Advice on Buying a 5th Gen Prelude

[Vuey]

hey Crew

i need a daily driver and the wife is only allowing me to spend $10,000.

keen on getting a honda, so did some reasearch and the 5th Gen prelude looks like great value for the price.

i know my honda's very well , but was wondering were there any particulars i needed to look out for when buying a 5th Gen prelude VTI-R ?

service books and complete stock condition is a must for me.

Also, i was wondering what's the fuel economy on these cars like ?

Any feedback will be much appreciated.

[6thgear]

preludes, especially 5th gens certainly are great value for the price!

not many known faults with this model, it was, and still is a brilliant car. only real concerns were with the tiptronic boxes, they were a pain to fix if something went wrong. hence why most people go for the manuals which are virtually bulletproof besides being more fun to drive.

being a 2.2L and not too light, fuel economy wouldnt be the best compared to its smaller siblings such as the integra or civic. depends on your driving though ultimately. the 5th gen would typically give you roundabouts 10L-11L/100km roughly if driven conservatively - dont quote me on that though.

do your typical checks as you would every other car, service records, oil levels, leaks etc condition of interior/exterior.

good luck

[gumus89]

I get high 7's on the highway and high 8's in the city. Grows to near 10 when I drive in too much peak hour or my foot gets heavy.

[drsilliez]

mines abt a 9.5-10L/100km average. mix highway and city driving incl peak hour! 99 vtir auto btw.

[Hooman]

yeah get a manual as the tiptronics have been know to fail if driven hard. I'd go for a 99+ as they were rated as the 148kW H22's.
I owned a 5th Gen for about 5 years, the drive was sporty + comfortable. Would highly recommend em.

[rbk_212]

yeah if you can the 99+ models had some small niggles addressed, i think the 97 and 98 have had some selector fork trouble in the manual gearbox, nothing really major from what i've heard.

id also recommend you stay away from the tip tronic auto, they have a history of dying, especially if your buying second hand and cant be sure of the way its been treated.

another thing is check the sunroof for rust on the inside

and my fuel economy with a manual is around 9-10 with mostly stop start, short trip driving. People do much better when they do alot of highway k's

5th gens are great cars and i'd definitely recommended a prelude for a daily driver, they fit the bill

[Vuey]

thanks guys for your replies and an even bigger thanks to 6th Gear for your detailed reply :thumbsup:

i was planning on getting it in a Auto :o
not planning to use the tiptronic function, more for us cruising around town.

as my wife's mum occassionally comes to Syd and it would be a good car for her to get around in. Im a pretty sensible driver, so the fuel consumption wouldnt be a drama if it averages 8-10L/100 .

Ive always liked the Preludes so im still keep on it.