Craigslist find: Rust free 89 4wd Civic wagon.

[BRealistic]

This one seems to have been well taken care of.
Rebuilt engine, lots of new parts.. these are getting rare.
Cold a/c too...
Lots of words.

http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3136505669.html
1989 Honda Civic RT4WD Wagon - $3500 (Knoxville)

Date: 2012-07-13, 9:27AM EDT
Reply to: cj54p-3136505669@sale.craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

1989 Wagon RT4WD 6 speed manual (super low 1st gear)

I bought it in 2007 with 185k miles on it
Currently it has 245k miles
Rebuilt Jasper D16A6 installed at 186k miles (59k on the engine)
Oil changed every 3,000 miles
Transmission has Honda manual transmission fluid in it
Transfer case bearings/seal have been replaced (~40k miles ago)
Most of the suspension bushings have been replaced (anything that was showing wear when I changed the shocks)
KYB GR2 shocks (~30,000 miles on them)
New Honda front wheel bearings (~30,000 miles on them)
All CV boots are good with no cracking, CV's make no noise.
Rear diff axle seals were replaced about 30,000 miles ago and the fluid was changed
All U-joints replaced about 5,000 miles ago
Viscous coupling is tight with no leaks, AWD works great, you can feel it start to lock when you turn sharply in a parking lot. It's awesome in the snow.
Tires (205-50-R15 Yokohama Avid T4) are at ~40% tread left
Catalytic converter and midpipe/resonator (OEM Honda) have about 40,000 miles on them
Brake calipers/wheel cylinders rebuilt at 186,xxx miles, all soft hoses replaced
Alternator replaced about 15,000 miles ago
Rebuilt steering rack at 186k miles
A/C compressor and dryer replaced and system converted to R-134a 20-30,000 miles ago. It blows cold, colder than my wife's 2006 VW Jetta (which I like to remind her about regularly...)
Fuel injectors replaced about 10,000 miles ago
6"x9" Infinity speakers in custom rear speaker pods, Infinity speakers in front doors, Blaupunkt head unit.
Just replaced the coolant temperature sensor (OEM Honda) and coolant. Also recently replaced the hatch lift struts.
New clutch cable yesterday.

Yakima tracks on the roof.

The interior is in fair condition, there are a few patches on the seats, the dash has some cracks, etc. All of the windows/door locks work great.

The body has no rust (other than the hatch) and only a few minor dings. The only issue is the hatch, at some point it was hit and they used a lot of bondo on the lower right side to repair it, which is now cracked. I was going to cut it out and weld in some new metal but haven't gotten around to it. There is also a small surface rusted area, I've cleaned the loose rust and sprayed it with clear rust oleum, it hasn't gotten any worse since I bought it, there are no holes through the metal, but it is thinner there. Sometimes the hatch doesn't like to latch if you park on a side slope, I have a new latch for it though which should take care of the problem. I have pictures I can send you.

All of the glass is good except for a few dings on the windshield (<1mm). They've been there since I bought it.

The bike mounts are NOT included. I've moved them to my new car. The bike is also not included...

I have service records for everything I've done to it since I bought it. Mechanically this car is in great shape. Other than the spots on the hatch the body is in great shape with NO rust. The paint is original and is showing it's age, particularly on the horizontal surfaces. There is also a small dent on the front passenger fender (see pictures). It isn't bad and wouldn't be hard to fix.

I'm asking $3,500. No trades, I have enough vehicles and need to thin the herd. Unless you have a Bridgeport knee mill, then we can talk trades.

I'll also include the parts I have for it if you want them:
Front rotors/pads (new)
Trunk latch (new OEM Honda)

[Lwize]

I hate to say $3,500 is still steep.

[TooFitToQuit]

I hate to say $3,500 is still steep.

Good thing car prices are negotiable

[Cousin Eddie]

It's hardly "mint". The driver's door is a different shade of faded red and oh would you look at that? Would you just look at it? Look at that dent right there on the passenger side front fender. Right on the belt line. Look at that fella right there. Oh would you just look at it? You really gotta look at it.

[Benkennedy11]

Yeah, that's cool and all, but if I was looking for a 4wd wagon, I'd spend $3500 on a loaded ~10 year old Subaru Legacy GT or Outback.

[Big Dac With Fries]

It's hardly "mint". The driver's door is a different shade of faded red and oh would you look at that? Would you just look at it? Look at that dent right there on the passenger side front fender. Right on the belt line. Look at that fella right there. Oh would you just look at it? You really gotta look at it.

