My friends uncle is looking to sell an 88 white prelude automatic, I would rather have manual like my 87 I still drive.
It has about 84K miles on it and is in great condition from the inside and body.
Not sure how it drives or sounds as the key was at his other house :(
Any ideas what price range these go for? Would it be good to have as a second car even though the generations are different?

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1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Manual
First and only vehicle since High School in 2006

That's extremely low mileage. Are you sure the mileage is accurate? It's very easy to change that on these cars.

It's difficult to price a car that I haven't seen. Mileage definitely affects price, but condition is everything. Auto trans is also not the most desirable. You'll need to look at the car in person. Look closely for any indications that there is rust, or if there has been any kind of accident. This will require looking at the inside of the trunk sheet metal and in the engine bay. Look for any signs that the car has been repainted. Common areas for rust are the same as any old Honda...rear quarter panels, especially around the wheel arches, gas filler door, and along the glass. Other areas for rust would be around the sunroof, rocker panels, and under the car. If there is no indication of rust or collision damage/repair, and the interior is in good condition, the car could be worth three to four thousand dollars if bought from a dealer. $2500 from a private party would probably be a fair price. But, if there are any issues with the car the price needs to come down significantly.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

^^^dis^^^

But family discounts should be applied though

"But dont you love me?" Discount always worth some hardcore chores and $500.00

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It kinda comes down to the 'how much one would wanna pay' thing.

An always garaged with 84k miles would be worth more than a car ported one, than a sat in a driveway one.

And polls suggest white is the favorite color (believe it or not)

Problem for the seller is it's an automatic. I've seen absolutely mint black n tan or the dark blue auto version 3g preludes with less than 105k miles sell for as little as $2800 in the last couple of years. They were Si versions.
But less than 100k? as in that 3rd digit hasn't flipped yet will cancel out that family discount mentioned above.

I'd say it all depends on what your needs are in a 'second' car. I had a pair of 91's for a while and drove the auto way more often than the stick shift model. I bought the auto version knowing it would fit my scoot around needs a lot more than being bogged down in city traffic nearly constantly shifting gears between all those traffic signals...but once out of the city and on the byway the 5 speed was a lot more fun.

Eh, if the price aint bad, buy it, drive it a while and sell it later if you don't find yourself enjoying it.

I'm watching a white 91 crx at auction and last check was $11,000+...SOLD to the man with over 11k to put out for another car to sit in his garage 363 days a year....

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God's Not Dead

Byk, My car had 70K original miles on it when I got it... I consider it a lucky find as the body and interior are in really good shape, aside from the faded red paint, but there's no rust. It did have a few issues with it that I had to fix when I got it though...

Danticus, I can attest to what these guys are saying... I paid $800 for mine a little over a year ago and I have put a little over $5K in it. Now, I could have saved myself some money by just buying tires for thew stock 14" rims, buying a stock exhaust system instead of the stainless steel, and going with stock bushings instead of the polyurethane ones... But I wanted it to look, sound, and ride/handle nice. So I splurged...

If you buy it, please be sure to drop the oil pan, clean it out, and put fresh oil and filter. Like I mentioned above, mine ONLY had 70K on it, but there was sludge at the bottom of the pan and I guess they had recently changed the oil, but didn't know about the sludge. I had to replace the head and a piston because I didn't do that.

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

That's great advice. Dropping the pan is pretty easy on some cars, but not practical on a lot of them. At the very least, I usually change all fluids when I buy a used car, regardless of what the seller tells me about any recent service. Unless there is documented evidence of service, I always assume that it wasn't performed. Also keep in mind that low mileage on an old car isn't always a good thing. Seals dry up, gaskets shrink, fluids go bad, things like that. Also, I'd be very concerned about the timing belt. It's likely that it has never been replaced. That's the very first thing I would address if I bought this car.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

^^^ ALL OF THIS!^^^

The pan is pretty easy to drop on this car as well. It's just the Oil Pan Bolts, (I think there are 14 bolts), the Front Undercarriage Brace (6 Bolts), and the Engine to Tranny Brace (4 bolts)

Mike, I was going to add the usual spiel about replacing the water pump, timing belt, hoses, etc... But i figured I would wait until he bought the car... Didn't want to scare him off, but I guess it also could have been taken as a fore-warning about what's to come.

