RE: Shed Of The Week: Honda Prelude
Discussion
I owned one of this generation of Prelude 17 years ago when I lived in NZ. it was a wonderful car. Mine had the 2.2 litre lump and was deceptively fast. The rear seats are useless, but the driver and front seat passenger enjoyed high levels of comfort and refinement over long distances. If I had space for one (and unfortunately I don't) I'd love to have another again.
A lodger of mine had one; it handled OK (although not as well as the Corrado I had at the time) and the 2.2 VTEC lump in his was a lovely unit... but it's an appallingly packaged car - I didn't even fit in the front properly and the rear seats were utterly useless.
Hard to argue with it for a grand I suppose, if you fit.
Hard to argue with it for a grand I suppose, if you fit.
Blackpuddin said:
mrpenks said:
A much nicer choice https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Aye, apart from it needing new rear wheel arches, fuel lines and a wheel refurb, plus fixes for non-working 4WS, slow passenger side window and various dents. 
I've got a little shy of 220,000 miles on a 1999 P38 Range Rover. It has slowly started undressing itself, but mechanically is a rock. If I'm doing it with some of Britain's "finest" engineering, it hardly seems a stretch for something Japanese.
mrpenks said:
Erm, how much? You've got to be kidding?
I ask this when I browse classifieds a lot. People seem to think tired old motors are worth way more than they really are. I saw a ropey as balls Audi 80 the other day which the guy wanted £2k for. If he said £200 I'd have agreed. Some people seem to think being old automatically makes it valuable.FN2TypeR said:
Yeah....... no.
It's a wreck, an overpriced one at that. I appreciate that we all have our own tastes and that those tastes can sometimes defy logic or reason, but if the owner has genuinely spent seven grand on that thing they are potty.
7k over 10yrs and 80k. About 9p a mile plus fuel and fixed costs. So 25-30p a mile, all up? Not that potty.It's a wreck, an overpriced one at that. I appreciate that we all have our own tastes and that those tastes can sometimes defy logic or reason, but if the owner has genuinely spent seven grand on that thing they are potty.
Thank you Shed, very entertaining read. I always enjoy the opening gambit on these write ups. Keep up the good work.
As for the car, I guess it's a bit tongue in cheek. I do quite like these cars and it's interesting to bring this to attention in SOTW only from the perspective that there are those out there who will cherish and nurture such unsuspecting models.
I reckon the owner has put it up at such a high price to put off the normal punter who wishes for a cheap run about to run it to the ground and dump it. The price is to only appeal to the enthusiast who will then call him up and they can have a chat which amounts to an interview. The owner would probably then release her for about £100 for the kind of buyer he feels will continue on his project.
As for the car, I guess it's a bit tongue in cheek. I do quite like these cars and it's interesting to bring this to attention in SOTW only from the perspective that there are those out there who will cherish and nurture such unsuspecting models.
I reckon the owner has put it up at such a high price to put off the normal punter who wishes for a cheap run about to run it to the ground and dump it. The price is to only appeal to the enthusiast who will then call him up and they can have a chat which amounts to an interview. The owner would probably then release her for about £100 for the kind of buyer he feels will continue on his project.
When I got back from Gulf War 1, I treated myself to a brand new Prelude (Gen 3 facelift) - it had mechanical 4WS and was a superb car. I didn't like the first of the Gen 4 models, but when Honda came out with the facelift, I traded my car in for a new 2.2i VTEC - M96VJO. Such a nice car, which I kept for 8 years. Whoever bought my first Prelude H502JWL clearly enjoyed it too, as it could often be seen driving around the local area.
But then came the 'St. Valentine's Day' disaster of the ugly Gen 5 model. I still have a VHS recording of Jeremy Clarkson's scathing review of the thing - and how much he preferred the Gen 4!
