Long-term update: Our Honda S2000 gets a new roof, and a roof for its roof
We haven’t been keeping up with updates on our 2007 Honda S2000 because we didn’t drive it much over the past 12 months (apparently less than 700 km as per the RTA inspection). But it had some major work done last year anyway, so the armchair accountants among you will surely be throwing the “cost per km” number at us as if it’s a taxi cab.
First up was an oil change and “25K” service at the dealer in late May 2017 for only Dhs 325, still making it as cheap to dealer-maintain as a Honda City. This was also the time we finally took the plunge and ordered a new vinyl roof to replace the torn old roof, after not finding anyone reliable in the aftermarket to install new cloth on the existing frame (which is not an easy job, as it requires several interior parts to be removed). You see, the roof develops tears in specific parts once a couple of elastic straps wear out, and the older roof frames had sharp edges in parts.
Even the dealer didn’t want to take on the 10-hour cloth-replacement job, so we had to order the new roof with an entire frame to go with it. After giving us much higher quotes for several years, this time they gave us a discounted price of only Dhs 6301 (without labour), including a new frame. If they gave us that price before, we would’ve done the replacement ages ago instead of wasting time at places like Colorglo (whose roof repair lasted 3 months).
The new roof arrived a couple of weeks later, and we got it done at the dealership.
The car also had some fault so the “ESP off” warning light kept turning on. The dealer diagnosed it as a faulty steering-angle sensor, and the part cost Dhs 625. At the dealer, we also got the side-window tints changed for Dhs 300 after the old ones started peeling.
With all of the above as well as labour (not including the regular service), the bill came up to Dhs 9400.
We put the newly-roofed car in an underground garage for storage from late summer last year to earlier this year. Now it’s parked outside, so we bought a North American Custom Covers roof cover for Dhs 700 off the internet to save the new roof. It’s custom-fitted, lighter than a full car cover, and quick to take off and throw in the boot. It’s already become discoloured from black to grey in 6 months, but it’s kept the car’s actual roof pristine.
All that was last year. It’s due for another service now, just in time for the dealer to offer a free oil-and-filter change as a promotion. So this year’s bill is still zero.
Original Mileage When Bought: 14,900 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 24,734 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 13.5 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 9725Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 19455
Comments
Matt Alex
Should be aptly titled.
Costs of letting cars rot in the sun and then getting them fixed.
Armchair accountants please reserve your comments about cost per km and economists should be sent letters informing them that unused assets are totally not a burden upon the economy. Apparently they are creating a lot of employment for repairmen.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
As written in the post, the phase it sat unused was in covered parking, after the roof was already fixed. The roof tears were due to a well-known design fault, not from the weather. Every car parked outside “rots in the sun” whether it is used or not. It didn’t occur to us though, that we were helping the economy by giving business to repairmen. Pat on the back for us then!
Ghost Recon Playa
White man attempts to school brown man on economics. Fails to explain why white families prefer to live in massive energy-consuming villas and go to office alone in 5-seater Range Rovers.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
There’s no proof he’s white.
Ghost Recon Playa
An Asian accountant? That would explain a lot more! Cost per mile on a weekend sports car!
Matt Alex
Yes, not white in the same way that mashfique needs to comment using a different alias to back his own previous comments.
These long term reviews are about as useful as a sweater in the Dubai summer.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Indeed, I like to talk to myself. Sorry if your type of car is not being covered, even though you keep coming back for more. May I suggest moving along elsewhere now?
Ghost Recon Playa
LOOOOL! This is hilarious! White accountant gets triggered!!
Matt Alex
Price guide is amazing, will continue using that.
*edited for content*
a honda fan
These updates are great for future buyer like me who want to know cost of owning this beauty. Why you reading this if you dont want to read it? Scroll away and read something else. No one force you. Maybe they will cover your rental Yaris one day too like what other white people drive. Mash bhai, keep up with these excellent updates.
Leborde
Letting alone the bitter/sweet exchanges earlier btwn brown man, white man and angry accountant (anyway, none are French, so not worthy haha), you can check ComptoirDuCabriolet.com, they specialize in convertible and sell maintenance and protection coatings for soft tops, as well as water-proofer. This is what I’d use (the latter) in order to avoid the fading of the fabric IMHO.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
Hi Leborde, ignoring the above “crybaby” and moving along, there are also other recommended products called 303 and Raggtop which are recommended, but I believe there is an issue in shipping such chemicals by regular mail. We were using simple ArmorAll for a long time (since the roof is just vinyl), which worked well, but reapplying after every car wash was becoming a hassle in this weather. Also, it won’t do much against dust and bird poop, so we just got a cover instead.
Leborde
Thxs for the tip 😉