1988 CRX Si Restore Part 50 - Cost Breakdown

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

I bought a brand new 1985 CRX Si when I was 17yrs old and a senior in high school. It was red and grey and the memories that are still tied to that car as I sit here now 55yrs old are strong. So much fun and laughter that I can't even begin to describe it. It was totaled in 1991 when an uninsured 17yr old in a large truck plowed into the back of it while my future wife was behind the wheel and stopped at a red light. Its last job on earth was to protect her and it did so without hesitation. One of my favorite pictures is of me in '86 sliding it sideways in a snowy, completely empty Mammoth Mountain parking lot with my surfer hat on backwards and one hand out the moonroof throwing the rock and roll sign.

[@crxseth]

Thanks for sharing!

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

@@crxseth The work you did on this was simply incredible and the end result is even better. You have a ton of talent and should be very proud!

[@danjones7561]

I'm in shock. I felt like this car could be sold for 30-35K. It's almost newer than brand new. I had the same one back in the days, I still miss it dearly. Darn, 21K only. Such an amazing result. Wow.

[@kings17court]

RIGHT!? My eyes opened big in disbelief when I saw that he sold it for 21k. I was like, WHAT???

[@jlourenco1975]

I feel the same, I would be interested in another at a similar price. I have always loved the CRX, never owned one but have longed for them since those years. Great job on this restore. The videos showing this car coming back to life gives me the warm and fuzzies.

[@patricklopes-vtec]

To tell ya that reality is way more harsh than you can expect. I know a lot of people trying to make easy money speculating with the supposed rarity of certain versions (GTR R-34) or the pretension of performance (Savana FD), but in the end people just want a mundane car to drive around. Sincerely, I bet he knew he was losing every single dollar from the Day 1. In fact, there are so many cheaper FF cars out there, for half of US$ 20.000, that makes the picking easier at the end of the journey. A fully saved and tuned FF compact, or a used but modern FF compact? So many compact FF Hondas you can buy for barely US$ 5000 that makes this kind of thinking a serious bargain. Anyone who puts money and sweat in a saving project knows that it is losing more than it can earn. Looks beautiful in the timelapse, but the reality of market it always goes the other way around. Either you're buying and staying because you really like the car or because you commited to racing. The more cars you have on the market, the less overall attractive they are. Even I, a hardcore jdm fanboy, wouldn't pay more than US$ 12.000 for a Ballade CRX, considering many other options and even some superbly cheap FR and MR japanese machines out there. Rarity is not what the concept people exactly get, even if they are convinced by their thinking. Psychology plays a trick on you. If by claiming "rarity" on someting means that you're trying to make easy money... then you're the biggest fool around. Some people open their mouths, others display the toys. Both ways, they are wrong and losing money. So many Miata, Savana, Supra, Fairlady, Skyline, Celica, Impreza, Alcyone, Lancer, GTO... that you simply forget that, if you're playing with money, money is playing with you. His US$ 10.000 profit is mostly a US$ 5000 saving for any other buyer who didn't bought his car and opted for a modern FF or a cheaper FR. One thing about the market is simple: if you know the value of US$ 20.000, you probably knows how to spend half of it and still enjoy another car in a better way. As a lesson, just stay away from the classicist/restorer mindset. With JDM is purely save and tune. Nissan, Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi... you're not in the quasi-money laundering of Peeble Beach Concours d'Elegance level, kid. You're just a chump with an overpriced Supra or NSX at best. Your car wasn't produced in 1920 and you don't have a 100K per month salary. Just save and tune, fill and play. JDM only has sense for true JDM fanboys. I'd pay Seth some US$ 25.000 for this one, but anyone else in the market will call it bullshit. But even paying US$ 30.000 is mostly a gentleman's gesture towards his passion as well, mostly a simbolic high price rather than the practical price of the market. I can think of these cars in the 2000s being just another US$ 500 daily beater and, sincerely... let them be daily beaters back. All JDM stuff. Some N/A 220 hp Supras can be superb daily drivers as well and the rush for them is not justifiable in any sense. They're just home appliances in the automobile format. "Driving blenders" if you'd like to call'em that funny way hehe.

[@danjones7561]

@@patricklopes-vtec Wow, thanks for the detailed answer. Puts some nice context.

