I'm looking at buying a BB6. It is a 1998 Prelude base. 5pd. 88K miles. Car was supposedly involved in a slow speed accident in which it slid into a SUV. Hood, headlights, front bumper, and top radiator support where replaced. Car will need a timing belt and water pump change. Paint and interior are in great. Has most receipts for all work on the car. He will take $5,000. Is that a decent price for a car with a salvage title that appears to have no residual issues from the accident? Thanks!

 

Hell.......no. You can find a better car for 5K. A car with a salvaged title isn't worth anywhere near as much as one with a clean title. You could find a decent 5th gen for 5000, without a salvaged title.

 

That sounds sketchy. A low speed accident wouldn't cause damage enough for salvage title. Either way, 5k is too much for a salvage title car. I bought my 98 SH with 110k miles for $5,900 three years ago. There are good deals out there, just gotta look. Don't shy away from cars in other states.

 

^ I would love to look at other states...but I have had a car shipped to me before and got burned. It was not in near the condition the owner said it was in. Unless I can see the car in person, test drive it, I won't entertain the idea of buying it. I hate Montana. Honda's are so hard to come by...

I thought it sounded fishy as well. If it was low speed, it shouldn't have done near the damage. $5,000 seemed to high to me. Book is $6200 (which is if the car is PERFECT).

Thanks for the advice and help!

 

No, you definitely need to have someone look over the car before you purchase it. But there are many members here, so I'm sure someone can help you out.

 

I might just have to pull from the pool of owners on this site if I do find a nice BB6. Is there anything specific to this generation Prelude that I need to look out for? Price being equal, is there any advantage to getting an SH if it is mostly going to be a daily driver?

 

there is a 5th gen for sale in the "for sale" section, check it out... not mine, I just noticed that you want one and he or she is selling one. Good luck!

 

< $2000

 

As far as SH goes, it depends on how far you want to go with engine mods. Turbo, absolutely don't. Anything NA, I would do it. The advantage the SH has is not just ATTS (which is just fantastic), but also a completely different front suspension geometry and the spring rates, shock valving and sway-bars are different as well.

Basically, if you're into drag racing, get the Base. If you're more of a track guy or just appreciate handling more, go for the SH. It's as simple as that.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the info!

Quick question about the SH: Is handling negatively effected when the car is lowered? My research on this board has turned up not a whole lot of information on the subject...

 

No, it's the same as any other car. Don't use any camber kits though. Too many people make that mistake. Negative camber is good.

 

^ negative camber lets me run aggressive offsets.

 

yea dnt buy it
trust me i made that mistake
of buyin it for $5k it LOOKED good
nd ran good when i test drove it
but now its leakin oil like CRAZY
and the brakes are all fked =/
i didnt want to wait so i paid the price

best advice i can give u is keep lookin
ull find one

 

Both of my Preludes have salvage titles and they drive perfectly fine. If the work is done right, the car will run fine. I paid $3800 for my 00 Prelude and it only had 82k miles on it, but this was about 5 years ago. Then I bought a 99 Prelude shell for only $1000 but did a RHD conversion to it. I'm just about done with it. My GF's dad owns 2 salvage yards and rebuilds a lot of cars all the time. He'll drive them for awhile and then sell them. He only rebuilds the cars that have a little bit of damage and definitely no frame damage.

 

If the price is right, I think this car could be OK. I can go test drive it. I can take it to shop and have it looked at. At this point though, the price just isn't right.

 

try and get the guy to lower cuz of its title
thats what i did cuz the owner jst wants to get rid of
it so jst tell him ull give him 4500 so u have 500 left over
jst in case

 

i paid 800 for a 97 sh a year ago =P

 

4500 is way too high too. A salvage title car should only be bought if it's a steal and then some.

 

i agree if your going to buy a car on a salvage title then you should be paying around 60% lower than book value for the mere fact of the bs that will come to registering the car ie extra safety inspections.

another thing is that you really don't know what happened to put the car on that title. my buddy got break checked in vegas and wrecked his hood front bumper and radiator were the only things damaged but the body shop was lazy and did not shop around so long story short the body shop's estimate included the most expensive parts they could find and boom instant salvage title

 

Personally I think salvage only is a problem if you are planning on reselling the car. If its a keeper it shouldnt be a problem.

 

I would check out prices on E-bay. If you are going to work on the car and mod it, go for a cheaper one that needs the parts replaced anyway. If you want a nice driver, $5K will get one in really nice shape that is made this century.

FWIW: Mine is 94 Si and I paid 1700 - really more than it was worth, but it runs and drives great and has nearly perfect interior. Needs paint, but I want to paint it anyway.

 

i just bought my 2000 prelude sh with 82k and clean title for 7300 have paitence and the right one will come to you.

 

I'd say offer him around $3500, and get it double checked by a shop and a mechanic if you're planning to buy it. My brother has a 93 si 4ws, and runs like a dream, the good thing in this case is that the car was hit on the rear. What sucks is the re-sale value, but they can be good cars.

 

this car would be a keeper. i would not be selling it anytime soon.

thanks for all the advice and input. i am now armed with a wealth of information. between not knowing the extent of the damage through pictures myself, the hassles of getting it registered, and the fear of not knowing what problems might arise in the future...I think $5,000 is WAY too much. I think this is a $2500-$3000 car at this point. I doubt he will take that amount. But it is worth a try!

Once again, thanks for all the help and input.

-S