Seriously thinking about sellin the DSMs for..

[MissDSM]

An S2K. I've been getting so annoyed lately with both of them my DSMs. I don't even have the drive to fix the 97 GST anymore, its been sitting in my driveway for 1+ months, and i'm just bored with the Talon. Initially I wanted to fix the GST and make it run, look, and drive awesome, sell the Talon, and then mod the hell out of the GST, my goal being to break into 12's. Then I look at how unrealistic that is, its never going to be reliable, the Talon isn't even quick like that and it's not reliable.

Until yestersay I hadn't thought of any car in my price range i'd rather have then a DSM. I'd want it to look good and still be somewhat quick, while also being reliable, and i'm not buying a nonturbo and turboing it.

My friend told me that his brother almost bought a black s2k with 95k for $10k a few weeks ago. I realize that was a hell of a deal, but I found a couple with around 100k for $12k. I had no idea they were that cheap, and now I really want one! But i'm just scared to get rid of my DSMs .

I'd want to spend around 10-11k, and i'm not in a hurry, so my plan as of right now is to get my 2 DSMs all fixed up and sell them, then come Fall, when it starts to get colder, the price of s2k's will drop a little, and wait til I fnd 1 I like to buy. Only bad part is that I won't have money to mod it much, i'd probably do intake and exhaust then a couple exterior mods. I REALLY want to get a hardtop for it, but theyre expensive as ****. i dunno, we'll see

So I just want some feedback, eveyone i have told has had positive things to say about them, I haven't really been given a reason not to get it lol.
Another thing I'd really like to know is how insurance is on them? And does anyone know about any problems they have? How are the tops on them?
Thanks

This is idealy what I want


And this is the route i'd go with mods

[TrboChicsRock]

It all depends on what you prefer. Would you rather have a fast car that you can race or would you prefer a convertable to cruise around in? I like drag racing and hate convertables so I would never sell mine for an S2000, but I'm sure my tastes differ from yours.

You can easily make your DSM reliable and fun at the same time. The first step to doing that would be to do a complete tune up on it. These cars aren't new anymore, they need TLC just like any car out there. I was driving around a couple different Hondas while my GSX was getting built and they were less reliable than my black 11 second GSX.

[su_maverick]

It really just comes down to the fact that if you want an S2000 then get an S2000. One of my best friends used to have one (before it got flooded) and he still wants to get another one to this day. They are really fun cars and the seats are some of the best I have ever sat in. The only issue you would have is storage space with the car. It’s a roadster so don’t expect to fit much more than a suitcase and overnight bag into the trunk. My friend had the car (in Jersey) for 3 years and it saw regular commuting. He never had any problem with fade or tears in the top but that could also be because he had a hardtop as well.

Since the cars you are thinking about are higher mileage, I would budget yourself a couple hundred dollars to have a good mechanic look over any car you are interested in to see if it has any problems with it. This would be the usual stuff that you would look for on any car such as rust, signs of previous damage, signs of abuse or lack of maintenance from the previous owner, and any issues related to the powertrain. The only issue the first generation S2000 had was its 2nd and 3rd gear tranny syncros that were later updated in the 2nd gen. I haven’t heard much problems with them with regular driving but this would definitely be a point to look at if the car you are looking at has seen some ‘spirited’ driving.

[MissDSM]

Its easier for you to keep your car reliable bc you can work on anything that goes wrong with it. And when theirs a problem you can diagnose it and fix it and hjave the resources. I can't, I know and can do the basic stuff, but I don't know anywhere near as much as you do about them to be able to keep them in great mechanical condition. And it just seems like once you throw a couple parts on DSM all hell breaks loose, and with Honda's i've had and been around they held up great. Ive had 3 Hondas, 2 having very high mileage, and never had any motor problems with any of them besides maintenance replacements.

Ive never really liked convertibles either, i refused to get a spyder back when I was looking at DSMs, but I really like the look of s2000's and I dont mind that its a convertible, esp bc I would plan to get a hardtop for it. I haven't driven one yet though, lol, i plan to do that soon, but i've also heard they drive good also.

