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UK & Ireland S2000 CommunityDiscussions related to the S2000, its ownership and enthusiasm for it in the UK and Ireland. Including FAQs, and technical questions.
Seat bolsters (particularly the driver's) are a good indicator - this is on a par with my 15,000 miler when I sold it:
The seat bolsters on mine arent't that good, even though I've used all the right leather care stuff. I didn't own the car from new and they were already a bit worn then (with only 1700 miles on the clock) but I think it may also have something to do with the size of one's posterior!
As for no service history, I suppose people will generally believe the bits of paper whereas there may be a problem of credibility if they are expected to take your word as being 'one careful owner, guv'. As you can't vouch for the history of the car before you bought it, would it be legal to make any claims about it you couldn't know were true - tricky one??
Originally Posted by Mans Best,Aug 7 2006, 09:53 AM
As you can't vouch for the history of the car before you bought it, would it be legal to make any claims about it you couldn't know were true - tricky one??
That's why I would prefer to make a full disclosure in the ad - rather than go through the hassle of hoping the buyer won't pick up on something
I don't want people to come aong and bargain on the basis of no service history
They will know that up front and it will be factored into the asking price/offset by the condition
They will NOT find anything I haven't disclosed beforehand
Yes, I suspect that will immediately get rid of a stack of potential punters
But it will save time all round
Fact is, if you want a very clean S, low mileage commensurate with condition, without a serious fault, sitting on new wheels and rubber, without HPI and having a new main agent MOT, you are always going to have to pay a minimum of
some suspension replaced (spun, hit a kerb) (above average joe would never know)
two wheels replaced (now more badly corroded than originals - you could spot these)
one rust spot on front wing due to dealer scratch - this is currently requiring my attention (spottable)
one ding in the pass door from a 4x4 tosser (will bend out i imagine) (spottable)
one minor scratch in the pass sill from a girl mate of gf's with stilletos (spottable)
*two marks on rear bumper ( now gone )*
*a new rear bumper due to five a side mate hitting it with his car (spot on insurance job)*
*a new rear bumper due to gf hitting it with her car (decent insurance job by honda - but spottable due to alignment)*
probably teens in numbers of very minor stonechips (barely spottable)
number of scuffs on drivers side door inside (seatbelt trapper) (spottable but not a bother)
a few scratches on the drivers door card (spottable)
a number of small signs of wear and tear inside
a couple of small tears in the hood (as per usual) (spottable)
a slightly scratched rear screen (very spottable)
defective paint on the boot lid (spottable)
i'd consider mine is probably average/above average, that's an exhaustive list and sounds worse than it is. the ding will roll out, the rust spot might need the wing sorting...
Mine is 3yrs now. Interior while very dusty (not much I can do about that in the summer here) is pretty spotless - one small nick on the steering wheel but that's all.
Exterior - a small chip on the front/right side of the car where the front bumper meets the front 1/4 panel (done when the bumper was replaced but after the 4th time of having sent it back - I couldn't care any more).
I have a few very small scratches on one door - I had all the dings taken out last year.
I only have one other that was caused by someone throwing a bottle at the car while I was driving.
The rear bumper looks like it has a slightly larger panel gap on the passengers side where some reversed into it but it's hardly noticable.
I'd say that it was in good condition considering the harsh conditions here and the fact that nearly every car here, new and old, is battle scarred.
The banana looks in good nick Pete, better condition than many others especially considering the age and what it's been through
I think you are right in your approach, being upfront will filter out all the timewasters and tyre kickers, the only people being interested will likely be enthusiasts themselves.
There are certainly much worse examples out there. Out of interest what is the reading on the clock, and is that in KM, miles or what?
Gad I'd be careful about too much disclosure in an ad; it's fine on a site like this where people know the car, and I would rather have a well looked after car with missing service stamps, than one with stamps that was in a sorry state.
If you advertised on autotrader or something like that, and put too much information up front, then you might scare people off. Being honest is good, but maybe save the detail for when they phone up with interest? After all an advert is just to pique someones interest and make sure it's roughly what they want. If you put all the gory detail in, someone might not look twice, when in fact they would have bought it.
E.G. The Caterham I am buying looks v pretty in the photo's and is mechanically sound, and has all the engine/suspension mods I want. I went to look at it, and in fact hte bodywork is quite tatty; all the wings need replacing at some point (it's been racing for 2 years) and the interior is tatty. If I had seen this up front I might well not have gone to see it as it would have put me off. Seeing it in the flesh is dfferent though.
although I will 'never' advertise on Autotrader - I have found it to be useless for selling cars (although I have bought a few)
it will be here, Pistonheads and ebay I suspect
in the latter case, I have used my approach at least four times before and it has been very well received
it immediately differentiates you from the twats and crooks and I've had first time ebayers buy from me who normally wouldn't use the site for expensive purchases
because they appreciate the detail and the honesty
RE: The kmh/ mph thing, usually when converting the speedo, the odometer isn't corrected (in fact I think it may be illegal to do that ). EG if the car had 10,000km on it when it came over and was then converted to miles, the mileage will be 10000km + however many miles have been added since. So unless you know how many k's it had on it when it came over it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact mileage (not really an issue if it's as low as it is and the condition corroborates it).
08-07-2006, 01:53 AM
). EG if the car had 10,000km on it when it came over and was then converted to miles, the mileage will be 10000km + however many miles have been added since. So unless you know how many k's it had on it when it came over it may be difficult to pinpoint the exact mileage (not really an issue if it's as low as it is and the condition corroborates it).