Good morning! It’s a new week full of crappy old cars, and today we’ve got a couple of coupes that used to be everywhere, but have all but vanished. But before we get into that unsolved mystery, let’s take a look at Friday’s results:
Toyota takes the win, even with three hundred thousand miles on the clock. Honestly, I could flip a coin on this one and not be unhappy with either outcome, but I lean slightly in favor of the MR2, mainly because owning a mid-engined sports car is still on my gearhead bucket list.
“Things fall apart,” the poet once said; “the center cannot hold.” This is no less true of automobiles than anything else. We lose cars all the time to rust, mechanical failures, accidents, or just being left to rot. But there are certain cars that are just gone, even though they were common in their day. And then, once in a while, one surfaces, like a prehistoric fish being caught in a fisherman’s net, and you can’t help but be impressed, even if it’s not a particularly impressive car. Today, for your consideration, I have a pair of such ancient creatures. Let’s check them out.
1990 Honda Prelude 2.0Si – $3,950
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Round Rock, TX
Odometer reading: 198,000 miles (but it’s broken)
Runs/drives? Yep
This is the car I think of when someone says “Honda Prelude,” the third-generation model. It’s the one I remember reading about in car magazines in high school, the one with four-wheel steering (though I don’t think this car has that option) and that great, open, airy cabin with those lovely slender roof pillars. It’s such a clean, simple design, and it has aged really well. It’s a shame it’s such a hard car to find these days.
This one, unfortunately, has an automatic transmission. The Prelude never really was a high-performance machine, but it is far more entertaining to drive with a manual gearbox. It ever-so-slightly makes up for the lack of a clutch pedal with its pistol-grip shift lever. It’s cool, but not as cool as a manual shifter in that spot would be. Powering this mild disappointment is a two-liter twincam B20A engine with electronic fuel injection.
This Prelude is up for sale after 22 years with the same owner. It runs and drives, but it needs a few things fixed: it idles rough and the check engine light is on, as is the ABS light. The air conditioning conked out. The valve cover gasket leaks, and pretty badly, based on the photo above. And large sections of the instrument panel don’t work, including the odometer; the actual mileage is estimated to be about 230,000.
So clearly, there is some work to be done. It’s a cool old car, even with the automatic, and it’s worth saving. Is it worth almost four grand for the buy-in? You tell me.
1991 Chevrolet Beretta – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 3.1 liter overhead valve V6, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: outside Kyle, TX
Odometer reading: 23,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
Chevy sold almost a million Berettas. When was the last time you saw one? These slightly nicer and a hair bigger than a Cavalier coupes sold like hotcakes for a couple of years, occupying a spot in the market somewhere between sports coupes and personal luxury coupes. It’s not sporty, and it’s certainly not luxurious, but it struck enough of a chord with buyers to stick around for nine model years. I always liked the looks of them, and my mom used to have a Beretta almost exactly like this that I drove quite a bit, and didn’t hate. (High praise, I know.)
The Beretta didn’t break any new technological ground under its flashy modern (for the late ’80s) sheetmetal. It’s standard-issue GM front wheel drive fare, sturdy but not exciting. It shared its engine choices with the J-body Cavalier: a 2.2 liter four, or GM’s corporate 60-degree V6, both nearly always paired with a TH125C three-speed automatic. Manual Berettas did exist, but strangely I’ve seen more stickshift examples of its four-door sister model, the Corsica.
This Beretta is damn near a time capsule, having covered only 23,000 miles in the past thirty-two years. And before you ask, yes, it’s a six-digit odometer; it hasn’t rolled over. It’s a base model, with manual windows and locks, but it does have the optional V6. As you’d expect from the mileage, it’s very clean, but it does show some signs of sun damage, making me wonder if it was parked outside or in a carport all these years. And of course, no mention is given of how the car came by those miles; was it a “little old lady who only drove to church and the drugstore” arrangement, or did it sit for decades?
The seller only says it “runs good” but “needs a little more loving.” I guess you’d have to inspect it to find out what exactly that means. All I know is that this is the nicest base-model Beretta I’ve seen in probably ten years or more. People save the GTs and GTUs, but a steel-wheel crank-window one? I get the feeling you’d be a hero at Radwood with this one.
Once again, neither of these cars is as cheap as I’d like, and I expect you all to feel the same. But cars are expensive right now, as we all keep hearing. If you are willing to accept the fact that what you got for $2,000 a few years ago will now set you back twice that, these prices seem… well, not reasonable, but more typical. With that in mind, which one of these strikes your fancy?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
The Prelude wins by default. Also, white cars with white wheels are cool
Prelude for me. I’m happy seeing a Beretta still exist in such nice shape but I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in 99% of the malaise era FWD GM products. It’s a nice car that deserves to be preserved but someone else who’s not me can do that. The only way I could ever see myself picking a Beretta over a Prelude is if it was a GTZ or Z26
I owned a 3rd gen prelude for years, an 89 Si with 4WS. Just a couple things:
I’ll be taking that minty fresh beretta in this case.
