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My wife drives a 96 Prelude.

She loves the car. This model was only in production for 4 yrs.

The body needs work.

New hood

Fender

Front bumper and grill

Its got some rust and it needs to be painted.

Interior is good.

The engine I dont trust anymore.

She needs a car but since she loves this model I was wondering if it makes sense to get the body work done and have a new or remanufactured engine installed in it.

A remanufactured engine with almost all new parts will run about $2500 minus labor costs and we dont have an estimate on the body yet.

Its not about value or resale its about the car she loves.

My question is, would this be stupid ?

It'd still be cheaper than buying a brand new car.

You're still stupid though.:sneaky:

Snooze;746504 wrote: It'd still be cheaper than buying a brand new car.



You're still stupid though.:sneaky:


:wah:

Thats my whole point.

stick with the older model and get it revamped Nommie, least that way you can still do the servicing etc yourself.

Nomie being the original owner of a 1973 Camaro there are advantages to older cars, you can work on them yourself. I still have the Camero, even though I just bought about 6 months ago a 2005 Honda Civic. I love it but miss the speed and attention the Camaro gets.

Having said that the downside to older Cars is everything starts falling apart on them. If the engine is sound on the Prelude then I would say keep it and get the cosmetic things taken care of.

You said you don't trust the engine. For me that means time for the car to go. If you can't trust the engine no amount of cosmetic work will fix that. Time to replace the car. It would be awful if it died in the middle of the road on a cold winter night.

The new Civic's are pretty cool if you ask me. The 2 doors look similar to the Prelude. The black ones are awesome.

Attached files

If its a reconditioned engine then i would go for that in the car body,

that way you know its safe and she still gets to keep the car she loves.:driving:

I have been looking into this myself on and old VW beetle.

I would keep the car i have now but buy and old bug and basically do it up.

I do like the new ones but the old one's are the best.

:-4

littlemissgiggle;746541 wrote: If its a reconditioned engine then i would go for that in the car body,

that way you know its safe and she still gets to keep the car she loves.:driving:

I must say I have been looking into this myself on and old VW beetle.

I would keep the car i have know but buy and old bug and basically do it up.

I do like the new ones but the old one's are the best.

:-4


I agree with you, I love the old beetles, my first car was a VW fast back and then a beetle....loved the fastback, but was too stupid at the age 17 to realize that what my dad warned me about black ice was really true.....and totalled it :-1

These two cars look like them...except the light blue (fast back) was dark green in my world...:wah:



Nomad.....I don't think your stupid and your wife is a very lucky woman....:-4

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As has already been said, it come down to one main question - why don't you trust the engine?

Bryn Mawr;746551 wrote: As has already been said, it come down to one main question - why don't you trust the engine?




160,000 miles Bryn.

Nomad;746637 wrote: 160,000 miles Bryn.


wow thats amazing,

a strong car you have there.

how many miles of that have you out on yourselfs?

no, not stupid. "unwise" maybe.

i don't mean to ask silly questions as i'm sure you've hunted around, but is that the only Prelude you've found? are there any others that might be in better shape? maybe one that doesn't need so much work?

the engines that were put in those cars weren't "rockstar" by any means, but they were strong. if it needs replaced, i would be leary. the previous owner may have raced the car or was overly "hard" on it.

from what i've read the things that wore out were the brakes/rotars. so definitely check those.

if you're desperate for a vehicle, this is NOT what you want. but if you can manage for a few more weeks being down a car, then do some more shopping.

autotrader.com is a good place to start.

Wolverine;746676 wrote: no, not stupid. "unwise" maybe.

i don't mean to ask silly questions as i'm sure you've hunted around, but is that the only Prelude you've found? are there any others that might be in better shape? maybe one that doesn't need so much work?

the engines that were put in those cars weren't "rockstar" by any means, but they were strong. if it needs replaced, i would be leary. the previous owner may have raced the car or was overly "hard" on it.

from what i've read the things that wore out were the brakes/rotars. so definitely check those.

if you're desperate for a vehicle, this is NOT what you want. but if you can manage for a few more weeks being down a car, then do some more shopping.

autotrader.com is a good place to start.


feel free to disregard the above remarks.

i read it as the wife is wanting to GET a Prelude, not that she is driving one currently.

Wolverine;746677 wrote: feel free to disregard the above remarks.

i read it as the wife is wanting to GET a Prelude, not that she is driving on currently.
rough night sweetie?:wah::wah:

I was public edge-a-mah-kated. din't lern nun o' that reeding.

Nomie unless your looking to replace or rebuild the entire engine get rid of if. It has served her well. It has 160,000 miles on it. That's a lot for a small car it will start to be a continous cash cow here real soon.

Keep it for a bit till she falls in love with her new car and then she will never get in the Prelude again, trust me.

[QUOTE]Originally Posted by Nomad

160,000 miles Bryn.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with Carla, unless rebuilding car engines is your hobby, dump the car and look for another one.

Safety first Nomad, you don't wanna have your wife stranded anywhere.

With as much money as a motor and good body work is going to cost, something like this might be a better deal. And either keep current car for parts or sell it for some money because there is a sucker born everyday. Look on eBay right now and there is a 95 Prelude w/ 39000 miles for $8100.

He couldn't post the link :wah:

one

two

Nomad;746637 wrote: 160,000 miles Bryn.


Unless it's showing signs of wear, that, of itself, is no reason not to trust it.

Keep the servicing up to date and those motors should last 200 - 250 K easily.

Bryn Mawr;747201 wrote: Unless it's showing signs of wear, that, of itself, is no reason not to trust it.



Keep the servicing up to date and those motors should last 200 - 250 K easily.




You I trust.

no i would do the same with my car i love it so much even if repairing it costs more than buying a new (different type of) car.

Whats money above happiness or pleasure?

Bryn Mawr;747201 wrote: Unless it's showing signs of wear, that, of itself, is no reason not to trust it.



Keep the servicing up to date and those motors should last 200 - 250 K easily.


Nomad;747898 wrote: You I trust.
Trust him after verifying that he's calculated that 250K in miles, not kilometers.

so any further thinking on what you would like to do Nomad!!

:-6

Nomad;746500 wrote: My wife drives a 96 Prelude.

She loves the car. This model was only in production for 4 yrs.

The body needs work.

New hood

Fender

Front bumper and grill

Its got some rust and it needs to be painted.

Interior is good.

The engine I dont trust anymore.

She needs a car but since she loves this model I was wondering if it makes sense to get the body work done and have a new or remanufactured engine installed in it.

A remanufactured engine with almost all new parts will run about $2500 minus labor costs and we dont have an estimate on the body yet.

Its not about value or resale its about the car she loves.

My question is, would this be stupid ?


Not stupid at all. My wife loves her red 1991 Mazda MX6 and I cringe to tell you what I have put into that car for her happiness.

Ultimately its up to her. Whatever she wants is fine.

Oh, let us know if she wants you to fix it up for her.

*sigh*

What a guy!

chonsigirl;747987 wrote: Oh, let us know if she wants you to fix it up for her.



*sigh*



What a guy!




Umm Im happy if I can tie my shoes without falling over.

But I know how to work a checkbook.

Accountable;747976 wrote: Trust him after verifying that he's calculated that 250K in miles, not kilometers.


:p

:yh_rotfl