Heres the ad:

2001 honda prelude, salvaged due to theft, AT silver 39k miles, wings west sides and rear, greddy front lip, 2.50 inch exhaust, sony explode cd deck with pioneer 5 way 6x9 rears and 6 1/2 mids. good condition, engine is still very strong, tranny needs work. buy it as is for $6000 or i could fix the tranny and buy it at 8000.

Already talked to the guy, he said the car still runs, saw the pics and the body looks really good. However, the problem is that at high rpm's 3rd gear won't grab. I've been looking for a 5th gen for like 4 months now and still no luck. The things I want is a manual tranny, low mileage, for the seller to be at least somewhat local and the newest year is always a plus. All these preferences are met with this Lude but is this Lude worth it for 6,000...maybe I can negotiate the price a bit. It does have a salvage title but has low mileage and is the latest year 2001 and I dont really plan on selling the car later down the road anyways, prolly hand it down to my younger bro and my older sister's car will be handed down to me . I tried doing searches online but can't get any good info about a tranny swap. I thought I'd ask here so I have an idea of how much it will cost before I call some shops around my area. Also I got 8,000 in cash sittin around at home cuz I've been trying to buy one for sooooo long now, will I have enough for the car plus swap or will I have to borrow some money. Ok thanks everyone for any help.

 

just make sure it is salvaged due to theft, and not a wreck...if you are planning on keeping it, and not worried about the resale value being low because of the salvaged title, go for it.

offer him 5000, see if you can get it for a bit cheaper, and then either rebuild tranny, or just swap a new one, might be cheaper to swap.

I would go ask him to drive it yourself, and take it to a mechanic you trust and have him check it out, be cautious man.

 

Thats what I forgot to mention, how can I tell if its just theft recovery or not. Im guessing from receipts? I've been looking for a prelude for a long time now and carfax reports just tells you the title, I doubt that will it'll tell the difference between an accident and a theft recovery title for this Lude. All it will say prolly is SALVAGE, and thats it.

 

a tranny swap will cost you around 2500 to a 5 speed, and is a pretty good amount of trouble.

personally, i'd rather get a 5 spd lude without these issues, since you can probably (eventually) find a 5th gen 5spd for 9000.

 

Tranny swap is gonna suck. Just look for a 5 spd. and get that instead. .02

 

I saw your ad and I have a 99 honda prelude vtech h22 motor. It is dark forest green with silver metallic. It was in a front end collision back in april. It has two kinks on the front of the frame and they need to be replaced. It does have a salvage title. It needs the front bumper, headlights, hood and quarter panels. I am selling the Prelude for 3,000.00 or best offer but I would need it to be as close to the three as possible. I live in Oshkosh Wisconsin and can have pics sent if necessary. If you have any questions please reply to email address at ejinmilwaukee@yahoo.com. I hope to hear back from you either way.

Thank you,
E.J.