$22,500: that’s the asking price for this pristine 1991 Honda Civic Si. No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. It’s hard to believe an entry-level hatchback has come this far, but that’s where we are at this point in car collecting history. Now, there’s no guarantee that the seller’s car will sell for this much, but it’s not outside of the realm of possibility for someone who’s been hunting for the best Si hatchback they can find. With just over 100,000 miles, the Civic has clearly been used, but it’s also obviously been in the hands of an owner that took great pride in their bone-stock hot hatch. Find the Civic Si here on eBay and located in Miami, Florida.
The fourth-generation Honda Civic essentially represents what some perceive as the peak of Honda’s ability to turn economy cars into highly-capable street machines that could easily be tuned for track-day use. These were, first and foremost, incredibly reliable vehicles, known for achieving outrageously high odometer readings with only standard maintenance. Of course, the Si models were also intended to be the driver’s choice, equipped with a more robust D16A6 inline-four churning out just over 100 horsepower, which was a respectable amount of power in a car this light. Of course, its handling capabilities is what put it on the map, and to this day you can still find Civics from this era pounding the local autocross course.
Of course, many of us know the story by now of how these hot hatches were quickly gobbled up by thieves and young drivers alike, often with similarly disastrous results. Today, you are hard-pressed to find any Civic from this era in respectable condition, but especially the rare-as-hen’s-teeth Si model that almost always got ruined with aftermarket exhausts, headers, and underbody neon kits when found in the wild. I get it, I was young once, too, but it’s still a shame what happened to so many of these driver-focused hatchbacks. The cockpits were simple, airy affairs, with lots of visibility from every angle and a perfectly-positioned three-spoke steering wheel falling readily to hand – not to mention Honda’s incredibly silky gearbox.
Now, for those of you that aren’t the target market for this car, I get it – the price seems insane. But if you grew up wanting one of these or seeing them destroyed by the local teenagers, finding one this nice and wearing the gorgeous color of Frost White with the higher-output Si mil under the hood may prove too tempting to pass up. At the very least, you might make an offer against the seller’s ask, which is likely a hedge at this point given the listing still has the option to submit a lower offer. Looking at the clean bodywork and the near-perfect engine surfaces tells me all I need to know, which is that this is likely one of the best and last ones left in this sort of condition – and there’s a very real price to pay for that.
I had an 1985 base model CRX, not the SI, but a larger base, perhaps 1.6 liters. . In a car that weighs less than a ton, it was a blast to drive, wth great handling
I had an 1985 base model CRX, not the SI, but a larger base, perhaps 1.6 liters. . In a car that weighs less than a ton, it was a blast to drive, wth great handling
Hey, if you think your 22,500 is going to be the next 7,500 as many people seem to, why not? GLWTS.
Clean and stock: yep, not many left.
These Hondas were a joy to pilot down a very twisty road. The steering is more direct than a FWD has any business being, and the car just hangs on in curves. It is a go-cart like experience.
IMO the next generation is more desirable for hatch fans. It’s more refined, only 100 lbs heavier, and is packing around 20 more HP and a higher redline.
I had a friend who was an “adult film actress” who bought one of these in blue and had it highly modified. I remember having trouble finding tires for it as it was an odd size— she had me call a relative who owned a shop and wasn’t happy to be associated with her. It was a very fun car and this young lady, having more money than common sense, beat the crap out of the poor little car and it kept going and going. Tough as nails.
Unfortunately she later did the same to a brand new Raptor, crashed it, and broke an axle last I heard. Off road capable vehicle plus speedometer labeled at 140MPH or so does not mean that it’s a good idea to go into a state park and try to do 140 on a twisty dirt road.
20 year old car with 100k miles for about the MSRP of a new model. Sure. Impress your ‘friends’.
The 2022 Civic Si is going to start at $27,300. So valid price comparison. But fans of the Hondas of the early 1990s probably won’t be impressed by the current car. It’s 700 lbs heavier,, turbocharged, and about the same dimensions as the 1991 Accord. So this’ll sell, and probably fast.
