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Honda S2000 Prices Paid and Buying Experience
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Comments
I don't know if the STI comes with all-season tires or summer rubber.. If it is summer rubber, you'll need different tires for winter driving (as you would with the S2000).
If you only have one car... I would think the STI would be the better choice in colder climates.. (have you checked insurance rates?)
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Here are some helpful hints
The MSRP is $34600 but almost all the dealers will sell it at invoice. The interesting stuff is that two dealerships agreed to sell it in $29700, which is $1300 below invoice.
If you want to lease and have high credit score you can get the car for 36m/12K with money factor of 0.0069 this will make monthly payments below $330 (before tax), and minimum drive off (first month + DMV fees) awesome deal!
I went with 2005. You can still find dozens of them around the continent. Don’t offer more than $26000, Honda has some hidden incentive to the dealerships.
This car is a blast! I almost bought MX-5 which is better to drive (I guess because of lighter chassis) but the safety is questionable. I tried the Z4 but it only felt “sporty” where the S2000 is real “sport car” it reminds me the days of racing Formula Renault in Europe
Good luck.
This is my first time leasing and I was curious on the deal I'm getting.
According to the money factor I'm at preferred credit at .00109 with no down payment or .00099 with one.
2k Total out the door.
630 of that is "down payment"
Puts my payments to 395 a month including 7.75 taxes.
He said to get my payments to 350 a month the downpayment would need to be 2084 and a total out the door cost of 3546.98.
I belive the price i'm getting is 31569 a month.
Looking for some help here
good deal? ok deal?
Thanks
Which part of the country you are living in?
So I test drove it today and have new numbers. let me know what you guys think.
1366 out the door of which 595 is acquisition fee, 414 is first month. 357 is doc fee and license fee.
Payments are 384.99 before tax and 414.83 after tax. This is with 0 cap reduction.
By the way i'm in the preferred class which is .00099 or .00109 with no sec deposit.
What do you guys think?
That's a great deal, can you tell us the name of the dealerships that you dealt with in SoCal and which one you ultimately bought from. I'm buying at 2006 soon and would love to get it for $29.7K.
thanks!
Jeff
What is the lease period (36months?) and the milage per year (12K?).
The initial cap rate is .00099 but with no sec deposit its .00109
The reason its a little bit higher is becuase I'm in the preferred rate not the super-preferred.
I'm going to get it tomorrow I think.
1366 out the door 414 a month. 7.75 tax area.
I think its not a bad deal...
whatcha guys think?
However, I calculate the offer based on all of the info and the car is being offered at inv+500. I still think you can get it at inv-1000, so it will slash almost $50 from your monthly payments!
If you don't have the energy to negotiate at least try to get rid of the 595 bank fee...
Just my 2 cents.
750 drive off (first month payment included)
420/month tax included. 15k miles/year for 36 month.
total cost is 15450 in 3 years.
it is a suzuka blue, i wanted the red one, but wife likes the suzuka. she wins.
Another point. It's your money, but I think the stock S2000, properly broken in, is a damn nice car. At 110hp/liter (120 for the pre 2004's), you are not going to get a lot more performance by "modifying" the car. I think I even read an article where the supercharger that claimed to produce 300hp showed no improvemetn in acceleration.
Modify an S2000 at your own risk. The dealer I bought mine from won't accept one that's been modified in trade and most sell for substantially less than their factory counterparts. No one wants to buy a car from a boy racer. And the bolt on aero kits simply bastardize a good design. Think about that, if only for your future resale.
In case I don't hear back from anyone before I leave country tomorrow, I just wanted to say God speed and may you all enjoy your S2000's with a grin from ear-to-ear.
I bought mine preowned but this was only after the first deal (for a preowned) with a dealership fell thru. Turns out Honda cancelled their warranty on the car due to transmission abuse when the vehicle was still at 5000 miles, after replacing the transmission as a goodwill gesture. Even my mechanic couldn't find the issue (I mean, He is really good, usually). The problem came to light when he identified issues with rear diff. and told me to tell the dealer to get it fixed (2004, under "Full warranty", per the dealer ad..)The vehicle had modified intake and exhauasts but Honda confirmed that that was NOT the reason why the warranty was cancelled. When I next spoke to the original dealer who sold it to the first owner again, "It was a genuine case of abuse and they had to be careful in their cancellation of warranty, considering possible repurcussions from the manufacturer" per the records maintained at their end. Honda AND the dealership were very helpful. The dealer who was selling me the car didnt say a word, naturally.
