The value of Honda’s CRX has taken off lately, like a lot of other cars that a decade ago most of us wouldn’t have given a second thought to. At least as far as them being collectible and valuable – they’ve always been fantastic driving cars. This Blade Silver Metallic example is a 1989 Honda CRX Si and it has only had two owners, both apparently from the same family. It’s listed here on eBay in Henderson, Nevada with a current bid price of – are you sitting down? – $11,600 and there are almost two days left on the auction.
As you can see, this car isn’t perfect but it’s pretty close to it. It has a few rub marks on the left-front corner of the bumper due to a careless delivery driver, there’s a tiny ding by the gas filler door, and the seller mentions that their son put a dent in the left fender with a rubber hammer. There’s also a small chipped area by the right-rear wheel which is showing some surface rust so the next owner will want to take care of that asap.
Otherwise, what a great looking car. This is a second-generation CRX and being an Si it comes with a 5-speed manual transmission and a bigger 16-valve 1.6L multi-port fuel-injected engine. There is no mention of rust and no visual clues that there is any rust at all, even the underside looks rock solid. They say that one of the sunroof rail clips is broken so that’ll need attention.
A dash cover is something that always makes me nervous, but they have included a photo of the front interior without the dash cover and things look fantastic under there. I don’t see anything troublesome at all, front or rear, or in the partial photo showing the rear cargo area. A worn-out clutch pedal relates to this car’s 133,425 miles. It’s not a low-mile car at all and with a few of the issues that the seller lists, I’m frankly surprised at the current auction bid price.
This is a sweet engine, it’s Honda aforementioned 16-valve 1.6L inline-four with around 110 hp. They say that this car has a new AC compressor but it was never used and there is no belt installed for that. It also needs tires and wiper blades. I would have replaced the wiper blades rather than mentioning them but that’s just me. But, even with those things left to do – sunroof, tires, various body dings, etc. – the bidders aren’t holding back too much on this one. Hagerty is at $7,600 for a #3 good condition car and a whopping $17,800 for a #2 excellent condition car! Whoa. What is this one going to sell for and how much would you pay for it?
That dash cover is VERY necessary here in the desert.
I remember almost buying one back when they were new. I want enlisted in the USAF back then and couldn’t afford it so I bought an old Cutlass instead. Cool car though and fun to Drive. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/stockton-1986-honda-crx-straman/7203722737.html The earlier version with the convertible conversion was also cool.
Fantastic! And, most of all, thank you for your service, Phil.
It’ll take a lot but someone will pay a lot.
Is it just me or do the tire sidewalls seem considerably larger than stock? These originally had P185/60R-14s. Maybe it’s just the result of a decade of looking at rubber band sidewalls on 40 and even 35 series tires? I dunno, just seems like a huge sidewall to me.
Honda interiors of this vintage are great. Very well laid out, the materials held up over time and they were comfortable. This one looks good. The Toyota Tacoma parked behind it on the street looks big in comparison, but I just bought a Tacoma and it feels small to me, gives a sense of how small these CRX’s really are!
I bought this very same car (except in red) in late 1991, to replace a hand-me-down ’71 Camaro that unfortunately gave up the ghost after 190k miles. The used car lot gave me a great deal on the CRX since it didn’t have A/C, and New Jersey summers can be brutal, but I figured it had a sunroof so it would be OK. Also, I bought it without knowing how to drive stick, and a friend had to drive it off the lot for me. Ahhhh…the logic of youth.
I wound up putting over 100,000 miles on that CRX through my college years, and it was one of the best cars I ever owned. For such small commodity car, it was exceptionally well engineered and a ridiculous amount of fun. These CRXs only weigh about 2,200 pounds, so even 106 horsepower is enough to make trouble. A LOT of trouble. Damn, we do silly things when we are young!
Anyway, this is a great car, and unmolested ones are really rare these days. Not surprised to see it bringing decent money, since it represents the kind of simple, light, sporty compact that just doesn’t exist anymore.
great car sas I owned an 89 Si ,however ,does not mention any thing like timing belt water pump.I honestly believe that a friend of his/hers is driving the price up , at best best MAYBE $6,000 , it needs tires and wiper blades ??
Smells fishy
SOLD for $11,800.
Lately, 25 – 30 year old Asian cars are looking to be the next collectibles.
3rd gen only 1 I liked (? ’84/7 ?) course the N600, Z700 were “good” too
I had the first generation, an 85. It was black. One of the most fun cars I ever owned. Drove the Blue Ridge Parkway / Skyline Drive from one end to the other, stereo blasting, windows down, sunroof open. That little car ate the road up. My stepdad asked me how many payments I had to make to get the rest of the car. Great memories.
Wow, some of you are just figuring this $#!+ out? Yea, “asian cars” (nice) are starting to become collectible. (The ignorance is amazing) Chew on this…
1st gen Toyota MR2’s are bringing $25k.
Mk1 VW Rabbit GTI’s $30k
80’s Toyota Pickups $15-$20k
90’s Nissan Sentra SE’R’s $12k
90’s Acura integra Type R’s $40k
$12k for a CRX from an orig owner is right in the wheelhouse. It is the future as the older domestic iron falls off the table. My 21 year old car nut son and his friends have no interest in vintage 60’s chrome. The identifyr them with the analog speed and handling of the newer generation cars.
This car actually never sold because the buyer just never contacted me after the auction ended. I was genuinely surprised by the price but I took it as a sign to keep it. I just stumbled on this article and I thought I would share this since I really appreciated reading all the kind comments about the car.
I worked at Honda in Las Vegas long ago and would wash these and dream of owning one someday. This car was bought new in Las Vegas and driven around 5000 miles a year for over 25 years consistently. The car just got new tires, the AC completed, and i took the opportunity to do the water pump, timing belt and other general maintenance. It is still in all original condition and hiding in the garage!
@RYZAQ – Why don’t you auction it with us? https://barnfinds.com/sell/