Hey Guys,
I was in the BMW scene for a long time, sold my M3 due to finances and have been driving a beater for the past 3 years.

I'm looking to get a Honda, something that gets good gas mileage and i like the look of the Prelude the best.
I've been searching non-stop for the past 3-4 months and doing my homework the best I can. I think I may have found a decent deal and i'm curious what everyone else thinks.

Here's the details:

1997 Prelude Type SH
78,000 Miles
Black Exterior with Black Leather Interior
It has a few mods including a huge exhaust that I will be taking off.

He was asking $7500 OBO, blue book is $7700.
I offered $6000 and he agreed to take $6500.
Is this a fair deal or should I keep looking?

I haven't driven it yet, so I told him I wanted to do that before I made a solid offer.

Josh B.

 

That is a fair price for a 5th gen with sub 80,000 miles. How does the outside look? You will love your prelude... they are fun cars

 

One thing about a Type SH though is they are not a highly modifiable platform if that's what you're looking for.

The Transmission ATTS system can not handle high HP/TQ. And the stock system can not be tuned/chipped, or whatever, as it will disable the ATTS system.

Also the Suspension is completely different (Not COMPLETELY completely), but enough to as most parts have to be SH Specific. Along with non-suspension related items such as: header (I think), exhaust, etc.

If you check the FAQ's for Base vs SH Threads, you'll see the many differences between the two.

But if you're not looking to build or modify it, the Type-SH is a great car for stock driving, handling, and spirited driving.

 

Not bad, just keep in mind it will be needing a timing belt soon, so budget for that(about 1K if you have a shop do it, 3-400 for parts if you do it yourself.)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Giant_Bean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not bad, just keep in mind it will be needing a timing belt soon, so budget for that(about 1K if you have a shop do it, 3-400 for parts if you do it yourself.)</TD></TR></TABLE>

What!? 1k$ for a timing belt job is ridiculous, 300-400 in parts alone is also ridiculous.

But $6500 for the car seems pretty good. I say go for it.

 

The job books at about 6 hours, at normal shop rate thats around 5-600 dollars, depending on the shop, plus their markup on parts: Timing/balance shaft belts($100), all the seals($20), water pump(%60), tensioner(%90), and if you do it right, also the pullies($100). So for the average person going to a shop-1k. Again for the average person just the parts would run you that much, now I work in parts, so I can get everything cheaper, but that is a different story.

 

Thanks for all the responses guys.
I'm not planning on modding the car.
I may do a handful of cosmetic upgrades down the road, but unfortunately i'm not in the situation where I can afford to buy mods.

I had about $8k in my M3 and I had to sell that, a boat, and a motorcycle to cover my mortgage for 4 months. Long story.

In regards to the timing belt, is there a way I can tell if it's going to go bad? Any signs or sounds that it may be on it's last leg?

Anyways, I'm going for a test drive and final inspection tomorrow.
I'll let you know how it goes and post up some pics if I decide to bring it home.

If there's no major surprises i'll most likely get it.

thanks,
Josh B.

 

Timing belt is recommended to be done every 90K, so you should have some time before you have to do it, but like I said, just plan for it so it's not a large sudden expense.

 

that is a fair deal but on the good side of fair IMO since you have leather interior. if the leather's in good condition, thats a nice plus in my book.

and what huge exhaust? I can fit my shoe in my exhaust.

 

i'll add my 2 pennies, since i just bought a prelude back in nov.
i were you i would wait although that kinda sounds like a decent deal. unless you are in a rush to get a lude, cause i got my base model 2000 with 40k on the odometer for 8800, only flaw the car had was minor body damage which you can only see if you look up close. check cars.com if you havent yet if you see a a better deal outta state go for it, taht's what i did since i live in PA and i bought my lude in jersey, and i feel preludes around where i live are overpriced. quick example i saw one for sale with 127k on the odometer guy wanted 9995, year was 1999 i think.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Giant_Bean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not bad, just keep in mind it will be needing a timing belt soon, so budget for that(about 1K if you have a shop do it, 3-400 for parts if you do it yourself.)</TD></TR></TABLE>

damn where are you going? the honda dealer? and where do you get 400 dollars in parts from? its less than a hundred bucks for a timing belt from the dealer. even replacing everything associated in the general vicinity including valve cover gasket and such would still be less than 500 with labor. damn you're getting burned on labor wherever you are going..

anyway that deal sounds good. i'd go for it.

 

Don't know if you've got the car yet or not, but I am also an owner of a '97 SH. I personally love the SH, and while it does pose some challenges to mod'ing, it's a great car. If you like the SH, my only recommendation would be to wait and try to get a later model. Because 97 was the first year of production, they changed some things in later years. Most of them are not very major, but there are little things that can be a nuissance (certain rattles and stuff) as well I believe as a lightly modified ECU and ATTS control unit that perform a little better. But, if this is the car you want and you think it's a fair price, go for it.

As far as t-belt service, I'm not 100%, but I believe it was around 1998 when they switched from 90K to 105K or greater for t-belt interval due to using better belts and parts (please correct me if I'm wrong). $1k is not way out there for getting t-belt done at the dealer; my local dealer quoted me ~$850. And yes, parts are $300-400 if you're replacing everything you should be (including seals, water pump, tensioner, belts, etc). If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, expect at least $650.

 

Hey Guys,
I didn't end up buying the car... which kinda stinks since I drove almost 5 hours round trip to see the car.
When I got there the guy was in the middle of pulling out the stereo.
He had 5 other cars sitting in his yard (for sale???) and he seemed pretty shady.
There were 3-4 things that he failed to mention before I drove over there.
1. The windshield was cracked
2. The stereo... he ripped the whole thing out.
3. The bushings on the suspension were bad
4. The front shocks needed to be replaced.

The car looked good cosmetically, but i was a little confused. The car only had 72k miles (supposedly) but the drivers seat had a lot of wear. More than a lot of cars i've seen with 100k+ miles.

Whatever the situation might have been, I didn't trust the guy selling it.
He failed to mention some stuff and when I asked he didn't know a whole lot about anything. I probably asked 20 questions and 17 of the answers were "i dunno".

The price was good, but I walked away. There are always good deals around the corner. I would rather spend a few extra bucks and get a car from someone who at least seems respectable.

The search continues...

thanks,
Josh B.

 

Good call. It definitely sounds like you would've regretted that purchase.

Good Luck.