For those of you familiar with older Hondas, you know all about the Y49 Crx and its supposed curse. Well it may be too early to say whether or not this Crx is cursed as it has only covered 87,900 miles in its lifetime. Very clean inside and out, this classic import is ready to roll. With 2 days remaining, this uncommon colored Crx has been bid up to 7,400.00 with 46 bids! Take a look at it here on eBay out of Williamsport, Indiana.
For many this is a rare sight as these cars were ripe for tuning, so to find a bone stock example that is this clean under the hood is a real treat. All of the service stickers and tags are in place under the hood, but the timing belt service sticker on the upper timing cover is starting to peel. The brake master cylinder looks to have dark colored brake fluid in it which is common in cars that have sat for long periods of time. Beyond those two minimal things this engine compartment looks clean enough to eat off of.
The interior in this car appears mint which is also a rare occurrence with these cars. Typically the seats are ripped to shreds, the emergency brake handle and cover are faded to blue, and the door panels will often split from many years of elbow wear. Even the factory Crx floor mats look to be in fabulous shape. I would have enjoyed seeing a mint condition climate control that hasn’t been cracked, but sadly the seller cheated me out of that.
The paint and body work look great from the photos, but there are some problems with this Crx. The passenger side rear quarter is starting to rust, and the infamous sunroof panel is also developing some rust. Thankfully the body plastics and trim are in nice shape, but the rear bumper has a couple of gouges in it. Under body photos would have been appreciated as well since there is some rust starting to form on this little two seater. A nice example and appearing to be curse free, what do you think this Crx will sell for?
Being a Honda guy, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this “curse” you speak of. You mention it three times, but not once explain what it is you speak of. Surely non-Honda guys, and there are plenty out there, will have zero clue. Better writing is certainly deserved here. This is a fine example, and I can see why there’s a frenzy in the bidding. That rust shown on the rear quarter is typical rust found on any Honda of every generation. Get it fixed now before it becomes a very costly repair. Underside photos not required – there won’t be any rust issues considering how little rust there is on the quarter unless it was parked in a swamp. It doesn’t appear as if it was, so it should be good to go. I own a Honda, and have seen many others, with far more advanced corrosion on the rear quarters, yet the underside is nearly spotless. These are cars in the snowbelt, too.
Another Honda-guy here: Ditto on hearing about a “curse.”
Local guy has a yellow one just like this in his garage (minus any rust). I offered to buy “whenever you’re ready to sell”. His reply: “Get in line”.
My only fear is, if moisture has reached the interior of the quarter to rust it from the inside out, then there is certainly a chance for rocker rust, or other rust concerns. Typically the vent tubes for the sunroof become clogged and fail allowing moisture into the car. Typically causing some of the rust on the quarters on these cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rockers had minimal bubbling developing beneath the plastics that also hold in moisture and dirt.
You’re one step ahead of me. I don’t even know what a Y49 CRX is! Is that different from a regular CRX?
He’s got any photo you can want. Just contact him. He’s easy going and good to deal with.
There is nothing to hide on this car.
Yes, please enlighten us all as to ” The curse” .I’ve had several Hondas over the years and the only curse I can think of is the older interference engines destroying the valves when the timing belt broke.
I wouldn’t say an interference engine is a curse. Just well planned maintenance right?
What the heck is the “Honda curse”? @ church, we were the Honda family (mom had a Legend, dad a Prelude Si, sis had an Accord LXi and I had a CRX Si) and I’ve never heard of that curse either.
This car will go over $10K, EASILY!
Honda has a Curse?
Calm yourselves Honda fans! It has to do with the yellow paint color. Read for yourselves on Google…..
Just because the paint code for the yellow is “666”??…….what a bunch of nonsense! NEVER heard of it!
Jesus is not happy. He considers the yellow Honda to be the Devils chariot! Beware!
Perhaps this curse I speak of is a regional thing? Never the less, the supposed curse is easy to find searching google, and other various Honda forums.
Y49 cars are rumored to have a factory paint code of “666” and it seems quite common that Y49 CRX’s like to catch fire, or that other cars that get equipped with Y49 parts like to catch on fire. Or if they don’t catch on fire, they seem to find their way into some other catastrophic mishap that leaves the car a mangled piece of metal.
I am no wizard on the entire depth of the so called Y49 curse, but if you spend a little time searching around online, you can dig up some solid evidence.
I first heard of the Y49 curse 17 years ago, but I have owned several classic Honda’s (and other makes) in between.
Quoting Brian Birkner, “Y49 CRX’s like to catch fire”……..WHAT?? Another thing I’ve NEVER heard of!…….and I’ve been around these cars since they were new in 1988! I even frequent salvage auctions and don’t see burnt Y49 CRX’s!!!!
The “Curse” is more of an old wives tale than having any reality or validity to the subject. It is more of a joke in the Honda community, although there are a few who take it seriously. There are sites jokingly dedicated to Y49’s and their “Curse”. http://www.oocities.org/teamwhy49/
This has got to be the nicest y49 crx to come up for sale in the past 15 years. Never wrecked and never beat on, . This has to be one of the last few survivor crxs out there. I hope whoever buys it leaves it just like it is . I had a cousin who had one of these new and got drunk and coked up and wrapped it around a tree. It only had 20k miles on it and it was totalled. He had pulled the engine and trans and it went to the crusher.
