Used S2000s...another cheap "supercar"

Just finished reading the article on cheap supercars and realized the S2000 could potentially be on the alternative list. It's power numbers most likely keep it out of this category; it's style, reliability, and aftermarket parts bin could make it a hit though. Especially with the amount you can find under $15k. In a local search on Autotrader I found 29 S2Ks for under $15k (well local as in within 200 miles). Hell we had one at the dealership that was brand new, it had been broken into and parts stolen (seats, headlights, top ripped, and shift knob) and they would have taken $13k for it. They wouldn't sell to an employee because they believed an employee was the thief. Just my opinion though!

I've owned an S2k since it was new in 02. Prior to this I'd owned a couple of Miatas and a 3rd gen RX7. The S topped all of them.

It had the power of the RX7 with a lot better reliability and the handling of the Miatas. OK, it weighs about 400 lbs more than the Miata so there are some differences in the handling, but it was clear that Honda took the Miata and said "what are it's shortcomings" and then fixed them.

It's 2 cars in one. I can drive it in Miata mode and get better gas mileage than my Miatas - I prove it over and over. Then I can hit RX7 mode and drive the snot out of it. It truly is like having 2 different cars.

I'd heard all the stories about low torque so my initial test drive drove the salesman nuts. I kept lugging the car down. I never VTEC'd it. I wanted to see if I could just drive, talk to someone or listen to the radio and not have to worry about what gear I was in and I could. I even had my son drive my Miata next to it during these low rpm shenanigans and the S beat the Miata every time. So I knew I could live with it.

I loved the styling and the Xenon headlights (a rarity at the time). The room inside was nice and the appointments a definite step up from the Mazdas without being too plush.

After I got it home I did the gentle break in they recommend and only then did I VTEC it. Not only had I never VTECd the S, but I'd never VTECd any car, so I wasn't prepared for the difference. I almost wet my pants the first time I hit VTEC!!!! It scared me at the difference between the 2 modes. Needless to say I loved it.

I buy a lot of cars, but I've never found something that has made me want to replace my S. It fits me.

DirtyBird222 wrote: In a local search on Autotrader I found 29 S2Ks for under $15k (well local as in within 200 miles). Hell we had one at the dealership that was brand new, it had been broken into and parts stolen (seats, headlights, top ripped, and shift knob) and they would have taken $13k for it. They wouldn't sell to an employee because they believed an employee was the thief. Just my opinion though!

This is very encouraging to me. I've always liked the s2000. It's pretty much the only Honda(outside of an NSX) that I have ANY interest in. But I usually pay $5000 or less for stuff. Sounds like just a few more years to wait!

it's a very good car. i test drove and nearly bought one, but found a turbo miata for 2/3 the price. then i nearly bought one again but settled on an e36 m3 because i needed a tin top for track events. maybe next time?

nderwater wrote: it's a very good car. i test drove and nearly bought one, but found a turbo miata for 2/3 the price. then i nearly bought one again but settled on an e36 m3 because i needed a tin top for track events. maybe next time?

hardtop + rollcage?

I think that it is a car that you have to drive to really appreciate. Just like the NSX, the specs on paper don't do it justice. Sadly, I have never driven either but talk to owners and you will hear this story over an over.

I got the chance to ride in a fully sorted Comptech Supercharged hardtop-equipped S2000 at my first HPDE. It was scary exciting and I loved every minute of it. If the better half ever decides whether or not she wants a convertible, I'm going to try for a stock one. I really like them.

pinchvalve wrote: I think that it is a car that you have to drive to really appreciate. Just like the NSX, the specs on paper don't do it justice. Sadly, I have never driven either but talk to owners and you will hear this story over an over.

I can't agree more with this (at least on the S2k front), and I cite myself as an example. You hear all the bs about 'not torque' this, 'lulz mad vtakz' that. Always thought they were cool looking and had their place, but wasn't ever really interested in one.

Until I put 350 miles or so into one over the course of a weekend.

2 months later there's an S2k sitting in my garage... These things (used...) are a ridiculous bargain for how much car you get for your money. And there's plenty of them that you can shop around and not have to pay top dollar for the first one you find.

And this is the 1st VTEC car I've driven were "OMG VT3K Y0!" was actually a factor. I've driven a ton of VTEC civics (99Sis, Easter eggs, even the new Sis), and while it was "cool" it wasn't anything overly impressive. The S2k just goes ballistic when you hit 6 grand.

I've not finished the article yet, but the S2K might well run rings around some of those cars listed at least on an autocross course I just don't see the S2K as a "supercar" maybe it's the utter lack or torque,or I don't evne know what else it's just not "supercar" to me, A miata or MR2 also dont' fit the bill fo "supercar" maybe they are just too dependable to be "supercars"

evildky wrote: maybe it's the utter lack or torque

Resisting... urge... to put fist... through screen.... Please tell me you've at least driven one...

Supercar?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iILxnQxUWAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_JpvvdGD0

For the record: I test drove an NC and the new Civic Si back to back and wrote up a review on here many moons ago. It was one of my many options (including the new cobalt SS). I went with the torque-less 2008 Civic Si Sedan. So far we are doing fantastic... Shes a screamer

why i put the "" around supercar......For what you get under $15k it is a SUPER car for the money....

