Just wondering if I'm chasing a ghost these days. I've been looking for a ''clean'' 99-00 white or silver CR-V for the last 3 months with no luck. I've looked at 10+ only to find dents, rust, faded paint, etc..craigslist is full of liars. I see photos you guys post up and just get frustrated. It doesn't have to be mint condition, but man most of these are just abused.

Besides Craigslist and Autotrader, are there any other sites or forums I'm missing out on?

 

Of course they still exist. The questions you need to answer are a) Are you willing to travel? and b) Are you willing to pay?

First of all, the 1st gen cars ran from 1997-2001, so you're cutting out a few years searching 99-00. The '97s and '98s made use of the less powerful engine, so maybe you cut those out intentionally. I probably would too. But, there's no reason to exclude the 2001 model year. I just did an Autotrader search of all CR-Vs (AWD ones...the 2WD ones are stupid) from 99-01 for sale right now in the US and got 143 hits. Here's an outstanding one in New England with 32,xxx miles on it

Cars for Sale: Used 2001 Honda CR-V LX for sale in NANUET, NY 10954: Sport Utility Details - 457055709 - Autotrader

I didn't Carfax it or anything to verify mileage, but judging by the lack of body damage and interior wear, it's probably legit. Buy a plane ticket and make it yours man! I flew from BWI to Columbus Ohio once to buy a 1995 Civic VX. Drove home the same day with the car I wanted. As long as the CR-V isn't suffering a failing ignition module or some unusual overheating condition, they're pretty safe to roadtrip. It's tough to walk away from a car you fly to buy, but always have a contingency plan.

 

Yep definitely narrowing it down to 99-01 (sorry mean to say 2001 in original post). I have test driven a couple 98 specs and they just don't move. We are a camping/mountain family so I need some horsepower going up. I currently own a 2003 CRV so I'm used to the K series power.


I guess I'll revise my autotrader search to something larger than 500 miles.

 

What drives you towards a Gen 1, given that you currently own a Gen 2? I have no experience with the Gen 2's, aside from my aunt having owned a 2003 for about 150k miles until her kids grew up and she traded it in on an Accord sedan. I worked for Acura from 2000 until 2004, so I got to experience the K-family engines on the then-new RSX's rolling through the shop for service, but none ever really needed repairs so my familiarity with their insides is limited. I did lots of work on the B-series engines since we had Integras rolling through for t-belts, various leaks, drive belts, valve adjustments, etc... all the time. Given my level of experience, I'll take the B over the K, but I realize this is unique to me.

 

All the kids seem to be using OfferUp nowadays. And 3/4 of the kids are sketchy and unreliable.

 

You just have to find the right previous owner. I got lucky on my 2000 SE. I was working at a Honda dealership at the time when a little old lady who'd bought it new in 1999, rarely drove it and kept it in the garage most of the time, decided she wanted a new one and traded hers in. When I bought it 2 years ago, it only had 66K miles on it.

For the exception of a few minor chips in the paint on the front and rear bumpers, it was immaculate inside and out.

 

Hamster, thats my ideal situation. Finding a 1-owner trade-in. I used to have a friend at Carmax. Wishing he still worked there so he could keep an eye out for clean trade ins. I live in Southern California and it seems like most of these end up at the auctions and guys will flip them on craigslist or 4x the price.



A few layers to this answer. 34 now, so I grew up building track civics around the b-series. Its familiar to me. I also just love the boxy lines of the first gen. might just keep both!


Going to look at a not-so mint 2001 awd tonight for a good deal. hopefully it has a clean body and runs well. definitely needs a new front bumper and some headlights to clean it up.

 

Well I didn't find a super super clean one. but last night I found a nice 2001 awd with a transmission issues for a price I just couldn't pass up. it was also one exit away from my house so I just had to go see it.

transmission shifts wacky. pulled the codes and its 7041 (torque converter problems). fluid looks really dirty. hoping I can drain and fill, clean the screens off the solenoid and cross my fingers. but worst case scenario is I put a new trans in there.

heres a shot of both of my 2001 and my 2003.

 

Looks nice. I suggest doing another drain and fill after about 500 miles, because old fluid will still be trapped in the torque converter after the 1st one. You'll need 3 quarts of fluid.

 

Yep. I literally just did a drain and fill on my 2003 transmission, parts guy at the dealership is going to wonder why I'm back for the same thing a week later.

 

If it's a "Realtime 4WD" version like mine, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change out the rear diff fluid while you're at it, if you don't know when it was changed last. You'll need 1.2 quarts of Dual Pump fluid for that. I hate having to buy 2 quarts to do that but on the plus side, I'll only need to buy 1 quart for the next 4 fluid changes.

 

yeah its realtime. I should have mentioned that rear diff fluid is also on the list. honestly the entire car is going to have a full baseline. fluids, ignition components, valve adjustment, etc... I just want to fix the transmission issue while its hanging out in my garage so I can cross it off the list.

 

Seems like a pretty good find! If the passenger's side looks as good as the driver's side it looks like you were able to avoid inheriting any serious rust problems. Those issues are pretty wide-spread here in the mid-atlantic and north-east, and can be a real deal-breaker. Good luck with the trans issues! I find the rest of those fluid/ignition tasks to be simple and satisfying work.

 

Passenger side looks great too. I gave it a quick wash yesterday (it was covered in dirt when I bought it) and didn't find any surprises on the body. needs a nice clay bar and polish and it'll be looking great.



since I'm in here: I'm trying to tie up a temp needle issue.

the temp needle barely moves. pretty much pinned on cold. so last night I threw in a new thermostat and drained the radiator and new coolant.

heres where it gets weird: the needle stays all the way low (only moves maybe a millimeter then goes back down). but the cooling system appears to be working properly.

-both fans were kicking on which is good (side note, both fans turn on at the same time on the cr-v's? I'm so used to civics just cooling down with 1 fan, but I guess since its a long radiator that both fans turn on with the cr-v?)
-upper and lower radiator hoses are both hot and pressurized
-engine idles perfect, sounds completely normal
-temp needle still sits at cold cold cold (picking up a new temp sender unit today in hopes its that simple)

-I also noticed there is no heat coming from the vents when I blast the heater during burping. possible air bubbles in the heater lines I'm hoping. I forgot to feel the inlet and outlet heater hoses to see if there was a blockage. also going to check and see if the heater valve is even moving when I turn from cold to hot. you never know.

 

OK just updating my ''low temp needle'' situation:

Turns out the tiny plug that snaps onto the tip of the actualy sending unit was the issue. it may have been ''stretched out'' over 16 years and wasn't getting the continuity it needed for a proper reading.

so I broke off the plastic cover on it to show the bare metal plug. I tweeks that a bit (made the hole smaller again) and plugged it back onto the sending unit tip. I then took my pliers and gave the clip a light squeeze to reinforce the connection. started the truck up again and I now have a proper temp reading.

just leaving this here in case people have the same issue down the road.