Honda S2000 | High Mile Club
Well if you are going to put 165,000 miles on a sports car...
By their nature, it's not very often that high mileage modern sports cars come up for sale. They're cars for special occasions, saved up for weekend drives to the seaside or an early morning blast for an hour to yourself. Those that can afford the luxury of a newish sports car will have something else for the hard miles, able to leave the fun car for the fun ones.
But time waits for no-one, and even sparing use of a car will eventually mount up as the years pass on by. The Honda S2000 comes up so often in conversation that's it's easy to remember the Porsche Boxster rival being in production not that long ago, when actually the last one was built in 2010. It was 1999, don't forget, that the S2000 made its debut, or 22 years ago. A few miles here and there adds up over the course of two decades, and that's assuming you limited time behind the wheel - it's easy to imagine every drive being extended just that bit longer in the Honda.
This one has certainly kept its two owners busy, having accrued 165,000 miles since 2000. Which would be a fair return for any car, really - that's 8,000 miles a year - leave alone one so raw and unfiltered as the S2000. Consistent use can be seen in the MOT history, all the way back to 2006; in the past 15 years it's never done less than 3k a year or more than 8k, no doubt keeping its driver thoroughly entertained in the process. An engine and gearbox that were special when new will likely feel sensational nowadays, and what better powertrain to use exhaustively than a Honda one?
With age having taken its toll, the S2000 has recently been shown some love, with paintwork, wheels and interior treated to some remedial work. The car certainly looks all the better for it, and would be worth preserving in something like this condition, but the mileage is the mileage; you need not be precious about using the S2000 whenever and wherever suited. Which would be fantastic. It should be noted there are mentions of rust in the MOT history, however, so it would be worth finding out exactly what work has been done recently to ensure the beauty is more than skin deep.
The keen amongst you will remember that the Honda S2000 has been a Brave Pill as well, and it's here as well because it encapsulates the best bits of both features. On the one hand is an engine that should go forever, powering a car known for some iffy handling traits and a fondness for oxidisation. Will the gamble be worth it?
One thing if for certain, though: a punt on an S2000 is more expensive than it's ever been, for all the usual reasons. Those who like naturally aspirated engines, manual gearboxes and rear-wheel drive know they ain't coming back, and also know there aren't many better exponents of high-revving hi-jinks than the S2000. So, along with the recent Covid-induced hike, values have gone up: this one is £8,500. Which bought a car with 100,000 fewer miles in 2014, and is more even than the £7k Brave Pill featured last year - that was on a mere 158,000.
So a cheap S2000 isn't as cheap as it used to be, even if the temptation has remained just about the same. It's not going to be without its pitfalls - name a 165,000-mile car that is - but if you were to bet on a sports car that'll still be here in another 20 years' time, the little Honda would surely be top of the list. Bring on 200,000...
If it is the view of a motoring journalist that a sports car is never used except for discretionary journeys then the days of our choices being an uber or the bus are even closer than I thought.
How about the alternative idea that the lower, lighter car, if two are available, makes more sense for a journey unless you need all the seats/carrying capacity?
Our Fiat Barchetta regularly does the shopping run and probably uses about the same amount of fuel on a short journey as the diesel Volvo V70.
For many years there was a 200k+ milage club thread on S2ki and then even that was consided a low enough bar that a 300k+ thread was created: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-talk-1/300-000-m...
Downsides? Steering is a little dead which imo is the cause of a vague back end (and probably their reputation)
My only quibble with the S2000 transmission is that they put a fixed gear reduction on the back of it, when I think a switchable O/D unit would have been a much better idea so you can do a motorway slog at acceptable rpm. Contrary to the beliefs of those who have never driven one, the S2000 has just as much torque at low rpm than any other N/A 2-litre so it would pull higher gearing just fine.
Apart from liking fully synthetic oil, it was mechanically very strong. The chassis was incredibly stiff and the gearshift was rifle bolt accurate. Handling was fun in the dry but demanded care in wet conditions. It seemed to eat rear tyres in about 10000 miles. Fronts didn’t last much longer.
The power was all at the top end and required a lack of mechanical sympathy to access the 7000 rpm entry point. Torque was woefully low. Noisy too, even at low speeds.
On the right road, in good weather and light traffic it was brilliant. However, it was definitely a second car. And one of the best looking small roadsters to me.
Colleague of mine rolled one just outside Guisborough at 60mph and a copper at the scene thought he was a goner, but he got out with just a broken arm...the chassis was incredibly strong.
When I bought it I had the choice of a Boxster or the S2000, and I never regretted picking the S2000. I've since owned a low miles 981 Boxster for two years and tbh it never came close to the excitement of the S2000 with a poorer engine, didn't enjoy the PDK experience and the brakes and paint were crap. Didn't really rate the engineering in the Boxster either considering the car was 11 years newer than the S.
Driving is good for a car. Especially for a 20 year old Honda.The only ‘mechanical sympathy’ an S2K ever needed was using good oil & keeping it topped up- which evidently several owners failed to do.
A waste of a great engine if anyone thinks revving it hard all the time is not treating it sympathetically!!!
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