Honda s2000 buying advice

markoire wrote: »

Hey guys, going to look at and test drive an s2000 this evening. Just wondering if anybody knows anything I should look out for in particular? Thanks.

a full documented service is the most important bit.

rubber duckies drinking tea of course?

5500 wrote: »

By the price that car is going for its obvious it was going to need a few euro put into it to get it clean, but with the rear looking off it may well have been binned sideways into something and repaired cheap/badly.

I'm on the lookout for another s2k myself, I previously had one for a couple of years and it's unfortunate to say there's a hell of a lot of rough ones here and it's very very hard to find a clean well looked after one especially for the right money.

Importing from the uk isn't really feasible with them due to the vrt cost.

I think I'd stay clear from it unless you have the time and money to put into it and even then you'd be better waiting on a clean one.

There's a white one after popping up on donedeal in the last day or two as well, steer clear of this one, there's videos of it on YouTube taking lumps out of various carparks and been given death

its also too old.

In all fairness you would have to take a trip across the English channel if you want a decent S2K.

Cuchulainn1. wrote: »

Why go to France for 1?
Would continental ones not be left hand drive?

well good luck in Getting one that wont cost a fortune to get to 'as new' condition in Ireland for a decent price.

I did not realise front suspension and drive shafts were so expensive on an accord.

I would be surprised if they were any cheaper on a S2K.

but with 190bhp on the front wheels and 8 years old its normal enough to have wear and tear on the splines of the shafts.

0-30 1st
30-60 2nd
60-90 3rd
90-120 4th
120-140 5th.

thats how to test a honda..

should be rock solid across all gear changes, no shuddering, no vibrations.

just need some nice open spaces.

ya, but the parts, drive train.. all £££££.

a worn out S2K will cost to put right.

If you drive it, use my 'lose your licence' method, its the only way to find out if it will have underlying issues.

if it passes that test its practically good to go, all you need to check then is the clutch, the roof and its surrounds, and things like a/c and the compressor all small things like that will cost if not working.

A dogey drive train, clutch, tranny, engine problems etc will all show up if you drive the car hard through the gear ratios.

of course you need to do that test at your own risk. :pac:

RoverJames wrote: »

No it's not.

The S2000 is rwd so not at all comparable to the set up in an Accord.

yes it is, most of these cars will have been driven at speeds of 100mph or more for quite a long part of their life while being in the red line almost every other day.

try that on a rover and it would blow up.

having said that a lot of drive shaft problems are common on 2.2 diesel accords with 100k miles or so on the clock, but the problem is also quite common on 2.4 petrol's...ones which obviously have had a enjoyable life.


get me a 8 year old rover of any sort with 190bhp and without a service for 30,000 miles.

they would either be in a scrap yard or would need an entire engine rebuilt, maybe an entire car rebuilt.

Jimbob 83 wrote: »

Weekend car/Enthusiasts car.

Not all high performance cars have been ragged tbh

Honda's love to be ragged.. the engine that is.

check out any Honda enthusiasts site, drive train and drive shaft problems are very common on performance engines. (k24 etc).

unfortunately drive shafts and cv joints are notoriously expensive.

but the grin on your face each day makes it less painful.

my accord had 30k miles unaccounted for.. irrespective of the maintenance schedule.

so i assumed the last Pakistani owner just ran it ragged and drove against the kerb from Leicester to Islamabad somehow.

anyway, i noticed the clutch and he was saying bla blah thats the way it should be.

I had it 2 further weeks when i realised it needed to go, i regret now not putting in a performance clutch and DMF, as changing a clutch in a CL7 accord takes a Honda garage a whole day, and thats with a crew of Honda mechanics.

It was veering to the left which was a simple alignment problem.

the vibration was much more difficult as you don't notice it until you red line in thru the gears at lose your license speed.

so for most normal people this would not even be noticed.

I was looking for a 2.4 executive, saw none around my post code for that price. took 4 hours to look at it and took a chance, drives like new now.

I am in the process of getting eibach springs but too busy with work, the alloys also need to go. So I am not done with it yet but I wont turn it into a barry mobile.

passed a MOT a month ago, good for another year.

4 grand i spent, you would pay that anyway for a decent 2004 executive. Cost 24 grand new and it tells when you drive it.

And if you are so inclined you can quite easily get another 40bph or so with bolt on's.

Have had it since March and best car i ever drove, just very easy to get penalty points on.

Will keep it another year and see whats next... was looking at getting a S2K also and a A4 Quattro 220bhp for about £6k gbp at the time, but don't regret buying this.

yes because a owner took photos of them doing it. (with their permission)

do you know the work involved, you clearly know fek all about Honda's.

the whole subframe, gear box, etc has to go.

its 6/7 hours work.

