i know nothing of Hondas..

so i'll ask here: would a 90 Prelude with a freshly rebuilt motor, very little rust, and almost a quarter of a million miles that drives nice be something that a guy could flip for a quick profit?

here's the story: about a month ago, i picked up a 2000 Bonneville from a friend that just wanted it out of her life... cleaned it up, flushed the Dexcool out of the cooling system and filled it with nice green Prestone, and put it up for sale for $2500.. my total investment in the car is right around $850 so far...

asked a guy at work if he knew anyone that would be interested in a Bonneville, and his eyes lit up. he said that he'd trade me the Prelude for it because he needs a car that holds him, his wife, and their 3 kids.. so today we test drove each other's cars and are leaning towards doing a straight up trade...

anyways, what kind of money does a nice but high mileage 90 Prelude bring these days? i've seen what NADA and a few other sites say it's worth, i've seen what people are asking on CL, but i don't have any reference for what they actually sell for..

he said that it is one of the first Preludes with efi, and the 5 speed shifts awesome.. he did some mild porting on the head and had new valves and springs put in it when he went thru the motor about a year ago, but other than that and the Flowmaster clone muffler on it the car is completely stock, right down to the factory tape deck..

I cant say ive been privy to any actual 1990 prelude transactions but my guess is if you want a fast sale, anything over ~1300 is going to be tough.

Honda name is good for resale and GM is bad for resale. I see Bonnevilles cheap all the time and a running driving Hondas less often but Preludes of that time period are not the most valuable of Hondas and it is a 2000MY versus 1990MY. I think $1500-$1800 would be a reasonable price if it is a nice example.

$1500ish around here. If it's nice, someone will have it. Plus, I'd rather be trying to get rid of a Prelude than a Bonneville (or at least be stuck with one if I couldn't get rid of it).

I think the Prelude will be sales death with that many miles on it. The only hope is to find somebody who gets so misty eyed over a 90 Prelude that he can't see the odometer.

You could always post the 'Lude to PreludePower.com or 3geez.com and get a bite. If you were in my neck of the woods, we might be working out a deal.

Straight trade? DUUUUUHHHH! DEW EEET!!!! Now.

If it's pgmfi & 5 speed, it's probably an Si (the most desirable). Since the motor is rebuilt, it's ready for another 250k miles if it was built correctly. The Preludes are about 4th on the Honda/Acura desirable list. CRX, Civic & Integra lead it. You can't go by NADA on these in most parts of the country. If it hasn't been hacked up to put a body kit on it or had a swap gone wrong- stock/original Honda's are worth quite a bit more than one thinks especially rust free Si's. I just bought a 94 totally stock 2 dr EX from a co-worker for $1k because I needed the D16Z6 for my '76 Civic. I told my son I found a stock one, he didn't believe me until I took it home. He begged me to sell the "shell" to him since the clean stock 2dr EX is almost the holy grail for swappers. After we removed the motor, trans & ecu he said it's still worth @ $2k since it's stock & rust free. I let him have it for $1k.

Third gen Preludes get less love than Third gen Accords.

I wouldn't try to flip a car like this, lol. 4th and 5th gen would work but not 3rd I don't think it's a desirable car.

To Honda fanatics they are. Or as a dd it's a great car.

That generation of Prelude is a really nice-driving car. If I had the money, I'd be on the way to you right now to take it off your hands.

How many miles are on the Bonneville?

93EXCivic wrote: How many miles are on the Bonneville?

218,000 on the Bonneville

so i'd be looking to trade a 4 door family car with just over a fifth of a million miles for a 2 door sporty car with just under a quarter of million miles...

I'd trade him the Bonneville for the Prelude plus $500.

With that many miles on the Bonneville, I would say a straight trade is a good deal but a trade with some money from him would be a bit better. Selling a 250k+ mile Honda is going to be easier then a 200k+ mile GM IMHO.

what he said .... ^^^^

I think if you are getting the honda with the idea it will be easier to make money on it, it's a fool's errand. If you want to drive it then just trade straight up and drive it.

Trade & I'll give you what you have into it + $5.00. Bam you made $. I would rather have any Honda with 250,000 miles with a rebuilt motor than any American car... well except a C5, C6 or my 69 Camaro, or old pickups which aren't cars :). Where is it, are you?

mdshaw wrote: Trade & I'll give you what you have into it + $5.00. Bam you made $. I would rather have any Honda with 250,000 miles with a rebuilt motor than any American car... well except a C5, C6 or my 69 Camaro, or old pickups which aren't cars :). Where is it, are you?

Ashby, MN... make it closer to $1500 and you've got a deal..

Close to that is fair... but I'm in Idaho. A Minnesota near rust free car???

as near as you'll find in Minnesota... a couple of rust spots, but nothing major.

i'll get some pics if/when i get the car, which will probably be this week..