Irish Prelude 2.2 Vtec
Discussion
Hi All,
I have been offered a mint condition Irish Republic Honda Prelude 2.2 Auto (shame)
Its so clean I am thinking or replacing my BMW 328 Coupe with it.
Does anyone know how complicated it may be to register it here in the UK?
I have registerd 3 American cars and all I did was, get an MOT, provide a reciept, prove customs payment, get insurance and the Job was a good un.
Is it the same for a European car?
Cheers
I have been offered a mint condition Irish Republic Honda Prelude 2.2 Auto (shame)
Its so clean I am thinking or replacing my BMW 328 Coupe with it.
Does anyone know how complicated it may be to register it here in the UK?
I have registerd 3 American cars and all I did was, get an MOT, provide a reciept, prove customs payment, get insurance and the Job was a good un.
Is it the same for a European car?
Cheers
I had a 2,2 Vtec Prelude (Manual, last of the line ones) and a e46 330i (Sport, Saloon) so can offer some sort of comparison.
The Prelude was a great car in manual and I loved mine. I drove an auto one (tiptronic) and did not like it all. The gearbox on these is now very old tech compared to new autos and I did not enjoy it.
The handling was good on the 4WS model I had. Quite neutral handling and had a tendency for lift of oversteer in the wet and I found the steering much nicer than the Civic I had before it - the steering was quite heavy and much more feelsome than the Civic. Being a powerful FWD there is some torque steer, mainly in the wet when you have a heavy foot. It does not try and pull the steering out of you hands or anything like that though. The suspension was too soft and the brakes would not handle too much fast road use. Could do with an upgrade in that area especially compared with the firm riding 330i sport I had after and the Civic before.
I do not think I would replace a 328 with an auto Prelude though. The Vtec engine to likes rev (although this 2,2 unit does have good torque so does not have to revved to make progress, it is more fun though!) and the low seating position and perfect placement of the gearstick make it a pleasure to use and drive in the vtec zone. The auto will not give you that and I suspect you will miss the best part of the car - the engine and gearbox combo.
The driving position and gearshift were much better than the 330i. It was very low, basic and with all the switches in easy reach. I also missed the wide rev band and high rev kick of the Vtec. the BMW felt 'flat' after the Honda as it had a very linear feeling power delivery but was very smooth. Both sound good in their own way but the 330 was a nice sounding thing at idle and low revs whilst the Honda was only nice at high revs...
I wouldn't be too hung on the RWD vs FWD thing but more the auto box in my opinion. If you actually want an auto for commuting then I suppose it will be fine. I would also be worried about shifting on an auto Prelude.
Perhaps you can go test drive one in UK before committing?
PS: There should be loads about in UK for sale at a good price?
PPS: Check the insurance quotes - I think the Prelude was group 20.
This link should help re importing: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/buyingandsell...
The Prelude was a great car in manual and I loved mine. I drove an auto one (tiptronic) and did not like it all. The gearbox on these is now very old tech compared to new autos and I did not enjoy it.
The handling was good on the 4WS model I had. Quite neutral handling and had a tendency for lift of oversteer in the wet and I found the steering much nicer than the Civic I had before it - the steering was quite heavy and much more feelsome than the Civic. Being a powerful FWD there is some torque steer, mainly in the wet when you have a heavy foot. It does not try and pull the steering out of you hands or anything like that though. The suspension was too soft and the brakes would not handle too much fast road use. Could do with an upgrade in that area especially compared with the firm riding 330i sport I had after and the Civic before.
I do not think I would replace a 328 with an auto Prelude though. The Vtec engine to likes rev (although this 2,2 unit does have good torque so does not have to revved to make progress, it is more fun though!) and the low seating position and perfect placement of the gearstick make it a pleasure to use and drive in the vtec zone. The auto will not give you that and I suspect you will miss the best part of the car - the engine and gearbox combo.
The driving position and gearshift were much better than the 330i. It was very low, basic and with all the switches in easy reach. I also missed the wide rev band and high rev kick of the Vtec. the BMW felt 'flat' after the Honda as it had a very linear feeling power delivery but was very smooth. Both sound good in their own way but the 330 was a nice sounding thing at idle and low revs whilst the Honda was only nice at high revs...
I wouldn't be too hung on the RWD vs FWD thing but more the auto box in my opinion. If you actually want an auto for commuting then I suppose it will be fine. I would also be worried about shifting on an auto Prelude.
Perhaps you can go test drive one in UK before committing?
PS: There should be loads about in UK for sale at a good price?
PPS: Check the insurance quotes - I think the Prelude was group 20.
This link should help re importing: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/buyingandsell...
Edited by Dino D on Thursday 10th June 12:38
Preludes are insurance group 20?! Blimey!
Or is that just imported ones?
I wasn't really commenting on the FWD/RWD thing earlier, It was mainly the manual vs. auto I was refering to. Out of the two, I would say the BMW has the better set up over-all.
Is the Prelude an absolute bargain or something? Is the BMW giving you issues in any way?
Or is that just imported ones?
I wasn't really commenting on the FWD/RWD thing earlier, It was mainly the manual vs. auto I was refering to. Out of the two, I would say the BMW has the better set up over-all.
Is the Prelude an absolute bargain or something? Is the BMW giving you issues in any way?
Edited by useyourdellusion on Thursday 10th June 13:07
Where are the usual "OMG VTEC IS TEH BEST" posts??
I thought the Prelude 2.2 was supposed to be a good car in its day. Was popular when it featured in SOTW a few months back.
http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=162&i=205...
Would say it's a good car and worth considering, but it needs to be cheap to offset the shipping costs and the hassle of re-registering it in the UK.
I thought the Prelude 2.2 was supposed to be a good car in its day. Was popular when it featured in SOTW a few months back.
http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=162&i=205...
Would say it's a good car and worth considering, but it needs to be cheap to offset the shipping costs and the hassle of re-registering it in the UK.
Wow thanks for the informed responses. 
We this is a Euro car thats in Halifax. It belongs to the owner of the Hotel I stay with while on business. Its Black with Balck leather with ALL options including the damned Auto box.
Its a real peach to look at and quite low milage being 67k. The clincher is that he's veirtually giving it away to me because he know me well.
My 328 is a awesome machine! I love it and have had no problems, but thats because I am hot on servicing and the like.
I use the BMW to do the London to Halifax commute twice a week plus work commuting which is about600 miles a week. I wonder if the Prelude can do that?
Maybe I should give it to my brother to replace his battered Saab 900S.
We this is a Euro car thats in Halifax. It belongs to the owner of the Hotel I stay with while on business. Its Black with Balck leather with ALL options including the damned Auto box.
Its a real peach to look at and quite low milage being 67k. The clincher is that he's veirtually giving it away to me because he know me well.
My 328 is a awesome machine! I love it and have had no problems, but thats because I am hot on servicing and the like.
I use the BMW to do the London to Halifax commute twice a week plus work commuting which is about600 miles a week. I wonder if the Prelude can do that?
Maybe I should give it to my brother to replace his battered Saab 900S.
The Prelude would cover that kind of mileage each week without breaking a sweat. There would be nothing to gain though as far I can see. Fuel costs would be pretty much the same I would have thought.
I know from experience that manual 6 pot BMW's are pretty good on fuel on a run. Surely this would be a relatively weak point on the slush box Honda?
Give it to your Brother and keep the 328!
I know from experience that manual 6 pot BMW's are pretty good on fuel on a run. Surely this would be a relatively weak point on the slush box Honda?
Give it to your Brother and keep the 328!
I used my Prelude for lots of big motorway trips and it was quite, fast and comfy. The only gripe was the low seating made it a bit of pain at nights as nearly all cars are higher than that now and the headlights shine into the rear view and side mirrors and then into your face!
The auto dim feature of the BMW was nice in that regard.
Prelude was quite practical too with fold down rear seats unlike BWM who charged for it - cheeky!
Fuel consumption is about the same on both cars (in my hands anyway) which was 25mpg but both could be made to drink allot faster or allot slower than than that - I think best on both was about 30mpg and worst was around 15mpg
Sounds like a nice car and I love the way the Prelude looks, especially in black or silver but not sure what you are gaining. If it were manual than I say you would be going sideways but as it is auto I would say backwards. Still, worth you driving it just to makes sure what YOU think.
The auto dim feature of the BMW was nice in that regard.
Prelude was quite practical too with fold down rear seats unlike BWM who charged for it - cheeky!
Fuel consumption is about the same on both cars (in my hands anyway) which was 25mpg but both could be made to drink allot faster or allot slower than than that - I think best on both was about 30mpg and worst was around 15mpg
Sounds like a nice car and I love the way the Prelude looks, especially in black or silver but not sure what you are gaining. If it were manual than I say you would be going sideways but as it is auto I would say backwards. Still, worth you driving it just to makes sure what YOU think.
Colin 1985 said:
Renn Sport said:
you think? i heard its a cracker of a car.
...with a manual 'boxOk just had a through look over the VTEC. Nice car apart from some vandal key marks, and its done 97k not 67 as I thought.
Its a a Euro car from London that went across the pond and back now. Looks like I may be able to get the original registration back too.
Its even got what looks like a leather covered headlining?!?!? Also the full honda irish and uk stamps were nice to see. Oil looked clean and the aircon was ice cold!
Jobs a good un. I'll offer it to my bro when I see him.
Its a a Euro car from London that went across the pond and back now. Looks like I may be able to get the original registration back too.
Its even got what looks like a leather covered headlining?!?!? Also the full honda irish and uk stamps were nice to see. Oil looked clean and the aircon was ice cold!
Jobs a good un. I'll offer it to my bro when I see him.
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