Give me your knowledge of 2007 Honda S2000

[GAJ]

I've got a lead on a 2007 in Pleasanton, $25k, 34k miles, immaculate, one owner, garaged, dealer documents recent 30k service, new tires etc.

It's for my 34 year old PHD nephew who lives in Austin (works for Samsung) I'm just doing the legwork for him.

Believe it or not they want similar money for them in Texas but he hasn't found "the one" there so is looking further afield.

I have good car knowledge as far as what to feel for when driving and look for but not mechanical knowledge and have googled "common issues with S2000s" and most have been handled with Technical Bulletins other than a bubbling dash.

I might drive my immaculate '94 Miata R down there if it ain't too hot as it lacks a/c!

Bought that thing new and it refuses to die...hopefully the S2000s are similar in that regard.

 

[nebulous]

the only thing I know about S2000s is a coworker just bought an immaculate 07 w/28K miles. He paid $26K; which I think is insane for an 11yo car. I can't believe they fetch that much on the used market. they are not even that attractive of a car.

 

[Sharky]

>I know people like them, but 20K+ for a used and relatively slow convertible sports car???

Yeesh

Prices are also all over the place. Apparently, if you have an S2000, you have at least a 50% chance of getting hooked on the smell of your own farts.

 

[Reli]

Hope he has a garage and a solid security system, both at home and at work

 

[Yakoo752]

Paging Sumi to the Honda ricer phone

 

[mean dad]

...and dagle, I believe.

 

[dagle]

The 06-07 are the worst of the bunch, but still not a bad car to drive nonetheless. If your nephew intends to keep it stock, that's great. If he decides he wants to mod it, he should probably continue looking. The 04-05 and 08-09 are better than 06-07 in literally every way.

** the reason is that the DBW system (digital throttle) combined with the clutch delay valve and heavy flywheel make the driving experience really sloppy feeling compared to 00-05 and 08-09.

 

[antidote]

Damn you guys are harsh.

That is the going rate for an S2k.

I like Miatas more. The premium for an S2k doesnt seem enough.


Wanna talk stupid numbers for used vehicles? Tacomas.

 

[RightCoastBias]

Why are S2000s worth so much? I've never really heard anything about those cars and had no idea they had a following.

 

[ScarySpikes]

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I've got no idea why the s2k pulls classic car money already, On the plus side at least you probably wont lose money on it. That being said, you can get a used 997 Porsche with ok ish miles, or a used C6 corvette with quite low miles for that money.

 

[Kurosaki]

Damn you guys are harsh.

That is the going rate for an S2k.

I like Miatas more. The premium for an S2k doesnt seem enough.


Wanna talk stupid numbers for used vehicles? Tacomas.

I like S2000s. I really do. One of my good friends had one for years. I helped him work on it over the years from when it was stock to... a lot less than stock.

There's no chance in hell I would pay 20k+ for one in 2018. I don't know what's holding that value up so high. They're not that rare or hard to find.

 

[antidote]

Why are S2000s worth so much? I've never really heard anything about those cars and had no idea they had a following.

Honda fanbois. Not even trying to be derogatory. But the Cult of Honda. Also, STOCK condition cars are getting very very very hard to find. They command a premium because some previous owners/kids are really stupid and screw up these cars with their 'mods.'

Then again, they are also from an era where there wasnt a lot of safety nannies, you can actually see out the side windows/put an elbow up, you can row your own gears, it is a small-two-door light-weight car. There just ISNT anything like an S2k or 1st/2nd Gen Miata anymore (the 3rd and 4th gen Miatas are pretty close to their roots, but infotainment systems, fat proportions, rear view cameras, etc etc just take away from a driver+a car feeling).

Are infotainment systems, ABS, TC, side airbags, etc important? Sure. But they create fat, bloated, heavy cars with numb feeling.

That is just a fact.

To get a new car that is a pure driving essence car like the 90s-00s 2 seat sportscars these days you are probably looking at $100K+

You really have to drive a vehicle like that, to get it. And you still may find you hate it.

I've got no idea why the s2k pulls classic car money already, On the plus side at least you probably wont lose money on it. That being said, you can get a used 997 Porsche with ok ish miles, or a used C6 corvette with quite low miles for that money.

Those vehicles give you a very different experience than an S2k.

 

[ratsblast]

All I know is they rev to the moon and engine rebuilds are suppossed to be very expensive. They are the grandson of the s600. Seem pretty pricey but if you want one buy a good one.

