J Roman

I have a 2001 Honda Prelude and about $10000. The s2000 has been my dream car since they came out. I am finally thinking I will be able to afford one. Originally I was going to keep my Prelude and get a Honda CBR600RR. I haven't visited the forums in a while because I didn't have the money for the car. But now I do and my interest has been sparked, making me want the s2000 just like before. Anyways, according to Edmunds, the s2000 depreciates like $5000 in the first year. Then, like any other car... about $2000 a year after that. I'm just wondering, for those of you who have bought and sold your cars, do these numbers hold true? And, what are the pros, and cons, of buying new or used?
Also, how does insurance vary between a prelude and an s2000? Seeing how I'm only 21, with no tickets. I already pay $150 per month for the Prelude. Just want to know what the differences are. I have been told Preludes have high insurance as is. Not too worried about the insurance though because I'm sure adding a sportsbike onto the prelude would be higher than just an s2000 anyways. Thanks for the help!

r_master78

I "personally" would suggest buying used (some may not agree). I personally think buying used is more finanically sound option. buying a new car is cool b/c you get the fresh smell, untouched (or tainted) interior, brag factor, and just the feeling of new car~ but from financial point of view, buying used is always right. The car's value depreciates as soon as you drive it off the dealership lot and will depreciate greatly for the first 3 years.

So, used car sounds like the perfect choice... but, there are disadvantages to buying used, b/c you have make sure the history is clean, mechanically sound... etc... it is quite a bit of work, but I think all that work is worth it because you'll have a lot more money left in your pocket.

When buying a used car, follow these procedures...

1) call your insurance and ask for a quote (you have to be able to pay for it right? if you can't afford the insurance, don't buy it... but I think you'll be okay on this area...)
2) set your budget or price range (it should be reasonable... you won't find S2k for $5 haha ^^;; j/k oh~! and do NOT compromise on the budget. if the seller doesn't want to sell you the car at your maximum budget, find another one)
3) have the money ready (cash, loan check)
4) start doing research and find the car you want (that includes carfax, which will tell only the "ovious" accidents and records)
5) contact the seller and tell him/her to meet you at a shop
6) test drive
7) get the car checked out by your trusted shop (b/c carfax doesn't tell you everything)
8) if you like it pay the dude and make sure get bill of sales and the PINK slip on the spot
9) if the seller still owes money to the bank, write the check out to the bank and draft up a contract AND bill of sales (unless you guys walk into the bank together to pay off his loan... than you can get the pink slip that day)

As for your insurance, it shouldn't go up too much. Insurance rate depends on how often the car gets stolen, vandalized, into accidents. Even tho S2K is more pricy, the insurance might be cheaper. (it was for me when I switched from WRX to S2K)

Hope this helps you in owning your own S2K enjoy~

tenaciousFD

Sold my Lude 6 weeks ago and bought the S. 2000 60k miles went for 13,700. But it had
leather, SSRs, WW RS kit and was immaculate. Judging from the number of calls I could have
gotten more but I wanted a quick sale to make up for the loss I had on an FD.
The S is very uncomfortable compared to the 5th gen Prelude.

tenaciousFD

My insurance cost did not change, 2000 Prelude- 2002 S2000.

PopTarts

I bought it used at 1 yr old, 14k miles, for about $7000 less - I think used is definitely the way to go.

One thing to add about insurance - yeah I don't think it'll change. I got a quote before I got the S... and for kicks, another quote for an NSX. Both quotes were about the same.

So my guess is that your insurance probably won't increase.

udr

I also bought used. 9 months and 4K miles. Saved around $5K.

esmith

Make sure you get your math right before saying that you saved $XXXX. It's actually very tricky. For example, if you buy your car for $5K under MSRP because its first owner bought it at the end of the model year, used it for 9 months, and then sold it, then you really save only $1K or so ( because at the end of the model year cars already go for $4K under MSRP ).

Accurately:
the amount you save = best deal its first owner could have gotten when he bought it - the price you paid.

If you use "real" prices rather than sticker/MSRP, S2K's depreciate at a roughly constant rate of $2000-2500 a year for the first 4-5 years, from the moment they hit the showroom floor. E.g. for 2003 model in average condition:
Nov 2002 - $31.5k
Nov 2003, new ( model year end ) - $29.5k
Nov 2003, 1 year used - $28-29k (private party)
Nov 2004 - $26-27k
Nov 2005 - $24-25k
Nov 2006 - $22-23k

mosesbotbol

Buy slightly used, lease new. If money isn't the issue, and you plan on keep the car for a long, long time, buy new.

TaxMan

[QUOTE=mosesbotbol,Oct 14 2005, 01:14 PM]Buy slightly used, lease new.

Axel6

I love buying new, but depreciation truly takes a toll. If you can find a nicely cared for example, I would buy a nicely used car. Better if it's Honda pre-cert since you'll get a decent warranty to go along with it.