While currently calling Florida its home, today’s Nice Price or No Dice CRX is said to have originally been from New York, and hence has what the seller says is “rust on the floor.” Let’s decide if it has enough pros to counter that con and its price.
Archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that humans first domesticated cats around 9,500 years ago. A Neolithic burial site in Cyprus showed what appeared to be a man buried with a cat, indicating either an extremely close bond between the two or that they both died battling each other.
As we all know, the domestication of cats is a tenuous affair, as any house cat can revert to a feral nature without much provocation. We also know that Jaguars are hard-wired to be feral hunters, and the 2003 Jaguar XKR coupe we looked at yesterday appeared to be a rightful machine to bear that name and legacy. Offering a clean presentation backed by a frustratingly vague ad, our Jag came with a tantalizingly low $6,000 asking price. That friendly price could easily help any interested purchaser overlook the lack of information. Ultimately, that won our opinions, too, earning a solid 84% Nice Price win.
Small wonder
If you’re a fan of word jumbles, then you will no doubt enjoy the connection between yesterday’s Jag and today’s Honda. Both cars have similar letter combinations in their model names—the Jag being XKR and the Honda CRX. See? Just one letter and a transposition off.
Aside from that minor observation, the cars are oceans apart in age, purpose, and performance. Remarkably, owing to several factors, the older and less capable (fuel economy notwithstanding) CRX is the pricier of the two.
Honda introduced the CRX as an adjunct to its Civic lineup for the 1984 model year. A small two-seater, the car was intended by the automaker to serve two functions: a class-leading fuel miser, and a super agile and flingable sports car.
This 1986 CRX is the standard model that bridges the gap between the gas-sipping HF (High Fuel-economy) and the more aggressive but still laudably stingy Si (Sport injection).
Under-utilized
For the drivetrain, the car features a 1,488 cc SOHC inline four engine producing 76 horsepower and 84 pound-feet of torque. That’s mated to a five-speed transaxle driving the front wheels. Braking is by a front disc/rear drum setup, and the whole thing rides on an independent front/beam axle rear suspension.
According to the ad, this one has seen a number of its mechanical kibbles and bits replaced, including the front brakes and brake lines, the struts and shocks, and the entire exhaust, which was replaced with OEM piping. A new carburetor has also been installed, and the seller claims to have receipts for all the work. With those updates, everything on the car, save for the cassette player in the original stereo, is claimed to be functioning as it should.
That’s a lot for a car that only has 49,367 miles under its belt, but there’s a pretty good reason why many of the undercarriage components have given up the ghost and required replacement.
A New York state of mind
While the car is offered in alligator-infested Florida, the seller notes that it was originally a New York car. The ad offhandedly mentions this as a preface to then stating that the car has rust on the floor. How much rust? They don’t go into any detail, nor are there any photos to show whether it’s just surface pitting or if this is something Fred Flintstone would be peddling to work in.
The rest of the car looks to be in good shape, although, in my book, the black-painted alloys aren’t doing it any favors. Fortunately, the seller says that the original steel wheels and center caps will come with the car.
In the cabin, things are just as tidy, with the only complaints appearing to be some abrasion wear on the driver’s seat side bolster and some dirty carpet in that seat’s footwell. This is a pretty basic car, with wind-up windows and no A/C, so there’s little else to wear out or go wrong.
Aspirations
Remarkably, given that the car is offered through Facebook Marketplace, we actually are provided with the title status, which is clean. We also get the transactional details the seller has set, which include the options of a trade for a manual transmission E36 BMW or the outlay of $8,000 cash on the barrelhead. See? I told you it was pricier than yesterday’s Jag. You didn’t believe me!
What’s your take on this CRX and that $8,000 asking? Does that seem fair given the car’s presentation and the fact that we all dig CRXs? Or does the ominous rumor of rust cloud both your ardor and your interest at that asking?
You decide!
Nice Price or No Dice:
Facebook Marketplace out of Fort Myers, Florida, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to BuddyS for the hookup!
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