The Loss.
09-16-2011 | 12:16 AM
#1
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,036
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From: Maryland.
The Loss.
You know, there was snow on the ground the first day I drove my S2000 home. I was particularly afraid I was going to end up doing something stupid or terrible with the car the first day I had it but the only thing that really came about was briefly putting the top down on a back road just to see what it was like. Honestly, in that moment pulling out with the top down in a chassis like the S2000's was incredible for me. You see, I had that deep and loving feeling for a car...a car I felt I could live with the rest of my life, a car that felt like an extension of me and my movement on the road and most of all it felt supremely predictable in nearly every aspect. I took it home and snapped this picture:
That is the only picture I'd ever take of that car when it was stock.
Over the next couple of months I would find myself Driving the car to relieve stress, driving the car the longest possible route home and getting home with a smile on my face every single time. After a number of modifications including all the usual Intake, Exhaust, Springs, Wheels/Tires etc...I found out for myself just how important it is to replace the rear tires on an S2000 first hand. Rear end broke loose at around 30mph on a cold road, Which ended in this:
At that moment it happened, when I got out of the car and walked to the passenger side I had a deep and sickening feeling in my stomach, A feeling that something I loved dearly had been taken away from me, My source of pure and absolute joy had been taken out in it's prime. Basically, I thought the car was totaled. I took off every modification I had ever done to it, painstaking hours of work for a car I could no longer enjoy...thinking all the time that inevitably the car will be taken from me by some no-soul insurance agent. Fast forward, the car finally gets assessed by a local body shop I have lived next to for a long time. I waited tooth and nail for 18-20 hours for the news. NOT TOTALED! I had come close, but they were willing to fix it without totaling it. Yay! My excitement was short lived...It spends TWO MONTHS in the shop with a huge list of excuses and incorrectly ordered parts, Every single day I am dying to drive just to get the feeling back.
FINALLY! My car is ready to get back. I spend all night and most of the next morning putting all of my parts back on it, I re-aligned it and was Happy with life again. The day I drove it to work after the weekend I took this picture:
The car would undergo a pretty serious changing, including getting lower with an AP2 front and lip but mostly I just drove the car. I appreciated the car for everything it could and could not do. I drove it nearly 30,000 miles the first year I owned it. Every maintenance was performed by me with care and love, not ever wanting to cause the car any unjust damage/scratches/dents etc. However over the next 16,000 miles or so the car would become pretty tattered, I have some of the fondest memories of my life from that car. Over the less than two years I owned it I managed to put 46,102 miles on it which on top of what I bought it with would be 134,509 total miles. It never failed me, nothing ever went "drastically wrong" and the car never left me stranded somewhere. Even in the first accident the car was driven home and parked and Honestly I owe this partially to the Original owner of the car whom I purchase it from. You see, the original owner of my S2000 was a 46yr old female 5th grade science teacher. The car had been registered in her name in both MD and AZ numerous times which lead to long long highway trips back and forth over the years. At 134,509 I still had the Original clutch in the car, all the original wheel bearings, the original water pump and alternator, all the original differential bearings/axles/balljoints/tie-rods etc. The car had been supremely low maintenance and I was very very happy with it.
This is the final good form of the car, This is how I will always remember it:
I sold the old wheels, bought "better" fitting wheels lowered it more and Buffed the hell out of the paint. I also replaced the entire interior for a 2005 AP2 Tan interior because it's what I always wanted. The car looks great in that picture but I could pick out 100's of little flaws, all that never really bothered me unless I happened to just be in a bad mood. One of the most cherished parts of that car was the new Convertible top my Fiance surprised me with on Christmas. I never thought she would buy that for me! I was very happy...So happy in fact that I installed it the next day in a 35 degree garage.
Now, Fast forward - 9/10/11 at 4pm. I am at work, just finished for the day and I am now washing my car. As I wash it I notice that I am being really picky about the car today and I generally get disgusted with myself about it. Eventually I give in and simply wash and clean the car as it Deserves. I clay bar, Wax, and Sealer the car while at work and Leave at around 5:30pm. I look to the sky to the North and sigh...looks like rain, all that hard work for a clean car is now gone. Well, this was the least of my worries. As I merged onto I-95 with the top down I have the Sun behind me and I am cruising at 70mph with not a care in the world other than getting home BEFORE the rain gets here and getting the car out of the elements. A few drops hit the windshield about 2 miles from home, I think nothing of it as I've driven top-down in the rain too many times to count. Something felt wrong this time though, something felt different. As I approached Mile marker 82.5 of I-95N The sky Opened up in Biblical proportions. We had recently had some flash flood warnings, a hurricane scare and A LOT of rain so I felt this was probably going to be pretty bad. I am getting soaked, of all the times I have ever driven this car with the top down I have NEVER gotten really wet. Now I know this is urgent, now I know I need very badly to put the top up. Traffic slows, There is a HUGE wake of water from the traffic in front of me...I move to the left hand lane and settle down. Now, I remember turning my blinker off and I remember what happens next but It's pretty difficult to go through it in exact detail.
