Oh yeah, could use some help....

[Kjeld]

Hey Elaners, somehow I think you will enjoy this one. Sold my car to Ekapol a few weeks ago, I couldn't have been more delighted. Did it because I stumbled into a 2000 Boxster S last spring, really cheap, 28k from a little old man who drove it to church on Sunday. Literally. Had a major service done a last month, clean bill of health.

Was tooling along the other day on the highway (San Mateo Bridge for you locals), and without the slightest warning, warning lights or temp gauge, the engine disintegrates. Towed it a local Porsche shop, "slipped sleeve" syndrome. Pretty common, evidently. $13k to $15k repair. The car is scrap now.

Makes all my whining about GM parts, seating position, et al, seem completely lame at this point. I struggled with the Japanese engine issue (Isuzu) when I first bought my Elan. But in modern cars, engines have become black boxes. If I am going to buy a black box again, it WILL be Japanese.

Damn, I wish I'd waited for an Elise. This would never have happened.

[tweetdriver63]

I don't suppose you bought an extended warranty for it?

That really bites.

[Doug]

Dude, I thought you had gone for the Elise!! My wife's best friend has a Boxster and is on her 4th engine!! Bad choice, Gubbe!!

[Stef]

Wolfgang Berk Technique...

Lovely.

Sorry to hear the news doode

[Kjeld]

Yeah, I have been looking for an Elise all summer. The Boxster deal fell in my lap from a guy I work with. 2000 S, 28k mi, perfect, $15k.

Not many would walk away from that. Obviously, I wouldn't touch one again with a stick.

Anyway, rather tall talk coming from a guy who sold his Elan for a Japanese sedan, no?

[tigerdog]

Was tooling along the other day on the highway (San Mateo Bridge for you locals), and without the slightest warning, warning lights or temp gauge, the engine disintegrates. Towed it a local Porsche shop, "slipped sleeve" syndrome. Pretty common, evidently. $13k to $15k repair. The car is scrap now.

Ouch! Not fun to experience, ever, and truly a not-fun place to have a breakdown. I used to commute daily over this bridge so I feel your pain! (Clicky for aerial view of said bridge - note map scale!)

[Doug]

The Boxster deal fell in my lap from a guy I work with. 2000 S, 28k mi, perfect, $15k.

Now I may be wrong and outta line, but that "deal" sounds funny. I suspect the last owner got wind of a problem and wanted to dump it before it dumped on the bridge! He could have got $5K more easy for it if it is really in that shape, so me thinks we now know why you got such a good "deal."

now is that something that you can swing on the car insurance to write it off . . . ? you should have swerved and [barely] hit the side of the bridge--then you could say the impact must have made the engine go south

[DeanG]

You need something fun, reliable and inexpensive. Start searching for a Lotus.

Sorry about your problem.

[Kjeld]

No, the guy I bought the car from, was totally clueless. In fact, he bought a Carrera that had the same sleeve design. Once he heard about my disaster, he put his Carrera on the market. And as for someone on their 4th engine. Unlikely, unless they went through all 4 between 2000 and 2002. Those engines are not rebuilt. You can only get one from Porsche. They corrected the sleeve issue in 2002. That said, I wouldn't drive one around the block without a drive train warranty. $14k repair bill still wakes me at night.

Well'p, after my Boxster disaster, I had to down size my auto aspirations. Wound with a 2002 Honda S2000. I think of it as a poor man's Elise. After absorbing that massive lo$$ on that Boxster, that's exactly what I am too. A poor man....

The car is pretty fun tho, despite the bizarre power curve. It is otherwise more civilized than the Elan, but not by much (13yrs newer has a lot to do with it). Instead of a lot of GM parts bin parts, you have Honda parts bin parts. A slight advantage to the S2000 there. The body design, there is no comparison. Damned few cars ever built as beautiful as an Elan, and the S2000 is not in that league. Fit and finish of course, goes to the Honda.

I like the S2000 steering much better than the bag of snakes Elan, but the car is twitchy coming out of a turn. Maybe the rear wheel power that I am not used to. Even with Wilwoods, the Honda brakes are FAR better. Of course, the Honda transmission is far nicer than the front wheel drive Elan. That wonderful "snick" sound when you down shift.Great stuff! The S2000 seating position is much better for a taller driver too.

But it is the unbelievable revs you need to pull to make the S2000 go that I find most difficult to handle. If you drove <6k, you could not keep up with your family mini van. But once you get to 6k in 1st gear of the S2000, the power will snap your head back. Certainly faster than my Elan was. Too much drama tho, for me. I much prefer the power curve of the Elan.

Well, hopefully this car will hold together for a few years while I rebuild my Elise fund. Would be nice to see the resale values of the Elise's drop a bit at the same time.

Oh, there is one more important advantage of the Elan over the Honda S2000. The LEC Forum. The S2000 forums are not even close.

Take care. I suspect we will all meet again in time... On the Elise forums!

[dedmans]

We had an S2000 for just over a year for my wife to use with the hard-top during winter and because our S2 got sick.
S2000 now sold mainly due to fuel economy and the lousy tax laws coming in this dumb country.
My view is that the S2000 is an amazing car but:
Giving it some you had to hang on and it was like being on the end of a rocket and concentration was more than comfortable/enjoyment level.
On other than major roads the ride was a bit 'rocky'.
The good points were the brakes and the wonderful drivers seat.

The Lotus is back and you can just jump in and enjoy.
It has classic looks, is economical, a hobby in itself and drives around the lanes with no fidgeting.

However, I do miss the Honda's driving seat and hardtop!

[Jackonicko]

My Dad had an S2000 as a loaner while his Accord was being fixed. It was beautifully built, and that's a great engine, to be sure, but it seemed gutless for the weight.

And it was probably the worst handling sportscar I've ever driven that didn't have a Triumph badge on the nose.