[@jlmpc8733]

I am from germany, and those CRXs in bad condition go for sub 1k on the regular, decent condition like 5k, mint condition maybe 10-15k. Shocked someone would pay 21k for that

[@forestnfren8146]

i cannot comprehend how you could sell this after restoring it. amazing work

[@crxseth]

I had to detach myself from it. I spent a lot of time and effort on it. Hoping the new owner is taking great care of it.

[@kashiaxiong]

$21K... Only real crx people will understand that! I miss my 89 si so much! Thanks for keeping another Rex on the road! I'm sure the new owner will love it!

[@ちくてぬしくけて]

Same here. I owned a red 89 CRX si back in 94 through 2008. I didn't want to let it go, but at the time, I was living in an apartment and was parking in the streets. I didn't want it to get stolen, so I sold it to a cousin of mine. The little jerk completely wrecked it! I was so heartbroken, but relieved he was okay. I kicked his butt right after that. 🤣.... I'm always going to miss that pocket rocket.

[@EddyEP2]

I’d rather spend $21.000 on something like this than on a brandnew plastic car that they sell nowadays…does that make me a “crx guy”? 😉

[@Woobieeee]

@@EddyEP2No. it makes you an idiot.

[@brentfarvors192]

Not really...That's a crap ton of work on that car...Anyone can see it's worth that...Especially in the collector market. Only one more coveted is the early Euro V-techs, with left hand drive (Canadian only)...Those early models are getti g rare as hens teeth! The value will only increase as supply dwindles. Beautiful resto!!!

[@Hengel_Andrews]

I was expecting $25k up.

[@ericslivinski2080]

The tremendous amount of work you put into this car top to bottom is just fantastic. Congratulations to you and the new owner!

[@fisiosaiter]

Of all restoration videos I ever saw this is the bravest one. Dude is a monster. #BruteForce

[@gogostyle33]

Wow!!!! I bought my 1988 Red CRX for $10,000 off the lot brand spanking new. I put $3k down and my payments were $210.00 a month for 60 months. Your two videos brought back so many memories for me. Honda should have never stopped making that car.

[@technofi2554]

Adjusting for inflation would put that at $41,346.99 in today's USD value after accounting interest

[@takafumiarisawa70]

You have an eye for restoring . Glad to see it got sold at higher shelf price because I'd say this one is almost if not museum quality all day. Can't let your ability to score parts unnoticed either. All in all, the people that can pull this kinda job in their garage (with footage to boot) are extremely scarce and literal treasures to the community.

[@carlrav5660]

These people are like Shaman. They have magic we can't fully understand

[@antonakis79ohyes]

The new owner is so lucky! This was truly a labour of love.. Amazing work, even if you asked for more money, you would deserve it, but it is clear to me that you did not do this for the money... You are a true Honda enthusiast.. Great work, Seth, keep it up, man!👍

[@Busydadgarage717]

So happy for you, Seth! Car is worth every penny. I am sure the new owner will be over the moon.

[@guylaplante9943]

Thank you for keeping another CRX on the roads. Beautiful work, bravo !

[@cgeorge6786]

That price you got is fantastic. Part of the value is being able to say it is the CRX Seth car because by now every crx enthusiasts knows about your channel.

[@Pertilious]

considering the amount of work that went into bringing this back to showroom condition I think they got a bargain. Great work as always and can't wait for the next one, keep up the great work Seth!

[@crxseth]

Thanks 👍

[@eafreeland]

Thanks Seth for being so transparent with the project and glad it worked out for you and the new owner. Looking forward to what's next!!!! Cheers...

[@Onlooker71]

Surprisingly affordable for all the parts for a 25 year old Honda. You likely saved a ton by re-painting it yourself and it looks amazing. Glad to see you turned a nice profit on it.

[@alexmadrigal3328]

35

[@matthewriche3827]

It's amazing too see that level of detail in a restoration

[@paulmarshall9189]

Drove my '88 Si for 33 years, and gave it to a local kid to build. Awesome vid.

[@talkingpointsusa]

I like how you brought this back to like new and kept it classic. Looks like it just rolled off the show room in 1988!

[@chrisl1751]

Great restoration! I have fond memories of my ‘85 CRX Si (first year of the Si) that I bought new at $7,999 MSRP plus dealer-installed A/C kit. What a blast. I eventually traded up to an ‘88 Integra to answer my need for a CRX with a backseat!

