I was heading back to the ranch this morning and I passed a Carmax down the street and decided to see what was on the lot. Well, I've always like the Honda S2K and sure enough there was a Red first year S2K there with only 33K miles on it. Obviously not a daily driver on a 6 year old car (almost 7). With all the bad vibes going on with our car (I still enjoy mine immensely) I figured I see what they would offer me for my car and, if it was reasonable, I'd possibly trade it for the S2K.

First, I had to give the Honda a run since it's been about a year since I last drove one. To begin, I'm really not a rag top fan (no offense to my intrepid Roadster buddies, they're just not for me) but still the S2K has an appeal. Given the chill in the air I left the top up, and my first impression is how much smaller and tighter the interior of this car was compared to the XF. The dash and controls are very accessible, and absolutely minimalist in presentation. Honestly, a bit too minimalist after my XF experience. I laughed when I noticed how much smaller the doors are in this car compared to the XF, which are rather long, but entry and exit was not all that bad, once I moved the seat all the way back.

I definitely need some work on my manual driving, you need to rev it a bit more than I recalled in first gear, but once moving the short throws of the gear box are delightful (even in a 6 year old car), but having to go through six gears by the time you get to 60's a tad much. I got it up to 75, and tried to see what the higher end acieration was like. Well, I was definitely disappointed. My XF goes from 70 to 90 much quicker than I experienced in the S2K.

Steering was definitely crisper in the S2K...there's no question about that. Road feel was about the same, and overall the S2K had about the same "stiff" ride that the XF has. Breaking was very good, but then again, nothing significantly different than the XF.

Well, I wasn't all that interested in trading after the ride, the XF wins the comparison in my book (I do my MY book...as in it fits my needs better). But I did ask them to give me a quote anyway. Well, they offered my 20K for my '05, and I had to decline. I think I can get at least 23K for mine with 7K miles on it.

I don't think I'm selling it, but I had to at least see where I stand with the car, and now I am very happy that I went with the XF over the S2K which has been a favorite of mine since they first came out. I'll post a pic of the two soon.

 

how much were they asking for the s2k?

 

I came one inch away from buying a 05 SRT-6 for 23k with 2,200 miles on it. I kind of regret not buying it now. But I want to hold out for a Z06.

I thought them giving you 20k was really good.

 

All in all not a bad trade-in. KKB lists $22.1k in excellent shape and $20.9 in good shape. Now the kicker, what were they asking for the Honda?

 

This may be it:

http://www.carmax.com/dyn/factsheet/...spx?id=3812681

 

I just don't see the comparison from a looks perspective.

 

Ben, sorry, I was rushing out when I wrote that...forgot to add that point. They wanted 19.9K for the 2000 S2K. I gotta tell ya, I just got back in this morning from my typical early sat morning drive...I appreciate the XF even more now. It's roomy, comfortable, responsive and generally a more satisfying ride than the S2K.

I'm stuck with the xf and don't mind a bit.

Stlouis...yep, that's the one.

Obviously I didn't do a full analysis of the state of the car. I'd have to take it to my mech and find out more about the tranny/engine etc. It wasn't in perfect condition either, there were scratched all over the interior body parts. Also, the paint was never properly taken car of (swirls everywhere), and finally, who ever owned it last liked some cheap *** cologne...it smelled pretty bad. The seats were surprising worn given the relatively low miles and age.

FP, I have to agree and disagree on the looks department. I think the XF has a quite different look than the S2K. I'd say the back end of our cars is just stunning...nothin like it. But, the front end of the S2K is one of the sexiest things on the road today...I love it. I've always thought they kind of gave up on the design from the end door panels to the back of the car, it's fairly boring.

 

Happy to hear you're sticking around Dave. I would miss you at Chrysler Nationals, i think the Honda Nationals would be out of our age group.

 

Yeah, no jumpin ship there ol' buddy! Glad you are sticking with the Crossfire. There's way more of those Honda's anyway. We still have a unique car around these parts.

Pat

 

Funny part is you want over 20 for yours on trade. I got my '05 6 speed Coupe with 6,000 miles on it back in July for 20,000 out the door. I traded in my 2005 Subaru WRX with 30,000 miles on it and only had a total check including tax, tag, and doc of $2,300 to cover the difference after trade. Then again I stopped by the Chrysler dealer for a part the other day and a salesman was begging me to trade my Xfire in because they have people that want them but can't get any on the lot.

 

Pat/Tony,
No worries...I hope my note didn't over state my interest in trading the XF...it's not gonna happen unless I get some tantalizing deal. Definitely will be there for the nationals (Mopar)...hehe.

 

Solo,

I know what you're saying, we always think we can get more than we might actually get. My car is in perfect condition, low miles since I work from home and it's a limited use vehicle. It's super clean, runs perfectly, so I think I can get a premium price for it (for an 05 limited) whatever that may be. As I said, I'm really not in a trading position unless a great deal presents itself, but it's never a bad idea to know where you stand.

As to people looking for them. I don't doubt it. I'm still getting people ask me how much they'll have to pay for one and all that. Actually, I would like to get an aero blue SRT...that may be the trade I make.


Dave

 

I just traded in my s2k for the crossfire. The car has much more room and is much more luxury. S2k very plain on inside and just too tight. Suspension on s2k is very rough. So far so good. I do miss hitting the vtec as I think the crossfires throttle response is not the best. But my opinion the only thing the s2k has better than the crossfire is the appeal of the front end. Other than that the crossfire to me feels like a better made car.