Hoping to join the S2K ranks soon

[hammerhead300]

Hello everyone.

I've been looking for a car to replace my tired old '92 Toyota Celica convertible for about the past three or four months, and after owning a convertible, I've decided that nothing else will do. I've always loved the S2000, but until now, I didn't think I could find one that I could fit into my budget, so I started looking toward older BMW Z3's and Mazda Miatas (which in my opinion are inferior to the S2K). Well, I think I finally found what I wanted, and it's not a long drive from here:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e=&cardist=152

I haven't had a chance to look at the car just yet, but at this point, I'm almost positive that this car will be mine by the end of the week. Word from the seller is that the car has been exceptionally reliable for him so far and the only thing he's done is the regular maintenance. The fact that it's bone stock tells me that it's probably been pretty well taken care of, but I'll get a better impression of that when I go check it out next week.

So, does this look like a good ticket into the S2000 community?

[slotperfect]

Silverstone AP1 FTW!

[desmo4]

Get the carfax report

Jonathan

[dynasty_four]

yea get a carfax on it, always do that on any car u buy. but for 85,000 miles it looks pretty clean.

[hammerhead300]

According to Carfax there are 32 records on it, but unfortunately since I lack a credit card, I can't check and find out what those are.

I'll probably just see if he'll take it to a mechanic first, and offer to pay the inspection fee. It'll probably cost 2x-3x as much money, but seeing as I don't have to pay the guy via credit card, that's about my only option that I can think of.

[Java Junky]

Well, HH . . it's made it to 85 thou n' it looks that good n' it ain't been messed with.
As reliable as these little beauties are, it sounds like the previous owner just broke it in for you. You won't godda deal with that nasty period'a time before you can get on it.
But check it out. As reliable n' damn near bullet-proof'z they are, ya never know, y'know?
'Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted.
Java

[DJJSR]

Originally Posted by hammerhead300

According to Carfax there are 32 records on it, but unfortunately since I lack a credit card, I can't check and find out what those are.

32 records seems like a lot. Maybe they're just maintenance, maybe not. I think you should check it out. Have the seller pay for the Carfax as part of the deal.

[hammerhead300]

Well, I Carfaxed it, and the 32 records were due to the fact that it had SIX different owners... the most serious thing reported was some minor electrical work done on it back in '03, other than that, all the records are just from the car changing hands so much. Other than that, it looks pretty clean, so I'm thinking it should be a good purchase.

EDIT: for the sake of not double-posting, I'm gonna add this here. I found another S2000 that's in Nebraska, listed here:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...e=&cardist=161

Despite the price, three red flags pop up: the biggest one being the fact that the car was wrecked and has a rebuilt title, the second being the mileage and the fact that the engine doesn't look as clean as the other one, and the third being the fact that it's been modified, and the mileage it has probably came harder than the mileage the other one has. I would like to know what kind of exhaust he has on the car, though.