mK3/nc mx5 or S2000???

[griffter]

Al U said:

£12k at the time I was selling and even still now I think is near mid market to be honest, cheap ones no less than around £4k and that would be for a leggy early car all the way up to £20k for 2009 Edition 100 (the white only run out special).

Boxster S/Cayman S are possible at £12k but there is no way you would get a Z4M Coupe for that. A convertible might be doable but even those you are realistically talking £14k minimum. I got my S2000 because it was so much cheaper than what I really wanted which was a late Z4M Coupe which at the time was a £20k car.

A one owner fHsh 2002 S2000 with 52k miles sold yesterday in under a day for £9k. That was a bargain, but goes to show strong demand at the right level.

[grudas]

10-12k is mid market for an s2000 these days. 16k+ is a strong budget for one.

you can get an early higher mileage one for 8k or so if you dont mind it not being perfect.

I would s2000 is a stronger car than the nc MX5.

I have had a mk1 mx5, a 3.0 z4 coupe manual and now I'm in my 04 s2000.

all cars were great but:

mx5 - too slow without a turbo but great fun even at slower speeds
z4 - manual gearbox was getting on my nerves and I never had proper fun in it.
s2000 - current car and car I've kept the longest as it is just special to drive, sweet engine and great gearbox. It is a bit tight inside but it could be just me moving between a big luxo barge and s2k

running cost wise it has been super reliable but mine is a low mileage well looked after car, either way their main pitfall like with mx5s is rust.

engine/box etc wise it is a typical honda and super reliable, the 9k redline is also a thing you need to experience.

couple of snaps for points sake




another nice thing I suppose with an s2000 is that it probably will not depreciate in your ownership.

Honestly great cars and I can't think of what I'd replace mine with, probably explains why so many people own them for 10 years +

but of course, it is a marmite car. Many want the push in the seat torque etc which a bigger engine would deliver, s2k is something you really experience at high revs and when driving hard. So depends on you and your driving/what you enjoy.

coming from an MX5 I am a big fan, but if you like big engine cars with more "push" then you might not like the honda.

Edited by grudas on Wednesday 8th July 08:47

[drgoatboy]

I sold my very well sorted 5 for under £5k 6months back. That was with bbr 185, Meister's, arbs, bbr backbox, enkei wheels, hardtop etc. No rust, but a highish mileage at 80k. So if you time it right you can get a pretty capable little car for half the price of an S2000.

An S2000 was a car I always fancied, it's rarer, faster and good looking. Prices feel a bit too strong right now.

[TheJimi]

When the price of a mid-market S2000 is the price of the top end of the MX5 (NC) market, I'd say you'd need to really, really *want* an S2000.

To be clear I love the S2k, but they're way overpriced now, imo.

[grudas]

TheJimi said:

When the price of a mid-market S2000 is the price of the top end of the MX5 (NC) market, I'd say you'd need to really, really *want* an S2000.

To be clear I love the S2k, but they're way overpriced now, imo.

They're classics these days, 20 years since first ones came out.

look at NSX, rx7, Skylines, S13/14/15 silvias, supras etc.

all 90s/00s JDM cars are going up in value. S2000 is not overpriced, it simply is moving up the market like the others.

[Al U]

Just found the forum for sale ad I used to sell my car in 2015, a fine specimen!

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/uk-ireland-sale-wanted...

[TheJimi]

grudas said:

TheJimi said:

When the price of a mid-market S2000 is the price of the top end of the MX5 (NC) market, I'd say you'd need to really, really *want* an S2000.

To be clear I love the S2k, but they're way overpriced now, imo.

They're classics these days, 20 years since first ones came out.

look at NSX, rx7, Skylines, S13/14/15 silvias, supras etc.

all 90s/00s JDM cars are going up in value. S2000 is not overpriced, it simply is moving up the market like the others.

"IMO" - as stated above

[n3il123]

Al U said:

Just found the forum for sale ad I used to sell my car in 2015, a fine specimen!

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/uk-ireland-sale-wanted...

NIce looking car

I wrapped my old one into a little ball. I found that they really didn't suit the roads around here which suffer quite badly from subsidence so have lots of bumps and dips, it would get quite unsettled quite easily. The 3.0 z3 I have now suits it better and is a bit more predictable I find.

[Mr Tidy]

Al U said:

Boxster S/Cayman S are possible at £12k but there is no way you would get a Z4M Coupe for that. A convertible might be doable but even those you are realistically talking £14k minimum. I got my S2000 because it was so much cheaper than what I really wanted which was a late Z4M Coupe which at the time was a £20k car.

You could get a Z4M Coupe within that budget - there is a black one in Leeds on Autotrader right now for £11,450, although it has done 117K miles!

And there is a black M Roadster on 115K for £10,994 in Altrincham.

Seeing as only about 1,200 Z4Ms came to the UK (split roughly 50/50 between Roadsters and Coupes) if nothing else they have rarity on their side.

[davidif]

drgoatboy said:

I sold my very well sorted 5 for under £5k 6months back. That was with bbr 185, Meister's, arbs, bbr backbox, enkei wheels, hardtop etc. No rust, but a highish mileage at 80k. So if you time it right you can get a pretty capable little car for half the price of an S2000.

An S2000 was a car I always fancied, it's rarer, faster and good looking. Prices feel a bit too strong right now.

Now your old MX5 sounds exactly like how i envisage my ideal one to be. Did you build it or buy as is?