[@jngtruong]

The car turned out AWESOME! It was definitely a pleasure that you took us along and shared the cost. It really helps us get an idea how much it could potentially cost us if we were to restore a car as such and also help potential buyers realized the cost. Can’t wait for the next project on the channel. Once again great job Seth!

[@xcdepp102]

In 2002 I bought a 91 Civic HF Automatic, It wasnt fast, but it was quick and got amazing gas mileage. There wasnt a corner i couldnt handle, or a turn i couldnt make. First car out of every parking lot. I ended up selling it to a Sergeant First Class(SFC) Medic because i had gotten orders to Germany. It was a mistake and ive kicked myself for years about it. Until last weekend, i met a guy in south carolina and found myself another one. Its all there but needs some work on the head and a couple little rust spots and a new paint job. Its probably gonna take me years till im happy with it, but im so excited to finally have another one. Thank you Seth for the videos, this channel inspired me to move forward with my CRX dreams.

[@crxseth]

Do it!

[@StacksOnBricks]

Seth, you have done an incredible job mate. You haven’t taken any shortcuts and the new owner has a truly premium specimen of a car. I also love your honesty with how much you spent and how much you made off the sale! You’ve probably inspired a number of CR-X enthusiasts to get back into them! Thanks for sharing the journey with us!! From Queensland, Australia!

[@crxseth]

Much appreciated!

[@StanGrande7050]

He definitely inspired me! I have a 1989 Honda Civic DX that I purchased back in the summer of 2017.

[@MIKEZGAMER-g8t]

this car is incredible and great profit seth, congrats my brother

[@HPG45]

Considering a 1988 CRX Si had an MSRP of $10,195 new, when adjusted for inflation, a new, off-the-floor '88 Si would be $26,459.26 today. Granted, this one in particular isn't all original, but for a showroom quality CRX that was masterfully restored, $21,000 is a damn good deal. Hell, if my math is mathing, $11,443 is almost a charity for labor. Assuming you worked on the car for 16 hours every month for two years, that comes to $29.80/hr. If more hours spent per month, the lower the cost per hour. You absolutely did this as a labor of love, and it shows. Hope to see more of these restorations in the future, and hope to see more subs come your way!

[@crxseth]

Thanks for doing the math. It was definitely a lot of work!

[@grscott75]

Very impressed and inspired! Been thinking of jumping into a project, and now I think I'm motivated enough. Well done,

[@crxseth]

You should!

[@L6901Malice]

Kind of you on the price! Id never give something up i put that much effort into, but we need car guys like you to keep the cool cars alive! Kudos

[@why2kmax]

Honestly for someone like me that that had an 85 CRX and a 90 civic SI of that era with so many fun memories, $21k is a steal. I couldnt pay you fast enough for something like that. Great work

[@rappof]

I appreciate the thorough walkthrough of all the costs, thanks!

[@zedwpd]

I bought this exact Make, Model, Year, Trim line, and Color as my first new car. I kept it over a decade. This restored one is better than new. My Air Force roommate bought an 88 Mazda RX-7 and laughed saying he bought a sports car and I bought a commuter car. He lost all three races we had against each other. I just bought a brand new Vanderhall Carmel for $40k and would have easily not bought it and paid $25k for this car.

[@tytechguy]

I had 2 91's and 1 90 and man do I miss them. I did a full jdm swap on the 91. Power folding mirrors, gauage cluster, interior etc. Then I went full tard and built a b20 bottom end with a C1 head. Then built the motor with all race parts, custom Garrett turbo blah blah blah. I spent a massive amount of money. Ended up making 650 to the wheels. Did mid 10's in the quarter. Painted it summer green with blue pearl in the clear from dupont. White 19" TE37's. Then I sold it. Lol. Damn what a stupid move. I miss that car. Anyway, you did that Rex justice man. Looks great. You did a fantastic resto job all in the garage. Props brother! Look forward to more👍👍💯

[@jlvcuellar]

That is a beautiful car, i dont have the money to afford it but it looks like he literally took a car out of the dealership, plus is a classic car. Congratulations sir, you did an awesome job

[@marshman997]

Loved this build! I owned an 88 CRX Si in red and miss it everyday. I think that was the golden years for Honda.

[@parkerbohnn]

91 and earlier was made in Japan. The same with the base Civic and the Civic CRX. The CRX SI really shifted well like an expensive sports car with very short throws.

