Oct 17, 2019  •  For Sale  •  33 Comments

Amazing One-Owner 5k Mile 1997 Honda Prelude!

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This 1997 Honda Prelude SH is a stunning, low mile, one owner car that is presented like a princess in a host of photos showing off all kinds of poses. This pristine survivor is located in Tacoma, Washington. The current bid price has reached $16,100 by 52 bidders at the time of writing. This amazing car has only 5,082 original miles, and VIN is listed, and the title is claimed to be clear. You can view more on eBay.

1997 Honda Prelude SH

Thankfully, the seller has one hundred percent feedback, because this car is a classic case of a picture is worth a thousand words. They provide no description of the car, why they are selling it, or anything other information. The very little information they do provide is in the heading, and they say the car is a one owner, low mile, a time capsule. All of which seem incredibly accurate judging by the photos.

1997 Honda Prelude SH

At the same time, there is something slightly odd about everything. While they have all the doors, windows, hood, trunk, open in most of the photos, they do not provide any clear image of the interior. You have to gather the condition of that by all the open door photos. And, while they do show the engine and some part of the underside of the car, the angles are more artistic for emphasis rather than for general observation.

1997 Honda Prelude SH

I am sure the VIN check and other research will hopefully prove this car to be as legit as the photos make it out to be, even though the photos seem more glamorous than information. Although, that might be a good thing for a car like this. There are different tactics by different sellers that attract a particular set of buyers. Maybe you are that buyer. It really is quite a spectacular vehicle, and if everything checks out, it would be a great one to own.

Comments

  1. dave brennan
    Oct 17, 2019 at 9:20am

    At least 10 pix of interior in listing!! Paint is really shiny & flat , but one closeup pic of heavy orange peel

    Like 2
  2. Bob McK
    Oct 17, 2019 at 9:55am

    Another boring car today..

    Like 3
    • David F
      Oct 18, 2019 at 9:21am

      But what a nice used car! I scrolled doen the list of 1997 Hondas in Craigslist locally, and it looks like the nicest one.

      Like 2
    • schooner
      Oct 18, 2019 at 11:43am

      That’s why the nickname Quaalude stuck. Wife had a Gen 1, worst seats ever. So bad we cut a four day vacay short by three days.

      Like 0
  3. mike b
    Oct 17, 2019 at 10:32am

    Needs more pics to reach full bid potential of over $30k.

    Like 0
  4. Will Fox
    Oct 17, 2019 at 10:46am

    It’s Thurs., 10/17: I bet this Prelude is gone by Sunday. You just don’t find these THIS nice very often at all.

    Like 4
  5. Barry Traylor
    Oct 17, 2019 at 12:22pm

    Real or scam?

    Like 0
  6. Stevieg
    Oct 17, 2019 at 1:26pm

    I inherited a 1998 Prelude from my uncle who passed away fro ALS 9 years ago. It was a fun car to drive, got decent gas mileage & looked very sporty. Proportions on the body are fantastic!
    I ended up selling it to purchase something more practical for this climate (a plow truck). I wish I had kept the Honda though.
    Truth be known, my 6 foot tall, 320 pound frame didn’t really fit all that well in it lol.

    Like 3
  7. Skorzeny
    Oct 17, 2019 at 2:35pm

    Couldn’t disagree more with Bob McK. ‘Nuff said.

    Like 11
    • Bob McK
      Oct 17, 2019 at 8:52pm

      That is okay. You are probably a lot younger than I am. I only collect American iron. I just don’t relate to foreign cars. But respect those that do.

      Like 4
      • Eric
        Oct 17, 2019 at 9:13pm

        To each their own. But, these are fun to drive, very well built cars that will last forever and get decent mileage to boot. This one is amazing because it someone never found it’s way into the hands of some pimply faced punk who would’ve riced it out and drove it into the ground. Kinda like fox body mustangs, minus the rice part.

        Like 3
    • Mark-A
      Oct 21, 2019 at 11:30am

      Personally I prefer the earlier model, but can see the appeal of this one, hopefully it doesn’t end up with someone who doesn’t have the same affinity for it as us & end up putting later mechanicals into it!

      Like 0
  8. JoeNYWF64
    Oct 17, 2019 at 3:34pm

    No numbers on temp gage & no oil press or voltmeter gages either. Inexcusable.
    Honda’s always been bashful with frameless side glass, except on old NSX. Long ago, even some corollas! had sporty frameless side glass …
    http://www.2040-cars.com/toyota/corolla/1981-toyota-corolla-base-sedan-2-door-1-8l-1139794/

    Like 0
  9. BarnfindyCollins
    Oct 17, 2019 at 3:38pm

    It’s not my kind of dream car but I appreciate it for what it is. It might not light the fire of a Tri- Five Chevy lover or rattle the traction bars of a quarter mile wonder but I can pretty much guarantee a smile from someone going through the gears on this thing; no boredom there.

    Like 2
  10. jwzg
    Oct 17, 2019 at 4:02pm

    Nice car but they didn’t call it the Quaalude for nothing. About as boring as they come.

