Some of these folks have an excessive amount of extra cash sitting around! I must be doing something wrong.
I like CRX's- but there's no world in which I $40k-$50k like them.
I bought my (near-stock at the time) 1988 CRX Si back in 2021 for $5500 with 130k miles on the clock. Fun car, but there's no way it was $40k+ fun.
1-1/2 hours until the auction ends. Still at $41K.
$41,277 I am surprised it did not jump.
People always want the cars they grew up wanting but couldn't afford when they were teenagers. It happened with 1957 Chevys, then 1966 Mustangs, then 1969 Chargers, and so on. It's not surprising that demand for a low mile mint condition CRX has driven their value up.
Steve_Jones said:$41,277 I am surprised it did not jump.
Sames. I expected a frenzy at the end. Still more than 10x I ever paid for one.
My si new off the showroom floor in 1991 was $11,000. $25,400 in today's money. And yes... without hesitation i would pay $25K for a new 1991 si today. The one i regret selling.
stuart in mn said:People always want the cars they grew up wanting but couldn't afford when they were teenagers. It happened with 1957 Chevys, then 1966 Mustangs, then 1969 Chargers, and so on. It's not surprising that demand for a low mile mint condition CRX has driven their value up.
Yea, but I feel like the crx was the car that was kinda cool that you settled for. I mean there were 240s, 3rd gen f bodies, fox body mustangs, rx7s, 300zx, supra, etc...
wvumtnbkr said:Yea, but I feel like the crx was the car that was kinda cool that you settled for. I mean there were 240s, 3rd gen f bodies, fox body mustangs, rx7s, 300zx, supra, etc...
Tell me you didn't own a new CRX Si without telling me you didn't own one.
I like Hondas as we know, CRX is probably my 2nd favorite... I don't get this... You could get a 16,000mi C5 z06, lots of illicit substances and "companionship" and a long weekends worth of exceptional hoagies and fireworks for the money and still have nearly $5,000 left over for bail money/Alka-seltzer
In reply to Andy Hollis :
Touche!
Never owned one, but i have driven a few. I just never felt that (at least stock) they were anything more than a very well made, very small, transportation device.
I have been hunting a lifetime keeper crx for years, paid way more than I normally would accept for a crx but it is a y49 si and had some sentimental value as the one that got away. Since I got it, I daily drive the thing, its just too good of a commuter/fun car. It's certainly not perfect, has a quarter million miles on it, paint is all faded, exhaust is trash, needs fresh bushings and some coilovers, and recently the ignitor has been going out. That said it has no serious rust, a pretty immaculate interior, and brings me a lot of joy. To make it perfect might be the cost of the car, but I can do that over the years of keeping it on the road. All that said, I could buy close to 4 or 5 more just like it for the same amount of money as this one... I love the car but a low mile "perfect" example being over 40k seems wild to me.
Byrneon27 said:I like Hondas as we know, CRX is probably my 2nd favorite... I don't get this... You could get a 16,000mi C5 z06, lots of illicit substances and "companionship" and a long weekends worth of exceptional hoagies and fireworks for the money and still have nearly $5,000 left over for bail money/Alka-seltzer
I agree with your sentiments.
I also love Honda's and have owned quite a few of them, including a CRX Si, x2 S2000's, an Integra GS-R, an EK hatch, an 10th gen Si and 10th Gen FK8 Type R.
Just sticking to the NA, double wishbone variety of Honda's, I just can't see $40k+ for a CRX Si. They're super cool cars, but for that kind of money, you can get a very nice S2000 (AP1 or AP2). Having owned both, there's no question, the S2000 is the more fun car of the 2. If you want to stick to FWD, $40k will get you a fairly nice DC2 Integra Type R (admittedly it will have more miles than this CRX). I've never owned an Integra Type R, but my GS-R was essentially a Type R clone and I thought it was more fun than my CRX Si. I know everyone has their own tastes, but for my money, as a Honda guy, if I'm spending $40k on a wishbone Honda, it would be on an S2000 or Integra Type R. $40k is a lot of money for a SOHC FWD Honda with no VTEC...
I owned my CRX Si while simultaneously owning an S2000 and NB Miata. No doubt, I believed the S2000 was more fun. Shockingly, I also thought the NB Miata was more fun to drive- my wife and our oldest daughter also agreed with that sentiment, even if we all thought the CRX looked a lot cooler than the lowly Miata.
Admittedly, when I owned my CRX Si, I did get a plethora of compliments on it, just about everywhere I went. We'll ignore the fact that many of those compliments came from young gentlemen that I wouldn't necessarily associate with.
For it to get to that number there were at least 2 people that were ok with spending that much on it. It makes sense to them, and that's all that matters. I'd say they don't want a C5, s2000, Integra, etc. They wanted a clean CRX, one of them got what he wanted.
Everyone here has spent money on stuff that makes no sense to other people.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
That's a fair point. I suppose that heart wants what it wants and it's certainly their money, to do with it what they wish. If the buyer is happy, good on them.
With that said, I would somewhat interested in picking the brains of the 2+ potential buyers and understanding a bit more about their internal motivations and financial demographics, mostly to help me wrap my head around the whole thing.
wvumtnbkr said:stuart in mn said:People always want the cars they grew up wanting but couldn't afford when they were teenagers. It happened with 1957 Chevys, then 1966 Mustangs, then 1969 Chargers, and so on. It's not surprising that demand for a low mile mint condition CRX has driven their value up.
Yea, but I feel like the crx was the car that was kinda cool that you settled for. I mean there were 240s, 3rd gen f bodies, fox body mustangs, rx7s, 300zx, supra, etc...
It's kind of the opposite, no? You settled for a 300ZX because you couldn't afford a CRX.
