so im thinking of purchasing an automatic 97 prelude with 97k for $6,000. and bear with me....i dont know much about cars : / took it for a spin and it drove very nice. no noise, smooth shifting (from what i felt at least), took hills like a champ. overall, i was very pleased with the test drive.

thing is....the car doesnt look like its in tip-top-excellent condition i.e. front bumper a tiny bit loose on right side(but still very sturdy), same side of car has scratched up wheels, burn holes in upholstery, and a couple more minor scratches and dings.

so i took it to a mechanic to take a look. this is what they reported to me:

"Brakes OK.
Tires 7/32, RF and RR same brand. LF and LR do not match.
Small oil leak, engine area.
If timing belt was not replaced at 60,000, should be done.
Cat Converter sounds like guts loose.
Gas gauge reading empty, either very low on gas or guage not working."

now i know the timing belt is supposed to be replaced at 90k and not 60k, and the gas WAS empty, but other than that....whatdyall think here? have heard mixed reviews on the automatic version of this car so im asking you. good buy or risky buy?

 

Dont buy the automatic 5th gens If you plan on modding a 5th gen get a 5spd base.

 

^^Yea..

1) 5spd = More fun!
2) Save you a lot of money instead of doing a swap to a 5spd later.
3) Prelude Automatics are not the best Auto's around... They don't always last very long.. But you can pick up a used Auto for pretty cheap instead of getting a new one or fixing the bad one.


Besides that, 6k for a '97 sounds kinda expensive.. I wouldn't pay that much for a 10 year old car.. With those possible problems and it being an Auto.
Check Kelly Blue Book for your area and see what is says for one in good condition and for one in the condition of the one you're looking at.

 

I'd be afraid of buying a car from someone that uses mismatched tires.

 

Pretty much any automatic Honda from '02 and down is garbage. Honda auto trannies started life as manual trans and were converted in the intrest of cost to auto, as a result they were very trouble prone and required a light foot to remain in good working order. I'm not sure about '03 and up...

 

Yeah man don't go for the auto, esp on preludes because they generally need to be rebuilt in a bit. And 6k with those problems sounds a little high. Oil leak usually isn't a huge problem, but if you have to do timing belt, cat, dings and dent painting, it will add up. I say keep on looking. And check how bad the oil burns on the car, cuz that is one common problem, but with an Auto may not be as bad. Good luck though.

 

heh, well now that i got some honest opinions, got a confession....my friend is the one looking for a car. **edit* i just said i was getting one for simplicity's sake.** just thought i'd hop online at a place that knows their hondas. after searching a bit about preludes on this site and a couple others, it dawned on me that this car might not be the deal it was shaping out to be. but thank you all for the clarification. i myself drive an 07 civic ex. i quite enjoy it actually.

well looks like my friend will be going with the 99 altima gxe with 104k for $5900. this car is much cleaner and they offer a 90 day/3000 mi warranty. which is looking very attractive in comparison with the prelude. sad. really. i mean....what about the "Honda reliability" everyone talks about? doesnt apply as much with auto tranny prelude?


Modified by Epistem at 9:16 PM 7/5/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cb7-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Pretty much any automatic Honda from '02 and down is garbage. Honda auto trannies started life as manual trans and were converted in the intrest of cost to auto, as a result they were very trouble prone and required a light foot to remain in good working order. I'm not sure about '03 and up...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Honda Prelude trannies pre-'02 maybe, but my auto '99 CR-V has not had any problems.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Honda Prelude trannies pre-'02 maybe, but my auto '99 CR-V has not had any problems. </TD></TR></TABLE>

No I meant all Honda trannies. I'm sure your trans is fine as is the trans of 500 other people. But out of the thousands of vehicles sold through out the decade many more had problems than not

 

well the only reason why you would have an auto would be because you are a roadwarrior other then that, if your doing small drives stick is best all around