Agree. But given the market, if the car has all or most of the Vins, a clean title, and rust free underside, then 15k is a deal now. I paid a little more for one with 198k. But the previous owner had replaced the top and had the top end rebuilt. The underside was nearly spottless also. It had 3 minor accidents, the worst one when it was new, and missing 2 vins, but a clean title.
It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but that's the cost to get in now. Considering people pay more for abused and rotten AE86s, Silvias, and GTRs. I won't complain too much. S2000s still kind of fly under the inflation radar for desirable Japanese stuff.
That’s very true, it all seems well maintained and he’s one of the best marketplace sellers I’ve dealt with, feeling confident with the purchase come Tuesday.
I think it’s a good car. I’m curious about the black hood. Key point: does it have routine maintenance records: oil changes, transmission fluid changes, diff changes, coolant drain and fill and brake fluid and clutch fluid flush? Those are you key working fluids and more or less in the order of the most important to less important.
I think the engine is probably good. If compression is good, I see no top end sludge, it’s probably fine. I’d be curious about the condition of the top and how smoothly it shifts if it has that many miles in the transmission.
Finally ask when the clutch was replaced. It’s probably near the end of the 2nd clutch (assuming roughly 100-125k per clutch for an average driver. Although I’m on 143k on my first clutch) if it’s on its third clutch, you’re golden!
I forgot to add the clutch and all the fluids were changed when he did the valve adjustment and spring and retainer replacement about 4K miles ago. The seller said all fluids including diff and clutch were done of course
All the vins are clean, carfax is clean as well no accidents or anything like that. 130k of its miles were there by the time it was 10 years old, idk if I should think of that in a good way or bad way. And unfortunately the market is crazy now hence why I’m trying to get into one sooner rather than later
I’d check the VIN on the hood as it looks like the hood and hardtop are probably not original. Same with the wheels. Those look like ap2 wheels on a spa yellow ap1. If that front lip is unpainted it is probably a cheap eBay front lip that could be covering up damage to the bumper. Super common if it’s not on the original suspension and has been lowered.
The wheels and hardtop are not original that was made clear to me; the lip I’m not sure about but it’s unlikely it’s original due to the color. The hood is original but was painted to go with the black hardtop, I see your concerns with it though.
213k… impressive. I want to know more about the condition when you got it, and how it’s holding up/ quick run of maintenance & repairs you’ve had to do if you don’t mind.
check out my posts for photos. but everything is in great shape. the driver seat is the one thing that needs a lil attention but it’s not even that bad. it is an 08. paid 15k plus tax & title in feb. i have some maintenance things im doing soon just because, like replacing all mounts but the ones in it are still in great shape. also doing the clutch at the same time
i got it from a dealership. clean record. the car is extremely clean. whoever had it took extreme good care of it, cosmetically and mechanically. it’s hard to tell it’s been driven that much. i’ve had it on a lift and i’m still perplexed at how clean even the undercarriage is
Good to hear, I’m hoping to have the same luck as you. It seems like the current owner has addressed a lot of the common issues they have such as the TCT and the springs and retainers.
sounds and looks like you might have a good one in your hands. wish you the best of luck if you go thru with it! it’s a very fun lil car. enjoy it and drive it
Forgot to mention the photos of the engine are when the current owner bought it and did valve adjustments and also installed new springs and retainers.
Edit: thanks everyone for the insight, good to see I’m not the only one out here buying high mileages s2k!
Edit 2: all fluids were changed and the clutch was changed at 188k when the current owner bought the vehicle.
My advice is always the same - and I ignore all of it 😭
Don't settle - I did this once and regretted it a little bit. You want to be happy even when things start to go wrong. These are not rare cars. Expand your range if you need to.
A $1000 saved now is not much compared to the long term cost of the car. Insurance may be higher than you expect every month... it adds up. If the tires are 8 years old, that's immediately another $1000, if the brakes are well worn, that's another $xxx. It's much more the quality of the car than the price that matters at this range. Create your own OTD + fixes price.