Thank you for making my morning.

[spockcat]

It's hardly "mint".

Who called it mint? The only place I find that word on this page is your post.

[Benkennedy11]

Who called it mint? The only place I find that word on this page is your post.

True story.

The body has no rust (other than the hatch) and only a few minor dings.

[Cousin Eddie]

Who called it mint? The only place I find that word on this page is your post.

Who said that anyone else said that?

[bora-brazil]

Hipster car?

[Inspector Detector]

Borning!!!!!!!!!! If you're going to get a mint Honda from the 80's the CRX is the only way to go.

[Rob.]

I hate to say $3,500 is still steep.

Compared to what ?

[turbinepowered]

Borning!!!!!!!!!! If you're going to get a mint Honda from the 80's the CRX is the only way to go.

I dunno, being a wagon man this tugged at the heart a bit. Too bad I'm not in the market.

[Numbersix]

I have to think that's all the money for one with that many miles that isn't mint inside/out.

Good that the owner has maintained it mechanically, but it looks like it has 245k miles.

[alleghenyman]

I admire the guy for putting that much work into a fairly nerdy car, but I would never want to bother with that.

[myeyesareopen]

cant figure out how to embed but, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ZzqBPz4sY

[BRealistic]

cant figure out how to embed but, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ZzqBPz4sY

looks like he is just trying to destroy his wagon.

[DerSpiegel]

So what's the fuss?

It's a twenty-plus year old tin can with a small (but indestructable) engine and AWD. That means this Honda which won't even crash-protect your eggs back from the store. The only reason it's getting any run is because all four wheels will churn in the snow.

If it were a 2WD version, would we all be posting here? Hmm, no.

[BRealistic]

So what's the fuss?

It's a twenty-plus year old tin can with a small (but indestructable) engine and AWD. That means this Honda which won't even crash-protect your eggs back from the store. The only reason it's getting any run is because all four wheels will churn in the snow.

If it were a 2WD version, would we all be posting here? Hmm, no.

Yep- about the same crash protection as an E30 BMW or gen II GTI.
What makes those cars so great?

And I know....i know...

The Civic wagon in real time all wheel drive and the 6 speed is actually a quite unusual car.
It was rare when new, and extremely rare now.
That gives it some interesting factor imo.

[Orzel Bialy]

Ugly car is ugly

[tehAndy]

Kind of want.

[ATL_Av8r]

One of the earliest mass-market, non-homologation-special 6-speed manual transmissions I can think of. Though I'm sure I'll be corrected

[Chapel]

these had 6 speeds?

found one local to me:
http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/3155017345.html

[ATL_Av8r]

Had a "rock crawler" gear that could only be engaged when it was in 4WD mode, IIRC



SL for Super Low?

[.:Ryan]

Had a "rock crawler" gear that could only be engaged when it was in 4WD mode, IIRC

/IMG

SL for Super Low?

Yes and (possibly) Yes... the Tercel 4WD works the same way

[breakfasteatre]

guaranteed that thing has rust

[BRealistic]

guaranteed that thing has rust

If the car has been in the Knoxville area and been used its whole life (never just sat for years..) and has been properly taken care of.... it is very possible it does not have rust.
Instead of underbody rust due to road salt (since it is rarely used), around here the rain causes the rust (interior leaks).

[breakfasteatre]

If the car has been in the Knoxville area and been used its whole life (never just sat for years..) and has been properly taken care of.... it is very possible it does not have rust.
Instead of underbody rust due to road salt (since it is rarely used), around here the rain causes the rust (interior leaks).

i was just saying, commonplace on kijiji and craigslist is to say it has no rust, and yet, fender edges, under doors, pinch weld jack points are all rusty

ie, liars

[BRealistic]

i was just saying, commonplace on kijiji and craigslist is to say it has no rust, and yet, fender edges, under doors, pinch weld jack points are all rusty

ie, liars

Sure.. especially in areas where they use lots of road salt.
No rust means "no rust you can see on the outside from 20 feet".

[tehAndy]

Yeah. 'Not rusty' or 'rust free' usually means different things in different places.

I just went to look at a 200SX SE-R described in this manner and was surprised to only find rust in the door jambs and trunk. Was expecting a lot more.

I was not expecting the car to have overspray on the door locks, AC condenser, and pretty much everywhere else though.