[crisco]

OK here's the deal. I'm tired of driving a car with an automatic tranny. There's lots of 01 Preludes left on my dealer's lot (I counted 17!!). I saw that one guy on the prelude forum paid $19,000 for a new one the other day - very good deal - below invoice!

I also want to reduce my debt as much as possible. I live in Canada, and the MSRP for a 2001 Accord was $30,800 cdn, I owe about $11,000 on it (with Honda financing) and it has 23,000 km (~13,800 miles). Do you think the dealer would give me a good deal on a trade-in? Or am I asking for trouble? BTW, the MSRP for a Prelude in Canada is $28,800 (not sure what the invoice is - probably around cdn $23,000-$25,000).

 

[SteVTEC]

If you keep the Accord you'll continue to hate it's slushy auto tranny and lack of low-end torque. If you get the Prelude you'll love the stick shift but probably end up hating its lack of interior space, although you would get a darn good deal on any Prelude's at this point.

If you want to keep your payments/debt load low then you might consider a used car also. When my Accord got totalled I found a great deal on a fully loaded 99 Nissan Maxima SE 5spd. 97-99 Maxima's would be a great buy. You could also look for a 97-01 Toyota Camry V6 5spd. Yep, they made those in 5spd, at least in the US, although they're extremely rare. But they exist.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[95accord22]

I'm in the same boat as you. Do i keep my payment low...or go get something new?....I went and looked at a 98 prelude yesterday and I want it. Not sure if im gonna get it or not though, still debating if i want the payment. And there have been a lot of problems with V6's trannies, so yeah i would try and trade yours in and get the prelude.

 

[munkeysoup]

like everybody said, its pretty much speed vs. comfort, so it really depends how much either of those things matter to you. but i can tell you from personal experience that the lude rides no where near as smooth, has no backseat, and you really have to rev up pretty high to get some power in daily driving.

 

[4star*]

prelude is much sportier and can handle better.

if you have to drive in traffic, then that might be a bad idea.

 

[F23A4]

ninja on H o n d a s o c i e t y . c o m did trade his 6th gen Accord for a 5th gen Lude. Here's what he had to say:

Prelude vs Accord
Hi everyone. Some of you may remember me, I think I was posting here the first day this board opened up. Anyways, back in April I traded in my 2000 Accord I4 5spd coupe for a 2000 Prelude S. I just wanted to come back and give you guys a pretty accurate and unbiased opinion of the two cars. Read the whole thing, you guys might be surprised...

Performance
I don't need to say much here. The Prelude is faster. My best at the track with just an AEM CAI is 15.012 @ 92.12 mph. With H/E, pullies, and a VAFC, friends of mine are pulling 14.4's and 14.3's. See, the problem with this is I've only been to the track twice, and 99% of the time I never actually use the speed of this car.

Winner, Prelude

Comfort
Both have their ups and downs. Sometimes I had a hard time getting comfortable in my Accord, but I had power seats so usually it was quick to remedy. On the other hand, I have an almost impossible time getting comfortable in my Lude. My right knee feels like it's going to implode because of the strange driving position.

Winner, Accord

Reliability
Accords rule. That's all I need to say. I've had my Prelude for 8 months and have had the transmission rebuilt twice, the shocks were defective, car was stalling, rattles, and now my clutch is slipping. I think I've had the car in for service about 12 times, two trips leaving the car at the dealer for two weeks each.

Winner, Accord

Fun to drive
Well, it all depends on what you want from a car. The Prelude is more fun to drive at it's limits, but the Accord is much more fun to cruise around in. If you like to drive with your friends in the car, don't get a Prelude! My fiance is 5'1", 90lbs, and she can barely fit in the back seat comfortably! Also, the Prelude trunk is miniscule, so I couldn't install my stereo (12" sub, amp, etc). The good thing is the Prelude has a much better stock system than the Accord.

Tie

Overall
As much as I wanted to love my new Prelude, I don't. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I greatly dislike it. On the other hand, I was never really blown away by my Accord, but compared to the Prelude it never let me down. The transmission was reliable. The car ran smooth. It was relatively comfortable, and cruising was fun. 99% of the time I'm just cruising to and from work, so personally, I'd give the nod to the Accord. However, the Prelude is a sportier ride, and is more modifiable. So if this is very important to you, I'd still give the win to the Accord. Why? If you want a great ride, get an Accord. If you want something fast and sporty, get an Integra Type R, WRX, or something similar. Personally, I'm going to keep my Prelude, because I've already lost money trading for it. But I'll be the first in line to test drive a 2003 Accord, and one of the first to buy a 2004 model (I don't like to buy the first model year after a redesign).