I hoped that Honda would see the error of their ways and come out with a prettier Gen 6 Prelude, but that wasn't to be as they abandoned the marque. So I traded in the Prelude for a secondhand SLK 320, which was then traded in for a secondhand SLK32 AMG - which I've now had for 12 happy years!
But then came the 'St. Valentine's Day' disaster of the ugly Gen 5 model. I still have a VHS recording of Jeremy Clarkson's scathing review of the thing - and how much he preferred the Gen 4!
I hoped that Honda would see the error of their ways and come out with a prettier Gen 6 Prelude, but that wasn't to be as they abandoned the marque. So I traded in the Prelude for a secondhand SLK 320, which was then traded in for a secondhand SLK32 AMG - which I've now had for 12 happy years!
FN2TypeR said:
battered said:
7k over 10yrs and 80k. About 9p a mile plus fuel and fixed costs. So 25-30p a mile, all up? Not that potty.
Plus purchase?FN2TypeR said:
Yeah....... no.
It's a wreck, an overpriced one at that. I appreciate that we all have our own tastes and that those tastes can sometimes defy logic or reason, but if the owner has genuinely spent seven grand on that thing they are potty.
Genuine question, why do you say it's a "wreck"? Those are strong words. Based on 5 pictures it looks reasonably tidy for a car of it's age and mileage. The MOT history isn't the cleanest, but that's only part of a story. It's got a few problems, but none that stop it being driven, and what sheds don't?It's a wreck, an overpriced one at that. I appreciate that we all have our own tastes and that those tastes can sometimes defy logic or reason, but if the owner has genuinely spent seven grand on that thing they are potty.
I'm not defending the asking price, but "it's a wreck"? C'mon!
I'll defend the engine - the 2.3 in these is to the 2.2 Vtec as the 8v Golf Mk2 was to the 16v - a better engine for 99% of normal driving.
The auto isn't ideal tho - they're very old school "gear changes when I feel like it" boxes but 90s Coupes only seem to survive as autos, see things like Celicas etc., all the tidy cars are autos (owned by grannies in-period?)
I'd HATE to be paying for an ABS controller/pump in a car of this era now either (if they can even be sourced?) - in-fact I'd say you have the following options
1 - if ABS was optional on the car when new, you can gut-it from the car and you should pass MOT - the rules used-to-state you have to remove all but things like sense rings (often built-into hubs or bearings) - no idea of Preludes were all ABS but I suspect they were?
2 - disable ABS anyway and wire the ABS light to another dashboard light so it comes on and goes-off again as required (I see a market for simple controllers for this stuff *COUGHS*)
3 - phoned-in MOT/sympathetic tester for a 'classic car'
This highlights - again - that unless we relax some of the rules as cars get older, we'll be forced to scrap almost everything made. There won't be any classics if we need to find a £250 door motor/controller to keep a Golf on the road (doors must lock/unlock) etc. etc.
The auto isn't ideal tho - they're very old school "gear changes when I feel like it" boxes but 90s Coupes only seem to survive as autos, see things like Celicas etc., all the tidy cars are autos (owned by grannies in-period?)
I'd HATE to be paying for an ABS controller/pump in a car of this era now either (if they can even be sourced?) - in-fact I'd say you have the following options
1 - if ABS was optional on the car when new, you can gut-it from the car and you should pass MOT - the rules used-to-state you have to remove all but things like sense rings (often built-into hubs or bearings) - no idea of Preludes were all ABS but I suspect they were?
2 - disable ABS anyway and wire the ABS light to another dashboard light so it comes on and goes-off again as required (I see a market for simple controllers for this stuff *COUGHS*)
3 - phoned-in MOT/sympathetic tester for a 'classic car'
This highlights - again - that unless we relax some of the rules as cars get older, we'll be forced to scrap almost everything made. There won't be any classics if we need to find a £250 door motor/controller to keep a Golf on the road (doors must lock/unlock) etc. etc.
Edited by 405dogvan on Monday 17th April 23:59
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