It has often been said that hope springs eternal, and I don’t think that anywhere is this expression more appropriate than in the classic car scene. I’m pretty sure that we’ve all seen the scenarios. You find a person with a tiny budget on the search for a highly desirable classic. We’ve also seen cases of people asking outrageous prices for cars that simply aren’t worth the money. This 1991 Honda CRX Si is one that we’ll unpack, and it will be interesting to see what our readers think of it. Located in Miami, Florida, it is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN price of $10,000, but the option is available to make an offer. Interestingly, there are 76 people who are currently watching the listing.
At first glance, the outside of the little Honda doesn’t look bad. There are no obvious signs of rust or major panel damage, and the owner does state that the car has never been in an accident. It’s when you begin to look closely that you begin to notice that while there is no accident damage, the car does sport its fair share of minor chips, scratches, and scrapes. None of these would constitute major damage, but to get the presentation of the Honda to an immaculate level, you would be looking at a repaint for the rear bumper, the driver’s side fender, plus a touch-up of the front bumper.
When you delve inside the Honda, there is still some work to be done. The owner says that it is original, but I’m not sure about that. The first thing that jumps out is the state of the driver’s seat. That most definitely will require a new cover. Given the age of the vehicle, it will be tough to get a perfect match to the passenger seat, so it looks like it will be a pair of covers. The Honda is also fitted with a power moon roof, and while this opens okay, it does need to be closed manually. The owner says that the bumper stoppers will need replacing to fix this, and I admit that this is a known weakness with both the CRX Si and the Civic Si. The aftermarket Pioneer radio/cassette player is also missing its knobs, so replacements will need to be sourced. The CRX is fitted with air conditioning, and this is said to blow ice cold.
The presentation under the hood isn’t the greatest, but I guess that you can’t expect perfection in a car that has 160,000 miles on the clock. The owner says that the car runs and drives really well and that it has exceptional handling. That really isn’t surprising, because handling and road-holding were one of the strong points of the CRX. The car is fitted with new tires, but the owner does state that it will need a new muffler. There also appears to be a fair pile of documentation included with the car. I hope that this includes a full service history, as the correct maintenance is essential to the long-term health of a CRX.
The Honda CRX Si is a cool little car that offers willing performance and nippy handling. That willing performance also tended to make them something of a favorite with what I refer to as “boy racers.” This saw a great many cars driven hard and fast and led to a high level of attrition among CRX numbers. Today these don’t hit the market that often, and when they do, prices vary wildly. I’ve seen examples with 40,000 miles on the clock sell for around $4,000, but I’ve also seen one with 170,000 miles sell for the same price. I saw one go earlier this month for $10,250, but it had 68,000 miles on the clock. This one basically seems to be quite good, but there are some details to be addressed to make it perfect. So, is the owner’s asking price about right, or is it really a case of hope springing eternal?
I have never owned one but wanted one for the sake of gas mileage when I was younger (and could still fit in it lol). Last time I went to Arizona I bought from a friend a 1990 Acura Integra. The guy I bought it from is a fellow gear head (he is a mechanic by trade & has a BEAUTIFUL custom 1970 Chevelle). He is my girlfriends step father so I know & trust him. The Acura had a body every bit as nice as this, front seats with no upholstery left at all, but a fully functioning sunroof & working a/c & cruise control. It ran & drove well & for $500 I couldn’t pass it up. Too bad it was automatic. I bought it to flip, not knowing automatic made it not desirable.
I shipped it home to Milwaukee, had it painted, bought a nice set of seats out of an Integra 1 year newer & put it up for sale. 6 months later it finally sold & after adjusting the price down again & again, I lost my a$$ lol. I should have just kept it & drove it. Shame on me. At least that one I got in lol.
I had the 1989 version of this car, in red. Bought it even though I had no idea how to drive stick at the time…my friend had to drive the car off the lot for me, and teach me how it worked!
Anyway, these are fantastic, fun cars. Not hugely powerful (105-108hp stock), but super-lightweight and nimble, with excellent mileage and good reliability. Every curvy road and highway on-ramp around my hometown became a time trial, and I first started autocrossing in the CRX as well.
This, in my opinion, was the era when Honda was just doing no wrong. But also, in my opinion, $10,000 seems like a lot of money for a 160k mile example in “ok” condition.
Nice car too bad about the owner.
Huh, dilusional ?
I like! But 10k? It won’t appeal at all to the loose walleted Boomer crowd and I know 1st hand how difficult 1990s cars are to sell (for example I lost a deal for my 850 R wagon over a $100 impasse). I would think a CRX Si would have to be perfect and very low mileage to get into this price bracket, but I guess we’ll see.
Thankfully no fartcan muffler
I’d take a hard look at the brake system before driving it, considering the distance he’s at after the stop sign in the pictures…
These are really nice when found unmolested, no fart cans and unprofessional lowering, with the wheels looking as if they are about to pop off, and racing decals all over with a different color painted engine bay, but for 10k I find this to be way overpriced, but as they say there’s one born everyday
Doubt you’ll get your asking price….might get 6 on a really good day, if you fixed the seats. Mine has almost 300,000 k’s and still runs strong. Still gets the looks
Love the design of the occupant automatic ejection system on this car…AKA the door-mounted seat belts. Any accident involving the door opening would be an adventure!
These would have to be serious candidates if anyone wanted to make up a list of the 50 most fun cars to own and drive. They did everything well. Mine had slightly egg shaped cylinder bores at 277K miles. I thought it was worn out so I traded it. I missed it before I got home from the dealer. My air-conditioning was never worth a darn, but I didn’t care.
I currently own a 89 Honda Accord Lxi 2 door coupe. Fuel injection and ice cold A/C. Only negative is it’s an automatic. I have replaced everything on the motor to new. Even had the trans rebuilt. All the hoses, belts, shocks, and rubber replaced new. All work done on it when the car hit 170,000. It’s now at 178k. There is absolutely no way I would put a 10k price tag on my Honda if I was to ever sell it. I’d be doing good to get a $1000. That’s the problem with the car buying and selling game. Reality is a lost dream. But anyway…. Good luck with that!
1K – 3K $?
And I like that model (very much, wish I had it)…
Duz the Si deserve $200 more?
The ‘book’ i’ll say $ “off” for the manual transmish
We bought one as a company vehicle it was same engine and trans as this one, besides getting caught in a hail storm we never had to do anything to it beyond normal maintenance. It lived a life of employees abuse was incredibly trouble free and I gave it to an employees daughter when she got her driver’s license. The company ran it to 300k without so much as replacing the clutch! Pretty amazing if you ask me!