Buying a 97 Prelude Si

púca-mór

Well the time has come - i'm finally moving on from the car i learned to drive in (then continued to drive when donated to me by my sister).

I have spent nearly six years driving a.. suzuki alto
I'm sure this'd be grand if i was someone who just wanted a reliable car for driving - but i actually have a genuine interest in cars!

So, this is my first car i'm buying instead of inheriting/driving mother/fathers car.. a black 97 prelude Si on 18" alloys - jap impt.

I'm know i should buy something more reliable and less interesting (possibly with btr fuel consumption!) But i've been driving an alto for years!! I need a car which will have me looking forward to driving, even if i can only afford to run it for a little while!

I'm just after inspecting the car, it's in excellent cond. and naturally i'm keen to buy - but i don't want to screw myself over with repair bills for next 6 months!

Possible problems i've found; engine not making an overly smooth sound - slight ticking. I'm worried about timing belt issues - but could possibly be due to below oil probs.
The oil on dipstick was quite thick/dark
The sump seemed quite oily - not dripping, and there didn't seem to be any oil on ground - but it was oily - though it was also gritty suggesting it's not fresh - so maybe not as bad.
The guy selling (small dealer) seems a very nice and trustworthy guy - says the car has been sitting a good few months which could have allowed oil to settle - and i'm aware that the preludes are thirsty for oil changes.

Any advice would be much appreciated (I'm going to put deposit on car tomorrow evening.)

Cheers

drunkmonkey

Puca it sounds like a crock of ****, noisy engine, thick oil, oily sump....you might be best stay clear....

Is that the only car you saw or like? Don't leave a deposit, the cars been sitting around for months because it's undesirable, the car fairy won't be buying it tomorrow, only hand over cash when your happy the car is mechanically correct...

Green Hornet

Doesn't sound the healthiest to be honest. You would be well advised to get it checked out by a mechanic before putting down a deposit.

Always get a car checked out before you buy. The dealer shouldn't mind either unless he's got something to hide.:)

púca-mór

Yeah, I'm thinking it might be worth the €300 layout for a mechanic to check it.. .

Green Hornet

púca-mór wrote: »

Yeah, I'm thinking it might be worth the €300 layout for a mechanic to check it.. .

I'd imagine that your regular mechanic (assuming you use a regular one) would give it a good check over for far less than that. Mine checks out any new cars that I buy for free (although I suppose whether its free or not is debatable given the cost of regular servicing :rolleyes:)

púca-mór

My regular mechanic is in co. Down - where i'm from - but i live in Limerick now.

I don't have a reg mechanic now -so i'd have to pay for an AA inspection or something like that..

drunkmonkey

Puca if you think it might be worth paying a mechanic €300 to have a look round it, walk away, step back from the car slowly, don't look backwards....


Any other car you'd like.......why a 97 prelude?

púca-mór

I was looking for japanese coupes - prelude's seemed generally well maintained, decent prices with good electronic accessories.

I'm not hard set on Prelude, but I am unfortunately in a bit of a rush to get a new car - the one i'm driving is quickly giving up it's tenacious lil ghost..

I am worried that prelude might have a poorly maintained engine.

drunkmonkey

Your right to be worried about the engine...

What's your budget?

púca-mór

PS: I didn't have a specific criteria for what i wanted except that I don't have any family commitments etc which require a sensible car - so hoping for something a lil more interesting. However budget isn't large.

Combination of the two is undoubtedly a recipe for disaster!

EDIT: Budget is €4500 at very max.

JHMEG

What's the asking price? Probably not a lot. The Si is the 2.0L?

The Prelude engines are very tough. The DOHC (SIR, VTI etc) was one of the first mainstream cars to have FRM, ie Carbon Fibre Cylinder Liners, which makes it very special indeed. As long as it's not smoky I'd say it's fine. The older engines get a bit clickety with age anyway. (The injectors get quite loud even)

Only things that are Honda/Prelude specific to watch out for are the distributor (look for smooth pull though out the rev range), CV joints and bushes in the rear suspension. Stay away from the SSS, ie the tiptronic type gearbox.

