diff --git a/abuild.in b/abuild.in
index d8c6029..ac43a11 100644
--- a/abuild.in
+++ b/abuild.in
@@ -532,7 +532,8 @@ getpkgver() {
 
 default_prepare() {
 	local i
-	cd "$_builddir"
+	cd "${builddir:-$srcdir/$pkgname-$pkgver}" \
+		|| { error "Is \$builddir set correctly?"; return 1; }
 	for i in $source; do
 		case $i in
 			*.patch)