'92 Prelude 4ws for $7800 -Should I buy it? - Honda Prelude Forum

jakej · 06-05-2002, 06:06 PM

Whats up guys? I'm 17 and been shopping for a car before I could drive. I found a nice '92 prelude on tuesday. Its got Power moonroof, Leather, Power everything, cd/tape, auto (Parents are forcing me to get an auto -already tried to convince them, no dice) and the 4ws option with 75,000 miles. Its that blue-ish green color with black leather. Its in pretty good conditon with the only problems being some small scraches (not worth the repairing effort) and some rust (ONLY) above both rear wheel's (rear quorterpannels). The driver side has about a 2" spot and the Pas side has a nice about, maybe 6"s? I checked it over, its nice. Engine and drivetrain/tires/tranny are perfect. Back to the rust.... The dealer said it went into the body shop today to be repaired. He didn't say how they were going to repair it... its a dealer that sells new and late model cars and spelizes in imports and has a body shop, the prelude was the oldest one there by far. What else should I check for? I think its got a catback system on it too, because it was louder then the other '94 prelude si I test drove and had slightly more power. The dealer said it was a local trade from an older cupple for a madza. Anyways, the sales person sounded like he was willing to let it go for $7,000-ish. Is it a good deal? I'm really nervious about the rust. And what do you think about the blue-ish color? Anyone have some pic's of 4th Gen's in that blue-ish green?

As you can tell im sure, I very new to the prelude scene (since I don't even have one). What are some good place to shop for parts for 'em? Like turbo kits and j-spec swaps? What kind of coinage does that run? I've seen some turbo kits for $3500 for the lude, does that sound about right? Plus about $500 for install?? So, all in all, what are some good places I should look at?

Please tell me what you guys think...anything!...Please!! ... I need replys asap, because (odds are) the car well be sold soon, and if I buy it, it would be this weekend.

Thanks
-jake

SiR-P12eLude · 06-05-2002, 06:10 PM

only 75,000 miles on a 92, leather seats, 4 ws, what more could you ask for.. go get it

DOHCVTEC190 · 06-05-2002, 06:26 PM

Does it look like this?

Mines a VTEC though, btw

jakej · 06-05-2002, 06:47 PM

It looks JUST like that, but with rust above the back wheels.... I'm stating to like the color actually. I hated it at first.

btw, what kind of insurance do you pay? Does the 4ws package add to insurance prices? American Family insurance is getting pissed at me.... I called them atleast 10 times about rates on all kinds of cars. 4WD cars have higher rates... I wonder about 4ws?? hmmm...

jakej · 06-05-2002, 06:48 PM

Are those windows tinted too? I was wondering what that would look like in that blue-ish color. Anyone have pictures of a blue/green lude with mirrered windows?

preludechic · 06-05-2002, 07:34 PM

Am I the only one who thinks that that's kind of expensive for a 92? There was a 93 Si in my area, perfect body and everything for $5,3000. It had 80K miles. The rust in the quarterpanels doesn't sound good. I think he's asking too much. I do love the color, though.

DOHCVTEC190 · 06-05-2002, 07:35 PM

I have liability.

I think full coverage on me was going to be like $1200 for 6 months (I'm 17.) And I'm not sure about the 4WS stuff, like I said mines a VTEC..no 4WS for me.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I agree that the price is kinda high at $7800. If you can get it for $7000 then thats fair. I paid $7700 for my VTEC model with 93k miles on it.

Brady92/4WS · 06-05-2002, 09:15 PM

my 92 4ws only ran me 4000 with 108k miles, and probably the same amount of rust your talking about. I think he wants a little bit too much, and plus if you plan on doing an engine swap or go turbo get a high mileage car because your either gonna junk the motor or build it for turbo, either way 73000 might as well be 2000000 miles

TheRedPrelude · 06-05-2002, 09:35 PM

I have a milano red 92 w/4ws Si. Mine ran me 5,500 and top list on that car in perfect shape, not a single thing wrong with interior, body, or drivetrain is 7,200. I would tell the guy to lick your ass, and offer about 5,000 or so, mine has 30,000 less miles, but everything was in great condition and had 1,500 worth of service records within the last 6 months, i don't know, maybe i just got lucky. Point is top KBB vechicle value for a 1992 Honda Prelude Si w/4ws is 7,200 and could have gone down since then.

jakej · 06-06-2002, 05:09 AM

Should I offer the dealer $6,400? He said that the rust was getting fixed yesterday, so it should be in perfect condition now.

