Understand, if you are made of money the IS is a great car, but remember that Toyota parts are not interchangable and as with BMW and Mercedes, Lexus parts are extremely expensive! Labor is another expensive feature of a Lexus. The philosophy is that if you have the money to buy one, you have the money to maintain one. The Prelude was an awsome car. It was actually more expensive than the Accord Coupe but finding one that has not been raced will be a challenge. The Integra is a civic with a little more bells and whistles. The Integra does have more power than a civic and some models are more comparable to a Prelude. Preludes hold value very well! I am a manager at a dealer and we sold a Prelude with a bad engine at auction for 3500 dollars! All in all I guess it comes down to which one you like vs which one you can find the cleanest car in the best shape in your price range. Personnally I would get a 96 Accord V6 EX coupe and take the rest of the money to customize it! For the price difference of a accord coupe and An IS you could have a 350hp car that is in incredible condition!