EG Honda Civics – Prices Going Up
In the most recent issue of Hemmings, I saw this 1993 Honda Civic Si sold for $9,350 at a Barret Jackson auction. The photo brings back some memories.
My first car was a 1995 Honda Civic Ex coupe. Mine was teal as well and came with the exact same hubcaps as in the photo above. In the picture below it’s sitting on some 17″ Racing Sparco wheels. I can’t remember if mine had the exact same engine code as the one in the 93 Si. But they would have both been equipped with 1.6 liter SOHC Vtec motors.
Enough about my old car though. $9,350 is a lot of money for a 93 Civic Si. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see a 1999 Civic Si sell for that much or even a few thousand more. But with those you get the (subjectively) better looks and the DOHC motor. And I know finding a single owner, unmodified or destroyed Civic from the 90s is becoming harder and harder to find, but the price still seems pretty high. Especially with this one having 170,000 miles.
On the plus side, it’s a hatchback which is the lightest of the three body styles. The coupe and sedan are heavier. And it’s definitely a manual transmission being an Si model. I don’t think the sunroof has an effect on the value here. The drivers may prefer the open sunroof and additional light. The racers though don’t want extra weight the sunroof adds up top. On the negative side, it’s teal. Teal was a really popular color for Civics back then. It’s not the coolest color. But maybe over time, the teal will be cool, who knows.
But I’m probably just behind the times on price here. And I think the Hemmings reported average price is probably low for cars that have restoration or preservation potential. A quick look on Classic.com shows sales between 5k and 12k for these 90s Civics.
I’m curious to know what the buyer’s plans are here.
I don’t think this will be a flip. Profits in flipping are made during the purchase, and this purchase price was way too high to flip anytime soon for profit.
The buyer might just preserve it as is. I’m doubtful this is what happens. The miles are too high to make it a museum preservation piece.
The buyer could restore it to like new. That would be fun and make it a quite a collectible down the road.
The buyer could modify it. This is a blank canvas to build a autocrosser, dragster, JDM spec machine, etc. The buyer has deep pockets if that’s the case because $9k is an expensive starting point.
Or my favorite option which is a combination of the above. Drive it, enjoy it. Drive it to the grocery store, take the backroads, run it through the gears. Then swap in the DOHC motor for some more power. Stiffen up the suspension and bit and add a short shifter. Keep it clean and nice. This would be a blast to drive.
That’s it for now.
Stay rad. 😎