Honda Civic Si, Amazing Find! 1 Owner Car For 23 Years - 100% Original Survivor! on 2040-cars

Advertising:

VIN: 2HGED7368KH549576 Year: 1989
Make: Honda
Model: Civic
Trim: Si
Options: Sunroof, CD Player
Power Options: Air Conditioning
Drive Type: FWD
Mileage: 168,162
Exterior Color: Red
Disability Equipped: No
Interior Color: Black
Warranty: Vehicle does NOT have an existing warranty
Number of Cylinders: 4

Condition: UsedA vehicle is considered used if it has been registered and issued a title. Used vehicles have had at least one previous owner. The condition of the exterior, interior and engine can vary depending on the vehicle's history. See the seller's listing for full details and description of any imperfections.Seller Notes:"used car, well taken care of by original owner, very good for its age, but still 24years old and NOT like new. has numerous small scratches, small dents, dings, one minor spot of rust on rear fender, one small spot near windshield, has numerous small flaw which I tried to show in the photos and description. No warrantee, no guarantee, I am a private seller, not a dealer, and I would rather understate the condition of the car. Buyer should use their own judgement about vehicle condition."

Well, this may be a good week for vintage Honda Civic hunters here on ebay, and especially those of you looking for a sweet original Si, or ED series hatchback.  In addition to the nice looking white one which just came available a few days ago, here we have another similar example, only in my opinion, this one may be a bit more desirable for those of you searching for an unmolested totally stock example. 
When I found this car only 6 months ago I jumped on it because it was almost exactly what I was looking for for a long time, specifically
- '89 model, which is the 1st year the Si was available in the 4th generation Civic, and also the ONLY year which had normal seatbelts, and not the passive belts built in to the doors that always catch in the door latch and rip the door panels and also make the car heavier.
- lived in a dry climate, with little to no rust for most of its life (yes, I know.. west coast cars are the best, but this one came from Colorado Springs, and evidently was kept in the garage most of the time when they had snow out there, because there is only 1 small rust area, comparatively minor compared to most of the east coast Civics
- the previous owner(s) did not bastardize it and turn it in to a lowered rice rocket, but rather have kept it preserved in 99% original condition, just as it came from Honda.  It's evident when you look at the car that the person who took care of it for 23 years was a mature owner who kept the maintenance up to date.

Although I collect and restore CRX's as my hobby, I had always dreamed of finding a car like this one.  Unfortunately, situations change, and now I find myself in a similar situation as the owner of the white Civic now listed in PA, in that I have a new wife with a baby on the way, and she refuses to allow us to use this car with the baby! So, I am being forced to put it up for sale and use the funds to look for a newer vehicle with airbags, possibly a wagon or minivan (ugh!)... sigh.. as the saying goes... what the wife says must come first... :(
So, anyway, here's the run down on this car..  I really hope that there's someone out there like me, who's older than 30, and not looking for a car to swap or drop or shave, etc... but will keep the car original, and just fix up some of the small details that need attention, and who will appreciate the value and increasing rarity of one of these Si's in Original and Stock condition!

I will try to list all of the good and bad points of the car and not hide anything that I'm aware of

THE GOOD AND THE BAD 

- as already stated, it's (except for the intermediary dealer and brokers and myself) a true 1 owner car - see the copy of the title I have which I've never even registered yet in my name
- If it weren't for a small 2" spot on the right rear quarter panel, just above the rear bumper edge, and a small area just starting to develop near the right upper windshield molding, you could almost call the car "rust free".  As long as these 2 areas are addressed and corrected soon, the car has no other rust issues.  And I have photos of the underside of the car, as well as the inside area that I exposed in the process of cleaning the carpet (out of the car) which show how mint and clean the rest of the metal on the car is.
- the interior is not perfect, but again, it is original, and compared to many Civics of this vintage, it's not overly worn.  The back seat area and carpet are nearly perfect. The left side panel has a cut on the vinyl because it seems as though the gray vinyl was shrinking and came unglued from the plastic panel. If I kept the car, I would remove the panel and reupholster the vinyl area, easy, and it could look like new.The front passenger seat is excellent for its  age, no side bolster rips, just normal wear.  The driver's seat has the normal Honda bolster rip, but the foam is mostly there, and I have ordered some replacement black corduroy fabric to patch the torn area (about 3") which I will give to the buyer.  The interior door panels don't have any tears on the back from seatbelts, but do show some wear on the top edge, probably from exposure to UV sunlight in the high Colorado altitudes for many years, and are a bit faded with some small vinyl tears on the top, you can see in the photos.
- The car is equipped with A/C, but I have not tried it, and I would just assume that it will need a recharge.
- Other mechanical aspects worth noting - It appears to have a nearly new radiator and hoses recently installed. It also appears to have had the driveshaft axles replaced, and new tires (Falken 185's) recently. The dealer I bought it from installed a new clutch right before I got it from him, and I do have some receipts for that if I can locate where I put them. I believe him also because there is evidence on the bolts holding the transmission on that they've been removed recently, and I can say that the car does shift flawlessly, with NO grinding in any gear. 
-  While I haven't taken the time to get it registered since I got it, I did drive it a few miles and the engine is very smooth and starts instantly with no smoking, and I have no reason to believe there is any problem with it.  I don't have service records, so I cannot state with any certainty when the timing belt may be due for changing.  Other than that, when you open the hood all you see is a 100% stock engine bay, its never even had a cold air intake added.
- All the lights on the car are good, and all the door handles, latches, and locks appear to work normally.  There are 3 minor issues that I am aware of, 2 of which I am willing to take care of for a new owner before delivery, 1) just the other day when I lifted the hood to take photos, the left hood hinge snapped at the pin, so that has to be replaced. 2) the struts for the rear hatch have lost their pressure and cannot hold the hatch door up, and I will replace those also. 3) the engine drips a small amount of oil when the car is parked for several days, and when I looked under it, I think its the gasket of the oil pan that needs replacing.  I don't want to deal with this, because I don't have a lift and think it would be better taken care of at the next oil change.  The car has fresh oil and a new filter in it now already.

If there's something I haven't covered that you want to know about please just ask me.  I will gladly send my phone number to anyone who wants to talk to me about it, or you can email your number to me and I'll call you.  I also have many other photos of the car posted on my MSN Skydrive photo sharing site, but ebay won't let me print web links on here anymore, so you'll have to write to me and I will send it to you.  I really hope this car will find a mature and enthusiastic new owner who will put the care into it that I was hoping to do.  The car deserves to have its small issues addressed and preserved for another 23 years!