Hello everyone. I need some Honda-tech opinions about a car my girlfriend is looking at. It's a 1993 VTEC Prelude in clean condition. It's a bluish green with 17" Enkei wheels and new es100s. Has an amp and sub in back. It has 140,000 miles (seems like a lot) but seems to have been taken good care of. It just had a brand new oem clutch installed. Regular maintenance completed at honda dealership.

Problems he brought up was that the owner before him rear-ended someone and so the radiator, hood, and front bumper has been replaced and fixed up through insurance. It drives nice and smooth with no obvious problems. Body and interior is in great well maintained condition. Carfax says it's clean (don't know why the front end collision wasn't in the report).

He's in his 30's and has other cars to manage and so he's selling this one (owned it for 3 years). He seems to care very much for the car and treats it so. He was planning to sell it to a friend that didn't follow through. We negotiated the price down to $4500 and my girlfriend might pick it up this weekend. KBB price is around the same price. So what do you guys think of this deal? Too expensive or should we jump on it? Thanks for any input!

 

I would say that price seems reasonable, however, it is fairly high in the mileage department. Tough to say, buying used cars from a private seller is always a slight gamble, but if you've driven it, and it feels pretty solid, and your girlfriend wants it bad enough, then I say go for the purchase.

I drive a 1998 Honda Prelude SH, and they are fun cars!

If she ends up purchasing it, then congratulations in advance!

 

Yeah, she's wanted a prelude ever since she's set eyes on one. Finding a good condition VTEC prelude at a decent price is also pretty rare here in socal. We're just wondering if we should take this one, or hold out for a better deal. You guys think the lude will hold up for another 100K?

 

Actually, the 17" wheels are worrying me. Most of the tire sizes for 17's make the speedo read slow. Wouldn't that mean the engine has more miles on it than the odometer says? The rims have been on the car since the last owner. Would this suggest the engine has a lot more than 140K miles?

 

140K miles is not a lot for a 12 year old car. That car has average miles.

I bought my 92 Si 3 years ago with 156K miles. It needed a new clutch, axles, and an exhaust. After I replaced these parts, the car ran FLAWLESSLY for 20K miles. I took it to the track (road track, not dragstrip) 3 times too. Not one problem. It was even overdue for a water pump/timing belt change.

As for the car, it sounds like a decent deal. These motors last for a longtime. They can take a lot of abuse. Just expect to put in some money into it just so you are not surprised.

It's a good idea to find out when the timing belt and water pump were changed. Also, you are lucky that the clutch was changed. That is about a $600 job right there. Check the axles and exhaust too. Those are the major problems. Everything else is pretty easy to change yourself.

 

i dunno it seems to me as if he rags on it. no matter what you should have it checked out by a mechanic and run compression on it.

 

what makes you think he rags on it ????

i own a 93 vtec prelude and it has 131k miles on it and runs like a dream. i am confident that it will run alot longer. a good friend of mine is his daily driver and it has 220k miles on it. if its been taken car of then you dont have to worry about it being reliable. dont forget to also check the brakes

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jadebellyt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Actually, the 17" wheels are worrying me. Most of the tire sizes for 17's make the speedo read slow. Wouldn't that mean the engine has more miles on it than the odometer says? The rims have been on the car since the last owner. Would this suggest the engine has a lot more than 140K miles? </TD></TR></TABLE>

i have never heard that ???? why would that happen ???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by flashmang &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i have never heard that ???? why would that happen ???</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, when using different sized tires, it changes your speedo and your odometer readings. Like moving to a lower aspect ratio will make the speedo read fast and your odometer reading increases faster than if you driven with stock tires. I'm not sure if it is just the odometer that becomes inaccurate or engine wear changes proportionately.

Timing belt and water pump were changed at 90K he says. Clutch changed out 3 weeks ago(not sure if it's broken in yet, and I bet other people that test drove the the car have tested it at WOT many times). I'm not really sure how to check the condition of the axles. And I don't know any mechanics in Irvine near his place to take it to get checked out. We'll call him today to clairfy some more things. Time is running out. I hope he hasn't sold it to someone else already...

 

Anyone know of a good mechanic to do the compression/leakdown test in the Ontario, CA area? Thanks.