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Honda S2000 Lease Questions - READ ONLY

270 messages,  Last post on Dec 01, 2008 at 6:20 AM

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What is this discussion about? Honda S2000, Car Leasing, Convertible

Messages Page 25 of 28

#238 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [bonvivant] by 23109vc

Jun 22, 2008 (2:32 pm)

Replying to: bonvivant (Jun 22, 2008 1:11 pm)
i think your figures are wrong. $60k total cost to own a new S2k after 5 years? I think you mean the total cost would be the cost of the car - like $30k or so. yeah, there will be finance charges and maintenance, but not another 30k worth...
 
maybe you meant 60k for the PORSCHE?? and half for the s2k?!
 
a new porsche - yeah. big costs. i'd never buy a new porsche, not NOW. i'd be looking at a used one if I got one at all. you can get nice low mileage used boxsters for about the cost of a new s2k. if you have 30k to BUY - you could get yourself a nice boxster. probably an 04-05 base with low miles. get one with an extended warranty, and you'd be doing pretty well.
 
if you compare buying a used porsche vs leasing a new S2000 - however, you stat to get monthly costs that come near close and the s2k has the benefit of NO repair bills at a porsche dealer. the big unknown on a used porsche is the repairs. could be low and could nickel and dime you to death.
 
given my situation - i am interested in something with a high bang / buck value. a used porsche boxster would be perfect if I had a crystal ball and knew I could pickup a nice 2000 model with 65k miles, and have MINIMAL repairs... you can buy these for 15k. (although you can buy USED s2ks in this price poijnt too that are 05 model - with very low miles like 25-40k on them.
 
the porsche is a neat car. the one i drove had an upgraded suspension, 18s,a nd the sound of that motor is amazing. go to youtube and put in boxster and exhaust and listen to some of the clips of those things. the sound is intoxicating. very cool. the s2k sounds okay, but the s2k is almost obnoxious sounding if you compare it to a boxster. sorry.
 
the s2ks big appeal is that it does everything the boxster can do in terms of performance for half the money with bullet proof reliability. if you can live without the "porsche" image - it is a lot of car for the money.
 
one nagging thing is the s2k dash. I am not kidding - I FRICKIN HATE the bargraph dash thing. i think it's an eyesore and disgusting. the boxster has a nice big basic tach which I love. every second you sit in the car and look at the dash you see that . the S2000 dash just drives me up the wall - why they did that awful bargraph thing is beyond me.
 
do any of you like it, love it? did you hate it then get used to it? does it have ANY benefit in terms of visibility or redline notification..does it all flash at you to shift or something... i still think it's fugly.

#239 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [23109vc] by aramism

Jun 22, 2008 (10:25 pm)

Replying to: 23109vc (Jun 22, 2008 2:32 pm)
well im planning on getting an s2000 lease in ny very soon.
 
ive never put a penny up front except dmv and first months so i am hoping to get this car in the 300's somewhere with 300-400 upfront total with everything.
 
my mother actually has a civic that is on an extended lease that i am currently driving. i just got out of an 06 infi m45 sport last month and being that my mom had a few months left on an extended 03 civic lease and she got a new jetta so i figured i can take a few months to decide what to get and save some money as the payment on th civic is like 200 a month.
 
so hopefully if she co-registers there will be additional discount since the s2000 is coming out of a civic lease so honda -> honda.
 
based on this business do you think the MF and such will be better after the july 7th promotion because im probably not going to be able by july 7th to get this car and that is when the promotion expires. any thoughts?

#240 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [23109vc] by dwynne

Jun 23, 2008 (10:31 am)

Replying to: 23109vc (Jun 22, 2008 2:32 pm)
To be honest, once you are used to driving a new to you car you will not be looking at the tach anyway. If you are paying attention, every engine tells you by sound and feel when it needs to be shifted. Sure, not used to a 8.5k or 8k redline will have you shifting too soon unless you stare at the tach but once you get used to the car then you will never need to watch - just drive. Or at least that is the case for me.
 