Winner, Accord

If the Prelude were more reliable, it would be a tie. But the Accord was the highest quality Honda I owned, and the Prelude is the lowest quality Honda I've owned.


__________________
Black 2000 Prelude S
- bone stock for now


Prelude vs Accord

 

[bachviet]

You might save some $$$ but I doubt it since you will loose $$$ for the first 3 years of you car! Also you have to get an insurance quote first 'cauze it might go up big time!

 

[Electronlude]

get the prelude much funner than the accord, faster,smother, much i mean much more less common than the accord's, but it is really small inside though... i mean dont get me wrong i luv the v6's looks but ofcourse overall i think the lude is better

 

[bachviet]

get the prelude much funner than the accord, faster,smother, much i mean much more less common than the accord's, but it is really small inside though... i mean dont get me wrong i luv the v6's looks but ofcourse overall i think the lude is better

Smoother???? I don't think an I4 could be smoother than a bigger V6... Six cylinder cars are much smoother than the I4s!

 

[Tofu_V6o4]

When I was looking for a car ( june 01) I mainly looked at the following five cars, prelude SE, accord coupe EX V6, Celica GTS, Suberu WRX, and RSX-S. Prelude was second last on my list, interior room, comfort, etc. the only thing I think the lude tops out the accord is the manual transmission. The interior is a joke ( no dis just imo) Its based on the 4th gen ( a decade old ) so what can you expect? I went for the accord coupe over all the others. Oh and as for being rare, in Vancouver Canada.. for every 10 ludes there is probably one Accord coupe. But I know in the states the lude isn't as poplular 'cuz you guys have eclipes, etc.

 

[Electronlude]

When I was looking for a car ( june 01) I mainly looked at the following five cars, prelude SE, accord coupe EX V6, Celica GTS, Suberu WRX, and RSX-S. Prelude


first i would pick the WRX, than the maybe the RSX , than the Prelude ... if thats really what your into is the space shit you should have gotten a van .... with a 2 door car you can't really get 10 feet of space but ohwell ... yes the I4 is smoother alot , than my friends block v6 ....

 

[crisco]

Hey thanks guys for your honest and helpful opinions. I'm still undecided. I'm probably going to test drive a prelude 2day. I'll have a much better idea after that.

I agree with the general consensus though - the lude is a bit spartan inside - but in Canada they sell the SE that comes with leather and heated seats - so it spruces up the interior a bit. The space issue is not a big deal for me. We rarely use our back seat in our Accord. I would have to get a ski rack though (we use the 60/40 fold down in the Accord to carry our skis). The manual tranny is a key issue I think. I like the silky smooth V6 in the Accord, but it really deserves a 5speed stick. As for being rare, I live in Ottawa, and Accord Coupes probably out number ludes by 2 or 3 to 1.

Insurance will probably go up, but its insured with my wife as the primary driver (she uses it to commute to work daily - I walk so it won't be a huge amount anyway. As for losing money, I suppose we will compared to trading in with an older car, but it all depends upon what the deal is - how much they're willing to give for our car etc. I suppose its somewhat unrealistic to expect too much from the dealer



As for driving in traffic, we had a 95 Accord 5 speed coupe before our current car. It never really bothered me to be shifting all the time.

As for going with a used car....its an idea, but I kinda want to keep whatever car I decide on, for a long time, so a temp car is probably not for me at this time.

Anyway, sorry for the long post

- but thanks for the input - I'll let y'all know of decision.

 

[Tofu_V6o4]

Electronlude, I don't know anything about you, but when I drive my car, I am always in the inside of my car. If the interior is ugly and small and uncomfortable then no matter how nice the outside, because I do think the preludes exterior is nice, I won't like. Out of the five cars I mentioned earlier, the prelude has, by far, the most outdated interior. I am not looking for major space like a "van" but I do not want to feel cramped. I know you have a prelude and you are biased towards it but no need to get all uppy about it. Crisco posted this thread to ask for honest opinions and we all gave ours, we don't need biased [email protected] like you to judge our opinions. Thank you. :fire1: :ken: :sonic:

 

[RDX]

I think in your situation,

altho trading in a lude with decrease your debt.
but in other word, you just lost a bunch of money selling a 01 model and tradein a new 01 model.

either you get something really cheap like some corolla, or if the automatic realy bothers you, wait till August and check out the
03 Accord with 6 speed manual.

 

[LudeAction]

you know u wanna run mid 14's with i/h/e ..ludes are RARE, beautifull and the handling ... I dont want a lot of crap to look at in the inside...I m watching the road and myrpms..thats it.. honeslty i dont know why no one like the interior..the first time i sat in a lude i creamed my pants..i love the seats...accords are nice but they are family cars..ludes are sport coupes...what genre u wanna be in???