I was a hater too until I started working at Honda. Then got to drive one that had a "vibration" at 80mph which meant I got to take it on the highway. Then I took a CR on a test drive, quite impressed and def wouldn't mind having one for an autox/road racer.

Yeah supercar it's not, under appreciated gem it is.

Well when you look at the numbers Ferraris don't really have any torque either. I would consider an S2000 to be a supercar. I just got the magazine an hour ago so I haven't read the article yet.

Hmm S2000 has the same 5.6 0-60 as the Countach we all had on our walls as kids. I would bet on the S around any track too. Maybe I'm just too much of an Autocrosser but the S is a Super Car in my book.

I saw a CR on campus this summer, that was cool, girl driver too.

S2k's are awfully nice and provide a lot of fun for the buck, but I couldn't call it a supercar with a straight face.

I really like them, though. I got to drive an S2000CR (the real one, with no radio and no A/C) from Buttonwillow to LA and enjoyed every minute of it.

Yea, NSX = supercar. S2000 = cool sports car.

DirtyBird222 wrote:

nderwater wrote: it's a very good car. i test drove and nearly bought one, but found a turbo miata for 2/3 the price. then i nearly bought one again but settled on an e36 m3 because i needed a tin top for track events. maybe next time?

hardtop + rollcage?

Unfortunately, the factory metal hardtops seem to retain their value at somewhere between 2 & 3K. Dunno about the aftermarket stuff.

Yeah, it's not really a 'supercar', but at this point they're a helluva lot of car for the money.

so which are the best years?? I tend to lean more towards ap1's simply because of the low price and 9k red line. what does everyone else think?

I have an AP1 and I've driven the AP2s. I prefer the 1s and the people I know who've owned both like the 1 as well.

In the newer models the VTEC kick is all but gone, but they are supposed to be marginally quicker - because of it?

I definitely prefer the AP2 tranny as it lets you cruise at fewer revs. The hot ticket is the AP2 tranny on the AP1 motor as it also has 5% lower gearing 1-4. With the lower rev limit of the AP2 that causes excessive shifting, but on the AP1 it's about right.

2003 models are supposedly the best model years to have on the S2Ks.

2002 and 2003 both are supposed to be the best. The ECU is the best map which doesn't create any more peak power, but a little more under the curve and also they are supposed to have the best balanced suspension set up.

In later years it got softer and the 00s are the ones most prone to oversteer.

Per Schroeder wrote: Yea, NSX = supercar. S2000 = cool sports car.

+1

When we had our S2000 project car a few years ago I took it up to Atlanta to see a few clients. Unfortunately, it was winter and I ran into an ice storm. S2000+ice= BAD

I ended up spinning the car in rural Georgia but managed to keep it on the road. After the spin I pulled under a gas station awning and spent the night. (no need to drive on a slurpee) An S2000 has considerably LESS space inside than a Miata. My back and neck hurt for weeks!

Other than it's utter failure as an RV, I loved the Honda. Sure it didn't have a ton of torque, but it had enough to putt around in traffic. (later car with more displacement) I ended up loving it, and ranking it up there with the Integra Type R and Early Civic/ CRX Si as one of Honda's most engaging cars to drive.

I'm not a fan of the tiny interior, goofy start button, or digital speedo though.

Joe Gearin wrote:

Per Schroeder wrote: Yea, NSX = supercar. S2000 = cool sports car.

An S2000 has considerably LESS space inside than a Miata. My back and neck hurt for weeks! I'm not a fan of the tiny interior, goofy start button, or digital speedo though.

No, it has considerably MORE space inside than a Miata. I've had both at the same time. The seats are more supportive and comfortable and there's a lot more elbow room. One oddity is that if your back hurts it is easier to get out of the Miata than the S2000. The Miata door is further forward than the S so your feet swing out easier.

It also has much better interior lighting and better controls. When you are on the road it is very easy to change the radio volume or fan speed without removing your hands from the wheel. All you have to do is extend the pointer finger on either hand and wiggle it up or down. On the left you change volume and on the right you change fan speed.

I LOVE the digital speedo & tach combo! It makes the tach so much easier to see with a glance and now that I've gotten used to a digital speedo I feel I don't really know what speed I'm travelling at in cars that have the swing dial.

The start button is just too cool. It's been imitated a jillion times and added to all kinds of custom cars.

The S does have a weird hidden fuel filler door latch. They didn't tell me about this and the first time I went to get gas it took me almost a half an hour to get the door open. I couldn't get anyone at the dealership that knew and no one at the gas station knew. I finally stumbled upon it by tracking down where the cable must run. Once you know about it, it's kinda nice as it doesn't require you to lean down under the dash or even lean down at all to operate the door.

Oh, and the trunk is considerably larger. The S trunk comes in 2 layers. The bottom layer is exactly the size of an airplane carry on bag. Once you fill that hole with the carry on bag you have a large, wide flat surface that in and of itself is larger than the whole Miata trunk.

One thing you can't put in the trunk is a flat tire. It will almost fit, but not quite.

"No, it has considerably MORE space inside than a Miata. "

I'm glad you said that, because I agree 100%. I think it's that the S2k is more difficult to get in and out of that gives that perception to some people. I think both have more interior space than my Solstice company car! Good thing I'm not tall.