Complete Buyer's Guide For Those Looking For An S2000

Buying Frenzy

We see lots of buyer's guides pop up periodically for the Honda S2000. Mainly because, well, a lot of people are interested in buying the cars these days. The latest of which comes to us from Super Street, who recently spoke with Sterling Sackey, a Southern California-based collector-car broker who specializes in Japanese classics and Porsche GT cars. Sackey is also the original owner of a 2009 S2000 that now has almost 70,000 miles on the clock.

Photos: Honda

AP1 vs AP2

First up, Sackey talked about the differences in pricing between the AP1 and AP2 generations. "In the U.S., around 55 percent of S2000s are AP1s, and 45 percent are AP2s, so any price differences there aren't really based on production numbers. AP1s used to be cheaper than AP2s, but in the past year or so prices have become fairly similar for both, miles-for-miles and condition-for-condition," he said.

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Desirable Years

Despite that, there are a few more desirable years than others, of course. "For AP1, 2002-03 cars are preferred, as they came with a glass soft-top window and [as of mid-2002] updated oil banjo bolts, which increases engine longevity in hard use. For AP2, 2004-05 cars have some appeal due to being the final cars without drive-by-wire or stability control. The 2008-09 cars have major appeal for being end-of-run, fairly rare, and the most updated look," Sackey said.

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Club Racers

Scoring a Club Racer is obviously going to cost a premium, as this was a more limited edition model with some desirable upgrades. But prices also depend largely on the color of the car, too. "Of the 699 produced, Berlina Black is the most common and sells for a bit less than the other three colors. Rio Yellow Pearl and Apex Blue Pearl sell fairly similar to one another, and Grand Prix White is the holy grail for some, at only 90 cars produced. The vast majority of CRs (around 90 percent) were delivered with A/C-Radio, so the Delete cars are very rare and special, in my opinion."

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Pricing and Options

In regards to options, the standard S2000 only really has one that's gained steadily in value. "The OEM hardtop, in particular, was not that popular when new, but now they command huge money: as much as $5,000," Stackey said. And as far as future values go, he has a pretty good idea where the S2000 will eventually settle. "I think the standard cars will slowly continue to rise over time along with inflation and increased interest as a modern classic. Because they made so many of them, I don't think there's going to be any huge spike in value."

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Holy Grail

Sackey also talks about his personal "holy grail" S2000, which gives us a pretty good idea of what to search for if you want to experience the thrill of the hunt. And likely the agony of defeat. "For me, it would be an S2000 CR Delete in Grand Prix White. Only eight were produced in that color and configuration. I sold one of them in 2017 and might never see another in person again."

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Throwback Machine

Perhaps more than most, Sackey also seems to understand the appeal of the S2000 beyond the fact that it's quickly becoming an investment. Probably because he actually owns one. "I think as the auto industry moves further away from lightweight, simple, naturally aspirated, high-revving, manual-transmission sports cars, buyers are realizing how great the S2000 was for its time and still is today. It's rare to see what is a regular production car go up in value so quickly, and I think that's because the S2000 offers not only a classic or collector experience for some serious Japanese car fans, but also a legitimate alternative to what's on the market in terms of new sports cars."

Photos: Honda

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