ok i havn't had a crx before. I 'm looking at one in chicago, its a 1988 hf i think? 167,000 miles on it, but its 1000 or best offer. he has put in new alternator, belts, cap and rotor, spark plugs, wires and battery. i don't know anything about crx's. i know hondas are pretty reliable but i need a car that'll take me from chicago to mass, 2 times a year, as well as drive around the city of chicago all year around. any input or info would be helpful. thanks.

 

Not knowing the maintanance history, I wouldn't trust it on a semi anual trip to Mass. FWIW, a relative bought an '89 CRX in reasonably good condition for $500 in the Milwaukee area last year. I have over 260,000 miles on my '90 Civic Si and I would trust it on a long road trip, but it's not something I would like to try repeatedly.

 

so is there any specific to look for? and it is just a plain bad idea to try to drive any crx from chicago to mass?

 

On an '88, which I'm not familiar with but basing my reply on my experiences with my '90 Civic Si.....

I would look for records of maintanance that the seller has. If they indicate the car was well cared for, that's a good sign.

At that age and mileage I would look for signs of grease leaking and being flung from the CV joint boots. Both inner and outer. Turn the wheel fully to the left and accelerate moderately. Any knocking sounds? Do the same turned fully to the right. With the wheels straight ahead, accelerate moderately. Any vibration? These are signs of bad inner and outer CV joints = replacement half shafts. I had to do mine at 176k.

Upper ball joints tend to bad about that time too. The whole upper arm assemly needs to be replaced. See http://www.hondautomotivepartsonline.com for prices.

Bounce the front end and listen for any doink or scratching noise. The front coil springs tend to break at the bottom first turn in our climate conditions at that age.

Look behind the cooling fan on the radiator. The radiators tend to rot out at that age too. Look at the coolant overflow bottle. Clean? Or full of gooey junk? Feel the coolant hoses for soft and mushy spots. Look for leaks. If you overheat these motors it's pretty much bye-bye head gasket.

The timing belt will/should be changed in anther 20k miles. With the recommended water pump change, this may run $275.

If it's carb'd, you may have some vacuum leak and sensor issues to deal with. Dry rotted hoses are likely.

Look at the large bushings in the rear trailing arms. They are probably rotted and torn. This will affect handling when i comes to taking those cloverleaf off ramps at higher than posted speeds.

Is the exhaust system OEM parts, or bastardized Midas type cut and clamp?

Lot's of other stuff to consider, like the condition of the body (rust). This also makes it more difficult to work on things when the bolts just break instead of unthread.

Have the car inspected by someone you trust if you aren't very good at checking things out yourself. It may very well be a good car, but take into account the age. You can always come up on your offer if it's worth it. Then take some time to get to know the condition before you go on that long trip, or carry enough cash for a bus ticket.

If the car needs a lot of work, add that to the potential purchase price. You may find you can buy a newer and possibly more reliable car for that amount. (Unless you really have your heart set on the CRX)

I welcome any corrections or additions to my information that anyone may wish to offer.

 

basically i just need a car for cheap that'll be efficient and go from chicago to mass 2 times a year for the next 2 years. then i'll junk it or sell it or wahtever.