Steve_Jones said:Everyone here has spent money on stuff that makes no sense to other people.
How dare you! *looks at my past Challenge car build history* Oh...right
roninsoldier83 said:
With that said, I would somewhat interested in picking the brains of the 2+ potential buyers and understanding a bit more about their internal motivations and financial demographics, mostly to help me wrap my head around the whole thing.
The buyer posted this:
The reality is this car could’ve sold for 30 grand or 70 grand, It’s actually worth both. But today it was worth 42k. I’ve always wanted one. Bid on half a dozen, Literally sat with my dad at the age of 16 at the dealership and I couldn’t afford the payment. So I never got to roll the legend that is the CRX… Whether I keep it five minutes or five years, It’s gonna be cool to finally get one.
He also was hig bidder (and winner) on a $700k Lamborghini, so I'd assume $42k is not too much of a thought. My guess is the thought it along the line of "If I don't like it, I can sell it fast for $30k and I spent $12k for the experience" or it just gets put in the back of the garage to look at.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:wvumtnbkr said:stuart in mn said:People always want the cars they grew up wanting but couldn't afford when they were teenagers. It happened with 1957 Chevys, then 1966 Mustangs, then 1969 Chargers, and so on. It's not surprising that demand for a low mile mint condition CRX has driven their value up.
Yea, but I feel like the crx was the car that was kinda cool that you settled for. I mean there were 240s, 3rd gen f bodies, fox body mustangs, rx7s, 300zx, supra, etc...
It's kind of the opposite, no? You settled for a 300ZX because you couldn't afford a CRX.
The 1991 300ZX was $30K and the 1991 CRX was $12k.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
And ten years later in the used market the 300ZX was a lot cheaper than the CRX, which was still about $10k 
Steve_Jones said:roninsoldier83 said:
With that said, I would somewhat interested in picking the brains of the 2+ potential buyers and understanding a bit more about their internal motivations and financial demographics, mostly to help me wrap my head around the whole thing.The buyer posted this:
The reality is this car could’ve sold for 30 grand or 70 grand, It’s actually worth both. But today it was worth 42k. I’ve always wanted one. Bid on half a dozen, Literally sat with my dad at the age of 16 at the dealership and I couldn’t afford the payment. So I never got to roll the legend that is the CRX… Whether I keep it five minutes or five years, It’s gonna be cool to finally get one.
He also was hig bidder (and winner) on a $700k Lamborghini, so I'd assume $42k is not too much of a thought. My guess is the thought it along the line of "If I don't like it, I can sell it fast for $30k and I spent $12k for the experience" or it just gets put in the back of the garage to look at.
Well, brother, you've done the investigation I didn't bother to do myself and answered the questions I was apparently too preoccupied to bother looking into!
That makes all the sense in the world. I'm trying to wrap my head around it using my own lowly financial demographics, thinking "there's no way in this world I would ever pay $40k for a CRX", meanwhile I'm posting on Grassroots Motorsports, not lamborghini-talk.com. I suspect $42k is a far lower percentage of his income than it is of mine. Thanks for digging and sharing the insight!
In reply to roninsoldier83 :
Should I ever buy lotto tickets and have lighting strike and win I shall likely pay all manner of stupid money for things.
The vintage BMX bike I want is currently a $7000 purchase.......I will surely buy one.
Tom1200 said:In reply to roninsoldier83 :
Should I ever buy lotto tickets and have lighting strike and win I shall likely pay all manner of stupid money for things.
The vintage BMX bike I want is currently a $7000 purchase.......I will surely buy one.
A few years ago I thought to see what a Hutch Trick Star like the one I had in high school (after nobody cared about old freestyle bikes) could be had for on eBay.
I regretted it. $7k wouldn't touch a Trick Star 
I saw $10k and up.
So, really, the CRX sold for like four or five BMX bikes, which is kind of a pretty good deal, really.
I totally get wanting to buy a cool car you owned (or wish you owned) when you were younger. But man, $40K is a tough pill to swallow for a CRX. It's a great car, no doubt, but that's real money. My metric for evaluating most of these nostalgia buys is, "Would you rather have this or a V8 Vantage for the same money?":
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rN1ozqxk/2007-aston-martin-v8-vantage
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3p50kwng/2007-aston-martin-v8-vantage
And it applies to a lot of cars I like: DC-2 Type R or Aston? Gen4 Supra or Aston?, etc. In my case, bring on the Aston Martin.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Redline Squarebacks have been over 10K for quite some time.
roninsoldier83 said:Just sticking to the NA, double wishbone variety of Honda's, I just can't see $40k+ for a CRX Si. They're super cool cars, but for that kind of money, you can get a very nice S2000 (AP1 or AP2). Having owned both, there's no question, the S2000 is the more fun car of the 2. If you want to stick to FWD, $40k will get you a fairly nice DC2 Integra Type R (admittedly it will have more miles than this CRX). I've never owned an Integra Type R, but my GS-R was essentially a Type R clone and I thought it was more fun than my CRX Si. I know everyone has their own tastes, but for my money, as a Honda guy, if I'm spending $40k on a wishbone Honda, it would be on an S2000 or Integra Type R. $40k is a lot of money for a SOHC FWD Honda with no VTEC...
Since 1988, I've always owned at least one 2nd-gen CRX, as many as three, and usually two (which is the case now).
One of which is what I consider to be the ultimate combination...CRX with Type R drivetrain swap. And a JDM version, to boot. So you get a 9K rpm VTEC kicking motor in the lighter, shorter wheelbase chassis. And that's the beauty of those golden era Hondas -- Lego style parts mix and match.
As for whether the car in question is worth $40K...not to me. I like cars I can drive, and it's just not going to deliver what I want in a modern car. My ND2 Miata is way better at that.
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