EDIT: the oil in any Honda I've ever owned has gone pitch black within 24hrs of having gone in. Dried oil on the sump is from oil leaking down when the oil filter is changed. The filter is on the back of the engine and it's near impossible to take it off without making a mess.

púca-mór

JHMEG wrote: »

What's the asking price? Probably not a lot. The Si is the 2.0L?

The Prelude engines are very tough. The DOHC (SIR, VTI etc) was one of the first mainstream cars to have FRM, ie Carbon Fibre Cylinder Liners, which makes it very special indeed. As long as it's not smoky I'd say it's fine. The older engines get a bit clickety with age anyway. (The injectors get quite loud even)

Only things that are Honda/Prelude specific to watch out for are the distributor (look for smooth pull though out the rev range), CV joints and bushes in the rear suspension. Stay away from the SSS, ie the tiptronic type gearbox.

EDIT: the oil in any Honda I've ever owned has gone pitch black within 24hrs of having gone in. Dried oil on the sump is from oil leaking down when the oil filter is changed. The filter is on the back of the engine and it's near impossible to take it off without making a mess.

The exhaust is clear and smoke (blue or black) free.

Unfortunately however the model does have a tiptronic box - from vehicle history check i have that it is 2.2l. Was the SSS the one with 4WS? Did this auto have probs?

JHMEG

I'm not up on the JDM variants (SI, XI, etc). Is it DOHC VTEC? Written on the rocker cover in big letters?

Only the Type-S had 4WS.

The SSS gives trouble if the transmission oil wasn't changed according to the service schedule. Most people didn't bother changing the oil in them at all, so quite a lot of them do give trouble, and some of it is quite serious.

I would stay away from a car that had SSS unless the transmission oil changes were all documented.

peasant

Would that be the one with 168.000 miles?

I know it's a Honda and all that ...but that's a lorra, lorra miles. Expect a lorra, lorra things to need replacing over time.

púca-mór

peasant wrote: »

Would that be the one with 168.000 miles?

I know it's a Honda and all that ...but that's a lorra, lorra miles. Expect a lorra, lorra things to need replacing over time.

No it has 90k miles on it - still not a small amount!

púca-mór

JHMEG wrote: »

I'm not up on the JDM variants (SI, XI, etc). Is it DOHC VTEC? Written on the rocker cover in big letters?

Only the Type-S had 4WS.

The SSS gives trouble if the transmission oil wasn't changed according to the service schedule. Most people didn't bother changing the oil in them at all, so quite a lot of them do give trouble, and some of it is quite serious.

I would stay away from a car that had SSS unless the transmission oil changes were all documented.

That's certainly a negative consideration for this car!
I'm considering the possibility of bringing it to Honda garage for transmission check if it was poss, perhaps i'm holding on to a sinking ship?

drunkmonkey

There's a good few choices on carzone.ie within your budget..just do an advanced search for coupes under 5000, petrol, with photos, and show tumbnails....

200sx? Excellet car, highly recommend..
Toyota twin cam? Great Fun if you find a good one..
Mitsubishi FTO? Don't know a lot about them but they look good..
Bmw 318is or 323 coupe? Nice cars...
Honda Prelude, there's a good few there but only one in limerick...

JHMEG

púca-mór wrote: »

That's certainly a negative consideration for this car!
I'm considering the possibility of bringing it to Honda garage for transmission check if it was poss, perhaps i'm holding on to a sinking ship?

If you want a Prelude go for a manual. That's really it.

There are alternatives: the FTO (again the INVECS gearbox is good, but a manual rules the day), or go hardcore and get an ITR. Preferably UK-spec, in black. Considered by most to be the best handling FWD car ever made.

Valhalla

Be a little aware of that Prelude.

If you have 4.5k to spend, looking for a big enough car with some poke - 00-01 Honda Accord 1.8LS will do fine. Very Reliable and looks pretty good too.

My 2 cent

Steve

Hi púca-mór,

What I'd do is look for an Irish owners club with a forum. They will normally have a for sale section and it's easy to get an idea of the car's history by searching for posts by the seller and see if they have had many problems with the car.

I'm not sure where Prelude owners hang out, I'm an FTO owner myself and you'll get all the advice you need here if you're thinking of buying one.:)