If you are getting a preowned, give Honda a call and try to make sure you have as much of history as possible on the vehicle (They will give you the name of the dealership and you call call the dealer in turn to see if it was serviced by them). Carfax just doesn't cut it under such circumstances.
With the vehicle I bought, I am the third owner and the person I bought it from seemed knowledgeble and techy, did his oil changes himself and seemed genuine. I took the car to my mechanic and explained the issue on the first vehicle and after a very careful look, he gave it a thumbs up. I did get a good deal on an '02 with a hard top, ingen cold air and grille inserts (decent looking, no punky stuff which made me feel better)
I did have to go with an element of trust considering what happened on the first deal, but so far, except for hard shifting on the second gear (common in S2Ks) and some squeaks on the passenger side when riding over ruts, I have no issues.
I agree with Habitat1 - Exercise caution if it looks boy-racerish!! Odds are, It will not have been broken in properly!! The first car did (Tin can exhuasts with an ultra loud note, modified sound etc.. But I had to suck it in since I was determined to buy used since this was my third car and the price was too good to be true). Modifying it yourself is one thing, and you would know if you are going to use it or abuse it, so, Power to you !!!
I wish you luck. Make sure you do your due diligence and you won't go terribly wrong.
Cheers!!
--njexpress
I had researched this issue before purchasing. For the 2002 model, Honda made some transmission modifications to address 1st and 2nd gear grinding that had occurred in the 2000-2001 model.
Any thoughts? should I get this checked?
Any input would be appreciated...
Cheers!!
--njexpress
But the question with GM synchro is: I thought I read it becomes an issue on hot weather days? Also, where can I get more info on that?
Thank You.
--njexpress
Synchromesh wasn't really an additive but rather an alternative to Honda MT fluid. There are a couple on the market like Redline and others that have slipped my mind, but talking to one of the guys in the NE chapter of S2ki the GM SM works the best for all climates. I believe it is called Synchromesh HF (High Friction) and can be bought right off the shelf at any Auto parts store or local GM dealer.
BTW, my car is a 2004. And nothing was ever wrong with the gearbox, I could have lived with it the way it was, but the change of fluid was really noticable. I wouldn't worry about it as there are members on the boards who note the 1-2 gear grind as a "trait" of an otherwise fantastic automobile. Just a matter of how much of a stickler you are.
Cheers!
Thanks again!
Cheers!!
--njexpress
So my younger brother goes out to lease a S2000 excited about their $299/month $3,693 total due at signing promotion. He was so excited that he signed the papers for $0 down, $445 a month (including NY tax and all that) right there after inquiring about no money down option. He calls me up and asks me to help him pick the car up tomorrow and told me about his "wonderful" deal. However, after reading this forum, it doesn't seem that way. So basically he signed the lease papers and is supposed to pick the car up tomorrow.
My question is, is there any way to "return" the car since he didn't drive it off the lot yet? Someone told me there is a 24 hour or 3 day return law (i live in NY if state laws matter). I just want to be able to negotiate a better price for him.
If you take the $3693 due upfront and divide by the monthly term (36 months), it adds about $102/mo. on to the $299/mo...
$401/mo. plus tax should be right around $435-$440/mo.. add a little finance charge for financing that $3693 and you are right around his number.. Granted, he got just the average deal that is being advertised, but I don't think he got ripped off..
But, to answer your question... If he hasn't taken possession of the car yet, then there is no deal. If it is really $0 due at signing, then all he has to do is call them up and say he changed his mind.. that he isn't taking the car.. You can try to renegotiate the deal..
regards,
kyfdx
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I do know of someone who bought a low mileage 2003 for $23,800, but he specifically wanted the previous 2.0 liter, 9,000 rpm engine. And the car he got had a transferrable 7 year 75,000 mile "Honda Care" warranty. He also knew the original owner personally and knew that the car had been broken in properly and meticulously maintained.
I am planning on leasing an s2000 very soon and am going to start looking around for good deals this week. What should I be looking for a 3 year lease? I have 2 options right now. What I would really like is 0 down for not too much more than 400 a month (w/tax). Or if I have to resort to it, I can put down up to $2000 and but would be looking for payments not much higher than $350 a month. I know these are good deals, but are they reasonable? Based on what I have heard/read, people do often get deals like this. For example, one post on this forum states that a 0 down, $445/month (w/tax) deal for a 3 year lease is an "average deal." So is it far fetched to expect to find a great deal that nabs me the car for around 400/month? Thanks to all for reading and responding.