I think the Beretta is reasonably priced for what it is and the condition. The Prelude has been seriously neglected. It’s clear the owner has been doing the bare minimum of maintenance for years. I mean.. the owner can’t be bothered to replace the fog light bulbs??? Can’t be bothered to replace a valve cover gasket (which is a relatively easy/cheap job)? And he’s making bullshit statements like this:
“Rear passenger side 1/4 panel has been repainted 15 years ago. I’m not exactly sure what happened, I don’t believe it’s ever been in an accident.”
Buddy… if the panel was repainted, then it was in a fender bender… which most certainly qualifies as an “accident”.
So the Beretta gets my vote. All that Beretta needs is maybe a set of nicer wheels from the GT model
Especially since it’s had same owner 22 years (it says)- so he should know what happened. I voted Prelude since I love them but just saw that
When I first opened this post, I was sure I would be choosing the Prelude. But with as many issues as it has, the Beretta is the practical choice. I love that gen of the Prelude and I’d even be OK with the automatic. But, that laundry list – including a busted A/C in Texas – is an automatic “NO.”
The Gaylude actually looks pretty clean, but those miles and cost to actually repair these if you are not handy is a real pain. they almost always have a vacuum leak in the engine bay by now. not that a 3.1 v6 is a whole lot better, but those are at least pretty simple to work on.
I also do not want to own a Honda with the date rape seat adjuster handles. But that at least makes for an interesting item to make fun of.
“I also do not want to own a Honda with the date rape seat adjuster handles”
Uh… wut???
That’s not the only weird thing about the post. “Gaylude??”
Yeah, everyone knows that the joke nickname for that car was the “Quaalude”.
Aw, man. The Beretta was a competent car for it’s era that got shit on so much for the cheap interior and for not being the very thing the Accord is: Japanese. I so want to vote for the Beretta, but it’s got the bad V6 and the bad auto. This thing would be so painfully slow to accelerate above thirty.
On the other hand you’ve got a Prelude with so many problems even the guy who’s owned it since 2001 is abandoning it. And it’s an automatic.
I mean… I guess the Prelude? Both of these cars are lead flowers.
I graduated from high school with 125 kids. There was at least half a dozen Berettas and Corsicas (and a dozen J-Bodies).
If I had to vote, it would be a broken Prelude with the wrong engine and wrong transmission.
I abstain instead 😀
Wow, you sure had a lot of kids! (Had to)
I loled while brushing my teeth so tyvm for the mess on my bathroom mirror
I voted for the Beretta because it has manual roll-down windows, which will come in handy when this lemming of a car inevitably throws itself into a river. And dat’s da name name of dat tune.
Once upon a time… I had a third-generation Accord. That car replaced a Pontiac Sunbird. So… I had a close cousin to each of these.
With everything that needs to be fixed on the Prelude…I was all set to vote for the Beretta. Then I remembered that the Sunbird was an absolute piece of garbage. Rattled from day one. Zero fun to drive (and it was a stick). Cheapest, crappiest interior I’ve ever seen. (And a square radio? Really??) In its defense… it was reliable. The Accord, on the other hand, was just a lovely car. Lightyears beyond anything GM was making. It was generally a nice place to spend time.
So I retract my vote. I’ll fix the Prelude. I can see a scenario where it would (after a lot of time and too much money) be a car I would enjoy driving. There is no world where I will ever be able to enjoy driving that Beretta.
When I saw the title my first thought was “there would have to be a helluva lot wrong with that Honda to make me vote Beretta.” And I was right! There is a lot wrong with the Honda. Maybe if it had a manual I’d go for it.
Voting for the Honda. Like Mark, this is what I see in my mind’s eye when I think of a Prelude. It hits all the right notes, even if I have to park it in the driveway and just admire it because it doesn’t run. This one is a disaster and white, but I previously owned a Corsica. For the record, the Corsica was rock solid for the few years I owned it.
Now, let’s talk about Honda guys neighbor. I see one Fast and Furious car parked on the street. Based on the GM truck, he may masquerade around as Batman’s arch enemy, The Joker. Jingle Bells, Batman smell. Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost a wheel and The Joker got away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZHH_q7q8n4
Beretta. I’d buy it and drive it ’til it dies, and send it to the crusher with no regrets. Five minutes after it hit “history” status, it’d be forgotten.
The automatic saps all the fun — and thus, interest — out of the ‘Lude. Having driven both the “normal” and 4WS versions, the front-only steering is a major plus. But the slushbox is a deal-crusher.
So equipped, the Honda is as dull as the Chevy. Only with more miles.
