Used Car Buying Tips?

[midlife]

I just put a deposit on a 2002 Suzuka Blue S2000. Superb condition at $23.9k. It only has 7600 miles and was actually sold new in Mar 2003. Honda Certified now so it has 2yr 11mo/41K + 7/100k powertrain warranty. Better than new!

Anyhow before I hand them the money are there any parts I should ask them to "check" on the vehicle. They supposedly checked a lot to certify it, but I thought maybe there were a few weak spots I should know about.

At 40 I suppose this is a midlife crisis car, but I feel like 25 so I don't see how that's possible .

[Halo]

For an ethusiast car, the S2K has been generally very reliable.

There was a recall for spark plugs that ended with MYO2. You can ask to make sure that either your car has the new plugs/washers/torque or has had the recall performed.

There was a Europe-only recall on oil jet bolts until mid MY02. No recall here in the US. You might ask them to check if the oil pan has been removed (they should be able to tell if the bolts have been re-torqued... they might show wear from the socket). The issue of the oil jet bolts is somewhat controversial. Since there was no recall in the US, American Honda is thinking it will not lead to engine failure. In cars that are kept stock, replacing the bolts is probably not necessary. Conversely, if the bolts were installed incorrectly, they could seriously ruin the engine.

So few miles is both good news and bad news. It raises the suspicion that the car might have been registered as a commercial vehicle and possibly used as either a rental or a fleet car (for Honda execs for example). Check the VIN in Carfax to make sure it wasn't registered as commercial.

Finally, make sure you get that warranty IN WRITING signed dated etc. (for any used car reallly).

[MattG]

Get them to show you where the petrol release button is before you drive away (you don't want to have to spend 5 minutes looking for it).

Pretty obvious advice below, but sometimes you forget when excited:

Check the tyres for wear and tear. Check to make sure the roof goes up and down fully, check windows go up and down fully.

Essentially turn on and off everything that can be turned on and off (including wipers, indicators, aircon, horn etc etc).

Open centre console, under the latch is a button the open the top part of the centre console (sometimes referred to as the secret compartment), check inside to see if there is anythin in here (eg logbook, owners manual)

Finally, don't buy anything until you have taken it for a test drive!

[twofast4u]

hey wassup....im actually also lookin for a used s2000 with low miles from a honda dealer...i've found some....the best one is a 2001 with 17k miles for 23.5...........well i see ur deal and its way way better...where can i find a deal like that and if its cheaper in different sities i guess i can consider that..im from chicago....plz let me know asap