Yeah... I have to agree with josh3io, I don't abuse mine, don't assume because there is allot of miles on it that it's been abused. MY2000 just turned 38K and I took delivery April 5th, 2000. If the dealer is truly motivated to sell it really cheap, add the extended warranty, get some rims, HKS exhaust, and the SC, Several coats of Zaino Brothers and you are ready to go.

Some kid's going to come along and convince mom and dad to purchase that car for a graduation gift or something, it may not be new but new enough and they may get it cheap.

 

I think 24k miles is quite a bit for a 1.5 year old car, but not necessarily abuse. Josh and NorCal, I think most people are assuming abuse due to the lack of front grill, R badges, pea-shooter exhaust, 5-spd shift knob, poor stereo installation, poor speaker installation, Accord wheels, mis-sized tires, and paint overspray. Such lack of good judgement/taste is a possible indicator that whoever owned that thing didn't know/care much about it and that those miles are hard-earned. Also, if my eyes aren't deceiving me and those tires are too big, the car may have even more miles on it than the 24k listed.

 

When you go car shopping a good general rule is to allow 12000 miles per year. If there are more than that, then you'd be better off finding another car because you just don't know how the car was driven and if it was a daily driver then there is no question that the engine will have more wear and tear on it from stop and go driving.

I'm not saying anyone doesn't take care of their car because they drive it a lot, but what would you rather buy, one that drives ~50 miles a day for 2 years or one that has half that mileage? The choice is obvious. This is why the blue book value factors in mileage.

Granted, it depends largely on HOW it was driven and how it was taken care of (maintenance records), but besides that the average mileage is the best indicator of how much wear a car has from stop and go driving. So I'd always consider the maintenance records too in addition to the mileage.

A ideal used Y2K S2000 would have around 18-20K miles on it. But the fewer miles the better.

If you put high miles on your car, you know whether you are taking care of it- so its not big deal. But if you see one on a used car lot with high average mileage, you just don't know. And when you go to spend 28K on a used car, you don't want surprises, so assume the worst and cover your bases- avoiding those being sold on lots with high average miles. I'd want to meet the previous owner at that price, not the used car salesman. At minimum I'd have it inspected..transmission fluid, oil, spark plugs, compression tests, the whole 9 yards... We're not talking about a 18-20K used car.

This is my advise to buyers only. For sellers, I'd recommend keeping all maintenance records and if your intention is really to get the BEST resale value down the road, keep your mileage in the average range- otherwise just enjoy the car, but don't expect people looking at it used on a lot to go around assuming they've all been taken care of well. After all, they are taking risks in buying used and the idea is to minimize the risks to the buyer. Given a car with 8K miles and one with 35K miles (each asking $28K), equal appearance, equal maintenance records, which would you be more interested in? I rest my case.

-B


[Edited by bguernsey on 06-01-2001 at 08:27 AM]

 

man oh man... (shaking head). Almost enough to make a grown man cry. The heading of the photo should state "The Bastard Child from Tochigi"

 

Hey come on, you can't rag on kids getting a stook for a graduation present... you have to let us defend ourselves...
Well, I don't really have a defense other than I was extremely lucky and extremely grateful. The kicker is I had always bugged my dad about them when they first came out but gave up when I realized he didn't like them at all. Then about a year and a half later, he saw one in person, fell in love, and bought it on the spot. Ahh the power of real life. Anyways, back on topic, to that thing. I might be going out on a limb here, but I'd much rather see a stook totalled than look at 'that'. At least I'd have the peace of mind that the person was pushing the totalled car to its' limits... (hopefully not taken out by some poor driver) But, not only did that car offend me, but my outlook on mankind is now a little lower because of it...

 

Heh heh, they'll never learn...I saw this car at a different dealership last night. I decided to stop and check it out because I wasn't sure it was the same car until I got close to it. The salesmen knew enough to realize the car had been modded, but when I pointed out all the strange things on it, they too were scratching their heads trying to figure out why the hell all the stuff was done.

At one point I mentioned S2000Online, and the salesman asked if there was a Classifieds section. I told him sure, but he should probably not post about this car, cause it's been pretty thoroughly badmouthed by this time .

This particular dealer also had a MY2000 Boxster (note no "S") for $40k (!!!). Sheesh. To their credit though, they also had a nice Z06. The salesman asked if I wanted to trade, but immediately said he was joking when he noticed the greedy glint in my eye . A red StooK for a red Z06? I hate to say it, but I'd take that deal...

 

It needs curb feelers...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bguernsey
[B]When you go car shopping a good general rule is to allow 12000 miles per year.