4WS is only lucky 'till they break....and then it's financial suicide....not to mention I"ve heard horror stories about them malfunctioning at highway speeds....

with a mechanical 4ws system, theres not much that can screw up compared to electronic systems. i haven't heard anything about them breaking at highway speeds causing problems on either VPC or preludepower.com.

You're thinking SR for the 2.1 Litre motor, not very popular, but when it's running right it goes like hell. Just a though...I've never seena 1989 'Lude with 4WS...

be on the lookout for a whole shitload of our integra's parked together.

Keana's Red prelude is an 88 or 89 4WS. Theyre Scary as hell and i don't want one. It is a mechanical steering system NOT electronic so it works the same at 20 km/h or 200km/h. Imagine swerving from a deer at 100 km/h. I almost guarantee you'll die, once those wheels start flapping around with each steering movement it is very hard to recover from any kind of slide.

Netfreak: Inregards to the Prelude Saucy is looking at what makes you automatically think it is a 3rd gen? Because you have one and thats what you want to talk about?

Saucy: If it is a 3rd gen 88-91, make sure it is the Si fuel injected model. Make sure it DOES NOT have the 2.1 litre engine, and 4WS can be scary not to mention it will aid in premature tire wear. I'm very serious on the no 2.1 litre engine remark. Even if you drive them easy that motor will completely wear itself out at 120,000km. It was not one of Hondas better thoughts. Make sure you find out for yourself what it is and not just that the dealer tells you. You don't want to be stuck with a shitty motor because of mis-communication.

If the prelude is a 2nd gen 83-87, there are 2 different models. One has no power anything including the motor and one has power everything (Si). Don't get me wrong theyre both great cars, and i've owned like 4 or 5 of them now. But unless the Base, (no power windows) carbureated model is pristine it's not worth $3000. A Fairly clean Si model (power windows, mirrors, etc) is still worth that.

If you want to check for yourself which engine it is, this goes with any Honda it will say on the engine block stamped here:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14..._dog2/b18a.jpg

wow lots of random posts yesterday...

thanks guys for all the feedback :)
If my gramps goes and looks it over than I will also ask my mom if she can have the neighbour check it out. He knows a lot about Honda's and would be able to let me know what all it has and if it's worth it to buy it.

Actually I tend to put some logic behind my posts. Using the key facts that it's an older model and the number $3000 was tossed about, I could really see no other conclusion. A 2nd gen for that price is unlikely, and anything newer would be at least $6-7k.

true....but like anything mechanical, suspension, steering, etc things will wear out over time...the last thing you want is a little play in the REAR wheels because one of the 4WS related bushings wore out....Again...I'm only going by what I've heard from owners, once that starts happening you can look forward to two things: a hefty repair bill, some sketchy driving.

Besides, I don't think Ricki will be buying this car to be a corner-carving auto-x champ car. I think for her purposes 4WS would be a complete waste and nothing but a POSSIBLE financial timebomb without any benefits at all...that's just my two shiny pennies, though ;)

haha good point.

he showed you where to look, but not what to look for...you want to look for B20A5, not B21A1. If it does happen to be a second gen, lok for BT1 (correct me if I'm wrong here DHD).

This was selling it as it is right now. There is some rust that he could have fixed and something like a safety inspection and if he
did those than he would be selling it for almost $6,000. I figured why pay an extra $3000 when 1. I don't care about the rust could probably take care of it myself and 2. I have a mechanic in my family who will check it for free, thus saving me money.

DO NOT BUY IT!!!!!!! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING WITH A VI PERIOD!!!!!!!! Walk away, Ricki. Most places will RAPE you on a VI and you'll have to spend thousands on it before you can even put plates on it. They'll pick apart every little thing that's wrong w/ it and make you fix it....and if it's had the VI on it for over 30 days (Level 2) or it has a Level 1 you're not even allowed to drive it to/from the shop, which means you'll have to get THEM to fix whatever they say needs to be fixed....not worth it.

EDIT: a safety inspection is NOT a mechanical inspection. Any mechanic can do a mechanical inspection. You have to take a vehicle needing a safety inspection to a designated inspection facility where a licensed inspetor has to look it over. It's not easy to be certified as either a facility or as an inspector and most of them take it very seriously and will cut no corners. If they do and you crash and it turns out it was a mechanical failiure then the whole thing is on their hands....not worth it for them.

EDIT #2: Think about it....if it only needed cheap/little things to pass a VI, why wouldn't he do it and then get 6 grand for the car?

There was a lowrider in Vic that ppl kept selling for DIRT CHEAP. Every single kid that bought it ended up dumping massive amounts of $$$ into it, and it passed hands a bunch of times w/out ever passing a VI....EVERYONE took a hit on it. Because it looked like such a good deal.

I may be mistaken about the safety inspection. I wasn't really listening to what he was saying but I just remember him saying something about inspecting it and my mom said that my grandpa could do that. I didn't think my mom would want to spend 3g's on me so I didn't really pay attention to what the guy said about the car because I didn't think getting it would be a possibility

good contribution ;)

Every second gen prelude that was fuel injected was an Si and and was fitted with the bt1 engine. The engine is very strong and will take ALOT of abuse. If it is indeed a 2nd gen prelude 83-87 these cars were seriously rusty and from the inside out.. this could be a MAJOR reason for him not getting a vehicle inspection.

so I did all that typing for NOTHING???? hahaha....well if they mentioned something about an inspection, it's most likely a VI, unless they said "go ahead, have it inspected, see what the dealer says". but yeah....if it is a VI, it's not worth it for FREE....

that's exactly waht I was thinking. if it has a rusty unibody and has a VI, it's worth about 30 bucks...that's what the nearest crusher would give for 2500lbs of scrap metal.

i agree with 2.5. if theres VIs not done on it or needs to be inspected or something, you might want to wait for something better.

of course it there's a vi needed then I won't get it. I think he meant to make sure it's mechanically sound and not gonna break down. I should know more once my mom and gramps check it out.

That's what i though, just making sure. Threre's only two years of FI in these, 86 and 87, 86 says "Special Edition" on the back, the 87 says 2.0SI. And these things do take a lot of shit :D.

the FI ones are quick little buggers too.... :)

hahaha had the wickedest class today. The dude found out on Friday that he got the job...he's sailed around the world (for YEARS at a time, working all over the world), he's a totally cool guy....it's supposed to be a 6pm to 10pm class....
Prof: how many credits do you get for this class?
Us: Three
Prof: How many hours a week are you here?
Us: Four
Prof: Do you think that's fair?
Us: *confused look*
Prof: now...if there are no complaints, from now on it'll be 6-9....glad we can agree

:D it's especially wicked 'cuz I have an 8:30am class the next morning...

so your paying the same amount for less education? woo hooo!!!!