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"Used Honda Prelude Overview And How To Buy At The Lowest Price!"
First introduced in 1979, the Prelude was Honda's first attempt at producing a sporty car while still holding true to their hallmark values of intelligent design and reliability. And over the next two decades plus, the Prelude would dominate as the primary performance car in the Honda lineup.
Even with Honda's most powerful engines, the Prelude was not supposed to be a "muscle car". It was all about drivability, while providing enough power to remain a competitive force to be reckoned with.
Always the innovator, Honda pioneered several new technologies in the Prelude. These included fuel injection, four-wheel steering and the Active Torque Transfer System. The Prelude was also the first Honda model to get VTEC (variable valve technology).
Despite being a great performing car, over time the Honda Prelude was lacking in other areas. Not everyone found its looks appealing. The interior also lacked the kind of amenities car buyers had come to expect from a car with a price tag of $26,000. Leather was not available and Honda maintained a conservative interior with black plastic and outdated controls. And the rear seats had no headrests and very little legroom.
Interest waned and the plug was eventually after the 2001 model year. Sad because it was a great driving car.
Good used Honda Preludes are now getting harder and harder to find. Probably the most likely to find are the fifth and final generation, which was sold from 1997 to 2001. While being larger and heavier than any of the previous models, it was also the most dynamic.
Its two trim levels consist of the base and Type SH. Both have a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with VTEC and a standard five-speed manual transmission. The base model did have an automatic transmission option, so those can be found. The engine produced 195 horsepower, although in 1999, Honda pumped it up to 200 hp in the manual transmission models.
Both the base and Type SH models were well-equipped with a solid list of standard features that included antilock brakes (ABS), a sunroof, power windows, power doorlocks, power mirrors, 16-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning and cruise control. The primary difference between the two models was that the Type SH came with Honda's Active Torque Transfer System which sent torque to the outside drive wheel when cornering. The result was to limit understeer and give the car more effective cornering characteristics, much like a rear-wheel-drive vehicle.
In performance tests at the time, the Honda Prelude Type SH was widely considered to be one of the best handling cars in its class. It was just a fun and engaging car to drive. In addition to its agility, it also was still able to provide a fairly comfortable ride. Even with the small VTEC four-cylinder, the Prelude could go from a standstill to 60 mph in an impressive low 7-second range.
Overall, a used Honda Prelude can make an attractive, sporty, unique and solidly constructed preowned car purchase. And if you are in the market for one, we may be able to help put you behind the wheel of a Prelude at a very nice savings.
How To Get The Best Price On A Pre-Owned Honda Prelude:
There are actually several different ways to buy a used Prelude at the lowest price, even at wholesale.
ONE - Car Auctions:
You can go to wholesale Public Auto Auctions in your own geographic area. While this will likely take some additional time and effort, there are indeed truly excellent buys (often even below wholesale) for those who shop these events.
Another excellent method involves getting several used car dealers to compete for your business. See the details in this Used Car Buying Guide. It's just amazing what happens to prices when you force dealers to fight among each other for your sale.