I just wanted to warn you about my S2000 experience. This past weekend, I purchased a brand new 2007 S2000 from a Honda dealership in Loma Linda, CA. They offered a terrific price, so I bought the car. I took a night delivery, so I couldn't fully inspect the vehicle, particularly the interior.
Over the next two days as I spent more time in the car, I noticed "bumps" on the dashboard. Think swells, each the size of the top of a pencil eraser. Some were larger, totaling about 10 of them. I lightly pressed on these bumps & found voids underneath (as opposed to the usual firm sponge).
I took it in to the local Honda dealership (Thousand Oaks, CA), & they said I'd have to yank out the entire dashboard & have it replaced. This is a massive job, & even dealers are reluctant to do it, in fear of subsequent rattles & follow-on issues (particularly electrical issues). Mind you, my car currently has less than 300 miles on it. Thus, the Honda in Thousand Oaks advise that I attempt to swap cars with the dealer from which I bought it, since this is what the Thousand Oaks guys would normally do (god bless them). Of course, the Loma Linda guys would not budge, & suggested that I have the dashboard yanked out for repairs. I was told it will be a week's worth of repair.
Goes to show: buyer beware. Who has ever heard of dashboard bumps/blisters nowadays on cars? As for me, this is a huge lesson learned. Even Honda's can have defects you'd last expect, & I assumed everything would be fine. Worse, some dealership will not work with you on this.
I have been dreaming about the S2000 for 8 years. Needless to say, I am quite disappointed, not so much by the car but much more by how this particular dealership treats their customers. They may "fix" it today, but I typically keep my car for 7 or 8 years, & with such a major repair I simply expect problems to follow down the road after the warranty is up.
Essentially, I just paid $33k for a brand new S2000 to have the interior yanked out & put back together again. It's like getting a new liver; you can put it a new one, but it'll never quite work right. Please beware & attentive of your purchases, even on simple things such as a dashboard!
Spread the word. Thank you for reading.
I also bought a car years ago that the dealer had body work done on with telling me. I notice filler cracks some years later - too late to make a issue. I had another Accord that had some shipping body damage I did not see until I got home and washed the car (under the bumper dents from the tie-downs). The dealer fixed it without an issue fortunately. Typically Hondas are done right - so possibly something was done in shipping to damage the dash.
Enjoy the car
I am very careful about inspecting a new car now
* Cost: $32,083. (invoice: 31,583)
* Will give me $12,200 for my 2004 Civic EX (I owe $7,500)
* With $2,000 down
Monthly payment: $385. + Tax X 48 months
0.00197 - 48% RES
If I were you, I'd talk to the general manager / owner of the dealership in person. I'd also try to get in touch with Honda North America customer service directly. Lastly, I'd check with a lawyer as to your legal recourse.
I had a 2002 S2000 for 2.5 years and 19,000 miles. It was arguably the highest quality fit and finish car I ever owned, or at least tied with my current (and slightly more expensive) Porsche 911S Cab. The S2000 is essentially hand built in Japan. I cannot imagine it left the factory in the condition you describe. The entire thing with your selling dealership sounds fishy.
Don't give up. You should be getting a new car or refund.
I'm on the verge of paying off and owning my Honda Accord, and have saved up enough to splurge on an S2000. The problem is I live in Albany, NY, in an apartment community that has no covered parking.
How does the cloth top on the S2K hold up in the winters? Will it be damaged if its parked out exposed to the elements. I'm usually pretty punctual about keeping my car clean, so if I keep cleaning the car of snow regularly, do you think that will suffice?
Or do you think I should think about buying the hardtop for when I buy the car? Does Honda offer a Hard top as a manufacturer option?
Please let me know. I'm willing to brave the weather and drive the S2k everyday once I get it, but would want to defer my purchase decision if the cloth top can't keep the car protected in the winter....my other option was the Civic Si...but I already own an Accord, and would like to get a roadster.
Please advise.......Thanks.
The famous line that you can return the car the end of the lease and walk away is the biggest lie - you rarely walk away, they'll find some lame problem with the car at the time of return and the only way out is lease another car or buy it at a unfair residual value.
