red92s

My little sister just turned 16. My parents are looking for a form of basic, reliable transportation for her.

A co-worker of my parents is selling a 1986 Prelude. She is the original owner of the car, which only has 81,000 miles on it. She claims the car is in "excellent" condition and is asking $1,000.

Would this be a good choice as a starter vehicle for the lil' sis? I'm a pretty competient 4th gen owner who has done suspension overhauls, engine swaps, and routine maintence on several Hondas, so I should be able to tackle most problems. Any frequently occuring problems or things to be on the look out for on these cars?

Thanks, Tim

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7/20/2000 - 4/09/2007

Replaced with: "Zoom-Room"; 2003 Mazda Protege5

89typeSlow

if your really set on a prelude, i would try 88 and up most likely a 90 or 91 and would stay away from being carb'd. Also from 93, i believe, on up the a/c systems were changed to from r-12 to 134 so if the a/c goes out it will cost big bucks. I have an 89 and my parents and i have spent more than 5 grand in repairs from radiators, suspensions rebuilds. timing belt/water pump change-see thread- to rusted exhaust systems. power steering leaks and so forth. The car only coasted 3 grand so 5+3=8 grand. I could've bought a 97 prelude for that price.

justanotherlude

Deng....... An 86... for about a 1g? Maybe you can just give her 500$ for it Cash.

89typeSlow

ohh, btw if you feel like working on a carb'd lude then check out my thread on timingbelt/water pump change to see my engine bay. its a real pain in the ass to work on.

PreludeChick89

i think a 3rd gen is safer than the 2nd gen

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