[@TheShoovie]

What an incredible build! Thank you for sharing this journey with the world.

[@oberon1995]

glad to hear that your efforts paid off in a satisfactory amount, very high quality work, I wish you good luck with everything!

[@Vazztudio]

Amazing job ! Hope the new owner enjoys this great restoration. I think it would be great to see the reaction of the new owner once he go and pick it up.

[@crxseth]

It's already gone. He picked it up today. I wanted to respect his privacy.

[@Tithulta1]

I'm just a huge fan after stumbling onto you last night, I love old cars, mostly big block muscle cars, but going through HS I always liked the look of the CRX. THIS is what i need to do with my 69 Fastback I bought way back in HS(1994) for $900 lol

[@crxseth]

Glad you're here! It's always fun to share the passion for cars.

[@stfahrer8714]

Wow!!! It is a wonder. I am from Germany, i had a Honda Civic EC8 from 91 in red. And i loved this car. But i Had an accident and the Civic was wasted. Your car is absolutely wonderful. I Love your car and your work. I saw your video of the restauration and i just shaked my head. It is unbelievebal what you do with this CRX. Now, its a dream Car!!!! Great wishes from Germany...

[@rayjhen18]

"It's not doing what you like, but liking what you do." My dad used to tell me that when I was growing up. Very good job. I wish i kept my crx hf.

[@chriswotton6929]

Same comments as others, but again thanks for saving this beautiful CRX and what an amazing job. The new owner has got an absolute quality rebuild from you. Loved watching this rebuild and look forward to your next projects.

[@crxseth]

Thank you.

[@droch4315]

This crx-si is clean. I love when a car has a original look. That is my dream rebuild car. So hard to find SI in decent shape. Nice job

[@maxwellwellmax878]

It was a fair price!! win win for both you and the buyer.

[@thiagorodrigues3370]

Parabéns amigo pela excelência no seu trabalho. Moro no Brasil e por aqui nunca vi alguém trabalhar com tanta dedicação. Pra quem gosta de carros, esse vídeo é muito prazeroso! Forte abraço

[@LexusIS2FIDDY]

Absolutely awesome.. I grew up with these cars and can appreciate this video. I agree with 100 % on those numbers. I think the new owner got a great deal. It’s a brand new CRX Si..

[@BB_Detailing_00]

Thanks for the breakdown! Car came out nice. Glad to know Resto Tuners is doing something for the community

[@ryanreedgibson]

I was not expecting you sound like one of my cousins. They live in TN and I'm in AZ and haven't seen them in years. I miss them. Anyways, you did an amazing job on the paint and all the work. I watched the rebuild twice.

[@crxseth]

Thanks for the support. I definitely have a southern accent. Haha.

[@diego88ml]

man that is one of the most beautiful cars ive ever seen congrats

[@thecountscastle4860]

It's beautiful. I wish I could have that car. Excellent job. That price is more than fair for the amount of time and care you put into the vehicle. I wish I could have bought it I would have given you $28000.

[@jamesprice6381]

IF i had it id give u $30 K hands DOWN, my Brother owned that year in orig condition as good as yours, he was FELIX ungar man! Wish he stil had it, He gv me a 85 CRX SI Curaco Blue n matching Del SOl wheels, momo steering wheel, hi Pressure clutch plate, It launched like a LS-1 Camaro w/600HP! In 1995 I raced a GT Mustang,w/85 CRX SI... it did NOT run away from me! :) He kept lookin over n shaking head in DISBELIEF! lol Your work is just stellar man, thx for putting all this together!

[@enzoTHEferrari]

بارك الله لك في ما ملكت، ومتعك به في دنياك، وزادك في رزقك، ورزقنا مما رزقك.

[@Dtree12345]

The new owner got a great deal. This is a work of art.

[@ivanvazquez1963]

Wow! Just Amazing. You went above and beyond. Great Job!

[@MissChristineC1990]

Definitely well deserved wee turn of profit. If you count the amount of hours poured in to it, your probably making nothing. But you saved an old Honda, and that's the main thing. Been a fantastic journey and watch. Excited to see what you get up to next.

[@GRC_Lexxlr8]

This is a video I've been excited for. Thank you for making such thorough content. I know it's very time consuming.