Cars.com is my fave so far. Good luck. BTW, a 2000 model is highly sought after if it is well maintained and had the service bulletins done. Being a first year AP1, I would be willing to bet it makes it to a collector status some day.
Thank you for your words of encouragement on the S2000 defect. I just wanted to follow-up on my story about my 2007 S2000 defect. Perhaps you have some advice or good attorney relations.
I did contact the general managers, service advisors, customer relations, etc. And I recently sent letters to American Honda, President of Honda NA, & President of Honda in Japan. Today, I just got a terrible phone call from Customer Relations.
The call was from Honda Customer Relations "Regional Case Manager", who sounded more like an operator than an actual manager. She said Honda will honor the dashboard defect repair under warranty, but they will not take further actions. I was starting to give up & feeling fine with that, but explained to her my rationale for the complaint, & why I should be given a new vehicle or at least extended warranty. Unfortunately, she was quite argumentative as to what I was trying to convey, let alone knew anything about cars.
She also mentioned that she spoke to the Honda service manager to whom I initially made the complaint, who said they noticed the dashboard was shiny when I brought in the car for the complaint. I said I cleansed my dashboard once with Armor All. She said this "chemical probably caused these voids in the dashboard". I was in disbelief. I felt like I was talking to a robot, whose only interest was to say anything possible to minimize liability & whose bonus relied on number of cases they could close, rather than acknowledge the complaint. So I went into attorney mode & wrote down all her info.
She called back 10 minutes later, stating that given Armor All was applied, it brings in the question the actual cause of this defect. Thus, after discussing with her supervisor, he advised that the repair not be covered under warranty. But in her good heart, she told the supervisor that she already authorized the warranty, so I may still proceed. She added that if I continued to push the case, the repair may not be covered at all.
Can you believe it? I actually felt fine & was ready for this repair, until she started saying it was probably the Armor All that did it & ended it with a threat. This is awful! I gave up my 7 year old BMW M3, which doesn't exactly have the best reliability reputation, yet I never had a single complaint with it. Ironically, this Honda is giving me so much grief. And their Customer Relations is the most disappointing aspect about this company.
Do you or any one else have an advice on how I should proceed?
I'm not sure if it makes sense to go to an attorney. The issue that bugs me is that there was clearly a defect in the car directly from the dealer. It's not something that "popped up" a day or week later. Had you been given the opportunity to fully inspect the car before taking delivery, I suspect you would have rejected it. You could try contacting an attorney and explaining your case to see if there is any chance they can get you a new car.
If that doesn't work out, I'd say go for the repair and put this behind you. It's a great car, in spite of the crappy dealer/customer service you've experienced.
By the way, I'd recommend against using Armor All in the future. I'm sure it had nothing to do with your problem, but I was advised against using it years ago. It contains alcohol which, over time can cause leather and vinyl to dry up and crack. It's just not a very good product. Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner was recommended to me by my Honda, Acura and Porsche dealer. For wax, I've used Maguires Professional Wax with good success. There are other high end waxes that require a multistep process, but the maguires is the best of the one application products.
Well guys, apparently Honda Customer Relations watches this forum & other Honda forums like a hawk, because the lady with whom I spoke from Honda Customer relations I previously mentioned called & expressed her discontent with my posts here & in other forums, questioning Honda Customer Relations services. (Maam... if you're reading this, I am not trying to target you personally, but rather the process to which I am subjected to, & the threat from your supervisor that the warranty may not be covered, since the big isolated voids under the dash could've been caused by me cleaning the dashboard with Armor All)
The vehicle was installed with a new dashboard (no voids!), & I picked it up yesterday. The dashboard was replaced by Honda, but in the process there are some resultant scratches on the top of the instrument cluster, plus there are clearly gaps & looseness between the dashboard & the cluster itself. It is not well integrated as when I first purchased it. After I picked up the vehicle yesterday, I stopped into look at a new S2000 on the lot & took note of the obvious fit differences. The cluster will now be replaced due to these scratches, per the Service Adviser, but I am just told by Customer Relations (lady I mentioned above) that I should not expect the fit to ever be factory condition, no other adjustments could be made, & that the case will be closed.
.....................................
