I currently drive a wrx, but I am going away to school and need something cheaper that I can drive and not have a car payment with. My two main options right now are a 95-99 Nissan Maxima 5speed or a 5th gen 97+ Prelude 5speed (base or SH).

My only problem is that in order to not have a car payment after parting out my wrx and selling it, I need to keep the prelude price under $6,500 or so. This means that any prelude I am finding has mileage in the area of 110-130k it seems.

Now I guess my question has 2 parts:

1) How reliable is the prelude at this type of mileage and can I reasonably expect it to last upto 200k miles without any real issues and relatively low maintenance? I hear they are quite reliable.

2) When looking at used preludes with this type of mileage is there anything in specific I should look out for? Meaning, are there any problems that are frequent with buying high mileage used preludes that I should be weary of and checking out?

I checked out the FAQ's and didn't find much to answer these questions.

Thanks in advance

 

I own a 5th gen base. Personally, id go with a lower mileage maxima. more room (if you know what I mean) and more low end torque. its hard going back and forth between the cars i have. The prelude has so little low end torque that it gets agrivating. id go with the maxima

 

Thanks for the input.

The only problem I am having with a maxima right now is that finding a 5spd is pretty hard. If I can find one I might just go with that, but if I can only find auto's then the Prelude becomes more of a contendor. Also, while the prelude lacks torque, the maxima lacks handling. I think I would rather have a lack of torque and really good handling as opposed to no handling and good torque... we will see though.

Can anyone else provide some info on prelude reliability when purchasing one with 100k+ miles and what to look for when shopping for them?

Thanks

 

Well I don't know about finding a 5th gen prelude for $6500 in good condition but ...
As with most hondas the reliability is great, small things may go wrong over 100k like radiator leaks, motor mounts will wear out. etc.

If you did find one the most important tings I would look for -

Body condition, signs of rust, or previous repair
Timing belt change, clutch condition, and other required maintenance
Compression check on cylinders

BTW screw the Maxima get the Prelude
Good luck

 

^^^ i can vouch for that ^^^ mines a 92 280k miles and runs like a champ, also no rust anywhere. only problems ive had is weather stripping coming off, ac dying, pass window is sticking when i try to roll it sometimes stuff like that.

 

Just for more input, I bought my 93 with 142k on it, and I'm at about 174k now, only had to do a clutch job, and some bulbs, and then repair after an accident. For your price range I bet you could find a real nice 4th gen vtec, and have a bit extra for any mods you may want, since it is usually better to buy a non-modded car in hopes its been treated better. And as for higher mileage, my sister just sold her lude with 286k on it, ran like a top, had some rust and damage from being stolen 2 months before was all.

 

yes it really just depends on backround information cause unlike all of them with 200k+ miles and 0 rust.

my 5th gen prelude onlyhas 70k miles and rust is actually all around the bottom of the car...............yeah ohio sucks.

still runs good though. except for the rust forming

 

I have had 3 Preludes. I recently just bought a 2000 Prelude Base 5-speed. They are reliable if you take care of it.

I think it's a really good choice to stay away from automatic Preludes because Honda really screwed that tranny up.

Check oil level frequently because it burns oil and you don't want to run on low oil.

If you find one that a clean title, single owner, and well kept prelude then go for it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apeng09 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my lude has 280k on it and i still drive it daily.



preludes are generally reliable.

but i'd be more concerned about the history of the vehicle and its ownership instead of its reliability rumors.

some preludes have around 140k with rust. i have yet to find a rust spot on my car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn bro... that is clean!