[MissDSM]

Itd be hard to go from a DSM that I could actually make quick and have extra cash to play around with, to a car that will pretty much stay stock bc I wont have money to mod it. But then I think about how much i HATE having an old car and just want something newer that looks great and is rare compared to a DSM. I think'd I'd be content with buying one to last me though college. I definitely want to have a project car that I can take to the track and have fun with and just throw money into. But i'm going to try to do the smart thing and push that back til I get out of college and hold a ft job for good.

[teh DIRT]

please please please please....cause you know im gettin to drive that thing.

[su_maverick]

As far as learning to wrench on your car yourself, it really isn’t as hard as some people think. 3 years ago the only thing I had ever done was change the oil and spark plugs on a car. I didn’t even know how the basic parts worked. All I did was start reading up on different parts and looking over some buddies shoulders when they were working on theirs until I felt comfortable to start trying to work on mine. After that, its all about patience and asking A LOT of questions to people who know what they are doing. Now, I am about to finish up an LS1 swap in my 7 that I did completely by myself with only the use of hand tools.

There is no mystery or innate skill set involved in wrenching on a car. Just a lot of patience, stubbornness, beer, and bandaids.

[MissDSM]

Originally Posted by su_maverick

It really just comes down to the fact that if you want an S2000 then get an S2000. One of my best friends used to have one (before it got flooded) and he still wants to get another one to this day. They are really fun cars and the seats are some of the best I have ever sat in. The only issue you would have is storage space with the car. It’s a roadster so don’t expect to fit much more than a suitcase and overnight bag into the trunk. My friend had the car (in Jersey) for 3 years and it saw regular commuting. He never had any problem with fade or tears in the top but that could also be because he had a hardtop as well.

Since the cars you are thinking about are higher mileage, I would budget yourself a couple hundred dollars to have a good mechanic look over any car you are interested in to see if it has any problems with it. This would be the usual stuff that you would look for on any car such as rust, signs of previous damage, signs of abuse or lack of maintenance from the previous owner, and any issues related to the powertrain. The only issue the first generation S2000 had was its 2nd and 3rd gear tranny syncros that were later updated in the 2nd gen. I haven’t heard much problems with them with regular driving but this would definitely be a point to look at if the car you are looking at has seen some ‘spirited’ driving.

Thanks for the info!
Thats the kind of stuff I want to know about lol, the stupid problems that only people that have been around them know about.
I don't care about the space issue, just means I dont have to haul people and their stuff around all the time lolol, and the only trips i go on where I carry luggage and actually take my car is the beach, but I dont take much there anyway.

I have a few mechanic friends that im sure would be willing to look it over, i'd probably just drag them along with me to whichever one I go to look at lol.

[su_maverick]

Originally Posted by MissDSM

Itd be hard to go from a DSM that I could actually make quick and have extra cash to play around with, to a car that will pretty much stay stock bc I wont have money to mod it. But then I think about how much i HATE having an old car and just want something newer that looks great and is rare compared to a DSM. I think'd I'd be content with buying one to last me though college. I definitely want to have a project car that I can take to the track and have fun with and just throw money into. But i'm going to try to do the smart thing and push that back til I get out of college and hold a ft job for good.

Depends on what your definition of quick is. Are you looking for a straight line car or one that can go around a corner?

[99SL2_Modder]

All I'm hearing is:





But no, seriously, do what you want. I personally don't like S2k's, but again, opinions differ.

[jjm4life]

i keep thinking about ditching my evo for an s2k. i say go for it. sounds like your ready to dump the dsms.you can always buy another dsm a few yrs from now if you want anyway. good luck with the decision

[MissDSM]

Originally Posted by su_maverick

As far as learning to wrench on your car yourself, it really isn’t as hard as some people think. 3 years ago the only thing I had ever done was change the oil and spark plugs on a car. I didn’t even know how the basic parts worked. All I did was start reading up on different parts and looking over some buddies shoulders when they were working on theirs until I felt comfortable to start trying to work on mine. After that, its all about patience and asking A LOT of questions to people who know what they are doing. Now, I am about to finish up an LS1 swap in my 7 that I did completely by myself with only the use of hand tools.