To Honda Customer Relations:
My car today has 1200 miles on it. I brought the defect to Honda's attention when the car had been driven barely 3 days. I don't enjoy this experience. In fact, I am under a lot of stress because of this, having to deal with this process of trying to get the new car properly fixed. And if it remains improperly fixed, I expect that Honda to honor the warranty until it is properly fixed.
..........................................
Luckily, Honda of Thousand Oaks have been EXTREMELY helpful & supportive throughout the ordeal; so far, I still can't say the same about Honda Customer Relations. So if Honda of Thousand Oaks is reading this, I want to take the opportunity to thank them for their professionalism & sincerity.
Thanks to everyone for listening! I'll keep you posted as things develop.
Before I shop there, I get quotes from other dealers in the area. Scott does not seem to participate in the various "get an online quote" services, including the one at Edmunds, but it's the closest Honda dealer for me.
They have had a leftover 2006 S2000 on the lot for a while now, and I've been going back and forth on whether to buy it or not. I finally decided to do it on Saturday, 12/30.
Here's the final deal:
MSRP: $34,600
Invoice: $31,228
Mfr to Dealer Support - $750
Sales Price: $30,222
Taxes: $1813.32
Tags & Dealer Doc Fees: $142.15
Total Out-the-door: $32,177.97
I feel like this was a pretty good deal. Any thoughts?
Drew
Congrats on your new whip!!!
It sounds like you got a great deal. How do you like the Musiclink? I have heard mixed opinions about its usefulness, but I've been thinking about getting it installed. Also - tell me about the hardtop - are you glad you got it? What did that cost? I looked into it a little bit, and it was hard to find any good info on it - is $3000 the list price?
By the way - I love the car. We've been lucky enough to have some great weather here in the Philly area in the 3 weeks since I bought the car, and it has been a blast riding around the country roads in the area - it has all the handling I had hoped for, and more! Alas, the weather has turned, and we have snow and salt on the road, so the s2000 is taking a winter nap for now.
I had a 2002 S2000 for 2.5 years and 19,000 miles. Did NOT buy the hardtop after getting (good) advice from several fellow S2000 owners. Some factors in the decision were (1) although light and relatively easy to take on and off, it is a bit of a pain to store. (2) Having it on defeats the spontaneity of droping the top, even in cool weather. (3) It's not highly sound insulated and some thought it made the interior too loud - i.e. like an echo chamber.
I drove a lot of my 19,000 miles in the fall, winter and spring months in DC with the top down. With the tight cockpit and good aerodynamics, I found 45-50 degree weather to be bearable with the heater set at the "torso" setting. As you are hopefully aware, the S2000 is a terror to drive in even 1/2 inch of snow. So what the hardtop gives you is a little more comfort when the weather is cold, but the roads clear. Not a lot of return on investment, in my opinion.
One S2000 owner that got one, offered to sell me his top for $1,250, since when he was selling the car, no one wanted it.
Thanks,
Dave
I traded my 2002 S2000 for $22,500 when it was 2.5 years old, with 19k miles. I could have sold it privately in the DC area for $24-25k, if I wanted to go through the hassle. If you are looking at a 1-2 year old S2000 and only going to save $3,000 to $4,000 (10-15%), I'd go new, and get the full 3/36 warranty. A full set of tires alone will run close to $1,000 and will likely be needed around 20k miles or sooner.
Lastly, if we were talking about an MDX, break-in is no big deal. But on an S2000, proper break in is crucial to long term performance. That alone to me is worth a lot. When I bought my current 911S Cab, I shopped like a maniac to find a dealer (Baltimore) that gave me $10k+ off the MSRP on a brand new car. But I would have required double that discount, to take a used one or demo with even 1,000 miles.
Musiclink w/ the Honda TTS Software is pretty cool. The software allows you to search for music by Playlist, Artist, Genre, & Album using text to speech commands over the radio. Choose your mode, then listen for a category, and then select it. 10x better than just a plain old Aux in IMHO.
"Also - tell me about the hardtop - are you glad you got it? What did that cost? I looked into it a little bit, and it was hard to find any good info on it - is $3000 the list price?"
Paid $3000 online and had it shipped to Honda dealer for install. Honda billed me for 2hrs for install at $85/hr. I'm sure a body shop could do it for less, but since the part is OEM, I wanted Honda to be responsible. I love the hardtop. It looks fabulous inside and out. Feels like a coupe for the winter months. Also it significally improves the blind spot on the drivers side. It may be pricey, but I highly recomend it. :shades: