Hi there everyone, I hope that you're having a wonderful day.

Earlier today, I went to check out a clean titled 2007 Laguna Blue Pearl S2000 with 76,500 miles. The Carfax was completely clean, and I took the owner (the second owner) on his word that the car had never been in any accidents (perhaps I'm naive, but I still do). Overall, the car was as one would expect; the paint had its blemishes, but it's nothing you wouldn't expect from a 14-year-old car. The compression test came back near-perfect, as well. In the moment, I didn't ask questions about there being 8/10 VIN tags, but now I'm second-guessing myself there. The seller and I agreed on $24,000, should our sale complete.

After getting home, I remembered that there was a mild degree of orange-peel on the driver's side fender; I asked him about this over text, and he claimed that he had the fender replaced by a Honda dealership because of dings created by the previous owner (who, to the best of my knowledge, was a 71-year-old man who daily'd the car without great concern for its pristineness).

At some point in the future, I do plan to sell the car; I love S2000's, and I plan to try to keep it in the best shape possible so that it fetches a price around what I would pay for it (I do not plan to put a great deal of miles on it per year). After finding out that the fender was replaced, I felt a good deal of stress in thinking about whether the price we agreed upon was fair, and whether or not this would stop the car from appreciating over the coming years.

I also understand that this forum tends to overvalue the pristine ideal of an S2000 with 10/10 matching VINs and all original paint, so I suppose I am just looking for a perspective from a like-minded person who has experience here. In short, if you were in the market for an S2000, would you still consider this deal to be fair? Is whatever "collectability" there's left in a 76,500 mile S2000 diminished by the replacement of a quarter panel?

Thank you for reading this and for any $0.02 you can offer!

 

What other panel was missing the VIN?

With that many miles on the car, it isn't really a collectible per se. To me, this is more of a driver to enjoy. $24k seems high to me for a car that is likely considered "good" condition, but without pictures, it is hard to say for sure. As you know, cars are a terrible investment for the most part, so if you are looking to enjoy it for a few years just realize that it will continue to depreciate a bit and potential buyers will have the same questions you are asking right now. It may take longer to sell it on with these questions, but you will always run across people who don't mind. I just don't think that you should be considering this car a collectible that will appreciate in value. Just my opinion. Worrying about what will and won't affect the car's value just sucks the fun right out of owning it.

 

Honestly, the way the market has gone, $22-$24k with a rare color like Laguna is probably what you’ll be finding even with 8/10 VINs. Up to you to decide whether you’d rather wait a couple more months to hopefully find a seller who hasn’t discovered BaT prices.

- Previous owner to a 2004 and 2005 and have been watching the market since ~2008 for what it’s worth

 

The price seems fair to me. With no pics it's hard to gauge the condition though. If the front bumper is not original that would not bother me. Most of these will require a re-sprayed or replaced front bumper from use after these many years.
I've never heard of someone replacing a fender because of "dings"... those are pretty easy to PDR and keep intact...

 

Pretty sure I had a few email back and forths with the owner of this car. Its 9/10 VIN #'s. This is a quote from the emails: " Driver side fender was replaced by a Honda dealership. It was replaced by the previous owner."

Photos of the car are during sunset and from at least 10-15 ft away so it looks good from that distance. I had asked for additional photos but they never sent them. Engine bay looks like it was detailed recently for the photos. Some rust on some bolts/nuts, strut top, but overall looks pretty clean.

As IA-SteveB stated above, with the amount of miles on the car, it would be more of a driver car that you could just drive around all the time.

If your goal is to get something that will appreciate in value (so that it ends up costing you $0 in ownership), i'd suggest waiting to find a lower mile car. A no reserve 02 Sebring Silver w/ 43k miles went for $23,750 on BAT today (add 5% for fees), +shipping etc. A 38k mile Laguna Blue went for $30k on 3/24. A Red 07 w/ 54k miles went for $24k on 3/24. I think the red one might have only had 9/10 VINs the other 2 should have had all 10

 

If you want a driver, you found one. If you want a garage queen, keep looking. If you want an investment vehicle, buy stocks.

 

Actually, now that i'm really looking at the ad, the front bumper VIN is missing or painted over. That might indicate the car was in a fender bender. Replacing the fender and / or repainting the front bumper.

And now that i re-read your first post, they told you that they had the fender replaced at the dealer where they told me that it was replaced by the previous owner.

 

Gotta love "price checks" after folks have already bought something. Not unique to cars but more common than it should be.I don't see any contradictions. The fender was, no doubt, replaced by the previous owner -- at a Honda dealer -- I doubt this was done in his driveway. Just a different way of saying. I'm sure the previous owner replaced the tires at a tire dealer as well.

Seller stated up front there were 2 missing VIN tags. Yeah that's a defect if you're showing the car at Pebble Beach or want an "original" car. The lack of a tag always indicates a replacement body panel -- no one is scrapping these off for any reason I can think of. Painted over tag, of course, means a repaint. Painted over or missing front bumper VIN tag is common due to the stone chips our cars collect. Another indication of a poor repaint is the faux brake air intakes in the bumper are the same color as the bumper -- they should be black. I looked at a neighbor's 2006 this week and immediately noted the front bumper had been refinished -- by the dealer -- because faux vents were body color.

Not sure where this car is located but $24,000 seems to be market price for later models.

-- Chuck

 

If you haven't, take a look here: https://bringatrailer.com/honda/s2000/ Lots of good info on prior sales. I have an '07 LBP with just over 58k. It's mostly garaged and taken out on sunny days. I bought it with just under 5k miles in Jan '08. It's was rear-ended in Oct '08 on I-95 south of DC needing a new passenger side rear fender and taillight. In 2015 I was t-boned at an intersection in Charlotte that required most of the driver side to be rebuilt. Import Paint and Body did the work as I'd trust no one else to do it. It took 6 months to get it back, but it drives just like it was new. All that is to say, I love my LBP and wouldn't sell it for the world. I know it's not worth much due to the accidents. I don't care. It's about enjoying the car and your time with it. Only you can decide if $24k is worth it to you. Mine is worth that and more to me

 

Hard to say what true value is anymore. I'd say make sure that it is not showing significant accident damage. As long as the frame wasn't bent and the replacement parts are OEM, that is going to continue to be a desirable car. LBP is a rare and desirable color. If you sell a few years from now, I do not think you will have a hard time selling a good condition LBP car. If someone wants an LBP car and is choosing between yours and a 10/10 VIN red car, all other things equal, as long as your car is clean I bet they look past the 8/10 VINs. It's not a <50k mile car.