...The car goes light, I immediately recognize this as Hydroplaning and try my best to hold the car steady as the rear end passes the front in rush-hour traffic in a downpour on the highway.
...The right front hit first. All I see is Guardrail, Headlights, Guardrail. I closed my eyes, I legitimately thought I was going to die...my life flashed before my eyes as I closed them bracing for what I thought would happen. I feared the car would flip into the median. The car must have spun at least 3 times in the Fast lane. Miraculously nobody has hit me and I am now COVERED in pieces of my car and dirt and rocks soaking wet with the top still down facing the correct way on the shoulder of the highway. I am in shock and panic, the engine is no longer running. I manage to put the top up and am surprised it still works...out of the corner of my eye I can spy parts LITTERED across the highway. Painstaking hours and hours and hours of work completely ruined by Mother nature, the most powerful force you can meet. I frantically called my Fiance and told her where I was, She called the police as she was on the way to me as I was still in Shock. When the troopers arrived 3 minutes later they helped me get my car to a safer place and I was able to get out and take a look...
I didn't want to believe it.
After catching my breath and being supremely happy to be alive I broke down, My car is no more. Yes, I am happy to be alive but I have had the object removed from my life that makes me truly feel alive whenever I want it to. The car was towed back to the house where I could get a better look at it...upon putting it on Jack stands I noticed immediately the severity of the damage. Right side suspension, both sub-frames, all the lights, both bumpers, trunk, etc etc etc. The Damage is just too Extensive, the Car is later Totaled.
Not a scratch on me, No soreness the next day. The S2000 truly is a marvel of Safety.
This has been a brief story of my ownership of 2002 S2000 #4297, I have been blessed to own a car so complete as this. Never did I think I could own a car that 45,000 miles later would still make me smile and be genuinely happy that I drove it. I will always own at least one S2000, There is just no other way about it.
That is the only picture I'd ever take of that car when it was stock.
Over the next couple of months I would find myself Driving the car to relieve stress, driving the car the longest possible route home and getting home with a smile on my face every single time. After a number of modifications including all the usual Intake, Exhaust, Springs, Wheels/Tires etc...I found out for myself just how important it is to replace the rear tires on an S2000 first hand. Rear end broke loose at around 30mph on a cold road, Which ended in this:
At that moment it happened, when I got out of the car and walked to the passenger side I had a deep and sickening feeling in my stomach, A feeling that something I loved dearly had been taken away from me, My source of pure and absolute joy had been taken out in it's prime. Basically, I thought the car was totaled. I took off every modification I had ever done to it, painstaking hours of work for a car I could no longer enjoy...thinking all the time that inevitably the car will be taken from me by some no-soul insurance agent. Fast forward, the car finally gets assessed by a local body shop I have lived next to for a long time. I waited tooth and nail for 18-20 hours for the news. NOT TOTALED! I had come close, but they were willing to fix it without totaling it. Yay! My excitement was short lived...It spends TWO MONTHS in the shop with a huge list of excuses and incorrectly ordered parts, Every single day I am dying to drive just to get the feeling back.
FINALLY! My car is ready to get back. I spend all night and most of the next morning putting all of my parts back on it, I re-aligned it and was Happy with life again. The day I drove it to work after the weekend I took this picture:
The car would undergo a pretty serious changing, including getting lower with an AP2 front and lip but mostly I just drove the car. I appreciated the car for everything it could and could not do. I drove it nearly 30,000 miles the first year I owned it. Every maintenance was performed by me with care and love, not ever wanting to cause the car any unjust damage/scratches/dents etc. However over the next 16,000 miles or so the car would become pretty tattered, I have some of the fondest memories of my life from that car. Over the less than two years I owned it I managed to put 46,102 miles on it which on top of what I bought it with would be 134,509 total miles. It never failed me, nothing ever went "drastically wrong" and the car never left me stranded somewhere. Even in the first accident the car was driven home and parked and Honestly I owe this partially to the Original owner of the car whom I purchase it from. You see, the original owner of my S2000 was a 46yr old female 5th grade science teacher. The car had been registered in her name in both MD and AZ numerous times which lead to long long highway trips back and forth over the years. At 134,509 I still had the Original clutch in the car, all the original wheel bearings, the original water pump and alternator, all the original differential bearings/axles/balljoints/tie-rods etc. The car had been supremely low maintenance and I was very very happy with it.
This is the final good form of the car, This is how I will always remember it:
I sold the old wheels, bought "better" fitting wheels lowered it more and Buffed the hell out of the paint. I also replaced the entire interior for a 2005 AP2 Tan interior because it's what I always wanted. The car looks great in that picture but I could pick out 100's of little flaws, all that never really bothered me unless I happened to just be in a bad mood. One of the most cherished parts of that car was the new Convertible top my Fiance surprised me with on Christmas. I never thought she would buy that for me! I was very happy...So happy in fact that I installed it the next day in a 35 degree garage.
