going to see a honda s2000 on saturday.

year 2001 with 57000 miles.

ive been researching alot, and it seems like the biggest problems i catch with s2000's is leaking tops and transmission problems.

i was planning on putting the top up, and pouring water from like a gallon jug to see if any water leaks in. would that be considered reasonable or would the seller have a right to deny such a test? haha

also any other problems i should be looking for (besides the plastic window, i know that one)

what about the transmission problem?

i seem to have a tendency to buy a car, test drive seems fine, then when it gets home something breaks -_-.

luckily they were cheap cars, this will be my first big automotive purchase, so i would hate to have a repeat. Trying to be most prepared as possible.

Anyway to test the tranny besides normal test drive?

what should the compression be for each cylinder? planning on doing a compression test...

or am i paranoid?

 

you have every right to be weary...why not take the car to a local honda deal and pay them the 100-200 bucks to have the car checked?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stilzx61 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you have every right to be weary...why not take the car to a local honda deal and pay them the 100-200 bucks to have the car checked?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That just sounds like a waist of money...

 

nothing really you can do, look it over, do a comp test, drive the **** out of it on the test run see if a cel pops, other than that.. dood its an s2000... if the price is right you can't go wrong with a s2000.

its not a civic

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HondaKyle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That just sounds like a waist of money...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not if the seller pays for it.

 

seller should pay for the pre-purchase inspection at a dealership. Ask him to get one done. The previsous owner of my car got it done before I bought it. And I think it costed like 90 bucks or something. But I dont' think they will do the leak test on the top. They do however check everything and have a road test. The report I got on my s2k says the intake box cover was missing which was fixed by previous owner, and rear brake pads needs to be replace which I have yet to replace but took some money of the total purchase for a new set of pads.

 

Sniff around for mildew, that would indicate a leak. When checking out a car for purchase, I try to stress it out as much as possible for as long as possible. Heater, air-conditioner, headlights, radio, everything, just beat the **** out of it. Any problems you might have in the future would hopefully be caught. If something [freak]s up, it's not your problem some dick tried to sell you a lemon.

 

i am not aware of this leaky top issue

i personally would be most concerned about the differential, axles, and tranny.

if he has records to back up the maintenace on the car thats always a plus

also if the car is completely stock (air box, suspension, interior, exterior) chances are it wasn't abused.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mingus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sniff around for mildew, that would indicate a leak. When checking out a car for purchase, I try to stress it out as much as possible for as long as possible. Heater, air-conditioner, headlights, radio, everything, just beat the **** out of it. Any problems you might have in the future would hopefully be caught. If something [freak]s up, it's not your problem some dick tried to sell you a lemon.</TD></TR></TABLE>

some idiot did exactly that on the testdrive and managed to tear a softline in the clutch which is why my car's been sitting. figured out a couple days ago it wasn't the master or slave but rather a soft/hardline leaking. if you're going to beat the **** out of someone's car, at least do it right.. (how bout warming up the car?) damn i shoulda decked that fool

as for the leak test.. c'mon man you can see a rip/tear.

 

Well you knew about the clutch, something should have been said.
In saying "Beat the **** out of it," I meant use it at its limits, not destroy the car you might buy. In most cases, the buyer is at a disadvantage and should use everything available to even the odds.


Modified by mingus at 12:53 PM 9/11/2008