I grit my teeth every time I see a yellow CRX Si. A yellow Si appeared on the showroom floor of the local Honda agency one day and I fell for it. I was driving an ’85 Si and as I was just out of college I was trying everything possible to make the jump, including taking a night job. On a trip to the mall with a friend I swung by to poke my head in the door and torment myself with fantasies of being able to afford it. The dealership wasn’t negotiating on the price (and charging a hell of markup too, IIRC) and I continued with my ridiculous dreams of parking it in my driveway.
A few days later my friend swings by. In that car. He was loaded so he decided to have a fling with it. My ’85 Si stuck by my side for many, many trouble-free years after that so I guess I didn’t make out all that bad.
I had a black 85 Crx Si that I enjoyed more so than my 1991 Crx Si. Both fun cars, but the 1st gen just has so much character. I think that you made out well having a first gen for a while.
I am close friends with the current owner. I have rode in, driven, and looked all over that car. The rust is very minor, it is not bubbling thru the paint from the inside, it’s just been touched up to preserve everything. The underside is in amazing condition. The car is tight and drives like new.
The climate control panel that is usually broken is perfect.
There’s not road rash on the front, she must have only drove it in town. It’s not showroom perfect, but it’s an amazing survivor.
The car was owned by a lady that treated the car as if it was a member of the family, even naming it. She over maintained it over the years, sparing no expense.
My friend bought the crx not to flip, but to enjoy it as he loves crxs. He has since had the opportunity to purchase and enjoy a few other unique vehicles and he is simply out of room.
This crx is stored in a climate controlled garage during his ownership.
This last winter his wife’s vehicle had to sit out because the garage is full of his toys and sh…I mean he decided it’s time to thin the collection to get climate controlled garage space back.
He reluctantly decided to sell the crx. I wanted so bad to buy it from him, and I was first in line if he ever decided to sell it, but I have a young family and it’s just not a good idea right now for me to buy a car like that, I have to accommodate car seats….lol. so I had to respectfully decline.
I really hope this car goes to A good home. It’s truly something special.
Thanks for sharing, Mike!
We have a Honda curse it’s called a 2017 crv. First and last Honda we will ever own. Headlight malfunction warnings and sonar goes out all the time. Poor and when you tell the rep they say nothing wrong with it. In fact when I told the Honda rep we might just buy something else, he said that up to you! Complete junk! Oh and the other day the power tail gait stopped working.
I’m VERY familiar with older Honda’s and have NEVER heard of the Y49 CRX “curse”! Wish the author would enlighten us. WHY mention “the curse” IF your not going to give us further information?? We shouldn’t have to Google it.
Sorry JamestownMike, I am surprised that so many are unaware of the Y49 Curse. I guess I am showing my age from when I first got involved with Hondas.
I use to race a yellow Honda CRX in SCCA Sports Car Races, over 20 years I raced against Mazda RX 7, and Datsun Z cars,never had a mechanical problem . Best race car I ever had.
Had a few CRX street cars too. Really do like the CRX !
fun cars but crazy torque steer when driven aggressively. this one is in fabulous shape!
Good example, rare color, odd description….
I have cursed myself for getting rid of mine. It was a truly wonderful little car.
Geez Brian, Best not quit your day job. LOL. Live and learn.
The”Curse”is not having one.I wish I still had mine, great little cars.
No Wes, that was a Mazda.
I also never heard of the curse. I can say though that having heard all these years how good Hondas were I bought a couple last year as run arounds for work. A 2006 Civic and 2006 Accord. Both had really irritating issues and never again.
This is a nice looking car though.
They were know as “60 thousand mile disposable units” in the 70s as you would be very lucky to get more than that out of one. This was also true of any Japanese car from the 60s or 70s.
Obviously they have improved the cars a lot since the 60s and 70s so don’t get your shorts all in a bunch. That’s just how everyone I knew referred to them back then – true or not.
I figured that was what you were talking about regarding the curse. I never heard of the paint code curse.
When I was growing up in New England in the 70s, Japanese and Italian cars were disposable after just a few years. The road salt ate them to death.
Ended: Mar 22, 2018 , 2:44PM
Winning bid:US $7,400.00
[ 46 bids ]
AKA Barbados Yellow. Smoking deal for the buyer! The sunroof is prone to rust where the panels are crimped at the edge & the wheel well rust starts under the rubber edge; both easy fixes. (Although temporary for the sunroof due to construction method.) I’m curious about Yellow on a ’90, thinking Honda replaced it with teal for ’90/’91. Maybe a mid-year change?
The yellow had some form of radiation in it and was banned in 91. 100+ workers sick. From what I watched a video on.. could be fake but eh.. isnt the color code y49..?
As a former owner of a teal ’91 CRX-SI with manual & A/C, the only so called “curse” that these little pocket are involved in too many accidents that Honda has to stop making them due to very high insurance cost! I recalled cruising from my home in H.B. (Huntington Beach) to Las Vegas with my girlfriend was a blast. The best thing is it took very little gas. I guess the car was a blast was I always used “hi-test” on it! It missed that little Samurai guy. I remember it was pretty much trouble free and easy to maintain.