTEC engagement of the high power cams to 3600 rpm and provides startling amounts of mid range power. I believe this tune requires at least a high flow cat (I have Berk 63.5mm on my car).

Make a priority list when shopping for a S2000. Mine was headed by 2006 or later (for ability to tune the ECU). Color was not on my list.

-- Chuck

 

Yeah I did some quick searching for an 06+. It's super hard to find a clean one. Color is not really on my list just a well taken care of example really with 1 maybe 2 owners.

 

Time is key. I spent about a year and a half looking for the one I got. Color was a factor for me; I wanted yellow. I also wanted a southwest/west coast car that was rust/corrosion free. I actually bought my one owner 2009 Rio Yellow sight unseen (not counting pictures) from a dealer in Phoenix when my choice finally popped up on radar.