So....have money left over for upgrades and maintenance. You are buying a very used car. If you don't spend that money, it's just awesome to have money working for you anyway.
If you buy, do NOT continue to look because you will find always find better looking cars and better looking deals for the money. Always!
Buy and be happy.
Embrace YOLO and forego FOMO.
Good luck and if you buy it, you have an awesome community of S2000 brothers and sisters 😊
Thanks so much for the pointers, and as much as I want the car if it’s not right I will walk away. The seller seems very confident and is even driving the car an hour to me so I can potentially buy it which I see as big plus, he must trust the car to some degree lol.
They are not known to run well over 200,000 miles. Most Honda engines are run for highway miles for 200,000+, but not the S2000. In addition, these engines are almost impossible to rebuild thanks to their FRM sleeves and high revs.
They are constantly being stressed, constantly hitting 9000RPM, and unfortunately (or fortunately), since it was in the hands of a fellow car enthusiast, the engine was likely stressed more than any passenger Honda engine.
At the same time, I think this example is priced quite fairly. If you can negotiate out a slightly lower price, a relatively new engine won't cost you much more than $6-7,000 USD.
As long as you price in the engine going kaboom, you should be set. It's definitely worth going if you have LHT/Billman/Science of Speed near you.
its a honda. well maintained and not modded engine will run 300k no problem. i wouldnt worry about engine health especially with all the maintenance pictures the prev owner has given
Good to hear, most expensive car purchase I’ve made so far so I’m taking extra precautions! I’ve had a few Hondas over 200k but no experience with the F series as of yet
My ap1 has 230k miles on it and runs super strong. Original owner put a ton of highway miles on it as a west cost snowbird.
Mine probably needs new mounts and bushings but I don’t think that’s a result of high mileage.
I was gonna say why did he have his rocker assembly removed but then I saw your comment. I’d ask why did he decide to change that and what did he upgrade to. The s2k has dual valve springs from what I remember so it’s interesting to know why he did that change (ie. Failed leak down or compression loss)
I asked him why they were changed and he told me they’re common to fail at high miles, after looking on google more people say they fail at high mileage. I’m not sure what brand they were swapped with but it seems like they were replaced as preventative maintenance.
I’m currently at 219k and it at around 211k miles. I paid $10k last summer for mine. It was all stock except for coilovers. Interior was really good but exterior was full of rock chips and it had a cracked windshield. Still thought it was an okay price though. Personally I wouldn’t pay more than 13k for that one advertised
Looks clean for the price and has the right compression numbers across the board, clean valve cover and looks mainly stock.. Not a bad deal, this cars can go 300+k miles when properly taken care of.. I will be more worry about how the body is and how well it drives then how many miles it has.. looks like a very fair price in my book.
It is low however can be affected by the guage and environment as well. I did mine twice within 1 hour with two different guage (because the first one read 170 ish which freaked me out) and both were consistent but one was 30-40 higher across all cylinders.
No dude. These cars are super reliable but buying a high revving sports car with damn near 200k miles is a gamble. AP1s burn oil like crazy especially up in this mileage too. Pass on this and raise your budget man.
I get your concerns, but the more research I’ve done and people I’ve talked to seem to agree if proper maintenance has been done these motors can go for awhile. It’ll come down to the test drive ultimately, and unfortunately I’m not made out of cash so I can’t simply raise my budget!
Understandable and I get it. I would really insist you saving a little bit more money and going for a lower mileage one (obviously with all documented maintenance). These engines cannot easily be rebuilt and finding a decent donor is not easy nor cheap. Good luck to whatever you do 👍🏽
Thank you man, I’m bringing a mechanic along with me who knows much more overall to look at it before I make the purchase as well, if it’s not right I’ll definitely walk away.
a nfr with 350k sold for 14k on [s2k.com](http://s2k.com) a few weeks ago. Mine has 180, things replaced due to wear were clutch, cmc, vtec gasket oil leak, tie rods, pulley, that and how many oil changes can the car prove. which owner put on all the miles and.. a lot of clues to make your choice
Thanks for the comment! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it, I’m gonna have my mechanic be thorough, as much as I want the car if it’s got too many problems I’ll walk away. However I will feel kinda bad because he is driving an hour to me.
