The continuing S2000 saga

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I really should learn not to speak in absolute terms.

Although I’ve kept quiet about it here, my endeavours to swap the Mini for a Honda S2000 have rattled on since my last post on the topic. One minute it was off, the next it was back on. Rinse and repeat. Today, finally, I got to see the car and take it for a drive. That, however, is where the story ends. In short, it wasn’t good enough.

In the end, it was a combination of factors that put me off:

  • Rust was developing on the underside of the driver’s door, behind both rear wheel arches and had taken a strong hold on various mounting points in the engine bay.
  • The wind noise when the roof was up was something to behold. Far noisier than any other soft-top I’ve been in.
  • At least one of the wheels was badly kerbed and they all needed a bit of love.
  • The hood had a small tear just behind the driver’s ear.
  • The inside of the car was in need of a hoover. Nothing major, but it’s a sign of neglect/laziness.
  • Last, but not least, the seller wanted too high an exchange price — my Mini plus £1500.

Even without the price differential, I wouldn’t have taken it. I’ve had cars before where rust has started to appear and it’s a never-ending, wallet-emptying battle to keep it at bay. I didn’t fancy that again. Nor did I fancy trying to sell-on such a car. The other deal-killer was the noise. It was of the volume that you could cope with on a trackday, but not in everyday use. It would drive me nuts.

It’s all a bit of a shame, really. I’d hoped this would be my low-priced entry ticket into the world of rear-wheel-drive sports cars. And bloody good looking ones too. In fact, the strength of the motor itself was really positive, so I’m not yet giving up on S2000’s completely. I want to find out whether the wind noise truly is endemic to the model or whether it was an aberration on the car I saw today. To that end, I’m lining up a test-drive in another, more local example for next weekend. It’s priced beyond my current means, but the dealer doesn’t need to know that. ;)

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