The last prelude I looked at was a '94 si with 99K miles for $8000 firm, so I don't think $7,000-ish is too high with the rust fixed.

whitey'slude · 06-06-2002, 06:37 AM

ha ha ha .....i would never pay that much for a 92 i have a 92 si 4ws....came with a competition grade system....and everything was imaculate.....came with a viper alarm that the remote controls the windows and the sunroof and an indash laser/radar detector....and i only paid 5'500 this guy wants to much kid take it from us and yes 8'000 for a 94 is alot better than 7000 something for a 92 its a 94 (two years newer) thats why its firm..it is worth more cuz its newer....plus im beting the 94 has more horsies too. besides i have 4ws and if its got rear rust ...thats just more of a chance that something with the 4ws could be ****ed up and ....that **** is expensive as hell to fix .

PreludeGuy27 · 06-06-2002, 08:18 AM

I bought my 1993 VTEC around September last year. It had around 75k miles on it. The interior was perfect and the body was perfect, except for a few rock chips, and a very small dent on the passenger side door. It was completely stock and I bought it for 8,800.

bgod · 06-06-2002, 10:36 AM

WOW!

$7000 for a 92 prelude

look up the book value on a 92 prelude. it'll be at or under $5000.

if this is a small private dealership, be weary.

also, they're gonna fix the rust, but you better believe they're only filling it in after sanding it. not the way to do. the rust will come back. they have to cut and reweld.

reason is, it's a used car dealership. there's no way they're spending all that money to fix the rust correctly. sure to the customer it sounds good, but is it really? the rust could come back within the year.

even $6000 is way, way too much.

give me $6000 and i'll find you an si here and ship it to you.

MR.CLIFFORD · 06-06-2002, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jakej
Are those windows tinted too? I was wondering what that would look like in that blue-ish color. Anyone have pictures of a blue/green lude with mirrered windows?

These are of prelude2005's car. If you are lucky. Maybe some day it will look like this. You can find more pics here

http://www.hondaprelude.com/setups/s...y.asp?id=15349

VTEC Shore Lude · 06-06-2002, 10:54 AM

Hmmmm.....thats a great deal.....i got my 92 Si (non 4ws

) 3 years ago with 74k on it for 10 grand. It had a rust spot on the right rear wheel well.....trued to repair it 6 times.....still there. If you want to invest the money in having it fixed right it will cost a bundle.....but as far as the price for the car its a deal and a half.....go for it!

jakej · 06-06-2002, 11:24 AM

What major advantage does a new car have? Isnt the prelude pretty much the same from '92 to '94? As long as the cars have the same miles, it should be in nearly the same condion, machanicly. Plus an older car (thats in the same condition/same miles as a newer one. would be actually better because insurance rates are MUCH lower on an older car. Anyways to sum it up, I don't care what year it is....

chance031977 · 06-06-2002, 11:27 AM

i wouldn't get it. its an auto trust me you're going to get sick of it. i bought my first prelude, a 92 S auto and got sick of it after about a month. now i have a 93 vtec and i will never go back to auto. i hate driving my 92 S even as a beater.

jakej · 06-06-2002, 11:28 AM

btw, Bluebook on it (in my zipcode) is $8013.

Cali Prelude · 06-06-2002, 11:40 AM

I got my 93 Vtec, almost perfect body (cept for a couple door dings), perfect interior, had the OEM fog lamps, etc... it was loaded, for $4000

I'm sure if you look around, you'll find a better deal.
But 4WS is hard to find. I wouldn't mind getting a one right now and swapping my Vtec motor into it (since my car is totalled now

)

bgod · 06-06-2002, 11:57 AM

anyone who buys a used car and doesn't care what year it is needs to reevaluate the situation.

there is no difference in insurance rates from the 92-96 preludes. very minimal. the age of the car has nothing to do with insurance, it's the parts and all these years are the same generation. it will not be cheaper.

however, resale values of cars are based on years and mileage.

now, if you want to get ripped because you don't caree what year it is. then go ahead.
you came to the board asking advice and you've received it. if you want to give a used dealer top dollar for a car they have little history on, they by all means go ahead.

but traditionally, the year+book value does matter.

and where in the world are you getting $8000 for blue book?