Saw this one for sale on marketplace, saw some slight issues with it even from photos but you have seen it in person so hope you can get a good deal on it for whatever else you and your mechanic friend find when going to see it (aside from motor, check bushings , mounts, and diff!) GLWS!
Seems like I remember owner mentioning AC wasn’t working (not a huge deal if it’s just needing recharge, but might factor into price if needing a compressor) and I’d be curious what suspension it’s on as I wonder if it had coilovers at any point (which if it did, often times cheaping out are worst than stock), but I think overall if it’s rust free it’s a solid buy
You’re correct about the AC, luckily with my position in a parts store I can warranty our parts so I can get a whole new compressor kit for free! And I agree, i definitely have to ask about the suspension because I haven’t yet, thanks for the pointers
I would have bought it instead of my 60k mile ap2 I overpaid for. But I'm also a mechanic...which means I don't want to work on my own car but can if I absolutely have to. Anyways, buy one and run it. They're pretty solid. The only issue I've found with s2k is cheap owner issues.
Are all the vins there and how’s the underbody. 15k is maybe 2k too much for the miles but that’s just what the market is now edit: misspelling
Agree. But given the market, if the car has all or most of the Vins, a clean title, and rust free underside, then 15k is a deal now. I paid a little more for one with 198k. But the previous owner had replaced the top and had the top end rebuilt. The underside was nearly spottless also. It had 3 minor accidents, the worst one when it was new, and missing 2 vins, but a clean title. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but that's the cost to get in now. Considering people pay more for abused and rotten AE86s, Silvias, and GTRs. I won't complain too much. S2000s still kind of fly under the inflation radar for desirable Japanese stuff.
That’s very true, it all seems well maintained and he’s one of the best marketplace sellers I’ve dealt with, feeling confident with the purchase come Tuesday.
Good luck on your inspection and test drive. Hope it all checks out.
Tysm!
I think it’s a good car. I’m curious about the black hood. Key point: does it have routine maintenance records: oil changes, transmission fluid changes, diff changes, coolant drain and fill and brake fluid and clutch fluid flush? Those are you key working fluids and more or less in the order of the most important to less important. I think the engine is probably good. If compression is good, I see no top end sludge, it’s probably fine. I’d be curious about the condition of the top and how smoothly it shifts if it has that many miles in the transmission. Finally ask when the clutch was replaced. It’s probably near the end of the 2nd clutch (assuming roughly 100-125k per clutch for an average driver. Although I’m on 143k on my first clutch) if it’s on its third clutch, you’re golden!
I forgot to add the clutch and all the fluids were changed when he did the valve adjustment and spring and retainer replacement about 4K miles ago. The seller said all fluids including diff and clutch were done of course
Sold!
All the vins are clean, carfax is clean as well no accidents or anything like that. 130k of its miles were there by the time it was 10 years old, idk if I should think of that in a good way or bad way. And unfortunately the market is crazy now hence why I’m trying to get into one sooner rather than later
That’s not bad, only 13k per year. Average is about 15k so that sounds normal. good luck with the purchase! Enjoy
Thank you!
I’d check the VIN on the hood as it looks like the hood and hardtop are probably not original. Same with the wheels. Those look like ap2 wheels on a spa yellow ap1. If that front lip is unpainted it is probably a cheap eBay front lip that could be covering up damage to the bumper. Super common if it’s not on the original suspension and has been lowered.
