Well, things that I'd look at are pretty much the same as with any car. Check when the timing belt was done. At 188k, it should have just been done whether he had it done on a 60k or a 90k mile schedule. If it hasn't been done recently, plan on having it done, a dealer will charge around $400 to do the service. Other than that, the things that suprised me on my 88 Si were things I should have looked at anyway, exhaust, tires, and CV joints. If at all possible, get the car on a lift, you might be suprised at what you find, my exhaust and tires looked fine just looking under the car like anyone would do at a used car lot, but on a lift, there was major corrosion where the exhaust snakes up over the rear suspension, and the rear tires both had the tread seperating from the tire on the inside. Neither of which I could tell on a test drive, or when looking at it on the lot. Those two things alone made me drop about $500 into the car in the first week. Also, the sunroofs on Sis suck. They are great to have, but if they haven't been maintained, they almost always leak. I'd open the sunroof all the way and look for rust flakes in the tray, from the sunroof panel rusting. THey all rust, and generally from the inside out. Those flakes and other miscellaneous junk will clog up the drain tubes, and if it's been a while and they've had time to build up, you'll have to do what I did, and that's pull the entire headliner and sunroof mechanism out to clean it up, and clear out the tubes, otherwise you'll have water coming in on you everytime it rains. I wouldn't be turned off by a rusty sunroof, though, they all rust. My car was bought in Cocoa Beach FL, and was pristine, without any rust, or damage whatsoever. Except the sunroof. Go figure. A new panel costs around $175, plus paint. I'd check under the fenders and quarter panels for rust, they seem to be a common place for it to happen, especially on the quarters, where there are some rubber strips along the edge that are perfect for collecting water, dirt, sand, and salt and eating away the metal. The repair isn't too bad if it's minor, but the cancer can get out of control if not taken care of, so watch that. Look at the quality of the seals around the windows, they are old, and they might leak. The trim around the hatch window tends to flake its black coating off, making it look kind of cheap, and the headlights and taillights tend to collect moisture pretty readily. Those are all things that would be good to use as bargaining tools. The trim and lights are easy, and free to fix, but most people don't realize it, so you may be able to talk him down on them. The window seals aren't too bad to replace, and you could probably use those as a bargaining tool as well.
Also, if it doesn't work out for the '90, take a look at the 88s. Personally, I like them better, they weight less, I like the taillights better, and the seat belts don't look stupid like the later ones. The 88-89s do have drums in the rear, but it doesn't seem to really make a difference performance wise. The rear suspension is different in the 88s, and has a little bit of rear wheel steering built in, which makes the car kind of twitchy, some dislike that feeling, personally I love it, it feels very agile. It's all preference though, and I wouldn't limit myself to 90-91s, check out the 88-89s, they are quite nice as well. Goos luck on the search, let us know how it goes, this list has been a great resource for me, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well. Original Message: ----------------- From: Ronnie Cruz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 10:25:33 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CRX: Looking to buy a CRX SI Hi, Newbie here. For several weeks now, I've been looking to buy a 2nd Gen CRX SI. I was torn between buying a cheap, probably beat up one, and making it project against a car well taken cared of one. I've looked at a couple of not so beat up cars and I was dissappointed. So I decided to set my sight on my second option. This weekend I am gonna look at real nice 90 SI with some aftermarket parts on it but with more than 188K miles in it. Other than the high mileage, barring any major problem with the car, I think I would love. Since this is my first CRX purchase, what should I look out for? I have the list of things to check out for that I got from crx.org and crxpower.net. Also, how much does this car goes for? Edmunds.com peg the price in the low 1000's because of the high miles. I understand that it should go for more considering aftermarket parts he put it? I would also appreciate if you can help me out with my search. I am specifically looking for a 90-91 CRX SI with A/C and in good running condition. I am not looking to fix it up much coz I don't have an access to garage. Most of the things that I can do to the car is limited to what pretty much anyone can do in their apartment complex parking lot. Thanks and more power. Diego -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .
