ragtophardtop

Ok, I flew out to buy an S2000 today. I'm currently looking at the car and don't have a mechanic available that specializes in S2000s. There are 2 major concerns.
1) There is blowby coming from the manifold into the intake. There's quite a bit of oil in the tube and oil has made it's way out into the engine bay.
2) The transmission has a strong gear whine when on the gas at highway speeds in 3-6 gears. It may have it in other gears also, but it's most notable in these. It's too annoying to leave as is. The transmission fluid is clean, transparent, and full.
3) The transmission is clicking when the drive shaft is rotated in alternating directions when up on the rack.

This is an otherwise clean car. All vins match, but the tires are completely bald and the brakes are gone, and the top has holes, which indicates to me that the owner skimped on maintenance.

What are my potential risks with the 1-3 issues? Are they reasons to walk from the deal?

manystyles

A lesson to do more upfront research before flying to buy. I wouldn't buy the car. Just walk away.

Personally, since I didn't have the opportunity to buy the s2000 brand new, I'm expecting to find a meticulous owner to maintain the car properly... but that's my philosophy when buying used cars.

ragtophardtop

The flight was cheap and I knew there were some wear issues, but it is a one owner car with low miles and it hasn't been modded, I just didn't know about the engine and transmission issues. And I did as much research as I could before coming, these things weren't apparent from the standard engine bay photo and a serious test drive by a detailed person.

Midnightdennis

you could've should've asked for a video prior to flying out.... cut your losses. walk away.

manystyles

What's the mileage?

Again, the wear issues, I see it as the current owners lack of detail and care of the rest of the car, timely fluid changes, etc.

If the airfare was cheap, then cut your losses. Maybe use this forum to ask someone to take a look at other potential cars? Or if owners are willing to take it to your choice of Honda technician?

lookstoomuch

Unless you're getting it for a price which would make up for the hassle and costs of a potential transmission and engine swap....I'd find a cheap flight back home. There's others out there.

ragtophardtop

The original owner had it until 3 weeks ago, now with a curb seller. It's got all VIN tags and clean body panels. 2008, 76k miles, interior, exterior, and engine bay looks good except for the blowby that's coming out under the hose, which wasn't visible in the pics.

It was priced at $16.5k. I knew it needed tires and a top, which I planned to do myself, so I hope there was still enough room to cover potential repairs. It also needs brakes. Th airfare was cheap and the price accommodated the known issues plus some, but not both engine AND transmission repairs, so I took a risk and ended up walking.

I appreciate the input.

jyeung528

you mean you didn't take the risk?

did you perform compression test? it would have been helpful if you uploaded a video of the transmission whine.

oh well, good luck with your search.

also, the soft top will develop holes through wear and tear, and i don't see the correlation with soft top holes and proper maintenance of the vehicle.

ragtophardtop

I mean I took the risk in flying to check it out. Later I talked to someone at ballade and they said they'd still do a leakdown if compression came out good, and my interest waned combining this with the transmission whine and everything else. I've driven a number of s2000s and I have never heard anything like that whine.

I agree about the soft top, however ripped soft top, BALD tires, needs brakes, gear whine, blowby, no maintenance records, clicking drive shaft/trans, it all added up to indicate the car wasn't kept up and there are more potential issues than I cared to have. I'm glad for the perspective now, I'm more experienced and educated for the next one.

rpg51

Good decision. Maybe enjoy a meal at a good restaurant and head home in the AM.