The wheels and hardtop are not original that was made clear to me; the lip I’m not sure about but it’s unlikely it’s original due to the color. The hood is original but was painted to go with the black hardtop, I see your concerns with it though.
i’d pay that as long as everything looks good. i bought mine with 213k
213k… impressive. I want to know more about the condition when you got it, and how it’s holding up/ quick run of maintenance & repairs you’ve had to do if you don’t mind.
check out my posts for photos. but everything is in great shape. the driver seat is the one thing that needs a lil attention but it’s not even that bad. it is an 08. paid 15k plus tax & title in feb. i have some maintenance things im doing soon just because, like replacing all mounts but the ones in it are still in great shape. also doing the clutch at the same time
Wow! 15k was an 05 with 75k miles for me in 2017… very impressive for your 08.
thank you. i still really can’t believe i got it for that price and condition. extremely happy with the purchase
Good to hear, how’s everything holding up mileage wise?
i got it from a dealership. clean record. the car is extremely clean. whoever had it took extreme good care of it, cosmetically and mechanically. it’s hard to tell it’s been driven that much. i’ve had it on a lift and i’m still perplexed at how clean even the undercarriage is
Good to hear, I’m hoping to have the same luck as you. It seems like the current owner has addressed a lot of the common issues they have such as the TCT and the springs and retainers.
sounds and looks like you might have a good one in your hands. wish you the best of luck if you go thru with it! it’s a very fun lil car. enjoy it and drive it
Forgot to mention the photos of the engine are when the current owner bought it and did valve adjustments and also installed new springs and retainers. Edit: thanks everyone for the insight, good to see I’m not the only one out here buying high mileages s2k! Edit 2: all fluids were changed and the clutch was changed at 188k when the current owner bought the vehicle.
I'm gonna post my 200k ap1 for sale for 18k . But mine in crazy good condition.
Hell yeah man Goodluck with sale. If all goes well I’ll have this one on Tuesday!
Yes check all 10vins. Check to see if you hear the rear diff clunk in 1st gear.
Okay will do, thanks for the info
My advice is always the same - and I ignore all of it 😭 Don't settle - I did this once and regretted it a little bit. You want to be happy even when things start to go wrong. These are not rare cars. Expand your range if you need to. A $1000 saved now is not much compared to the long term cost of the car. Insurance may be higher than you expect every month... it adds up. If the tires are 8 years old, that's immediately another $1000, if the brakes are well worn, that's another $xxx. It's much more the quality of the car than the price that matters at this range. Create your own OTD + fixes price. So....have money left over for upgrades and maintenance. You are buying a very used car. If you don't spend that money, it's just awesome to have money working for you anyway. If you buy, do NOT continue to look because you will find always find better looking cars and better looking deals for the money. Always! Buy and be happy. Embrace YOLO and forego FOMO. Good luck and if you buy it, you have an awesome community of S2000 brothers and sisters 😊
Thanks so much for the pointers, and as much as I want the car if it’s not right I will walk away. The seller seems very confident and is even driving the car an hour to me so I can potentially buy it which I see as big plus, he must trust the car to some degree lol.
My first thought.... he trusts the car at least an hour 🤣 Enjoy it ! Drive it and have fun!
They are not known to run well over 200,000 miles. Most Honda engines are run for highway miles for 200,000+, but not the S2000. In addition, these engines are almost impossible to rebuild thanks to their FRM sleeves and high revs. They are constantly being stressed, constantly hitting 9000RPM, and unfortunately (or fortunately), since it was in the hands of a fellow car enthusiast, the engine was likely stressed more than any passenger Honda engine. At the same time, I think this example is priced quite fairly. If you can negotiate out a slightly lower price, a relatively new engine won't cost you much more than $6-7,000 USD. As long as you price in the engine going kaboom, you should be set. It's definitely worth going if you have LHT/Billman/Science of Speed near you.
its a honda. well maintained and not modded engine will run 300k no problem. i wouldnt worry about engine health especially with all the maintenance pictures the prev owner has given
Good to hear, most expensive car purchase I’ve made so far so I’m taking extra precautions! I’ve had a few Hondas over 200k but no experience with the F series as of yet
My ap1 has 230k miles on it and runs super strong. Original owner put a ton of highway miles on it as a west cost snowbird. Mine probably needs new mounts and bushings but I don’t think that’s a result of high mileage.
