I bought a Honda S2000~

[jonomo]

Hello ya'll..

I havn't posted in a while... but about 2 years ago, I was looking to buy a Boxster... but made the horrible mistake of trying to save up for a house in Southern California... Needless to say, that didn't happen seeing as how the median price is floating around $700K.... gah! not too easy for a single income guy :S...

Anywho... my company moved me to Seoul, Korea... and this time I'm on a expat package... which makes things a bit easier..

SO~ with that being said, I was looking to buy a roadster (plz no flames on driving a sports car in Korea~ especially if you havn't been to Seoul in the past 5 years)...

As many of you might know, Korea has a 100% duty on all foreign cars.. so a Boxster nears almost $100K.. and it sure as heck does not depreciate.. a 99 still goes for about 40K here... so I was looking for other options... and decided to try and buy a S2000 right hand drive (gray market from Japan)... they run about 20K... but luck had it, that I was able to buy a 2001 left hander for a VERY good price.. for some reason left handers are very rare here.. Honda does not officially import the S2000

Now... I wanted to buy the Boxster, but I had to take into consideration a few things..
1. obviously the price
2. reliability (not easy trying to repair your boxster in Korea)
3. availability (not too many used boxsters to choose from here)

So now to get to the point of this post... i must admit that I was a HUGE Boxster fan... loved the car.. and every other roadster seemed like a poser-mobile... I especially detested the S2000 because it looked bland, hated the 'ricer' image, and it wasn't a Porsche...

But having owned the car for a few months now, I must admit the S2000 is a GREAT car...
1. I think it has the best gear box I've ever driven.. hands down...
2. the 9000 rpm might be annoying, but its what makes the car so cool in my opinion.. when the vtec kicks in.. it just howls.. the new US 8000rpm versions are just not the same...
3. SO freakin reliable
4. parts are super cheap (even in Korea)
5. handles great
6. looks okay with some mods
7. ricer image doesn't apply to me in korea,, cause everyone here is Rice in some way

So in a year or 2 my company might either move me back to California or maybe Tokyo... and I must admit... I might go back to buying an S2000... especially in Tokyo... California... i'll buy the Boxster...

Just wanted to give my 2 cents~!~~~

PS ... my photo


Oh.. the carbon fiber hood was not my idea.. it came like that... been trying to look for another yellow hood.. but no luck...

[Rail26]

I was stationed in Korea last year...I can't believe anyone would drive anything other than a tank in Seoul. I was in 3 accidents in Seoul in 6 months...and I was on a BUS! None of this will matter anyway since Kim Jung Il will be vaporizing it soon.

[jonomo]

Originally Posted by Rail26

I was stationed in Korea last year...I can't believe anyone would drive anything other than a tank in Seoul. I was in 3 accidents in Seoul in 6 months...and I was on a BUS! None of this will matter anyway since Kim Jung Il will be vaporizing it soon.

surprisingly you get use to it... its like playing Grand Theft Auto...

Try driving in Shanghai or Manilla.. now that's a different story... its like being a victim in Grand Theft Auto....

[Rail26]

I was in a cab in Beijing...not too bad.

Cab in Bangkok was a nightmare...we used to get drunk, tell the cabby we were in a hurry and tell him we would give him double if he would get us there in a ridiculously short amount of time. What a hoot!

[ohioboxster]

I thought the fact that you blacked out your plate was hilarious.

[jonomo]

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

I thought the fact that you blacked out your plate was hilarious.

Everyone seems to do it.. so what the heck.. hehe

Luv your sig gif with the robber.. great stuff~!

[Grizzly]

I have a new-found respect for the S2000. I was out exercising my Mustang GT this weekend. Lined up next to an S2000, and he walked away from me like I had missed a shift. Very humbling experience.

Nice car. Did you get the Nuke-Proof Package, I hope?