[Sean1021]

Hey all!
First off I would like to notate that I am aware there is an opinion poll, but I need to know more about a future purchase, not something I am preforming on my 'lude. Matter of fact, no work will ever be done on my Prelude again.:wzbigcry:



I was involved in a total loss accident. Thankfully I walked away from this one almost injury free. In lieu of current events, I am looking for another car. I WAS NOT ready to leave the Prelude community, and loved my car. With that respect, I want to replace my prelude with, surprise, another prelude. Here comes the real question for you guys. I was searching craigslist and found an ad for a 2001 Prelude. The ad reads as follows:

2001 HONDA PRELUDE VTCEC
H22A4 MOTOR COLD AIR INTAKE
LOW MILES 153K. NEW TIMING BELT AND WATER PUMP KIT.
THE NOTORIOUS FAULTY HYDRAULIC BELT TENSIONER HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH AN ADJUSTABLE JDM TENSIONER. NEW BELTS NEW WHEELS AND TIRES. INTERIOR IS IMMACULATE. AFTERMARKET LED PROJECTION LIGHTS AND NEW FOG LIGHTS WITH FACTORY SWITCH. NEW VTEC SOLENOID. CAR HITS HARD WHEN VTEC KICKS IN. NEW PIONEER SOUND SYSTEM INSTALLED. FAST CAR AND HANDLES GREAT. VERY FUN TO DRIVE. CAR HAS AWAYS BEEN SERVICED EVERY 3K AND ALWAYS RAN HIGH OCTANE GAS. HAVE RECEIPTS TO EVERYTHING ALL WORK WAS DONE AT 150K, CURRENTLY MY DAILY DRIVER SO MILES WILL GO UP. THIS CAR IS MY BABY AND I REALLY DONT WANT TO SELL IT BUT I HAVE TWO CHILDREN THAT DONT REALLY FIT IN THE BACK SO I BOUGHT AN SUV

5,000 DO NOT LOW BALL ME I HAVE ALOT INTO THE CAR AND THEY ARE GETTING HARD TO FIND. LAST YEAR THEY MADE THESE CARS

Here are a few images from the post:




I have emailed him since, without an offer, and he revealed that a greddy exhaust was recently installed on the car. His ad is 25 days old.

My Question: Is $5000 a lot for this year and build he's offering? Does anybody see anything of concern? What price should I try to pay tops if everything checks out? Thank you in advance guys! I really enjoy the help everyone here offers.

 

[SHLuding]

cant see the pictures. Assuming its in decent shape, I really wouldnt want to pay much more than 3500. Interiors are easy to find clean on these cars. Aftermarket radio means nothing in terms of price. Timing belt is nice but its still just general maintenance that you would hope any good owner would do. If the exterior is in really good shape maybe pay close to 4 but frankly 150,000 isnt even THAT low.

 

[MommysLittleMonster]

Eh, it seems like the kid who owns it knows a fair amount about the car, and the pictures look like it's in okay shape (safe for the ricer headlights and the shitty rattlecan job on the engine bay). I can guarantee it's been ragged on by the current owner- no one does goofy shit like spray painting a heat shield and installing a CAI to drive the car 'nicely'.

Go and take a look at it, drive it, and look at the receipts for the car. If he does in fact have a lot of history on the car for maintenance, the car runs well (doesn't smoke excessively) and the body is in really good shape, then I could see someone paying $4,200-4,700. That's best-case scenario, where the car is in excellent shape.

But, if it has a Check Engine Light on, the interior is ratty, and it needs paintwork... then closer to $3,200 is a fair price. These cars aren't THAT difficult to find, especially if they're rough around the edges.

 

[Sean1021]

Thank you guys both for your input! I haven't actually seen the car in person yet, but do plan to check it out as soon as I get the chance. I wasn't about to account normal wear and tear maintenance work into the price. He just lowered it to 4500 today, so I'm gonna see. (if everything checks out) to pay 4250 max. If not I have a 2003 insight I might go check out. Anybody know what specific problems to look for other than the obvious?