swayz

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and new to Preludes. I have been looking for a Prelude for about a month now and I think I may have found a good one, so tell me what you think. It's a red 1994 Vtec. Its got 180,000 miles, black leather interior in awesome condition, sunroof, all power options, spoiler, full exhaust, and cold air intake. It has, I believe a Combat body kit. I have yet to see the car or test drive it, but I intend to tomorrow or Tuesday. The seller has told me that the car has the following flaws:
-The speedometer cable needs to be replaced, which he said would cost about $20 from Honda and it's an easy install.
-The oil pan leaks due to a rock hitting it while driving. He is getting a new oil pan tomorrow and installing it. It won't be drive-able until he installs the new one which is why I am waiting so long to see it.
-There are two small dents on the passenger side rear quarter panel/door.
-There is a small amount of surface rust on the passenger rear wheel well, but he says it is still very repairable.
-The paint on the car is fading and will need to be repainted.

I have only seen pictures of the car that are sort of far away so I haven't seen the rust, dents, or paint fading. I'm sure I'll have a better idea of what the car is like when I see it. The car also comes with the stock bumpers. His asking price is $3500. I wanted to know what you guys think of it, based on your general knowledge of Preludes. Is this a good deal and what is a reasonable offer I should offer this guy if the car is worth it? By the way, the car would basically be just a daily driver. The majority of its miles will consist of going to and from school, seeing as I'm only 17, and cruising around with some buddies and girls . I just want a sporty car that is fun, reliable, and gets decent gas mileage. Also, what type of gas mileage does a Prelude Vtec get? And I don't want to put a lot of money into repairs, so is this a reliable car? So, please, tell me what you guys think.

Thanks a lot, your help is greatly appreciated.

 

BBYlude

It's hard to tell if a car is a good deal from a description of it. The big thing that you didn't mention is maintenance history; make sure the car has been maintained properly by asking him to see paperwork for any repairs/maintenance. Also, for me what it would come down to is meeting the owner (and anyone who financially supported the vehicle, like a parent or the like) and asking yourself if this person is the kind that would spend the appropriate amounts of money to keep a car in sae and proper running condition. Look the car over very closely. If it looks like throughout its life, its drivers made it a point to take care of it and treat it properly, then it's more likely to be a reliable vehicle assuming it has a proper maintenance history.

If you can, do a compression check, or take it somewhere to have one done. It's a relatively inexpensive way to assess the condition of the engine.

I'd be skeptical of any modded car, as the owner was likely trying to make it faster and may have abused it to a degree.

You should get around 25mpg mixed driving with the H22. I have seen over 30 on the highway, and as low as the low 20s when I drive a bit too spiritedly.

Is it a good value? I say no. With that mileage, the body in the condition that it is in, and the speedometer cable, I don't think it's worth $3500. Throw in the body kit and mods, and that makes his car even less marketable. I'd offer $2250 and walk if they say no. Go back in a month when it's still for sale and make the same offer.

__________________
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1998 base 5spd
Nordic Mist Metallic
JDM H22A
JDM Type S intake
Hondata IM insulator
Tein H-tech w/ KYB GR2

swayz

Hey guys, thanks for your comments. I decided to skip it and just be patient and wait and see if I can find another Prelude (VTEC hopefully). So, if anyone knows of any Preludes for sale around Madison, WI for about $3500, you know who to talk to. Thanks again.

proeliator38

Try craiglist thats where i found my lude

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Lo Key

I bought my lude about...a little over a year ago. Its a 93 vtec with all power, spoiler, rims and coil-overs when I bought it. I paid $4500, about $5500 after financing. I love my car, yeah it's been through a lot and has needed quite a bit of work...but it's my baby. Even after all the money I've handed out trying to fix it I wouldn't take it back. Mine also had a f*cked up quarter panel (passenger side) and ALSO had a rust spot above the rear wheel well...crazy huh? I drove my car about 6 or 7 months before I spun a rod (ran it dry for a lil too long hehe). Would I myself say it was worth it? Put it this way, you're getting a year newer, a leather interior, and a couple more mods than me, paying $2000 less...hell yeah I'd jump on that.

Then again, I was 17 when I bought my car. I was lucky enough to have them finance me. The lot didn't tell me it had been wrecked before or the fact that some douche bag put the wrong kind of sealer around the oil filter (oil cooling gasket I think, supposedly notorious for going bad in 4th gens from what I heard), after driving it a while it would drink about a gallon in 5 days...that was fun.

swayz

Hey, guys I may have found another Prelude. This time it's a Black 1994 Honda Prelude SI. The SI body has about 150,000 miles, cloth interior, sunroof, and all power options. The car also has a JDM VTEC motor, transmission, and differential, all with about 80,000 miles. The car has a little bit of surface rust on the rear wheel wells that is still repairable. There are two things I am a little concerned about. First, the guy selling the car does not have any of the receipts for the JDM VTEC motor, transmission, and differential swap. He said that a good friend of his did it (who sold it to the current seller) and he trusted him completely. The seller sounds like he's telling the truth, but you can never really tell without proof. Secondly, apparently the check engine light is on due to him apparently installing an after market exhaust which causes the O2 sensor to malfunction or do something that in turn causes the light to be on. He sai it was somewhat common in Honda's. I am not completely sure what he said about it, but it was something of that nature, I believe. I will be looking at it tomorrow afternoon. The seller is asking for $3000. From your guys' knowledge of Prelude's, does this seem like a good buy? If so, what would you guys consider a good offer? Should I be weary of the JDM VTEC swap or the check engine light? Also, does anyone know where you would go about purchasing the leather seats that come in the Prelude VTEC because I really like them and about how much would they cost. Thanks in advance for your help.

altilude

no need to be too weary of a jdm swap... (I have one in mine, good for a -albeit small- bump in compression over USDM vtecs too). I'd definetly make sure it is swapped, read it on the block where it says "h22a" to the left of the header. Hopefully he swapped the tranny over to a h22a-series tranny, otherwise if he kept the SI tranny installed you might fall out of vtec as you go from 1st to 2nd (I have the h23 tranny still with my jdm swap).
I don't know your total knowledge of cars, but a 94 prelude is a OBD1 vehicle, that means you can pull the "CEL" by a series of flashing lights (you basically count of short and long blinks, to get the code)... you don't need a code reader/electronic device - because it is this easy, i would highly recommend you pulling the CEL code before purchasing and then researching what that is on the net. an 02 sensor would give a CEL, so maybe he isn't feeding you BS, but a bad 02, can cause bad gas mileage, a bit of bog/hesitation, and the OEM denso versions aren't too cheap (atleast here in canada they are about 200 bucks), i don't recommend a non-oem 02 sensor, but maybe someone else has had a good experience(?). CEL's can, or can't be a big deal, for example I have an EGR CEL occasionally because I removed my EGR system - it doesn't affect performance, but the light comes on which can be an annoyance.

anyways I hope this helps... as for the leather, for what you spend probably trying to scrounge up some old dingy farted on leather seats, maybe consider getting your cloth's re-wrapped in nice new leather - i bet the price would be close. If you get it, enjoy - they can be a blast.

swayz

So, I went to look at the car, and I decided to pass it up. It was rusted a lot worse than I thought. There were also a few other things like the drivers side visor was missing, no radio, and no receipts. Thanks for the help though. So, the search continues...