Now, Fast forward - 9/10/11 at 4pm. I am at work, just finished for the day and I am now washing my car. As I wash it I notice that I am being really picky about the car today and I generally get disgusted with myself about it. Eventually I give in and simply wash and clean the car as it Deserves. I clay bar, Wax, and Sealer the car while at work and Leave at around 5:30pm. I look to the sky to the North and sigh...looks like rain, all that hard work for a clean car is now gone. Well, this was the least of my worries. As I merged onto I-95 with the top down I have the Sun behind me and I am cruising at 70mph with not a care in the world other than getting home BEFORE the rain gets here and getting the car out of the elements. A few drops hit the windshield about 2 miles from home, I think nothing of it as I've driven top-down in the rain too many times to count. Something felt wrong this time though, something felt different. As I approached Mile marker 82.5 of I-95N The sky Opened up in Biblical proportions. We had recently had some flash flood warnings, a hurricane scare and A LOT of rain so I felt this was probably going to be pretty bad. I am getting soaked, of all the times I have ever driven this car with the top down I have NEVER gotten really wet. Now I know this is urgent, now I know I need very badly to put the top up. Traffic slows, There is a HUGE wake of water from the traffic in front of me...I move to the left hand lane and settle down. Now, I remember turning my blinker off and I remember what happens next but It's pretty difficult to go through it in exact detail.
...The car goes light, I immediately recognize this as Hydroplaning and try my best to hold the car steady as the rear end passes the front in rush-hour traffic in a downpour on the highway.
...The right front hit first. All I see is Guardrail, Headlights, Guardrail. I closed my eyes, I legitimately thought I was going to die...my life flashed before my eyes as I closed them bracing for what I thought would happen. I feared the car would flip into the median. The car must have spun at least 3 times in the Fast lane. Miraculously nobody has hit me and I am now COVERED in pieces of my car and dirt and rocks soaking wet with the top still down facing the correct way on the shoulder of the highway. I am in shock and panic, the engine is no longer running. I manage to put the top up and am surprised it still works...out of the corner of my eye I can spy parts LITTERED across the highway. Painstaking hours and hours and hours of work completely ruined by Mother nature, the most powerful force you can meet. I frantically called my Fiance and told her where I was, She called the police as she was on the way to me as I was still in Shock. When the troopers arrived 3 minutes later they helped me get my car to a safer place and I was able to get out and take a look...
I didn't want to believe it.
After catching my breath and being supremely happy to be alive I broke down, My car is no more. Yes, I am happy to be alive but I have had the object removed from my life that makes me truly feel alive whenever I want it to. The car was towed back to the house where I could get a better look at it...upon putting it on Jack stands I noticed immediately the severity of the damage. Right side suspension, both sub-frames, all the lights, both bumpers, trunk, etc etc etc. The Damage is just too Extensive, the Car is later Totaled.
Not a scratch on me, No soreness the next day. The S2000 truly is a marvel of Safety.
This has been a brief story of my ownership of 2002 S2000 #4297, I have been blessed to own a car so complete as this. Never did I think I could own a car that 45,000 miles later would still make me smile and be genuinely happy that I drove it. I will always own at least one S2000, There is just no other way about it.
09-16-2011 | 04:37 AM
#7
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 382
Likes: 1
From: Indianapolis
Man, just seeing your S like that makes me 
. It was so clean, and looked great! I know exactly how you feel when you say "Yes, I am happy to be alive but I have had the object removed from my life that makes me truly feel alive whenever I want it to". I was 100% the same way when I wrecked my S. It did its job in keeping you alive and it's good to see you getting right back into one 
. It was so clean, and looked great! I know exactly how you feel when you say "Yes, I am happy to be alive but I have had the object removed from my life that makes me truly feel alive whenever I want it to". I was 100% the same way when I wrecked my S. It did its job in keeping you alive and it's good to see you getting right back into one
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09-16-2011 | 07:24 AM
#9
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 616
Likes: 0
From: N. Palm Beach, FL
Very sorry for your loss and the scary event that led up to it.
As it is often said, "cars are replaceable, people are not."
Repeat as often as needed.
Start thinking about the replacement, in a happy way
-jazzman
As it is often said, "cars are replaceable, people are not."
Repeat as often as needed.
Start thinking about the replacement, in a happy way
-jazzman
09-16-2011 | 10:09 AM
#10
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 302
Likes: 0
From: Fairfax, VA
Very sad story, I can tell based on the obvious level of effort to describe the detail that you really loved her. Glad you are right back into one, and that you're ok. This time you won't have to replace the interior to get the color you like