ST220 info/advice

[Chong Warrior]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...stcode/rh13ly/page/1/keywords/st220?logcode=p

I had my eye on that one, I think those are the best looking seats. Not a fan of full leather as they're a bit slippy and can make your back sweaty.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...ywords/st220/page/1/postcode/rh13ly?logcode=p

Theres this one also, however its 67k miles and seems overpriced again!

Ffs wheres all these 5k 2005 ST220s Fox is always talking about!

There aren't any, at least not ones worth buying, believe me I just spent months looking. A few things get said in here that in reality just aren't true.

Just went to look at one with the sat nav and all that, why do people advertise cars with immaculate paintwork and panels when they are covered with small scratchs and a few dings?

Other than that it was so weird to drive, gearbox changes are really long compared to the S2000! Ride wasnt as smooth as I expected either, more sporty over the bumps.

Onwards with the search!

Finding a mint 5 year old ST220 for decent money is a nightmare. I ended up giving up in the end, so sick of "immaculate" meaning it was just unwashed to try and hide all the scratches

I looked at several and all off them had iffy paintwork.

Be wary of the clutch and DMF as it will cost you around £1k to fix if it goes wrong. Most of them suffer with the sagging rear bumper which looks terrible. Scabby alloys are a problem you'll get with most and listen out for worn rear bushes one 60k milers that haven't had them replaced yet, that's a £300 job aswell.

 

[Howard]

Can someone "define" the sagging rear bumper exactly? Mine sits maybe 5mm below the light clusters, but fits tightly around the wheel arches/rear quarter on both sides. Looks normal to me

And I agree, a good £5k ST220 will be pre-facelift IMHO. Mine has the odd blemish (what 6 year old car doesn't have a couple of stone chips and hair line scratches) but nothing visible from a distance, and on the whole it's in great nick Just spend the morning washing, polishing and sealing and it looks amazing

 

[UltimateBadger]

I'm in the same boat as the OP - I have around 5.5k to spend and am trying to find a decent ST220. Seems prices have gone up a little recently.
I miss my DC2 already but needs must...

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

Can someone "define" the sagging rear bumper exactly? Mine sits maybe 5mm below the light clusters, but fits tightly around the wheel arches/rear quarter on both sides. Looks normal to me

And I agree, a good £5k ST220 will be pre-facelift IMHO. Mine has the odd blemish (what 6 year old car doesn't have a couple of stone chips and hair line scratches) but nothing visible from a distance, and on the whole it's in great nick Just spend the morning washing, polishing and sealing and it looks amazing

You see, my 6 year old S2000 had (since its just been sold fs) immaculate paintwork, it wasnt in a garage, I just parked sensibly and took care of it, you could look down the side of the car and the paint was just smooth with zero scratchs, it had a few stone chips from motorway etc but the Honda paint is very thin and is plagued by it.

Ive seen 4 ST220s now and everyone of them (which are 1-2 years newer than my S2000 with less miles) has quite tatty and nasty paintwork. Lots of small scratchs on every panel, lots of dings on the edges of the doors etc.

I think its going to be impossible to find a nice one without paying vastly over the odds, so for the meantime ive bought a complete shed of a 1996 mondeo for £300 (with 6 months tax and brand new years MOT!) that for once, I can park somewhere and not care if someone opens their doors into the side, or if kids are playing with bikes/footballs nearby. Its actually quite nice! Maybe its just not worth having a decent car anymore? Might be a new bangernomics convert!

 

[Howard]

You see, my 6 year old S2000 had (since its just been sold fs) immaculate paintwork, it wasnt in a garage, I just parked sensibly and took care of it, you could look down the side of the car and the paint was just smooth with zero scratchs, it had a few stone chips from motorway etc but the Honda paint is very thin and is plagued by it.

Ive seen 4 ST220s now and everyone of them (which are 1-2 years newer than my S2000 with less miles) has quite tatty and nasty paintwork. Lots of small scratchs on every panel, lots of dings on the edges of the doors etc.

I think its going to be impossible to find a nice one without paying vastly over the odds, so for the meantime ive bought a complete shed of a 1996 mondeo for £300 (with 6 months tax and brand new years MOT!) that for once, I can park somewhere and not care if someone opens their doors into the side, or if kids are playing with bikes/footballs nearby. Its actually quite nice! Maybe its just not worth having a decent car anymore? Might be a new bangernomics convert!

I know what you mean, I don't think I've picked up any scratches on any of my cars. But then I'm happy to park at the empty end of Tesco carpark and walk. The paint on my ST is pretty much immaculate bar a few stone chips on the bonnet and a small scratch on the rear quarter.

Depends what you class as "over the odds" really. 6-6.5k or so for an 04-54 in good condition isn't unreasonable. It's what they're worth, it seems.

 

[sigma]

You see, my 6 year old S2000 had (since its just been sold fs) immaculate paintwork, it wasnt in a garage, I just parked sensibly and took care of it, you could look down the side of the car and the paint was just smooth with zero scratchs, it had a few stone chips from motorway etc but the Honda paint is very thin and is plagued by it.

Ive seen 4 ST220s now and everyone of them (which are 1-2 years newer than my S2000 with less miles) has quite tatty and nasty paintwork. Lots of small scratchs on every panel, lots of dings on the edges of the doors etc.

I think its going to be impossible to find a nice one without paying vastly over the odds, so for the meantime ive bought a complete shed of a 1996 mondeo for £300 (with 6 months tax and brand new years MOT!) that for once, I can park somewhere and not care if someone opens their doors into the side, or if kids are playing with bikes/footballs nearby. Its actually quite nice! Maybe its just not worth having a decent car anymore? Might be a new bangernomics convert!

I think this is why you're finding a lot of cars with poor paintwork as the majority of people don't care about cars that much.

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

I know what you mean, I don't think I've picked up any scratches on any of my cars. But then I'm happy to park at the empty end of Tesco carpark and walk. The paint on my ST is pretty much immaculate bar a few stone chips on the bonnet and a small scratch on the rear quarter.

Depends what you class as "over the odds" really. 6-6.5k or so for an 04-54 in good condition isn't unreasonable. It's what they're worth, it seems.

When are you selling yours?

 

[Howard]

When are you selling yours?

I've only just bought it! A few years yet hopefully

 

[theboyrob]

You can't really expect a 5/6 year old car to be free of any blemishes even if the previous owners looked after the car its not guranteed that it will be perfect bodywork wise.

I am always careful where I park and look after mine, but it didn't stop someone dinting the car on the slight crease on the passenger door and also some tard driving down the side of the car and putting a long scratch down it. I have done what I can and the dint and scratch aren't too bad but I won't be paying for a new passenger door,drivers door and rear side door replacing just for that, hell its a 6 year old car!

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

You can't really expect a 5/6 year old car to be free of any blemishes even if the previous owners looked after the car its not guranteed that it will be perfect bodywork wise.

I am always careful where I park and look after mine, but it didn't stop someone dinting the car on the slight crease on the passenger door and also some tard driving down the side of the car and putting a long scratch down it. I have done what I can and the dint and scratch aren't too bad but I won't be paying for a new passenger door,drivers door and rear side door replacing just for that, hell its a 6 year old car!

Which is understandable, however if you came to sell it would you list the bodywork as "IMMACULATE LIKE NEW" and tell anyone that called that the bodywork was dent free and no scratchs anywhere?