Just a general question about buying used vehicles. Assuming the vehicle changes very little from year to year, which would you prefer: A newer one with more miles or an older one with less miles?

I have been looking at Honda S2000’s. Not real serious, but just watching the market for them. I see some 02’s with about 20K on them and some 05’s with about 70+K on them for about the same price and was wondering which would be the better buy?

This car has been basically the same car since it was released on 1999. I think the actual first model year was 2000. The engine went from 2.0 to 2.2 in 2003 or 2004, but still basically the same car and same HP rating.

 

Less miles generally means less wear (i.e. seats, buttons, moving parts, etc). It will often mean less time in the elements.

 

The newer engine should be more responsive with that increase in size.
You posted up to dates, 02-05, since that is only a 3 year difference, I say look at the maintenance records along with the miles.
but if all is good, then the older car with more time to show it's problems, if any, will newer cars should be watched for a few years.

I am sure any of the S2000's will be fine, Pick one up and post back how you lost all your fuel in the canyons!

 

2004 and up had significant differences. Enough that I would not buy an earlier S2000, given the option.

 

I vote newer with higher miles.

It is a newer car offering amenities that older cars cannot, and you know that it was driven. The two things that really kill cars are lack of use, and abuse. A two year old car with 50k miles will probably run better then a 10 year old car with 3k miles, you know what I mean?

It may require some routine maintenance but overall I think as long as the car was taken care of and broken in and driven properly, a higher millage new car should not be as much of an issue.

 

I generally go for lower miles. Unless there is something specific you like about the newer model, I wouldn't go with newer/higher.

 

Actually I am leaning more towards option 3.

I have test driven four of them now, and every time I get back into my Volvo I really like the feel of it. I like the idea of a two seater convertible sports car, but I really like driving my two R's. Probably just keep looking and see if one pops up that is a real steal.

I do agree with newer and miles is not that bad, and I am not really sure what changed so much on the S2000 in 04 to make it better than the previous years, but I have read that same comment elsewhere.

I also stay away from the 2000 model year since it was the first year. And it looks weird to say 2000 S2000.

 

I will advice that before buying a used vehicle, you want to always run an online check so you can discover any defects or damages the car had.

Running a simple VIN check online will save you so much trouble in the future.

Hope this helps

 

Before I bought my 2021 S60 I was driving my son's 2011 Honda Civic, which I had bought from him in 2018 for $9000. He had bought it used in 2014 with 37k miles on it for about $12k. It was in excellent shape with 53k miles on it when I sold it to Carvana for $12,600 cash this last April. It even had a few minor dents in it. I was extremely impressed by the way Carvana treated me. I was told by a local Firestone repair shop that they often get vehicles in the shop that customers have bought from Carvana, and which they ask the shop to check out thoroughly, since Carvana has a seven day no questions asked return policy.