S2000 owners advice

[hurfdurf]

Following my previous postings here about looking for a car that won’t depreciate but can daily social wise, I’ve purchased an S2000.

35k miles, FHSH, 2005 plate, and spotless. Some dealers are advertising these at around £20k, I managed to get it for 2/3 of that as the old boy seemed to very much like me Vs the time wasters he had been dealing with.

Obviously with cars of this age you take a punt just based on age alone but I’m hoping it’s as reliable as people claim they are in general.

Do any owners on here have any advice or tips? First thing I’m doing tomorrow is getting the radio changed to something with an amp and Bluetooth, next up will be speakers and sound deadening I guess. I desperately need a phone holder also.

Cars already got brand new PS4’s on which I’m happy with, the roads are utterly soaked but I’ve not encountered any issues driving it back to Bristol from London. I’m assuming it’s the AP1 which was snappier and being a facelift model mine won’t be that bad.

First impressions are that it’s incredibly fun, far more so than my old Z4’s, much more of a smile similar to my original MX5’s I had as a kid. Also someone’s either fitted a short shift kit or holy lol is that gearbox short throw as standard. I think I’ll be changing the gear knob, it’s a bit too tall and thin for my liking.

 

[ci_newman]

Your first job should be getting it to a specialist and making sure that it's got a proper 4-wheel geo setup (and making sure that the adjustment bolts aren't fubar'd).

 

[Chris Wilson]

Do all you can to mitigate rust developing or worsening, they tend to be rot boxes.

It has a fairly high revving engine and high revs bring high mechanical loads, so using good engine and gearbox oils, changed in a timely manner may pay dividends.

 

[NVP]

What's your expectation regarding value when considering your projected ownership length and mileage?

 

[grudas]

I've had mine for over 4 years now.

I'd say if it's going to be daily driven, spend a few hundred quid to get the underside/arches and sills sealed up. They do rust like any other older car. So to preserve it, sort it out now and it'll save you money long term.

other than that just enjoy it, the shifter on them is quite short/nice from the factory so that's probably all it has. All uk cars are AP1, ap1 prefacelift and ap1 facelift.

chain tensioner may go, they all do really.. easy enough to replace and not expensive - you'll know when it's gone.

r2 automotive in essex is my go-to garage for anything s2k.

if you want to go there to get it aligned and bolts greased, that'll be a good idea too. They do seize up and require cutting out which is something that takes many hours and costs a lot in labour so better get it done now before it's seized(if it isn't already)

rear calipers also like to seize up(honda thing) so check if your disks/calipers are ok, mine seized up.. my mates did too and his car ended up on fire when parked up - not great. Value wise I'd expect this to hold it's value and maybe even appreciate, mine did.. well until I ruined it

here's mine, far from standard obviously.

 

[sigma]

35k miles means it's been sat around a lot. Full service (new plugs etc) and then an Italian tune up. Check all rubber bushes and belts. Brake calipers are likely to be a bit sticky also.

Please don't ruin it with big wings or splitters, even if they are 'JDM'.

 

[Gibbo]

Search for my threads, should have done a build thread really but I did a lot of work on mine ensuring it was in tip top condition:





Make sure it has been recently fully serviced, ensure there is no rust anywhere and then maybe treat the car to keep it good.
Alignment is important and hope nothing in seized they are also sensitive to tyres, I found mine was superb Goodyear Eagle F1AS5 tyres.

 

[smallstool]

Just inherited one from the mother-in-law - done less than 11k!

 

[sigma]

Just inherited one from the mother-in-law - done less than 11k!

11,000 1 mile journeys?

 

[smallstool]

11,000 1 mile journeys?

Probably 2 miles - usually on a Sunday!

 

[Greebo]

And never been in top gear either!

 

[smallstool]

And never been in top gear either!

I rarely get into top either, 2nd and 3rd - 6,000 to 9,000 is the best

 

[Conanius]

I can highly recommend taking it to Center Gravity to sort the suspension out. Transformed my S2000 - I'm taking my 911 there later this month

 

[tom_nieto]

Sounds like you've got a bargain! The gear shift is amazing on these out of the box so enjoy it!

Maintenance wise, regular servicing should see you right in terms of the engine. They're sensitive to geometry and the bushes do seize. Center Gravity are my local wizards, but no reason that you can't find another reputable garage to sort it out.

They're fabulous to drive and I hope you enjoy it. I do miss mine, but sadly I only have a double garage and a 911 has always been the dream.
@Conanius - I took my 911 there very soon after buying it and they really know what they're doing. The car drives brilliantly!

@hurfdurf - pics please!

 

[hurfdurf]

What's your expectation regarding value when considering your projected ownership length and mileage?

Depends how long I own it, I tend to keep my cars a long time if I like them and I have a feeling I am very much going to like this car long term.

No ones got a crystal ball, but I avoided depreciation on 3 of my last 3 cars, if I can run this and sell it for what I bought it for in how ever long, I’ll be very very happy.

 

[hurfdurf]

The consensus is alignment and rust. I’ll be going those routes. It was only just serviced and given a clean bill of health with 0 advisories on its MOT and its service advisory by Honda in October.

Does anyone know of any Honda or S2000 specialists in Bristol or near by? Centre of gravity is a bit of a trek but needs must if not.

I got very lucky by having the best BMW garage Redish only 6 miles from me when I had the Z4’s.

 

[Sin_Chase]

Still a little sore at having to sell mine.

I had full polybushing and alignment done at Centre Gravity. Had to torch out the old bushings. As mentioned the aligment and suspension components are susceptible to seizing. Plenty of copper slip on new parts!

I heated my seats with an aftermarket kit which was well worth it. Only other changes I made were shadow black badges, an aftermarket front grill, cat back system and headlight washer delete.

I HIGHLY recommend inspecting the soft top around the wear areas on the frame. I reinforced the inside of the soft top on the corner areas of the frame to mitigate against wearing through. Also replaced the elastic which is prone to becoming ineffective over time.

Hit up S2KUk.co.uk for lots of info and community support.

Wish I bought it back!

 

[tom_nieto]

At least in Bristol you’re closer to Jack Smith trimmers! Did a great job on my roof.

 

[hurfdurf]

At least in Bristol you’re closer to Jack Smith trimmers! Did a great job on my roof.

They did my mx5 roof 18 years ago!

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

 

[smallstool]

Still a little sore at having to sell mine.

I had full polybushing and alignment done at Centre Gravity. Had to torch out the old bushings. As mentioned the aligment and suspension components are susceptible to seizing. Plenty of copper slip on new parts!

I heated my seats with an aftermarket kit which was well worth it. Only other changes I made were shadow black badges, an aftermarket front grill, cat back system and headlight washer delete.

I HIGHLY recommend inspecting the soft top around the wear areas on the frame. I reinforced the inside of the soft top on the corner areas of the frame to mitigate against wearing through. Also replaced the elastic which is prone to becoming ineffective over time.

Hit up S2KUk.co.uk for lots of info and community support.

Wish I bought it back!

Looking fab - need to spend some time on mine in the spring