Thinking about buying a 5th Generation Honda Prelude

BGM, the thread was deleted YEARS ago after getting pages of replies. Poor Holiday took a beating, but it was quite a fun ride for the rest of us.

EDIT: If you search Holiday's post list, in post #30 he discusses the infamous deleted thread on Jan 20th 2004. Unfortunately no copy was ever found and it was never reposted on zc.c.

The best part about it is that the post was about... buying a used car (ironic, huh?). Holiday told us his method of buying a used car. It was an extremely detailed description and in the end, I doubt one person on this board (or any other) would try to sell him a car. There is no way I could do the post justice, so I won't try to repeat it. It was many years ago and my memory isn't what it used to be.

I will say that involved showing up at the seller's door at 5am to be sure that they hadn't warmed it up before you got there. Also, the rising sun, illuminating the dew on the car would show all of the body's imperfections.

This was just a small portion of his process. Needless to say, it drew much attention. Who wouldn't be happy from a knock on your door at 5am from someone trying to buy your $1000 car?

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/2266637936.html

I am supposed to go buy this Prelude today, but I really hate the body kit they have on this car.

The price is quite good for the mileage and year, and the car runs and drives nice. The car is super clean, but this body kit is really not my style.

Does anyone know what kind of kit it is, and how are these kits attached? How are would it be to remove a body kit like this and get it back to stock?

Thanks, please help me out on this one. Even if this deal doesn't go through, there are lots of Preludes out there for sale with body kits and I am just curious as to what is involved in putting these things on so I can get it off.

Oh, if I buy the car, this kit is DEF. coming off...I hate body kits, and I will be selling the kit online. I also don't like the spoiler. They have 17" SH style wheels on this car and they will be coming off to be sold for stock fan blade rims.

The only thing I am concerned about is how to take the body kit and will there be tons of screw holes in the stock body? If so, then I am going to pass on this car and find a stock one. What do you think?

But if I take the lip kit off, will I need to buy a new stock bumper, or is the lip kit just a skirt around the stock bumper? ****! I really hate body kits, don't understand why people mess up a stock car.

I guess my question is: if I remove the body kits that you see in the photos, front lip and side skirts, will I need to replace the whole front bumper and side skirts, or does this body kit simply extend what is already there? In other words, will the stock side skirts be underneath this body kit, or if I remove body kit will I then have to go buy OEM skirts?

I don't have time for a bunch of bolt on / glue on / screw on kits to make the car look fancy. When I was 17, I liked this stuff, but not any more.

The beauty of the Prelude is in it's stock form. The proportions and symmetry of the stock body are grand beyond comparison. Lip kits and non-OEM parts ruin the balanced aesthetics of this fine Asian car.

There is absolutely no point / no functionality / no reason for aftermarket lips / air dam / body kits on any car unless it is a stock car being used on a track. For street cars, these bolt on accessories make the car look like it belongs to a kid and thus hard to re-sell.

There is no way anyone is going to convince me that these type of body add-ons do anything for the car. Any car dealer will tell you that they only make a car harder to sell, and most of the time these mods are done by amateurs and don't fit right. Ground clearance for a particular car is always hindered by these silly contraptions. Why? Because proper, normal ground clearance is calculated at the factory to allow for certain clearances to exist. Why? Because there is no reason to be dragging your front end every time you pull into the parking lot. It is pointless and lame. The car is not lower; the bolt on parts are too low to allow for proper clearance per manufacturing specs.

When I go to look at a car, I find something particular to dislike about the car before I get there. In this case, it was the body kit. I made sure to tell the owner that I didn't like it. Why? Because you have to be honest with yourself and with the seller. Did he get mad? No, he doesn't care - if I don't want it I don't have to buy it. But it always helps to be honest.

What I really want is a 99-01 dark green base 5sp Prelude in excellent shape with less than 130K, for less than $5500, with no mods or add ons, stock radio.

I won't be happy until I find that. I was thinking about buying this Prelude, and I still might, but the first thing I will do will be to remove all body & lip kit add ons and destroy them so no one else can use them. I will then engage myself in the rims and tires, hopefully scrapping these in exchange for some fan blade stock rims.

But I usually like to engage a Prelude in a particular sense.

AS far as destroying the lip kit, I might repent of that and opt to go a more practical route, i.e. selling it. Apparently, there is someone who might come with the money tonight and buy the car anyway, so it might not be a problem.

I am also supposed to enter into a dialog with a guy who has a 1-owner black on black base 2001 Prelude with 5sp, and only 80K on it; the problem is that he is asking $9500 for that one. The best part about it is the fact that it has no aftermarket body parts on it, and even has the original stock radio. A true unmolested classic.

Anyone who goes in a does mods on these cars ought to take effectual care that they don't go so far so as to destroy the stock ethos of their car.

What I usually recommend when I am counseling with someone about a car purchase or sale is that they always go for the BONE STOCK example, and build cautiously from there. If I am going to look at a car with a counselor, then I usually ask them to include a similar warning or admonition to me whilst I shop; that I might not be seduced with gaudy aftermarket fool's gold; that I might be diligently engaged and with full engagedness of mind and spirit so as to not be swayed to an extremely modified example of a fine car.