You can get a standard Civic with a six speed and 1.5L 170HP turbo for 22 or 23K. That is 0-60 in like 7 seconds. Correct me if I am wrong, but it will leave this in the dust, plus be a lot more comfy too. (need I add the other obvious attributes of a brand new car?) If spending new car money on a used car is your thing, go for it mister. What was it that PT Barnum used to say? Hmmm, it escapes me.
No you’re not wrong. Even a base new Civic will run circles around this, for less money.
But the person who will shell out new Civic cash for this will say “who cares?” For one thing, they probably think it’ll go up in value while their money is going down in value. Questionable at best but ok.
Second, it’s a similar phenomena to the E30 M3. They cost a fortune and it’s because of the “driving experience.” Not sure what that means exactly because they’re not fast, and subsequent M3s, including the maligned E36 version, blow it away in every performance metric.
But you can’t convince those who will pay 80k for one. Practical transportation and even performance numbers have zero to do with these purchases.
Steveo, 1991 was 30 years ago bud. I think we all wish it was only 20 however. 🤣
Sold for just over $17k April 2020 on BaT. From BC, Canada.
I think they we’re trying to type in $2,500 and their fingers slipped either that or they are hoping someone drunk will buy it at 2am
Absolute crack-pipe pricing. I mean, I could see this kind of dough for a sub-10k mile car, but not 10x that many. Sure, these cars drove very nicely and probably had the most sublime shifter action of any car from its era, but $22k can buy any number of far more interesting cars than this, often with far fewer miles.
Oh well…to each their own.
In this market, I have little doubt seller will get the ask, or very near it. Will it hold that value? Or will inflation take off enough to justify it? Time will tell!
A friend was getting his Alfa 2-liter GTV back on the road, and when he took it on his favorite Tennessee back-roads loop he had me follow him in his Civic, which I think was the version before this one. He was throwing that Alfa hard around roads he knew well, while they were new to me … but I had to soft-pedal the Civic just to give him room! That Honda could not place a wheel wrong, as long as I stayed out of any ditches. I actually felt sorry for him, working that hard while we were just having fun.
Gary – re: Old vs New: Falling back into Alfas, my wife’s ’17 Giulia will run off and hide from my ’87 Milano, and be every bit as eager through the curvy bits … but 30-year gap notwithstanding, I know which one I want on a canyon run.
“Slow car fast” has a lot to recommend it, if it’s fun you want. Of course, being able to see out of all that glass we used to have helps a lot too,
It’s not just the numbers that make this era Honda’s desirable. They are more than the sum of their parts. Silky engines, shifters, interiors that were oh so right, and it was obvious that honda engineers and designers left nothing to chance and sweat every one of the details.
Ita truly hard to put into words what makes these so desirable but when I looked at them new, it was obvious tou were buying a car made by people that wanted the best they could do. Not just hit a target market, and then figure out how to de-content the car and make it a parts bin special. Nothing was seemingly left to chance.
Lot of money but where else are you going to find one that hasn’t been ruined yet?
I had an ’89 Civic Si in black. Fantastic car to drive, so good. Got rid of it when it started blowing head gaskets. Don’t bother comparing it to a new car – spare us the “b-b-but for $22K you could get a new XXXX.” As noted above, the target market for this car is not a new-car buyer… they probably already have a new car or two in the garage anyway.
Yes, and all his employees can only afford to ride the bus. Kind of the way it works these days in our sad little world.
I had a discussion on here the other day when I said I e had trouble with head gaskets on my Hondas. That guy acted like he had never heard of such a thing. Well based on what Dallas here says I’m not the only one with honda head gasket issues.
Maybe your car once over heated or something. I have never heard of head gasket problems in a Honda. A Chrysler 2.2, they blow those out for giggles, but a Honda?
I’ve replaced head gaskets in my 83 civic, 85 accord, and had trouble with my 1992 accord. My 84 Chrysler E Class with 2.2L is still on the original head gasket.