I took it to a local garage in Leicester (who bust my abs sensor and caused all the lights on the dash to come on).

the owner was a c<>t and obv underestimated the work involved. 1 days work turned into a week.

he also never put gear box oil in after removing it, i found out that while a garage in Scotland replaced the passenger side drive shaft.

I don't think you drove a 2.4 one.

Honda charge about 800quid to do a clutch.

thats why I'm saying to be careful to anyone who wants to buy a S2K...

a purchase for 5/6k euro can easily eat up 2/3 grand on repairs if its badly looked after... and for that price ..well thats what good examples cost

RoverJames wrote: »

If it took a "crew" of mechanics a day to change the clutch and DMF it would cost a lot more than £800 The clutch kit would retail at over £250.
Subframes have to be dropped on loads of cars nowadays to do a clutch.

I most definitely have driven a 2.4 Accord.

I don't see how reckoning that you're wrong means I "clearly know fek all about Honda's", as mentioned I have owned a Prelude in the past.

not a DMF...why would they change a DMF for a clutch job unless it was requested and its unlikely to be need replacing in most clutch jobs.

just the release bearing, disc, pressure plate.

the 800 gbp price is a happy Honda price, i believe thats for people with warranty's.

for others it would be over a grand i guess. And its a huge job. Ask any mechanic who has done this work. He will say its a cUUnt of a job.

you seem to have driven every car under the sun and i am seriously doubtful.

I'm not making out my car to be a Gallardo but there are not many in Scotland, let alone Ireland. Most of Irish ones are autos without touch screen sat nav, and you would want to have a brain lose to want a K24 in a auto box.

I have seen just a few in 6 months driving in the uk, you can tell the executives as they sit higher on the road (unless they are lowered and most aren't).

166man wrote: »

Im sorry but your use of the word ''stuff'' twice in one post when referring to engine parts would lead me to believe your knowledge of cars leaves much to be desired.



I mean why would you even bring in the Rover argument into this. You're just derailing another thread for the OP. Grow up.


You must think that your Honda is the best car ever made the way you go on about it. Fact is it's a petrol saloon with a 2.4 engine and in my opinion a crap interior. It's just another executive mobile and you seem to think it's a racecar. You also quite clearly bought a lemon but cannot admit that.

I also hope nobody ever has the misfortune to buy a car off you, hearing about the way you drive it. Just get over yourself and post something of use to the OP instead of trying to get a rise out of RJ.

unlike an alfa a honda can easily put up with that 'racing'

you seem like a puppy. The K24 is not built for nuns, its meant to be driven in the red line, (it loves it). why not test it to its full abilities to see it does as it should do? (same goes for a S2K).

of course if you tried that in your car it might spontaneously combust.

It got a MOT until next year, as long as i intend to own it., I will post up some new pics some day, and i'm sure everyone will say what a lovely lemon.

the interior is as good as any of the other cars i driven and it wont fall apart like an alfa.

you don't know fub all about Honda's, so stick to the 166.

about as desirable as a litter of stray kittens.


(in a dumpster)

petrol station with a 2.4 engine is fine by me. I get at least 300 miles on a tank, 400 on long trips and -250 if I am being naughty.

why don't you buy a nissan leaf ?

good for the environment so they say.

166man wrote: »

Im sorry but your use of the word ''stuff'' twice in one post when referring to engine parts would lead me to believe your knowledge of cars leaves much to be desired.



I mean why would you even bring in the Rover argument into this. You're just derailing another thread for the OP. Grow up.


You must think that your Honda is the best car ever made the way you go on about it. Fact is it's a petrol saloon with a 2.4 engine and in my opinion a crap interior. It's just another executive mobile and you seem to think it's a racecar. You also quite clearly bought a lemon but cannot admit that.

I also hope nobody ever has the misfortune to buy a car off you, hearing about the way you drive it. Just get over yourself and post something of use to the OP instead of trying to get a rise out of RJ.

I already told him forget that S2K so i have done my bit.

if he buys that I can almost guarantee at least 2/3 grand on repairs to get it up to the standard it was designed.

Its 2001 model...it will need attention and judging from the add a lot of attention.

RoverJames wrote: »

Fly by wire throttle was on diesel Accords in the mid to late 90s.... hardly worth a mention 15 years later. Seems as your cl7 doesn't have a dmf I'm struggling to see how one would be fitted easily.

Its a CL9, CL7s are 2.0

Anyway, f**k this i have to work.

OP: dont buy that S2K...im sure he has already decided that.

yes, why not get an accord.

as long as you dont get a lemon like this you should be fine.