If they have a car you like, and it all checks out, and you are buying cash there and then I don't think you will have an issue. You will just have to go through all the info with a fine toothed comb and be very firm with them.

But if you're not in a rush hang on for a private sale and save yourself a fair bit of money

 

I agree.

Really, the hype around the s2000's handling may be creating desire for VSA that isn't founded. It is not going to save you from driving like a numpty, only you can do that. Think of it as rubber gloves when your handling live electric wire, rather than switching the circuit off entirely.

The fact is, my first rwd (BMW m5) had an ESP/tc program that flattened any attempt at driving fun, but with it off I quickly learned how to get into the world of smoke, noise and sideways action!

Guess which one was more fun?!?!

Trust the advice on here, the s is a beautiful handling car, just hone your skills on a dry day, rather than find limits in the wet.

 

I agree, VSA isn't something which has ever interested me.

 

Ha! very true! But I don't know what's scarier, your car or a car from S20004u? I know what I would say.

@mileshardy2000: When I was looking for my car, I wanted VSA but it was so rare on the MY I was looking at, that I decided that it was more essential to simply find a good example. I have zero experience (before the S2) of RWD and I consider this my learning tool. In the six months of ownership, I've learnt that the S is brilliant in the dry, but a totally different character in the wet. You use common-sense to determine when you can push on and be cautious when the conditions are bad.

Another thing to consider which is totally unrelated to driving is the road tax. I got bit on the arse when I realised my car fell into the new system, which means I pay £425 a year. Anything pre-06 will be under the old system, so you pay £245 per year – might be worth considering a MY05 and using the money you save to get onto a track and learning some advance driving techniques.

 

Much more usefull than VSA any day of the week!

Don't be scared of the S, make sure the Geo is set up correctly and it's a beautiful handling car. VSA should be last on your list of wants...

 

Or a MY05 with cheep road tax, no fly by wire and get it fitted with Racelogic traction and stability control if you decide you need it. The bonus being launch control.

 

I have a 57 plate with VSA as i'd convinced myself it was a requirement of owning the vehicle.

Has to be said that with experience, i'd probably have bought a slightly older car and enjoyed it just as much.

It wasn't my first RWD car by a long way but having done an airfield day recently, I found the VSA more of a hindrence than a help - it seemed to interrupt the natural flow of the car and I spend a lot of time with it turned off now!

Also with regard to the hard top, i've been there and done that too. If you're the sort of person who loves to get your winter togs on and get the top down on a crisp winters day (I am one of those people) the hardtop will drive you crazy! After a winter of continuously putting mine on and then taking it off, i'd never bother with one again. Takes up a feck load of room in the garage too.

The soft top will be just fine in the winter!

Final point - the tax. It may not worry you - I put away enough each month to ensure it's not a burden to me - but the tax is £425 at the moment. The insurance is not particularly cheap (check before buying) and I regularly find (with 14 years NCB) that i've spent £1k on insurance and tax before even driving the car. The older cars are much more economical tax wise.

 

I'd be interested to know how suspension knocking could be down to the alignment....

 

I can handle the high tax and insurance (£950) and I'll feel alot more comfortable in a newer car. Also i'm not really a top down kind of guy....yet. I'll probably have the hard top on most of the time, if they did a coupe i'd buy that. loved the car on the test drive though.

 

Crisp winter days with jacket and bunnet on, heater going good style, hood down and vtec engaged, who needs a hardtop.? Once you try it there's no going back.