There is no mystery or innate skill set involved in wrenching on a car. Just a lot of patience, stubbornness, beer, and bandaids.

I've learned soooo much since i've gotten my talon, i pretty much learn from what goes wrong with the car lol. It was a lot easier when I was with my ex whos a mechanic, having the resources at his shop helped me learn a lot more and a lot faster. I really want to take like a side course at my college for some type of intro to auto mechanics, but i'm going to hold off on that til after I get my major courses out of the way. I figure I have plenty of time to mod a project car when I get out of college. I need a car thats less stressful for now.

[NJGOAT]

It sounds to me like you want a drag car. Your biggest thing was that you felt you couldn't mod your GST to run 12's and still be reliable. Look at what you want to do with the car. The S2K makes a pretty crappy drag car but it handles like a dream and would be a good reliable cruiser. If you care about street racing and drags, then the only car in your price range would be one of the LS1 f-bodies (Camaro or TA). They are reliable, mods and parts are cheap and they are faster out of the box (12's stock at ~108) then anything else you could even consider on that budget.

[MissDSM]

Originally Posted by su_maverick

Depends on what your definition of quick is. Are you looking for a straight line car or one that can go around a corner?

I aim more for straight line quickness than handling, but as the Talon sits now its just a little bit quicker than a stock s2k, so after i/e, it would be around the same, but it would out handle the Talon anyday, so to me an s2k kind of seems like the best of both worlds.... except no turbo ... which definitely will annoy me.

[MissDSM]

Originally Posted by NJGOAT

It sounds to me like you want a drag car. Your biggest thing was that you felt you couldn't mod your GST to run 12's and still be reliable. Look at what you want to do with the car. The S2K makes a pretty crappy drag car but it handles like a dream and would be a good reliable cruiser. If you care about street racing and drags, then the only car in your price range would be one of the LS1 f-bodies (Camaro or TA). They are reliable, mods and parts are cheap and they are faster out of the box (12's stock at ~108) then anything else you could even consider on that budget.

Ive never really been around cars that are built for handling, its mainly been drag-type cars, I think thats why I favored that route. I might do a complete flip on drag cars once I own a car thats made to handle great.

But i'm also an import-whore. My family has 6 fords, and my stepdad has always tried to raise me to only like domestics, so I ended up hating the majority of them. With the exception of a few, I don't think i'll ever buy another domestic, esp not a newer camaro or mustang, however i'd take a 69 ss or a 71 mustang anyday lol

[TrboChicsRock]

You can have a reliable, quick car without being mechanically inclined....

You just have to put keeping up on maintenance before modding (which most DSMers do not do at all)

[turbo4g63]

I would say it all depends on what works for you. For me, i wouldn't want a convertible, plus there isn't much storage room, and there isn't a backs seat in the s2k's. But if you an live without those things than it would be on you to make sure you'd get what you want

[tjf]

i still think if you looking for reliability then a car with 100k miles might be the wrong choice, but good luck to whatever you decide

[TrboChicsRock]

Originally Posted by tjf

i still think if you looking for reliability then a car with 100k miles might be the wrong choice, but good luck to whatever you decide

He's got a good point. If buying the S2000 is going to put you at a point where you're not going to have any money, then I would recommend not getting it. No matter what you buy, if it has over 100k miles on it it will need maintence work sooner or later. If you're not going to have the money to keep up with that you're going to have a car that's less reliable than your DSM.

[MissDSM]

no i'll have money. Ill pretty much have to take out a 3 or 4k loan, which will be 140 a month tops. I used to have an accord that had a 200 a month payment and i was fine on that, i just didnt have a ton of money past my bills, gas, clothes, and money to go out.

I know how to budget money, thats not a problem at all. And Im not looking for a reliable car thats fun, i'm looking for a fun car thats more reliable than my dsm. And I have trust in Hondas, you just have to know what your buying and dont buy something thats been abused or neglected