The one car I owned which was hard to drive this way was an RX-8. The rotary was so SMOOOOOTH and pulled right up to and through redline that the factory added a pre-redline shift alert. Once you got close to redline it would beep to tell you that you were about about of RPMs. That came in very handy for driving without watching the tach.
 
One thing I really like now is a digital speedometer. I had a heads up display in my C5 'vette and it was so much nicer than the analog gauge. Then the S2000s I have own have all been digital readout as was the RX-8. I love it, I want to know I am going 58 and not "something between 55 and 60" and you can tell with a digital gauge at a glance. I put ScanGauge IIs in all the cars so they all have a digital (and correctable) speedometers.
 
I can share the desire for the boxster. Heck, I have wanted an NSX every since they launched and I have a nice scale model of one on my desk (along with some others) but I have given up on owning one. By the time the price drops to what I would pay they are all really old and / or really high mile. I had a friend that had a couple so I have been able to drive one, just not in the cards to own one. If you can get your dream car, then you should. Just get a good deal on a nice example so if your dream turns into a nightmare you can unload it without losing too much.
 
Dennis

#241 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [aramism] by dwynne

Jun 23, 2008 (10:33 am)

Replying to: aramism (Jun 22, 2008 10:25 pm)
The current rate and residual combination is a little better than what was in the prior deal, what makes now a nice time is the $1k dealer incentive on top of the lease. None of us knows what Honda will do after the current deals expire, could be better deals for leases or could be worse. For SALES it might be better but I am not sure a cheaper lease deal will be coming - but that is just a guess on my part.
 
Dennis

#242 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [dwynne] by accelerator

Jun 23, 2008 (11:20 am)

Replying to: dwynne (Jun 23, 2008 10:31 am)
Dennis, I believe you and I are kindres spirits! It isn't in my cards to own an NSX either but holy cow do I still love them, even if they are what, 14 years old? I could almost afford to timeshare one! I also have a scale model at my office! Mine is black but anyway, back to the point...
 
I've always loved the digital readout, the tach's bar graph I personally find helpful, especially in the beginning of ownership. There is no staring at the dash to obtain speed or RPMs, just a quick glance and then you can focus on the road again.

#243 of 270 Re: Lease 08 or buy leftover 07? [23109vc] by bonvivant

Jun 23, 2008 (5:22 pm)

Replying to: 23109vc (Jun 22, 2008 2:32 pm)
Just to clarify my earlier comments about cost of ownership for five years: the $60K for the S2000 vs. $90K Boxster referred to TOTAL cost of ownership, i.e., depreciation, fuel, insurance, lease/ finance costs, repairs, etc. The figures are based on near-MSRP pricing, so it's an apples to apples comparison. To further illustrate, this breaks down to ~ 85 cents a mile for an S2000 and $1.28 a mile for a Boxster. Just for ducks, a Cayman S is $1.38 a mile, a BMW 135 is $1.00 a mile and Miata is 75 cents. I'm not sure how ultimately practical such knowledge is since buying this type of car is hardly in the same realm as buying for an appliance, but is does give a rough basis for comparison. Anyway, we're not talking about Enzos or other "ultimate" cars here. ("Ultimate" is a really big category, one which only the deceased -- George Carlin and Scott Kalitta, R.I.P., are qualified to address, if they but possess the will and wherewithall.)
 
For all my motorheadedness, I've a practical side that hates surprises -- I still remember the day in 1972 when I walked out of my flat in San Francisco to find my recently bought '67 Sunbeam Alpine stolen. This isn't entirely apropos to this discussion except as an illustration of the vagaries of owning a sports car. I was young and foolish, and frugal, I thought, so I didn't have it insured for collision or theft.
 
