Newcomer... wanting an RS2

[vagmatt]

Hi everyone - great site...

I have been in a few rs2's and know they are awesome cars and are a cut of sort, and went in another one recently which helped me make the decison that I want to buy one.

I currently drive a golf vr6 and was looking at getting an s3 next, but would much prefer an rs2. I have around 12-13k to spend and was wondering if I could pick up a decent RHD version for this money?

I was also wondering as to any pointers you guys could give me on buying one and any common problems to look out for. Another thing I am considering is insurance.... as I am only 20, but can go under my dads insurance as a named driver which will hopefully cut the cost down!

Any advice will most appreciated.
Regards
Matt

[Greg_S]

Matt,

an RS2 for a 20 year old is going to be over 1.5k to insure as a min. check s2central.net and scars.org for buyers guides and things to look out for. You should be able to get a good RS2 for that money. But not necessarily a RHD. It is probably worth deciding if you want to upgrade the car alot before you buy it.

If you are planning on keeping it pretty much stock get the RS2. If you want to do alot of mods and go for big power get an S2 and take it to the spec you want since it will cost less for the car intially and leave you with money to do the work on it with.

[Jamo]

Be aware an RS2 will cost a far bit to run especially in petrol!

There's one going on ebay at the moment.

[A80Avant]

also a couple of them on autotrader as well...

RS2 are pretty high on insurance i recon over there...Good thing that i get to keep my insurance from greece if i decide to bring the car over there...It costs me aroun 350euro now.Well in case i decide to have combined insurance,then i have to pay arounnd 600euro but maybe later...

[charlie]

Welcome

your heart is in the right place. Firstly i would advice you to get some
dummy quotes on insurance. make sure ur lying down with a glass of cold
water and some headache tablets.
If that doesn't put you off depending on how much no claim discount u
have (or if ur willing to sell a kidney like some of us), come down to castle
coombe on the 22/10/05 and speak to some owners as each RS2 is different
depending on colour and spec. They r pretty well built cars as each car
was hand built by porsche and tested.
RHD are like gold dust but don't be put off (or don't be suprised if ur
dad tends to borrow it quite often)

PS: petrol consumption is same as an S2 unless ur heavy footed.

[vagmatt]

Thanks for the advice guys,

I suppose I would not mind and LHD, but would prefer a RHD.

I reckon my insurance will be about 2500k as it is 1700 on my vr6, or am i being optimistic?! lol

I think the rs2 is an true brutal drivers car and nothing has been made like it since the boost on them is phenomeonol! and they are a good car whilst being of a high build qulaity and spec - unlike japansese rivals! lol

If an RS2 is out of the question it will have to be an S3/S4 and will get an RS2 when my insurance gets a bit lower!

Matt

[flossymeister]

you do get more kit available on the LHDs

heated seats, electronic climate control (instead of "just" A/C ) and cruise control are all theoretically on the list. Probably not very relevant in a LHD vs RHD debate, but just to say there are some pluses to the LHD options.

however, you may not be quite so keen on the wood trim they normally come with (i think carbon was only standard on RHDs....). However, there are ways around that too....

Tim

[volcano rs]

i dont think they were mines got carbon dash and no cruise control and it is lhd.

[flossymeister]

sorry, phrased last post badly.

cruise was an OPTION on LHDs, as was carbon. Every LHD I've seen has heated seats, too, but i don't know if it was an option or standard on the continent. You have to search around but you can find them with the lot.

cruise, heated seats, wood trim, electronic climate control etc weren't even options on RHD, AFAIK.... although i guess you could DIY them all if you wanted

Tim

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forum. I've got a nearly completely standard plain old ABY S2 coupe for sale if you want to avoid owning a TT engined Golf with chrome wing mirrors! For 13k you'd get it bloody close to RS2 spec and it's a coupe so you'll never get the slipper and pipe abuse!! Wish I had the time and money to do what I originally wanted to! Insurance is suprisingly decent too. I'm 23 and paying £585 fully comp.

Good luck and hope you eventually get that RS2, whatever route you take. I still laugh that an Audi 80 estate is still the equal fastest car ever tested from 0 to 30 by Autocar, alongside with the Ferrari Enzo... Wonder what an Mihnea tuned one can do!

[Doug_RS2]

I still laugh that an Audi 80 estate is still the equal fastest car ever tested from 0 to 30 by Autocar, alongside with the Ferrari Enzo... Wonder what an Mihnea tuned one can do!

What time is that 0-30? Tom did a 3.6 to 60. I couldn't get better than 4.3 We must be hitting 30 in 1st?

[flossymeister]

lowest figure i've ever seen quoted to 30 for a standard RS2 is 1.5 secs. i think that was topgear magazine back in 1994. performance car mag october 1994 quoted 1.6 secs IIRC.


apparently this was as quick as a McClaren F1. cheeky

[flossymeister]

getting slightly off topic here, sorry Matt! however, you might be interested in these anyway:

looks like it was the november 1994 topgear mag that quoted 1.5 secs, and i was right about the PC mag.

if anyone's interested i have a PDF version of the topgear article and a hardcopy of the PC one i could scan in (although i think i've seen it somewhere on the net....)

Tim

[vagmatt]

Lol thanks guys,

I knew the RS2 was the fastest 0-30 car ever tested but never knew it was 1.5 to 30! Thats rapid!

I have been in two: a nogaro blue RHD version which hard carbon trim and all the goodies and was an awesome pace, and went in my mates silver M reg one on friday with a full car and it still pulled like mad and had me pinned to me seat! I loved every second!

I am a bit worries about maintenece costs being a porsche, but I do not drive that hard so hopefully nothing too serious would go wrong.

I done my homework last night and the RS2 is group 20 insurance, I looked at my other choice - an S4 (285bhp) and got a quote for 2600 it is also a group 20. I dont mind paying that - I am only young once and cars are my passion, (I do not smoke or drink so have the cash!) I am just a bit nervous that beacuse the RS2'S are a rarity and have a porsche badge on them the insurance might see it as a bit more of a risk and up the cost!

Matt

[Doug_RS2]

Maintainance costs are not anymore for the RS2 than the S2 (brakes might cost you a bit more). if you are wanting to modify the car, insurance for a modified S2 to RS2 spec will cost more than a standard RS2.

My brother is young and got very competitive quotes from Elephant on his S2 - but make sure the RS2 is an agreed value wherever you go.