Dan Crouch BlogMotoring Enthusiast and Web Services Manager

After years of lusting after an S2000, I finally have one. I rule! In all seriousness, it was a tough call between this car and a Boxster. Regulars know that I've been on the lookout and waiting for the right time since I sold my M3. I was pretty certain I wanted Boxster as I had convinced myself it was more special. But all the examples that have come up for sale near me, that were in my price range, were all 97-99 models for the most part, and most had higher miles than I was comfortable with. There was also that little voice that kept telling me that I'd have to have a 2000+ in the 'S' variety -- which in almost all cases was out of my range or would require a dedicated trip to source.

So I hit crazedlist.org for S2000's on a whim and I was shocked to see how much the values had fallen for these cars. 18 months ago, most clean and cared for examples were nearly $20k. Now the market is plentiful with lots of variety in the 13-15k range. Which is when I spotted my 01 in Medford. Only a 4 hour drive away, I just needed to find time to get down there! This proved difficult as I spotted the car before leaving on a trip to Georgia to see our man Ed for his birthday. Then I returned to catch up on work and my brother made a surprise trip out for two weeks. During that trip we made several trips to Portland and a long weekend in Seattle. Nearly 4 weeks later, the car was shockingly still available for sale! So we made another long weekend of it and drove the car. The previous owner is realtor and grandmother who only put 4k miles on the car in a little over a two years of ownership. And the owner before that must have hardly driven the car either as the car sits today with less than 35k miles on the clock! Combine that with the factory fitted hardtop and zero modifications, I knew we were going to buy.

And then we test drove the car. If you've been skeptical about this car from what you've heard or read, forget about it and find one to drive. This is a real sports car and Honda did an amazing job with this package. I keep describing it as focused and the best value out there right now. The motor is flat out amazing and perfectly matched in this balanced package. Plus we got 27mpg on the way home, with several spirited runs up the rev range!

As you can tell I'm smitten with the purchase and ready to drop the top this spring! I'll have the occasional update related to the S2000 on this blog, but I have also started a new S2000 blog that will detail the experience of ownership, the best of the aftermarket, and buying tips for those now in the market.

Click the pics for full size links.

dc

Alex alerted me to this beautiful BMW CSL on Craigslist earlier today. We both remarked how awesome this car is but wondered if the Batmobile's actually fetch $130k. Take a look for yourself at this 1973 BMW 3.0CSL on Craigslist:

quote from seller's listing:

This beautiful 1973 BMW Series 2 Batmobile is 1 of 57 of which ONLY TWO were produced black!! The other is parked in a museum in Europe. All parts are the original parts, with only 46,397 original miles on it! This is a one time oppurtunity, check this baby out! It has a 4 speed manual, 3.2L all original!!! and this beauty drives clean! The interior still looks like new and has no weather damage or stains, it's super clean. The wing kit is still brand new wrapped in bubble wrap sitting in the trunk.

After doing some brief digging on the Sports Car Market website, they have two CSL's in their auction database. One that went for $154k at auction and another that sold on eBay for $73k, both in 2006. With this car's super low, original miles, $130k may not be that outrageous. As they say, it's only original once...

Thanks for the submission Alex!

dc

Here's a cool video of an S2000 at Laguna Seca narrated by an instructor for a track day. It's super easy to follow along and the Honda S2000 just sings all the way around the track. Interesting that he notes the corkscrew is completey screwed up in Gran Turismo too. As much as I wish my GT experience would translate to real world instruction at courses I've never visited, this reminds me there is no substitute for the real thing.

dc

This car has been listed on my blogs a couple times, but it never met reserve, reaching as high as $23,900. Now the Henna Red e30 M3 listed on eBay is back and no reserve.

I actually wonder if the auction will end up higher than $23.9k due to it's no reserve status. If the background checks out on this car, seems like this could be a great opportunity for a collector and frankly I'm surprised it hasn't sold previously.

dc

If you should find yourself even within 500 miles of Birmingham, make an effort to get to Barber Motorsports Park. In addition to hosting the likes of AMA Superbike, NHRA drag racing, Grand-Am road racing, WERA, and two vintage weekends, they also feature a museum of rare sport bikes. The on site museum is packed with sport motorcycles; and they're all perfect. Either ultra-low mile originals or beautifully restored examples. Many of the 20-40 year old examples had as few as 10 miles on them!

Paul and I recently made the trip to Birmingham to see our close friend Ed for his birthday in Duluth. On the way out of the airport towards Atlanta, I remarked to Paul that we should find out where the Barber Motorsports Park was in Alabama and see if we could fit that into our trip on the way back. 10 minutes later, we saw the billboard for the 'next right, Barber Motorsports Park'. We looked at each other and noted that we would definitely make sure to hit the museum on the way back. Then we checked out the website. It boasts over 1000 motorcycles on display. I knew the collection was impressive, but I had no idea it was going to seriously rival the collection I saw at Hockenheim.

And as I eluded to, the collection didn't disappoint. The entire facility is gorgeous and the place is spotless. Every bike on display is of significance and was almost always in perfect condition. We stopped by on a Monday in late February and nearly had the entire 5 floors to ourselves. To say the least, it was a totally orgasmic sportbike experience.

Here are my standouts, shot with a simple point and shoot digicam. Had I planned a little better, I would've known the racetrack was just outside our airport and packed the DSLR. Something tells me we'll be back sooner than later though, and I'll have the chance to redeem myself. In the meantime, check out the collection in the Flickr Group Pool for Barber Motorsports Park, which features beautiful hi-res pics of the museum and recent races.

Here's a perfect example of the bike I rode in college: 1989 Yamaha FZR600, in this exact paint and graphics scheme. Mine was never in this condition, but it was super cool to spot it in the collection for sure. I can brag that a bike I used to own is on display!

An Aprilia RS250 Chesterfield replica. The bike I've always wanted and for some stupid reason didn't buy when it came up for sale last year.

Upon spotting this awesome Honda CB-X, Paul's first comment was, "I wonder how much those hard bags go for on eBay?!" I was dying with laughter!

And a little corner of the museum I'd like to refer to as my personal corner of sportbike porn heaven: A Ducati SS, an NC30, an RC30, an original Katana, AND a Yamaha FZR750RR OW01!

And here's the complete photo album of our visit to the Barber Vintage Museum:

$15 was never better spent, that's for sure! If you should find yourself anywhere near this part of the world, and have ever had curious itch or a serious addiction, to sporting motorcycles, this is a must do.

dc

Check out Paul's Garage Blog for more Barber Vintage Museum coverage!