Indifference to cars has eliminated preconceptions about older cars!?

“At the time, the 3rd generation Prelude was unpopular and cheap, so I thought about driving the same car again. But I thought that if I was going to buy a new one, why not the same one? I like Honda. But I don’t want to have the same car as other people. So I did a lot of research and realized that the 5th generation Prelude was a good value for money. And it was newer than the 3rd generation.”

Mr. Ezaki, who was born in 1981 and is now 42 years old, was 24 when he acquired this 5th generation car. His car was a 1996 model, so it was about 10 years old at the time of purchase. However, compared to the 3rd generation he owned before that, it was “the latest car”. That was one of the main reasons he bought it.

“I originally drove a 3rd generation Prelude without any interest in cars, so I had no preconceptions that older cars would break down. But in the last 17-18 years since I got the 5th generation, there have been some problems, such as oil leaks from the engine. But I didn’t want to change over, so I fixed that as well, and this is how I keep it running well.”

On one bad occasion, he had to add a liter of oil every 500 km. Check the amount of oil before riding. If it was low, he would add more. He repeated this kind of lifestyle for a while. The exterior of the car was also partially repaired with sheet metal as the clear had peeled off.

“This Prelude is getting old and I want to take good care of it in the future, so I got a Kei-car as my daily footgear. But I won’t give it up forever!”

The boy who had no interest in cars somehow turned into a respectable car enthusiast. Mr. Ezaki’s father, who gave him a third-generation Prelude back then, is probably smiling broadly at the sight of his son today.

translated by DeepL