dallasyoung

Hello. Im a NEW-B. I am in the market for a first car. I have $5000 to spend. It HAS to be 5 spd and all power. I just love the way they look. My dad works at a car mechanic place so labor isnt TOO bad of an issue. What should I look for? What normally goes bad in 92-96 preludes?
My choice is between a 92-96 prelude or a 94 integra. What would you choose and why? THANKS!

KENLUDE97

iTrader: (1)

Well of course we are all gonna tell you the Lude is your best bet!! So you are saying that it has to be the H22 then? It will be hard to find. They are a sweet car! Lots of power.
I think that you first car should be SLOW and stuff... That way you will not kill yourself when you get in a wreck.
i had a 1986 accord. GREAT car!! slower than ****! Glad i had it before my Lude!! i learned how to drive correctly first then i could respect the LUDE and the speed.
that way i don't have to pay to have the nice car fixed!

Final Flash

Lude or Teg? Easy choice dude: Lude Lude Lude Lude Lude. Why? It's stylish, got lots of aftermarket options, and if you can get a h22 swap it'll be quick too. And, as opposed to the Tegs, everybody and their mama doesn't have one; the sales on Ludes were never close to Tegs/Civics, so you don't see as many. To me that's a good thing, I like being kind of a rarity.

What goes bad? You'll have to ask the vets, but man it's Honda, for the most part it'll damn near last forever.

You're lucky as hell, my first car was a straight bucket.

EH2DX

it seems like the 92-93 prelude SI is your car. you can get a nice one for $5k, just shop around. as far as i know they are very reliable and almost bulletproof. i'm on my 4th prelude now and i never had any big issues with them.
the only integra i would get over the lude Si is the GSR. those are a little more expensive though.
but yeah, a nice prelude Si is a great car, it keeps a good resale value, comes with all power standard (sunroof, power windows, A/C, etc.) and is definately one of the best cars you can get for $5K.

aklucsarits

I love the Prelude and all (I'm currently on my second one), but I think there are better options out there for you for a first car. The thing that's really going to kill you if you go with a Prelude (or almost any other Honda) is going to be the insurance. Make a short list of all the cars you are considering and call up your insurer and get quotes on what you will have to pay for insurance premiums for each car. Insurance cost will be a huge factor for a 16yr old male driver.

Andrew - who is realizing that he is way too practical in his old age


[Modified by aklucsarits, 10:10 PM 11/14/2002]

AndyD

iTrader: (1)

I gotta tell you....being a guy who has owned both....right now a 92 Lude Si and a G2 93 Integra LS....I would have to say the Lude is more fun to drive...but has less functionality. If you don't plan on driving more than one other person in your car...i would say the Lude. If you want a more convenient daily driver..I say get the Teggy.

I bought my Lude because it is rarer than a Teggy but I also have a 2001 BMW 325ci if I need to drive people around. The back seat in the Lude is SMALL. It is as close to a two seater as you can get.
Hope this helps

BoostedH23a1

just make sure u dont get the F22 (SOHC motor) in the prelude. if u do motor swap time... i love my lude. to many damn civics and tegs running around..

Final Flash

Amen.

PrecisionH23a

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=333693

good price, but high miles

bboyprelude

my 92 si doesn't have a cup holder and th dividermales it a four seater. -->5 if your mexican and don't care for getting pulled over lol

if i had to get a brand new car i would get a 4th gen again.
but with 4ws!

elikas

I'm 16 years old. My prelude is my own first car since I make the payments on it, but it wasn't the first car I drove when I got my license. I drove a 87 toyota camry around for about 6months until I finally got the lude. It's a 93Si and I got it for $5,700. I personally don't like integras so imo go for the prelude!


[Modified by EricaHP, 11:40 PM 11/14/2002]

dallasyoung

ACTUALLY.... I called my insurance company and got quotes for a 97 240, 96 integra, 94 prelude, 97 civic, and a 97 jetta, all but the jetta was the same...the jetta was cheaper. I dunno what Im gonna go w/ tho. I heard when preludes break down, the parts are REAL expensive...is this true?

illusion

yeah you are going to be looking for an SI. it will be plenty fast for you, and youll enjoy it. dont take that the wrong way though. you want to BREAK the teenager driver stereotype, not perpetuate it.

this is my first car.

dallasyoung

Well see, where I live, I can get a teg for about 4-7k and a lude for about the same. I dunno, I like them both, I still dont have any reasons WHY I should get one or another though.....

laughinxxx

Go drive each of them. You'll find the reason I guarantee it.

imported204

When i turned 16 i got a 94 Integra LS. It was a hand be down from my cousin, he bought it 2 years before with 90k miles on it, and when i got it it had 140k. I never had any problems with the car. It was fun to drive, and compared the lude it was huge inside. I always wanted a lude though so when i turned 17 last december i got my lude (a 1993 SI). The lude is a lot more fun to drive, it handles better, is quicker, and looks better IMO. THe lude has little quirky problems, such as rattling, and little things like that but nothing major. I like my lude a lot better than the Integra. the h23a1 is a lot torquier then the B18b1, for obvious reasons. With regular maintainance both cars are pretty much bulletproof. The thing i like best about the lude though is that when i go places with my freinds we never take the lude because it is too small.
You should drive both of them and then decide, im pretty sure youll want the lude, the only integra i would trade for my lude is a type R.

Pdu-Nz

A Prelude will be a great first car but it may be a little fast for you. They are easy to loose it if you havnt got experience (Power & Handling), but if you can get one - GET IT .