All it would take for the Prelude to win is a manual transmission. Without it, there’s no compelling reason to choose it over the fancy Cavalier.
I’m voting bow tie. That Chevy will be less of a time sucker and as much as I enjoy Honda products, that Prelude ain’t ticklin’ me.
You couldn’t possibly pick two worse options.
The Prelude with a slushbox isn’t just slow, it’s utterly gutless. And as you can see, mythic Honda reliability is exactly that – pure myth. You’ll be replacing everything in the dash, resealing the engine, and trying to find somebody willing to rebuild a notoriously weak transmission with hard parts made of lead.
And the Beretta, gods, the early 3.1. I thought we’d gotten all of them off the road by way of hydrolock inspection windows. Do not even think of hopping in and driving this one off; at 20+ years, pulling the entire intake tract and dropping the transmission is the absolute minimum. Oh yeah, these absolutely have the leaking intake gaskets, and guaranteed it’s dumping into the engine oil.
Then there’s the radiator-integrated transmission cooler. Which will now be a mix of dry-rotted hoses and rotten plastic dividers on plastic endtanks. And the fluid’s definitely sludge.
Don’t threaten me with a good time!
The updated 3.1, the “3100”, is the one with the intake gasket issues. These older 3.1s are not known for that at all.
I have little use for an GM appliance from the era of cars that were not only boring, they also were terrible quality. The Prelude is overpriced, but at least it would be cool once it was fixed up.
Both are surprisingly priced.
It’s a battle between the worst Prelude since Franz Ferdinand went out for lunch in Sarajevo. Versus the cleanest Beretta you don’t have to pass a background check to own. I’m a big Lude man, but the B20, even with fuel injection doesn’t quite hit V-tech yo. just hits disappointment. Give me an H-series or give me something else. So find me outside the Cars, Coffee and Firearms somewhere in the Metroplex. Proudly shining my Chevy, telling everyone that will listen it’s a rarer then Vegan restaurant in Lubbock.
Cars that sit need work but at least it’s predictable work, and you’re starting from a much better base project.
Ugh. I’d MUCH rather have the Prelude (I hated the looks of the Beretta/Corsica, plus Preludes handle really well and I like the low-slung feeling from sitting inside), but it’s brokenness compared to the Corsica, and the Corsica’s V6 (which is a good one, IIRC), make this a much tougher call to make…
Beretta…reluctantly. As a winter beater, not a DD.
Beretta for personal nostalgia. Back in the ’80s when it debuted, it was pitched as a Euro-style sport coupe. There were some great ads, I particularly recall an odd but cool one with the car rising up out of water, like a shark I guess.
I bought one in the ’90s with a manual transmission. She was a great car.
Unexpected good thing – the seats are quite nice for what they are. Mouse velour and reasonable bolstering make for decent grip, plus comfortable enough for long haul driving…drove autocross and cross country in mine.
I would double the cost a minimum to fix the Prelude. I will take the running Chevy as a winter/errand car.
Let’s see, Boring Beretta or Honduh Quaalude…
Well, I was just in Kyle, TX 2 months ago for the annual meeting of the Kyles which was a disturbing experience if I’m honest, so I voted for the 90s Honda. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go buy some ducttape.
And you failed, Kyle. Well I guess not you, Kyle, but all the other Kyles that didn’t show up in Kyle.
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/national-international/all-the-kyles-in-kyle-texas-not-enough-to-set-record/3232032/
Dude, that news was so fucking disappointing after standing there for over an hour trying to line up so they can count us. Apparently Kyles are not self-organizing.
I can’t believe I just voted for the Beretta but that Prelude will take a lot more money to make it a decent driver, and then it still has the mediocre A/T. They were cars that you really had to stay on top of the maintenance with or things got real expensive and that one is clearly lacking in that area.
I actually ordered a 1987 Beretta GT with a manual transmission but then couldn’t afford to actually buy it when it showed up… the dealership was not happy.
Mine was a Maroon ’89 Beretta – first new car I ever purchased. Manual everything, had a 2.8 V6 if memory serves .. good ride, but got tired of it after 3 years. sold it to a buddy. While he owned it, the drivers door fell off.
Mine was bright red. B/c I was young and it seemed like a good idea at the time. It likewise was my first new car, and yep, manual everything as well. Was easy enough to reach over to wind down the passenger window.
There is no way that poor Honda is worth nearly four grand with all that brokenness.
I mean, there’s no way any Chevy Beretta is worth three either, but here we are; it’s still the better deal, which is weird, and I don’t like it
Me too. Voting for a Beretta over a Honda is not something I expected to do. Weird.
At least it has steel wheels & manual windows, though
the real question is would it be as hard a choice if the Baretta was a GTU with a Quad 4 and 5 speed manual?