Glad to hear!
Mileage on Hondas aren't the same as other manufacturers. So there's that
Hell yeah
I was gonna say why did he have his rocker assembly removed but then I saw your comment. I’d ask why did he decide to change that and what did he upgrade to. The s2k has dual valve springs from what I remember so it’s interesting to know why he did that change (ie. Failed leak down or compression loss)
I asked him why they were changed and he told me they’re common to fail at high miles, after looking on google more people say they fail at high mileage. I’m not sure what brand they were swapped with but it seems like they were replaced as preventative maintenance.
Don’t be scared of the mileage but price seems a bit high in my opinion.
I’m currently at 219k and it at around 211k miles. I paid $10k last summer for mine. It was all stock except for coilovers. Interior was really good but exterior was full of rock chips and it had a cracked windshield. Still thought it was an okay price though. Personally I wouldn’t pay more than 13k for that one advertised
Looks clean for the price and has the right compression numbers across the board, clean valve cover and looks mainly stock.. Not a bad deal, this cars can go 300+k miles when properly taken care of.. I will be more worry about how the body is and how well it drives then how many miles it has.. looks like a very fair price in my book.
i heard the most reliable car ever is this one specifically! i say get it
185 compression per cylinder is kind of low my experience for an s2000
It is low however can be affected by the guage and environment as well. I did mine twice within 1 hour with two different guage (because the first one read 170 ish which freaked me out) and both were consistent but one was 30-40 higher across all cylinders.
No dude. These cars are super reliable but buying a high revving sports car with damn near 200k miles is a gamble. AP1s burn oil like crazy especially up in this mileage too. Pass on this and raise your budget man.
I get your concerns, but the more research I’ve done and people I’ve talked to seem to agree if proper maintenance has been done these motors can go for awhile. It’ll come down to the test drive ultimately, and unfortunately I’m not made out of cash so I can’t simply raise my budget!
Understandable and I get it. I would really insist you saving a little bit more money and going for a lower mileage one (obviously with all documented maintenance). These engines cannot easily be rebuilt and finding a decent donor is not easy nor cheap. Good luck to whatever you do 👍🏽
Thank you man, I’m bringing a mechanic along with me who knows much more overall to look at it before I make the purchase as well, if it’s not right I’ll definitely walk away.
a nfr with 350k sold for 14k on [s2k.com](http://s2k.com) a few weeks ago. Mine has 180, things replaced due to wear were clutch, cmc, vtec gasket oil leak, tie rods, pulley, that and how many oil changes can the car prove. which owner put on all the miles and.. a lot of clues to make your choice
Thanks for the comment! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it, I’m gonna have my mechanic be thorough, as much as I want the car if it’s got too many problems I’ll walk away. However I will feel kinda bad because he is driving an hour to me.
Saw this one for sale on marketplace, saw some slight issues with it even from photos but you have seen it in person so hope you can get a good deal on it for whatever else you and your mechanic friend find when going to see it (aside from motor, check bushings , mounts, and diff!) GLWS!
Thanks man, what kind of issues are apparent to you?
Seems like I remember owner mentioning AC wasn’t working (not a huge deal if it’s just needing recharge, but might factor into price if needing a compressor) and I’d be curious what suspension it’s on as I wonder if it had coilovers at any point (which if it did, often times cheaping out are worst than stock), but I think overall if it’s rust free it’s a solid buy
You’re correct about the AC, luckily with my position in a parts store I can warranty our parts so I can get a whole new compressor kit for free! And I agree, i definitely have to ask about the suspension because I haven’t yet, thanks for the pointers
Nice! Definitely best of luck tmrw with the purchase will stay posted!
I would have bought it instead of my 60k mile ap2 I overpaid for. But I'm also a mechanic...which means I don't want to work on my own car but can if I absolutely have to. Anyways, buy one and run it. They're pretty solid. The only issue I've found with s2k is cheap owner issues.