Is this 2002 Honda S2000 a great bargain for $25,999? – Jalopnik

Today’s ad copy for the Nice Price or No Dice S2000 concludes with the statement “Won’t last long.” We’ll have to assume that this means the sale, not the car, and we must now determine whether that claim is supported by the Honda’s presentation and price.

The introduction of a single currency is one of the most commendable achievements of the European Union. The euro, agreed by the majority of European member states through the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and officially introduced in 1999, is administered by the European Central Bank. Today it is used by all but seven members of the European Union.

Currency exchange is a daunting task, but Volkswagen has eased the public’s perception of the upcoming euro among potential American tourists by introducing the Eurovan here in early 1992. The 1993 VW Eurovan Westafalia Weekender we looked at yesterday was a stark reminder of that effort. However, the chatter about the quarter-million mile mileage raised concerns among many of you that the van didn’t have much of a future ahead of it. Therefore, the VW’s otherwise modest $7,500 asking price did not find favor and ultimately fell with a 53% ‘No Dice’ loss.

First introduced in the mid-1990s as the Sport Study Model (SSM) show car, and released in production form for the 2000 model year, Honda’s S2000 was the company’s attempt to tap some of that sweet Miata gravy that Mazda was drinking up at the time. The sports roadster stood out for the company on several levels. Most importantly, it marked the return of RWD to the Honda lineup after a hiatus of more than 30 years. Being the logical, if long-delayed, successor to the company’s sports cars of the mid-1960s, which took their names (S600, S800) from the abbreviation for Sport and their engine capacity in cubic centimeters, the natural name for the new millennium successor was S2000. Strangely enough, that name even stuck on the later AP2 models, which saw an engine capacity increase from 2.0 to 2.2 liters.

According to the ad, this S2000 has just been serviced, although there are no details on how extensive that work was. It has also undergone some recent detailing and is now in what the seller says is “excellent” condition. Most notably, this appears to be a completely standard specimen, something rare for the breed. Not only that, but the engine bay is a thing of beauty. It’s quite common on these cars for the red wrinkled finish on the cam cover to discolor and flake due to age and heat. On this car, that, and everything else under the hood, appears to be in as good as new condition.

Both the top and cabin also appear to be in solid shape, although the latter offers very tight confines and shows some wear to the sills and seat bolsters due to the challenges of getting in and out. Given that Honda’s goal with the S2000 was to maximize power-to-weight ratio, it’s surprising that the company’s engineers opted for a power convertible top, especially when Mazda had already shown that a manually operated top was a simple and elegant solution. But that bit of bougie luxury can still be appreciated today. The only other notable feature of the cabin is an aftermarket stereo head unit under the fold-down cover in the center console. Who needs a stereo with a VTEC mill under the hood that’s happy to crank up to almost six figures?

Or we don’t have to accept it at all. What do you think of this apparent time capsule of an S2000 and that $25,999 price? Does that seem fair for such a great example of an ambitious model? Or is the seller in it for the long term at that price?

You decide!

Nice prize or no dice:

Seattle, Washington, Craigslistor go here when the ad disappears.

H/T to Roger Celio for the connection!

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