what to look out for when buyin a Prelude?

[ozmikeli]

hey guys
i dont know much about cars and the last car i bought died on me in 2 months with a head gasket problem. i'm looking into this 97 prelude vti-r with 130,000 with no log book, the guy was asking for $11.000 but i got it down to about $8500, what are the common things i should check in the car before buying it? also i heard tiptronic gear box is prone to break and costs a arm and a leg to fix?

[Luder88]

Hey champ.

So the car you're going to buy is tiptronic right? The 99+ models have a stronger gear box than the later year models.

Things to check out for:

-Sunroof (rust)
-Oil (if it has been serviced regularly because vtec engines tend to use up a bit more oil)

Before you drive off when you go to test drive the car:

-Change through the different selection of gears.
e.g From P, put it into D. Then put it into R.

Hopefully there won't be any clunking noises after each change.

For more info you should check out www.preludeaustralia.com
you'll find nearly everything you need to know

[ozmikeli]

yeah i took it for a test drive yesterday the car sounded pretty decent, going to go take a closer look today and if everything is ok i'm going to buy it
thx for the advise

[munkaii]

Pics if you get it!

[timizkool]

The best thing would probs be to get a NRMA check.. or you can bring it to any mechanics and they'll check it for you for abt 100 bucks!

[CivicSi]

$8.5k for a 5th Gen VTiR with 130xxxkms??? Either the guy selling it has not idea about the average market price, or your buying a real beater with heaps of problems.

[dwn_boi]

yes the gear box problem is true and when i was looking to buy on they were always so much cheaper than the manual FOR A REASON coz theyr about to break lol, definantly get it inspected by an nrma they'll go over the wole car, tho its hard to tell if the gear box is going to last or not ur better off going for a later model like a 99 if u want auto.

also another common probem that seem to arise with the lude is the harmonic balancer wuld mysteriously fall off!! happend to me and 3 other ludes i know of, now this will b expensive, if they catch it in time, only a few hundred to repair, if not try 3k for engine rebuild!!

jst make sure everything is tight and in place dwn there lol, i have a thread on it sumwher on here i'll get it for u.

[dwn_boi]

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81113

here u go, have a look around first hun there are soOoo many ludes out there and guarenteed you'll find the one best for u

[PeachExperiment]

People keep talking about the Tiptronic gearbox being an issue, but Ive yet to come across anybody who has ever had an issue with theirs.

[yourfather]

GUY i used to work with had his **** up.

maybe if you contributed a bit more, we'd listen to you. and you'd no longer have newcomer status.

[yourfather]

well, if you are going to make a comment, at least make it the 'right' kinda comment.

people who spread poor information deserve to be shunned.

[-=Andy=-]

FOR THE GuY who started the thread:
Dude buy it its probably one of the best investments you will do. 5th gens are soo comfortable to drive and have a nice look to them. the h22a4 is a really good engine and you shouldnt have problems with it. Looks better, feels better, nicer interiour than all those civics on here. hehe yer i said it.. and if the civic kids want to start things well let them :P my cd5 typeS (yes typeS ask members on PA to confirm) has no problems showing the back end of k20 swapped civics