Craigslist Find of the Week: All-original 2000 EM1 Civic Si
Now is your chance to own a mint Honda time capsule from your youth.
For the old timers, the EM1 Honda Civic Si was the high school car of dreams. Especially in Electron Blue, it just looked so cool. Hot on the heels of the first Fast and the Furious film, the EM1 was instantly cemented as lust-worthy material for the street racer wannabes.
Perhaps that mindset is why so many of these cars were crashed, smashed, and otherwise modified into oblivion. That it was released at the height of the JDM craze in the U.S., and had a highly tuneable engine also contributed to this. Every conceivable bolt-on was made for, and installed on, these cars. These days, EM1 values have remained quite steady, usually hovering around the $5000 mark for a decent example.
However, what is you wanted a really special example? An all-original, time piece of what Honda used to be all about? Well, for sale now on Craigslist is your time capsule.
Let’s break it down, and consider if the big asking price is worth it.
The powertrain is 100% original. With a mere 81,138 miles on the odometer, the glorious B16A2 engine has never needed to be opened up. Though, if it hasn’t been done already, a timing belt change is likely a good idea. Looking beyond that, the engine bay is exactly as it would have appeared on the showroom floor almost 18 years ago. Perhaps, barring a visit with a steam cleaner to make it all look factory fresh. Not even so much as a “JDM is life” sock around the power steering reservoir.
Exterior-wise, it’s all there: except for where it isn’t. The high-rise rear spoiler is absent from this Si. Personally, that’s an aesthetic demerit for me, but different strokes for different folks. The full barrage of skirts and lips are all present and devoid of any scrapes or missing paint that sadly tend to occur with age.
However, the aspect that is most impressive to me in the interior. It’s gorgeous. With only slightly bolster wear on the driver’s seat from ingress/egress, it’s about as perfect as a 17 year old daily driver can be. Barring the dust on the gauge cluster, these photos may as well come straight from Honda’s personal vault.
How much would you pay to relive the Honda glory days?
So, you’ve seen the basics. Here is where the question gets posed: Is it worth the listed price of $8,700? Objectively, that is not a massive sum of money for a car. However, in comparison to other EM1’s on the market, that’s quite the reach. I can see the right collector scooping this car up if it appeared on a site like BringATrailer, where bravado and ego oftentimes overrides pragmatism and rational thinking. I appreciate the originality, and squeaky cleanness of it all, but my inner cheapskate has a hard time overlooking the fact that a much newer, and much faster 2006+ Civic Si can be had for the same money.
What do you think? Is it worth it, or not?
