I am looking to buy a used car. (Prelude 97+). Can someone tell me what to look for when buying one? I can tell somewhat about engine / transmission but can't really tell good jobs of re-paint / accident.

I went yesterday to look for 99 Prelude. Had a short shifter, but the gears weren't that smooth. Car looked quite clean. I called a friend to check it out, and he told me the bumper is not orignial, most likely because of an accident. Then he showed me chips coming of the paint and told me that its not original. Original paint doens't come off in chips.

here are some more things I usually check:

- Check mufler to see its not burnt. So no oil burning
- Check the door / trunk lines to see if they perfectly straight. So no accidents
- Check color of different panels. So no repaint. (Still hard to tell on newer cars.)
- Drive slowly and try to listen to all the noises
- Shift fast to see how transmission responds
- Hit on top of the dashboard to see if clicks has been messed with. They will move a little bit. Haven't been able to confirm this technique.


Any more suggestions?


btw, does anyone know if preludes have hydraulic clutch or wire? There seemes to be a noise thats normal for wire clutches but I always thought preludes have hydraulic.