I'm trying to illustrate the importance of abiding dependability. Throughout the last ten years of leasing, buying, then selling a '99 M3, and owning and driving an unusually entertaining Subaru Forester XT MT, which my wife now drives, I never sold my '94 Integra GSR Sedan. I'm the original owner and it's got only 71,000 miles on it. It has been completely bullet-proof. It runs up through VTech to 8200 RPM without any indication of stress. This happens less often than when it and I were younger, yet it still stirs something vital. There's no question that the sound of a Porsche at full song is about as good as it gets for mere mortals, still, the thought of ever having to tear into one of those boxer motors at this stage of life and income is daunting. Just how does one beat a Honda or other Japanese car for reliability? I didn't want to hang on to the BMW long enough to find out.
 
BTW, I've driven a friend's massively-Compteched NSX -- he has more money than anyone needs -- and it is BIG "I" impressive, in a far more refined way than an original '67 427 Cobra I drove in '72 ... owned by the guy who sold me the Alpine. Absolutely silly-fast, especially on the tires of that era. It was British racing green, with high-rise manifold and racing oil cooler, and had 7500 miles on it. Pristine. I could have bought it for $7500 -- mind you, this is what a new 911 cost in those days, so, as with Porsches of today, was a little rich for my blood. Sorry ... got a little off track there. Maybe, I'd be safer in a Miata after all.

#244 of 270 Lease deals July / August?? by 23109vc

Jul 12, 2008 (7:24 am)

the honda website does not show any sort of s2000 lease "special".
 
the local dealer said they thought the deal that had been running up to early July was no longer available.
 
so it the S2000 no longer a good lease deal? i held off on doing anythign thinking it would onlyh get better...but now it looks like they pulled the 1000 incentive and low MF?
 
oh well. i guess you snooze you lose. anyone know the current numbers on a 2008 s2000 lease?
 
fyi - i looked at leasing AND buying. my local dealer still has 2007 models on their lot!! they have a sign saying $6000 off MSRP on both the 07 AND the 08 models.
 
my guess is they may do even better on an s2000 purchase?!?! how cheap could i really get an s2k, especially if i bought an 07?

#245 of 270 Re: Lease deals July / August?? [23109vc] by aramism

Jul 12, 2008 (2:33 pm)

Replying to: 23109vc (Jul 12, 2008 7:24 am)
i'm in the same boat you are. want to pick up an 08 s2k lease in july or august but could not do it in june so i am hoping they have a good lease special in july or august. anyone with info would be appreciated. i think i should be able to get this car in the 300's with nothing out of pocket. i was looking into it a few years ago and was able to get into that ballpark. 34k it isn't that much of a stretch to get that car for that payment.

#246 of 270 Re: Lease deals July / August?? [23109vc] by bonvivant

Jul 12, 2008 (4:23 pm)

Replying to: 23109vc (Jul 12, 2008 7:24 am)
I've been kicking myself some for not going with the now expired lease program. With a lot of cash going out this month for home repairs and so-called retirement accounts sinking, I just couldn't pull the trigger. FWIW, my local dealer loaned me an 05 S from their used lot for several hours. It had 58K on the clock, and though there was evidence the car hadn't been driven lightly, it was still tight and strong. Later in the week drove a brand new Miata w/ power hardtop to satisfy my curiosity. It was nice, easier ingress/ egress, and more features. It was a GT with handling package, and just didn't feel as connected to the road. The S keeps poking at my brain. Despite an overall record month for Honda in June, there were only 273 S2000s sold across the US -- the worst June ever for the car. It sure would seem there might be more incentives coming, though maybe Honda can afford to let a low volume model just peeter out as with the old NSX.

#247 of 270 by 23109vc

Jul 18, 2008 (3:20 pm)

what incentives if ANY are going on now for an S2000 lease OR purchase?
 
my local dealer has a leftover 07 that they are offering at $7000 OFF MSRP.
 
good deal or not? you obviously can't lease it, but could buy.

Messages Page 25 of 28

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