Honda S2000 - Would you?

[Al U]

For - It looks like it will fit me perfect and the ergonomics look bang on. I think it's a nice looking car without being too "look at me". It's a genuine 2 seater sports car which is what I am after. Honda reliability (so i've heard). It's considerably cheaper to buy than a Z4M that I would prefer, i.e the head rather than heart choice. Revvy naturally aspirated engine. Convertible when summer comes. Depreciation over a year or 2 looks like it won't be much.

Against - Over £10k to buy what is a 6 or 7 year old honda. £485 for a years RFL (I know that the 06 and earlier ones are cheaper but not many of them about and prefer to have a low 05 onwards one). Only 240bhp for what is high RFL. 28mpg the best I will see? Potentially costly repairs on fabric roof and/or mechanism? Quite old looking typical jap interior with exception of the digital speedo.

Talk me in or out of it, if you will.

Edited by Al U on Thursday 6th November 21:31

[Al U]

Interesting responses. That looks like a lot of S2000 for £4k but if I was in the market for an early one I'm not sure I could live with those seats! Certainly unique.

Not sure that having to rev it would bother me that much to be honest. I do like the look of the cocooned in driving position. Tell me, can you rest your arm on that central trim and go through the gears without having to reach for the gearstick if that makes sense?

[Al U]

GreatGranny said:

Stretch the budget a little and you could pick up a 987 S.

Never been a fan of the boxster, if I was going to stretch the budget I'd just bite the bullet and get a Z4M or even a cayman S.

[Al U]

Axionknight said:

Be sensible in the wet, or on greasy roads, they have a bit of a reputation for being a handful in the wet, and it's true, I binned mine whilst coming out of a round about in wet conditions, driving too quickly.

Hmm. This will be my first rear wheel drive car so maybe it could be a baptism of fire? To be honest I would probably take it easy and just try to get used to the car progressively.

[Al U]

Thanks for all the responses, I think I'll have to take one for a test drive and see how I get on with it. I've taken on board the point about not spending £10k on one, £8k is much more where I'd like to be but it's a bit of a struggle to find a later one without high mileage for that at the moment.

[Al U]

mybrainhurts said:

Aaargh...GET OUT

No Americanese here, if you please...




PS...Got one last year. Love it..

Shut up.

PS..that's cool.

[Al U]

e21Mark said:

As it's your first RWD car, maybe book an airfield track day and get some experience of finding the limits in relative safety?

This sounds look good advice that I will probably listen to.

[Al U]

I think on balance I am going to go for one of these. I will just wait until the right one comes up at the right price, definitely set on going for an 06 one now for the cheaper tax.

I hear what people are saying about the Z4M and trust me I would definitely prefer one but it would need to be a coupe, with black leather with less than 60k which isn't going to happen for under £15k and I think if I can bag an S2000 for £8-9k I'll still have a good time and my bank balance will thank me for it!

[Al U]

SuperVM said:

Why are you considering an S2000 but only a Z4M coupe, rather than the roadster? From what I've read of the roadster, it is very nearly as rigid as the coupe and probably even more fun as a result of the increased engine noise in the cabin. I've also considered an S2000, but hope to buy a Z4M roadster in the new year.

To put it simply I prefer the look of the Z4M coupe to the roadster, there is absolutely no competition and the side profile of them is so different. The side profile of the Z4M is quite close to what I consider as perfection from a styling point of view. If I bought a Z4M roadster every time I see the coupe I will wish I had got one of those. The only good thing about the roadster is they are cheaper than the coupe.

[Al U]

St John Smythe said:

Have you driven one? I never get these posts as without trying one out you won't know if it's the car for you or not regardless of people's opinions. I looked at one a few years back and whilst it was a nice car it wasn't really for me (I bought a Chimaera instead).

No I haven't driven one. The reason for my post is for me to gauge whether other people think it's a good buy or not. To be honest once I get my mind set on a car, it would have to be something pretty severe to make me walk away from that particular model like not being able to fit in it or pedal position etc.

[Al U]

GreatGranny said:

Nice one here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-S2000-with-LOW-MIL...

Not too far away from me so in the sticks :-)

That and as a matter of fact all the blues (apart from the darkest) and yellow are the colours I wouldn't have.

[Al U]

TheJimi said:

Forza, that was a superb post, thanks for that

+1 I know all cars have a compromise and value your input.

[Al U]

forzaminardi said:

First thing to say is the road fund license point. It's unfair that the same car costs more simply because it's newer, and I was a bit obsessed with getting a 05-06 model. I ended up getting a 07 model as I found one that was the right car at the right price. I'm not a millionaire by any means, and I'd rather have the extra £250 in my pocket than the government's but on the other hand it costs what it costs and if that extra cost puts the car into the unaffordable bracket then I'd suggest that you probably shouldn't be looking at running a fairly niche-interest sports car. I don't mean that in a nasty way, simply that the additional cost each year isn't a bank-breaker and you should consider buying the car that seems in best condition for your money rather than one that is in a cheaper RFL category. The overall running costs in my experience are fairly low and the demand for 05-06 cars is such that they (again in my experience) cost more to buy than a 07-08 anyway.

For me it's not being able to afford the extra £200 it's just like you say it's not fair that it is another £200 when it's the same car albeit with parts that are a couple of years newer. The fact that £485 for a year RFL is over £40 a month just grates on me a little bit too much. I think if a later car came up at the right price to justify that for a few years then I probably wouldn't be too concerned.

[Al U]

In perhaps a PH first on this type of thread, just thought I'd come back and give an update.

So a few weeks back now I bought a 55 S2000 in moonrock grey. It's quite a low miler (47k), ended up getting it for just under £8.5k private sale. Really enjoying it so far and no logbook loan companies or finance companies have been in touch yet which is good

[Al U]

mikey k said:

Good man
Strong money but hopefully its a good one!
Did you manage to sneak under the March 06 VED increase?

Mine is a november 2005 on a 55 so it sneaks quite close! I don't think it's strong money really for the condition it was in, the only other one I could find that was a GT with a hardtop in the same colour, same age and mileage was up for £8.5k and was CAT D! A small part of me with my car value crystal ball predicts/hopes that the value of these isn't going to go much lower and may even rise if honda don't bring out a replacement. You see some early models with low mileage up for £6-7k still.