    Like 2
    • Nevadahalfrack NevadahalfrackMember
      Oct 18, 2019 at 5:09pm

      As boring as a Chevy Corsica,Ford Granada or Plymouth Volare😴?(Almost fell asleep just listing those three..).
      To each his own-every machine has its own engineered purpose and someone to appreciate it, even if it’s just the bean counters that approved it.

      Like 0
  11. Mark Evans
    Oct 17, 2019 at 4:47pm

    There was much talk about this body style when it came out as a step backwards from the previous model. Maybe it was as I believe it was the last body style available. Am I wrong or was there another beyond this style?

    Like 1
    • davew833
      Oct 17, 2019 at 11:21pm

      This was the final Prelude body style.

      Like 1
  12. OIL SLICK
    Oct 17, 2019 at 6:40pm

    Love this car and the styling, simple and sharp lines. That VTEC is a great motor and quick. These cars handle well also ride nice. Honda perfection

    Like 4
  13. JimmyJ
    Oct 18, 2019 at 3:03am

    Honda makes the best internal combustion motor in the world….
    That is all I have to say

    Like 2
  14. Stevieg
    Oct 18, 2019 at 3:29am

    They are reliable. The best? I really don’t believe that. The one I received from my Uncle’s estate needed replacement. My Uncle wasn’t the type to flog his automobile. He was mechanically inclined & knew how to maintain a car. Yet it had a rod knock.
    Then you look at the rear bumpers of all of these Civics & Accords zipping around. The bumpers, if the cars are over 5 years old, always seem to have black residue around where the tailpipe hangs. That black residue always seems to look like oil to me.
    My Mom bought a new Civic years ago. It consumed oil from day one. Badly. The dealer told her that was “normal”. She gladly sold that car to help me start my used car lot in 2003, on the promise that I keep her in a decent car for the rest of her life. The Civic was only 4 years old, but she despised that car. She, like me, know drives a Hyundai.
    Honda makes the best engine? Maybe to those that read consumer reports, but I don’t believe that.
    One man’s junk is another ms treasure. Ask the American Pickers.

    Like 2
    • leiniedude leiniedudeMember
      Oct 18, 2019 at 6:22am

      I got a laugh at the Civic bumper comment Stevieg. I came out of the house to go to work one morning, there was my Civic rear bumper laying on the driveway.

      Like 1
    • Fastwhlz
      Oct 18, 2019 at 10:59am

      I agree. While Honda offers a very capable product, it has never produced any vehicles that inspire. In my opinion, the make has been coasting for years. In the recent past, buyers would simply purchase based on the Honda name alone. Those customers are aging out of the market. They have not groomed future customers with any youthful / sporty offerings other than the (I believe) “R” Civic.

      Like 1
    • JoeNYWF64
      Oct 18, 2019 at 11:13am

      I remember seeing on a red dual exhaust ’74 firebird lower part rear bumper that the red urethane after a long time got a dark exhaust coating. It could be removed with car polish cleaner with the red undamaged. This was the year the chrome exhaust extensions extended strait OUT to that area of the rear bumper. The inside of the exhaust pipes were clean & there was no blue smoke when running – not burning oil. Ran good for over 250k miles.

      Like 0
  15. Stevieg
    Oct 18, 2019 at 7:18am

    That must be one of the good ones lol. If the bumper rusted & fell off, the engine is retaining oil.
    I used to joke that the old beaters I used to drive as a kid were rust proofing themselves when they leaked fluids.

    Like 4
  16. Jay E.
    Oct 18, 2019 at 7:23am

    This is just a boring low mileage used car. Other than something different, it seems to me to be a questionable “Barn Find”?

    Like 1
  17. burrrns
    Oct 18, 2019 at 9:43am

    Several pics of interior if you scroll to the bottom. What’s up with the mis-matched color on the driver airbag?

    Like 1
  18. Big Al
    Oct 18, 2019 at 10:02am

    Yep….J.J. ,Japan makes nice stuff, but a internal combustion “MOTOR”. would be the first one I have seen. It is amazing that as the years progress,the misuse of the word “motor”, is getting worse. No combustion in a motor,….but ,there is a motor in the fuel pump that feeds fuel to the combustion ” ENGINE”!.. Sorry,had to vent.😉

    Like 3
    • JEFF S.
      Oct 18, 2019 at 10:47am

      From the dictionary – motor – noun – a machine, especially one powered by electricity or internal combustion that supplies motive power for a vehicle or other device with moving parts.

      Time to chill, motor week, motor trend and others would not be the same as engine week or engine trend.

      Like 4
    • Jay E.
      Oct 19, 2019 at 8:01am

      Outboard motor is the one that seals the argument for me. The have never been an outboard engine.

      Like 2
  19. Mountainwoodie
    Oct 18, 2019 at 10:12am

    Left headlight lens seems hazed…………..

    Like 0
  20. George Mattar
    Oct 18, 2019 at 3:37pm

    Horribly uncomfortable car. Has many emissions issues. Power steering pumps at $600 shred in 30,000 miles. I will keep my 1969 Super Bee.

    Like 0

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