 

[GAJ]

The 06-07 are the worst of the bunch, but still not a bad car to drive nonetheless. If your nephew intends to keep it stock, that's great. If he decides he wants to mod it, he should probably continue looking. The 04-05 and 08-09 are better than 06-07 in literally every way.

** the reason is that the DBW system (digital throttle) combined with the clutch delay valve and heavy flywheel make the driving experience really sloppy feeling compared to 00-05 and 08-09.

Thanks; it took me a while to get used to the fly by wire throttle on my wife's 2007 TSX and now I can drive it smoothly but at first I hated that. My wife despite having driven a stick since 1982 still doesn't have it "down."

I told him to just buy a new Miata for crying out loud, it has almost identical performance and is, um, new!

Both are ugly to my eyes.

I have a stock 1994 Miata R, (only a handful made), I bought new back in the day and it still looks great and runs great and MAYBE is worth, what, $3000???

I take that back, it has 15" Panasport lookalike wheels to fit wider/stickier tires. I still have the stock rims though so could be 100% stock with those and the stock radio which broke and is in the garage. No a/c, roll up windows, not even power windows.

How many were built? 1,218 (1994), 465 (1995), 111 (1996), 47 (1997)

What was special?

The R-Package is another version of the Miata that isn't technically a special edition, but was limited production enough to earn a place in the hall of fame.

This is basically the factory hardcore autocross/track pack. It included Bilstein shocks, heavy duty springs, stiffer sways, a rear spoiler, front air dam, alloy wheels and the Torsen LSD.

You could not get power steering, an automatic, or a leather interior. Air conditioning was optional.

 

[GAJ]

Honda fanbois. Not even trying to be derogatory. But the Cult of Honda. Also, STOCK condition cars are getting very very very hard to find. They command a premium because some previous owners/kids are really stupid and screw up these cars with their 'mods.'

The car I'm looking at is bone stock. That was my nephew's stipulation. Hope to see it Sunday.

My nephew is a 36 year old braniac/car nut/bachelor.

PHD in Physics w/ focus on NanoTec, works in Austin for Samsung.

I think he started with a manual Prelude back in the day, had an RSX, (as did we), a Maxima, an A6 and most recently a Jeep.

I guess he had a hankering to row the gears in a tossable car again.

I was always going to leave the Miata R to him but the only problem is no a/c as he lives in freaking Texas.

 

[GAJ]

I've got no idea why the s2k pulls classic car money already, On the plus side at least you probably wont lose money on it. That being said, you can get a used 997 Porsche with ok ish miles, or a used C6 corvette with quite low miles for that money.

I was shocked, if you'd have asked me I'd have guessed MAYBE $10k?

I guess it must have been a very low numbers car unlike the ubiquitous Miata.

This is something from a forum I googled up. Referred to as unofficial so may not be perfectly adequate but the numbers are really low.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-talk-1/unofficial-count-us-s2000-s-729838/

 

[Eldritch]

I like S2000s. I really do. One of my good friends had one for years. I helped him work on it over the years from when it was stock to... a lot less than stock.

There's no chance in hell I would pay 20k+ for one in 2018. I don't know what's holding that value up so high. They're not that rare or hard to find.

Yeah, this is a cult car for sure. I considered buying one new for a while back in like '06, but thought the tag wasn't worth the performance against something like a new Civic SI. The fact that they lack so much depreciation is a show that the people who want that thing, really want it, and it isn't something as simple as a cost to benefit formula like I usually use when selecting a car.

 

[SpeedyCorky]

i almost bought one about a year ago, it was gonna be a S2000 or what ended up being my choice - my 2012 VW Golf R


the S2000's motor is cammed insanely aggressively. you gotta HATE the car and just drive it like you stole it if you want it to actually MOVE and do its sports car thing (high RPM). no torque. period. Its like riding a Yamaha R6 on the street.... great trackbike - but one of the most piss poor street bikes EVER. that, and its way overpriced.

 

[daventura]

Honda motor is insanely dependable, fairly easy to work on, simple to update, blah, blah, blah.

I like the S2000 styling, but, I like my car better, as far as small two door coupes are concerned.

For that price, he could get a low mile 300ZX TT, which has the same or better collector value.

No AC in Texas is just terarded.

 

[Reli]

If you want the small car feeling, get a Lotus. At least you'll get some respect with one of those. With a Honda, all you'll get is a stolen car one day.