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.

 

yea.. i think preludes are hydraulic clutches.. i know someone with a 88 Prelude, and his is hydraulic.

For repaints check in the following places:
ANY window seal.. see if you can pull it back some.. most paint shops wont take that off, so some original paint would still be there.

Also check under the hood.. look at the color of the fenders in regards to the firewall and strut tower. Again, not all body shops are gonna want to paint the engine bay. also when looking at suspension or other parts.. compare to sides (front to back and left to right) if it was in an accident, shocks will be cleaner than original, etc etc.

do a normal inspeciton of the car before you drive it.. see if you can get under it and look for oil spray or fluids splashing up under the car.

And if this is a dealership and you can take it for a test drive.. see ifyou can go by yourself (or with a friend, just NO dealer) and Drive the HELL out of it. it's not your car yet.. see how she does. Hard accelerate, hard brake, hard cornering. then drive normal for normal sounds.

Oh, also check tires. if theyre worn on one side or the other of each tire.. that can tell you if this car was driven hard or not.

hope this helps :thumbup:

 

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/scams.htm

 

https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/s...light=used+car

 

:werd:

we went over this