1988 CRX Si buy?

Question

Hi AllI love these cars and I have a chance to buy one from a guy who is asking $4000 for a red one.It has 120000 miles and the interior is a bit beat up - seams in seats are open thus exposing foam underneath and the rear deck area is not good (he did purchase a new rear deck platform - it fits over the spare tire).  He has changed the oil every 3500 miles and has had some body work done to the rear quarter panels (has receipts).  The exterior looks really good except...It has been in a recent accident and the rear bumper had been ripped off as a result. It doesn't look like that much of a fix to me.  The guy has an estimate from a bod shop of $1500 to fix that problem.  He says he is asking $4000 because the car could easily be repaired and is very desirable as an aftermarket project.  Indeed some of these cars do sell for quite a bit of coin after modifying.I drove it and it has a bit of a valve knocking but I think that's not a difficult fix either.  The air conditioning does not work either but that's not a big deal to me.So would you pay $4000 for this car?I'm really tempted to buy this car.  Do you think this car could be a good investment?

hondaman · Accepted Answer

that car is a total ripoff if it's as you described which i'm sure you're describing it accurately. look on ebay before you waste your money. you could easily buy a crx that's totally already built up with a vtech engine in it for that price. donot let this guy take advantage of you. do shop around. there are still plenty of well cared for crx's that sell for alot less and are 100% nicer than what you've described.

-jeff

hondaman · Answer

unless you live outside of the US where those cars arent very common and people love them then i guess it wouldn't be that bad of a deal. i appologize gor tearing down your thoughts on the car. if you like it and it's a reasonable price in your area go for it. they are getting rare.

-jeff

Dave Garrett · Answer

Proof that you never get back the money you put into a hot rod. I have to admit I hadn't looked at CRXs on eBay in quite some time, but if the prices I see there now are representative of what built hybrid CRXs are selling for, I'll probably just forget about swapping a b16 into my '90 Si and shop around for another one that's already had all the work done.

Dave

Eric · Answer

Valves don't knock, they make a rattling, tapping type of sound which can usually be heard even at idle. However, pistons knock and the sound is usually more prevalent when the engine is under load. It's not an easy fix.

NO. Turn around and walk away from it as fast as you can.

If I was shopping for such a vehicle, I would try to find another one in better condition that's been maintained well and was in reasonably good condition to start out with. Be patient. You may have to look at a few cars. A long time ago I was shopping for an old Datsun 280Z. I spent about a month or two and probably looked at 2 dozen different cars before I found the one I bought.

Eric

1988 CRX Si buy?

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