 

[Electronlude]

you know u wanna run mid 14's with i/h/e ..ludes are RARE, beautifull and the handling ... I dont want a lot of crap to look at in the inside...I m watching the road and myrpms..thats it.. honeslty i dont know why no one like the interior..the first time i sat in a lude i creamed my pants..i love the seats...accords are nice but they are family cars..ludes are sport coupes...what genre u wanna be in???

LOL thats funny ... Hey im not saying my car is the fastest in the whole damn world here, all im stateting is that HEY I BOUGHT THE LUDE BECAUSE I LIKE THE LUDE ,if i liked the accord shit I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE ACCORD ... but I also wanted seomthing a little different ... remember that old saying "Hey civics and accords are like assholes ... doesn't everyone have one" ? ? ?

 

[RDX]

in my area, ludes are more than accord coupe.

too many ludes in the area, those car look too common,
and btw, ludes have those ugly headlight,
looks like Frog..........don't you think?

just IMO, not target to anyone.

 

[crisco]

Well, I test drove a prelude this weekend. Here are my impressions:

I really liked the way it drove. The shifter is very smooth and well-gated; throws are not too long, and the clutch is excellent. The engine is also very smooth and powerful. Its not quite as buttery as my V6 though. It was (as expected) louder while cruising on the freeway than my V6.

The controls and gauges (radio A/C etc) were functional but very outdated compared to my V6, very low asethetic value here.

The seats were not quite as comfortable as the V6's (but close). If they were not leather, it would really lower my impression of the interior even further. I couldn't quite find a setting where I was as comfortable as in my V6. The lack of lumbar support (I didn't check, but I don't think the lude has it) might be an issue for long trips. But the driving position and sightlines were excellent. I had no problem with leg room and my head had just enough clearance (i'm 6')

The handling of the lude was, as expected, very tight and responsive (at least from what I could do on the road test - circular on-ramp while accelerating was very fun - my accord at the same speed would generate a lot of wheel squeal). I was surprised at how the lude handled bumps and cracks in the road - I expected it to be more stiff - but it was really quite compliant and almost indistinguishable from my Accord, not bad at all compared to some other sport coupes I've driven.

So, my impressions are generally very positive and are what I expected. But the Accord comes with so much more extra stuff for just a little more $$ (automatic climate control, 6-disc CD, side air bags, traction control, 60/40 rear seat folddown etc). What the accord lacks is the manual transmission and the superior handling.

I think my decision comes down to 2 factors:

1) can I sacrifice a bit of luxury / safety features to gain a car that IMHO is a better looking car, with the manual tranny that I really want?

2) can I actually get fair value for a 1-year old Accord AND cut a good deal on the Prelude, so that I come out either even or ahead in terms of cost?

I'll have to do more thinking on this one......my brain is starting to hurt

 

[Accord_Yuppie]

I am a big Prelude fan. I think it represents a decent compromise between my last ride (an Integra Type R) and my current one (an Accord V6 Coupe). I love the headlights, they look especially good after a HID conversion. And I love the sound of a Honda DOHC after VTEC engagement. In my Accord, you have to listen for it.

Every car magazine agreed with the general consensus of you guys above: Prelude is fun to drive, but interior is quite lacking. No back seat. Some make valid arguments about performance driving, but if that was your big concern, you would have got an Integra Type R. Similar engine output, but much lighter and edgier. I could have got one when I got my Accord last August, but I didn't, and here's why.

If I had gotten a Prelude, I would have put in Sparco seats. Not because I think the stockers are uncomfortable, but because I need to redo the interior.

BUT, and it is a big BUT, every girl I know seem to like to ride in the Accord much better. The Prelude, like my Integra Type R, would project a boy racer image. Not my thing. Could be yours, especially if you are still in your freshman or sophomore years at U.C.I. (U.C.Irvine) but we all know it's really the University of Civics and Integras.

Insurance = ~$250 difference every 6 months, for someone like me with a near perfect record.

In an ideal world, I would have enough money so I can get a Prelude or another Integra R as a toy. But alas...

 

[crisco]

Well, it turns out the dealer made the decision easy for me. Basically, they didn't want to deal with me. WIth my trade-in (01 accord V6 coupe) they wanted an extra $7000 canadian on top of my loan in order to get the Prelude!!! That's not going to happen anytime soon. I did the math and that translates into a 25% depreciation of my car after 1 year, and full MSRP for the prelude!! I don't think so. I think the reason is that, despite not being able to sell preludes very well these days....the market for 01 Accord v6 coupes is not that much better, considering there were still a few of those (used) on the dealer's lot.

Oh well, I tried. I guess I can't complain about my accord. I does have many advantages over the lude in the end.