Buddy of mine just bought an '02 Honda S2000

[Baz]

It does have a unique looking front end. Looks more like an Aston Martin design than anything Japanese. 6 speed 2 liter DOHV and is very fast according to my buddy.

46K miles - I didn't ask what he paid for it....

What do you guys think?

[Scott R]

Even with the engine turned the "wrong way" they are surprisingly easy to work on.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Awesome cars, looks totally stock. Nicely done.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Scott R

Even with the engine turned the "wrong way" they are surprisingly easy to work on.

Ha - great comment!

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Awesome cars, looks totally stock. Nicely done.

I agree, Matt. I love stock versions! For a car this old (13 years) it's in excellent condition. I'm told it belonged to an older gent who gave it to his son who didn't drive it much because he had a family and eventually sold it to get a larger vehicle. Garage kept and pampered it's entire life!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Nice find. I remember driving one of these when it came out. Very impressive.
Your thread made me go search what is available around my house.
This came up:
https://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/cto/5402198573.html
Ridiculous.

Based on my cl search- I think your friend did very well indeed!

[doug_porsche]

I had an 06.

Very competent car. Voted by one of the popular US magazines as one of the to 10 sifters of any production car in the US. Did everything as designed. Comfortable. Reasonable performance. Was a blast to zip the motor to 8200 rpm (And the car your buddy just bough will rev to 9000 rpm). On my car the AC was ok, not overpowering, but ok. The electric top was great!

The worst I can say about the car it is, emotionally, I just didnt bond with the car.

I bet your buddy is going to enjoy the car!

[Tobra]

Nice, he paid more than you think he did.

I liked the car, did not like the dash and found it a bit uncomfortable. Fast and competent though, the early ones are better than the later ones to me, more raw.

[porsche4life]

Cool cars! Shame so many ricers bought them up. I remember several guys bringing them to autocross and then being really disappointed when the little 944 was faster than them! I explained that tires + skill will win over power!

[aschen]

Cool car and future classic

[HardDrive]

A good investment. I like a bit more torque, but its a solid platform.

[Cajundaddy]

Really fun car and Honda's version of the Boxster. They punch well above their fighting weight in SCCA AX but lack the refinement of German cars. One of Honda's best efforts and a great little sports car.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I test drove one a few years ago and thought it looked good, felt great and was a load of fun. Two big turn-offs that eventually led me to keep looking and end up in my Mercedes SLK:

1. Every sideways-hat-wearing douchebag boy-ricer would want to race you all the time or be lusting after it / trying to start up conversations about it (people I'd rather not waste my time with)

2. The car really had to be flogged pretty hard to get good power out of it. I know it's a super-tuned engine and all that but still - you go winding something up to 6,000, 7,000, 8,000 RPM all the time and it's going to eventually break - I don't care how well-made it is. Also the thought of having to wind it out and drive it like I stole it all the time (drawing the unwanted attention of every cop in a ½ mile radius) just to have a little fun was frustrating.

That said, they're lots of car for the money and are very "tossable", good looking and have an unusually tight and world-class feel to them for a Honda product. I really liked a lot of things about it but as said above, I felt compelled to keep looking and don't really regret it.

[look 171]

I think it will run away from my 930 in the tighter twisties. More then enough power for the street and don't listen to those that say it lack torque. While you can't feel the torque, but you are going 90 in a few seconds. Not too comfortable but hey, its a stiff and capable little car.

Baz, mine is exactly like it, same color and everything. I have the AP1. Red line its 9000. With slightly bigger wheels, 255 in the rear with 17" rims, and a sports alignment (not stock), the car really comes alive around the turns. My Honda mechanic turned me on to this set up. They build s2000 race cars only for a living out here.

I will see about getting a pic of it tomorrow

[look 171]

I don't have anyone wanting to race me but maybe a couple of times. In the 930 every kid with a Civic want a piece of me. Cops leave me alone.

[fastfredracing]

I like it ! I have 2 customers with them. I never make any money on them, because they never break. Tires, brakes, and oil changes . Typical Honda from that era .
Really fun car to drive . Looks great in black, both of the cars I work on are Silver. T looks way better in black, or red .

[onewhippedpuppy]

The S2000 and the 4th gen Prelude are, to me at least, the last "special" Hondas. The end of a several decade span where Honda built "economy" cars with incredible quality, creamy smooth engines that would rev for days, sports car quality transmissions, and telepathic steering. NSX, Integra, CRX, Prelude, S2000, and even some variants of the Accord and Civic just felt special. After that point they really seem to lose their mojo, now they just build cars.

[billybek]

Is this one of those "my friend" stories and you are just testing the waters to announce your new purchase?
I like the S2000. There was one at a DE I attended years ago and with a different exhaust system. It sounded like the hottest thing on a track full of Porsches!

[bleucamaro]

I looked for a couple months last year and couldn't find a clean one (probably physically looked at 10 or more). It didn't matter if it was owned by an old lady the last 10yrs, or an enthusiast. Every single one, no matter what the asking price had multiple dents on multiple body panels. And all of them required a new top. I still don't know if the cars are very fragile, or the owners are completely careless.

That said, I absolutely love the design of the car and the way they drive.

But since I couldn't find a nice one I bought an e36 M3 convertible, for considerably less money than a clapped-out, abused S2000. In my opinion, it is a much better built car. More of a cruiser, but more versatile too.

[masraum]

I've always really liked them based on appearance and the performance numbers which is all I've got to go on since I've never driven one. I think they (at least the early 9k models) had similar performance to a 3.2L carrera, mid 5s 0-60 and a top speed of 155 or 160.

[slow&rusty]

Great cars! Congrats to the new owner.