My first car was a 1988 Dual Carb 4WS Lude (Japan Import before you ask). It was powerfull for me at the time while I was still at school but now I have a full time job and been driving it for 6 years, I went up a generation and got a 4th Gen VTEC. In another 5 years I'll get a 5th Gen.

Trust me, if you get a 4th Gen your insurance will be alot (16 with a Performance -High Power Vehicle) and if you have an accident it will go up even further.

red92s

Insurance isn't going to be a huge factor. . .the major thing determining your rates right now is your AGE and SEX. Yes, the model of the car WILL affect your rates, but not nearly as much as your inexperience. I switched from an 82 Tercel to a 92 Prelude with a MINIMAL increase in preimums. Any model of 4th gen prelude will be a reliable and nice looking car, and all will be fast enough to get you into trouble (yes, even an S model). If you want my advice, buy a beater, save some money, and buy something a little nicer when you graduate. Although, I go my Prelude my senior year, and the amount of *** I got went up exponentialy. . .

LudemanDan

I'm on my first car, a 93 Prelude S, which I got when I was 19. I am SO glad I got it for my first car. It is plenty fast, fast enough that you can get pretty dangerous with it. Not fast enough that you can go street racing with it. It handles nicely. Girls love the way it looks. You have an excuse to not carry more than one passenger, if you want. It's nice and small, really reliable... the list goes on and on. I autox my car in stock class. I highly recommend an S as a first car- just don't go spending money to fix it up! Do some thinking and wait until you KNOW what you want as your project, and save some money. And drive around a stock car for awhile. Teenagers don't need help with their ego trips.
-Dan

visual

im in a very similar situation, or i was. im 18 and i finally got my first car, a 93 vtec lude. Not very smart if u have no stick experience or if u cant handle power. I was lucky enough to learn stick on my friend's 92 lude si and damn was that powerful too. So with a little experience I went ahead and got into a vtec craze, and said ONLY VTEC... I got it and now it's my 5th day driving it and WOW. talk about power, props to the lude and it's torque. But as the other guys said, you might not be able to handle the power, I'm barely controlling this beast. 4th gen lude si is a great car. just dont get the S model (thinks and laugh at the hubcaps). and dood my insurance was 310/month with 800 down. lmao.

due to these:
-haven't had my license for over 6 months
-im young
-lude is considered a sports car and worst part that made my insurance higher... VTEC.

if you have experience with ludes, go for it cuz this car is amazing... i fell in love a year ago and that love is still strong.

4th gen prelude

thehondaguru

ok This is what I think. I at first wanted an integra but I finally found a 95 prelude vtec. Keep in mind this my 3rd car. The first time I drove it I fell in love. I honestly dont think I will ever use another honda engine than the h22a. I love it, except the rings kind of beeing bad (burnig oil fast) but if you run 15w50 oil you'll have no problem. All those people that say that the prelude's to much power for you, dont listen to them(no offense guys but I think it isn't tooofast). Don't get me wrong I love it and think it's fast but when you drive a v8 american car you'll understand. My opinion, buy a prelud 4th gen they are stylish and have the ***** to back it up. Beleive me I've got one and only have simple bolt ons and I beet most mustangs. That makes you laugh at them when you have onlt half the car they do. Drive a prelude vtec and you will be satisfied. THe other dowfall is that they sre heavy and more of a touringcar than a drag car.

Ninjaboi_on_X

I've been in both cars and I would have to say that the prelude is a pretty car but I still love the intergra because it looks awesome in my opinion. A prelude and integra are pretty much up to par with eachother depending on what you do with it. I mean the prelude is a sweet ride but when you ride in it, it doesn't feel rougher in a sense when driving it because of the added weight. Both cars are nice so test drive both and make a choice. Oh yeah Teg definitely has better aftermarket support but it's all up to you and good luck. I'm glad I got my 4 door teg as my first car. lol

visual

like you said, it's your 3rd car and you are comparing a v8 to a 4 cyl car. This guy is 16, it's gonna be his first car.. that changes the playing field a bit don't ya think?

SlipoftheCondom

I love my Prelude to death, and it was my first car at the young age of 15. At the time I thought I was the **** having the only Prelude in my area, and of course being the age I was people thought I was cool. But, looking back at it now I realize I went about it all wrong. First of all insurance will be the death of you unless you are going to be on your parents policy. I wasn't. My hormones got in my way. As soon as I had a job, bought my own car, etc. etc. I felt as though I shouldn't need to leach off my parents. In the end I was the owner of a 1994 Honda Prelude S (SOHC), paying $240.00 a month for two years, and $357.xx a month on insurance (full coverage). Add on two speeding tickets, 6 months I wasn't able to drive it, and two hikes on the insurance premium.

Make sure you hunt around for some insurance if you are going to be on your own. I didn't, and wish that I had.

My suggestion is look around for a CRX. You can find 88-91's pretty much anywhere for less then $1500.00. Hell, my girlfriend found one for only $800.00 and all it has wrong with it is your usual rust on the rear wheel wells and high miles. Insurance on them is cheap as hell as well. Plus, the gas mileage is unbelievable on the HF. The aftermarket scene for them is out of this world too. Don't just dive into this like I did. The Prelude if a terrific car... But, maybe not so for a young male. Just my thought on the subject.

jdmDAxsi

the 4gen prelude is my first car n still is...its very reliable and different from the norm...too many civics and integras out there...i say that the prelude is a good choice for your first car.