Looking at buying a 98 'lude

[GasSavers_Red]

While the TJ is a fun challenge in the FE department, I'm looking at picking up something slightly more fuel efficient. Found a 98 Prelude on Craigslist with the following description:

Up for sale is this 98 prelude with 92k miles.Needs clutch as told by a mechanic.Car is sold as is and you are welcome to check it out and bring your own mechanic.It is black on black with a 2.2 v-tec engine and a 5spd. manual tranny.It is currently registered untill june of 2007 and it has a clean tittle.Has a dent on driver side fender and a few scratches on rear quarter panel.Has lowering springs and an AEM intake.Battery died and when gave jump start srs and abs light came on.Price is $4,250

$4.25k seems a bit much with what could be wrong with it. Changing the clutch isn't that big of a deal, and the fender can be replaced with a junkyard part, but with the SRS and ABS computers spitting out an error I don't know how big of a problem that could be on a Honda. Think its a worth while buy or something to pass on? I'm thinking of offering $1.5-2k

Thanks

[SVOboy]

Why get this and not a civic or something with better mileage/room? He might have fried the abs/srs computers with the jumps...

[GasSavers_Red]

Cost and honestly, visual appeal. Civics in working condition with 100k+ mileage calls around an 8k-9k price. Damaged ones are even harder to find and most are automatics as well.

[SVOboy]

Man! Get a crx or something, dirt cheap in cali. *shrug* I think ludes are ugly and getting less than 30MPG is sad, but that's just me. I would go for it if you can get the SRS and ABS computers out of a junkyard for cheap and only pay 1500.

[rh77]

The Lude's a good choice, but this one throws up some red flags.

Jump starting a car generally doesn't result in fried chips. The car's exterior visual condition and underhood shots tell a story. My guess is that it had some previous mods + the fender has to be hit pretty hard for such a crumple. I'd be worried about the longevity on many parts on that car. Is it a salvage title?

92K is pretty low for a '98 -- I'd be worried about how "actual" that figure is (odometer tampering).

I won't talk you out of a Prelude -- it's good step towards better FE. This one might be a money pit, though.

RH77

EDIT: The front turns don't seem to match -- could be an intake mod.

[GasSavers_Red]

SVOboy,
Yeah, a CRX is dirt cheap, but small. Granted there are several cars out that that could get very good of FE, like a Geo or a CRX, but I'd rather not be in one if I get rear ended by a Sequoia again.

rh77,
Thats what I was worried about. Title is clear as far as I know. How difficult is to roll back the odometer on a Honda? Since its a 98 he's had to have the thing smogged within the last two years so the DMV should have a mileage record. Being that its lowered what kind of damage would be apparent? Ball joints shot? Torn CA bushings? Tires worn differently?

On the fender, my Mom backed our Camry into my tire carrier and did similar damage to it. Whether or not that could be pinned on materials used for the body panels, I don't know.

On the ABS and SRS computers, on our Town and Country Minivan does something similar when the battery dies, and the computers check out fine, again I don't know if that same trait would pass on to a Honda or not.

[SVOboy]

If I were in your position, I would look for something like an RS teg or such, which has 4 doors, but a low Cd and can get good mileage with a stick. I think it has a little more room than the lude and also offers more safety and power than the civic.