I'm going to research to see if there is one already, but have been thinking about making a post about buying a new Lude (Previously owned of course) and what the most common problems to look for (and how to fix them), what to tackle when you first get it (Preventive) etc. I would link back to all the OTHER posts/threads that address the issues and the repair manuals as well, so that there isn't any redundancy. Of course I would request to have it "Sticky'd" once it was complete.

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

I like this as it seems to be a popular subject in the forums

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1987 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI Manual
First and only vehicle since High School in 2006

It's a good idea as long as the people wondering about this look in the stickies. It's surprising to me how many people come into a forum and just ask a question without first looking for themselves to see it the question has already been answered.

It's occurred to others to do this, but in all honesty, shopping for a 3rd gen Prelude is not any different than shopping for any other old Honda. Same rules apply. It's the same for any used car really, although old Hondas seem to rust more than a lot of other cars of the same era (probably the thinner sheet metal). There is no shortage of advice on the interwebs about what to look for when shopping for a used car.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Yeah, I think it is safe to say that MOST people do NOT search the Forums or online to find the advice they need and they just post a question.

And yeah, buying a Honda or Prelude is no different than buying any other car, aside from the Common Issues that are discovered and compiled into places like this over the years. Like the IACV causing a bouncy idle or the Main Relay causing a No-Start on hot days or once the car has warmed up.

I want to make the thread with specific issues to these cars, specifically the 3rd Gens. I know some of these are also issues on other Gens as well, but someone with more experience and/or knowledge can take them (and my template if they like) and make one for the 4th, 5th, or whichever others are needed.

Yeah, a LOT of people may overlook the Sticky, but if I make it, then "we" can just refer them to that thread for these issues.

What do you think Mike?

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

Haha, I wasn't trying to talk you out of it Tony. I was only making excuses as to why it hasn't been done yet. By all means do it if you want. I'll be referring people to it if you do.

BTW, I'm not sure about the IACV, but the main relay issue is common for all older fuel injected Honda's, not just Preludes. But I get what you're wanting to do here. I say do it!!

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

I didn't think you were trying to talk me out of it. I was just agreeing and reiterating what you had already said about visitors (And even members) not searching before asking.

Yeah, I'm doing the write-up in word. It'll take a bit cause I add to it between the tasks I have to do here at work. Good thing is, it looks just like the write-ups I do here at work so no one who matters would know the difference.

The fun part will be "gathering" the links to the other threads.

What do you think would be a good title for the thread?

"What to Look For When Buying a 3rd Gen Prelude"

"Common Problems With the 3rd GENs"

I'm open to suggestions.

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

The name would depend on what's in there. MustardCat's website (prelude3g.com) has a section called Common Problems. But it sounds like you want to have more in there than just common problems. Maybe something like "What to look for when buying a 3rd gen/common problems"

I don't know, I am not very creative when it comes to names (just ask my kids LOL).

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

It can't be THAT bad... Unless you named them Bob & Bob 2...

Yeah, I'll work on the title... Maybe I'll make a "Most Common Issues" Thread and a "What to look for when buying" thread. I should take a look at MustardCat's page as well. That's a GREAT reference!

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

Buying A Fifth Gen.

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God's Not Dead

Yeah, but who wants a 5th gen???

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Yeah! Like That! I can use that as a reference/template! Thanks Mike!

LMAO!!!^^^

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1989 Honda Prelude Si - Daily Driver (So far, So Good)
1970 Buick GSX Clone - In progress
1988 Chevy Suburban TravelQuest - WorkHorse
1978 Buick Skylark - Sold

"Tackling Those Gremlins One By One"

"If you were as smart as you are dumb, you'd be Einstein!"

"Keep The Shiny Side Up & The Dirty Side Down"

Apparently not Americans...at least between 1997 and 2001 anyway.

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God's Not Dead

They were too expensive for what you got. They weren't even on my radar back then, but then again I wasn't looking at buying a new car when those were new.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Same here...I was entered divorce year #1...needless to say I was paying for a new car but didn't get to drive it if you know what I mean.
I bought a few new Altimas back then.lol
Thinking back, there may have been a malibu or...

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God's Not Dead