[@j_zales1390]

Ive only been watching the channel for a few months now but love the attention to details for the build , now i know what i can do and also afford to take my crx to the next level without breaking the bank , ive been fixing mine up for 7 months now and shes almost ready to start driving but will end up doing some of the work you did to this build to my own

[@billcatcher2701]

The successor to the CRX was the del Sol. You're obviously an incredible, detail oriented talent - so let's see you weave your magic next on a Sol. My choice in color would be Samba green pearl.

[@EddyEP2]

I was about to mention the del sol, but then I thought that maybe was a european only car….but guess not, would be awesome to see Seth save one of those!

[@tommiitenley]

hell yea another car restored and another happy new owner. you do great work and make great videos. showing people what happens when you take the time and put it into making a car like new again. keep up the great work and i'll keep watching

[@arjayponghon4830]

The skills and efforts that you put on is priceless🎉🎉🎉🎉hoping more vlogs restoration to be made on this channel❤❤❤

[@tonybrunetti]

You performed awesome work love your channel and keeping classic Honda alive. Love the T-shirt by the way.

[@raymondnash3563]

Great job and excellent work for somebody working out of he's garage On their free time. you deserve, every penny you got for And the most important thing at the end of the Build is that somebody still got a beautiful car out of it.

[@yaelmontero6775]

I thought you spent a lot more money restoring it. In my opinion it was very good but really it was a lot of work for you. Congrats again!

[@shein360]

I want to get into restoring cars but I was scared I won’t make a profit on Honda civics. But this video gave me hope. Now I just need to find out how to get all the parts and tools myself

[@tensixtythreecomics]

The amount of work and attention to detail is awesome. I would have no issue buying one from you! Your hourly wage on 11 k must be so low that it is all passion! Great video.

[@CharlieB1109]

This dude is incredibly talented

[@crxseth]

Thanks!

[@scryla2000]

That was my dream car back in 1990. My parents said they wouldn’t put me in such a small car. Ended up buying a Civic LE. GREAT CAR but I still want a CRX SI till this day!

[@jlau4083]

For all that work, that’s a bargain what it was sold for. I wish I had that money. I remember my friends one from over ten years ago. He had a b16. I really liked it. You got talent

[@EddyEP2]

Very nice to see what it took/cost to restore this japanese gem. You made good profit and you earn every penny of it, fantastic job! Hope the new owner will cherish this forever and drive it every now and then and not store it in a garage never to be seen again.

[@thesoultruth]

Congrats on an awesome car resto build. I'm jealous of the new owner. ✌️ If you build another one, please consider implementing a digital dash and harmon karmon studio surround sound. Black leather interior with red CRX stitching, as well. Maybe red line tires and red brakes. Okay, my dream just ended. Once again...awesome job!

[@crxseth]

Appreciate the kind words! Hopefully I can get started on the next one soon!

[@carlosdearribacastro7580]

Demasiado barato, el comprador estará contentos por un precio muy económico, trabajo excelente, eres muy detallista en todas las facetas, un saludo desde la Costa del sol, Andalucía, España

[@gilbertgarcia4288]

Man. 21k job well done!!! Car looks great!

[@petrolhead13]

Congratulations!!! Good work, this is more than a passion.

[@jeffs7348]

I just found your channel that Honda CRX looks amazing

[@crxseth]

Hey, thanks!

[@Billy_Built]

Man, outstanding! Considering the amount of time and energy that went into this thing.. That is a steal! Most resto shops would charge the total cost here in labor alone, and that's if there's any shops out there who would even touch one of these as of yet.

[@edmundoelguira6888]

Such an amazing restoration project. If and when you’ll do another restoration. I would like to bid for it. Ty.

[@mjd3879]

I was expecting you to throw out a 30K number at least. Truly a humble person for the insane man hours you put into it. I am sure it was more about the journey than the destination though, and I am sure some return on investment felt good. The new owner must be ecstatic.

[@bhsbass]

The total is here 13:20

[@kings17court]

I don't know how the new owner found you, or how you found the new owner, but I have a suggestion. Next time you do one of these, I'd recommend auctioning it off, somehow. You could even do an auction video, and see how things go in the comments. Maybe I'm just living in a fantasy world, but I think this one would have sold for more than 21k if offered to your subscribers in an auction format. This is the closest I've seen to Chip Foose and OverHaulin, and it's amazing that it's a one-man show out of his garage! The breadth of talent, skill, and know-how is just amazing.

[@crxseth]

Auctions are difficult to manage with no guarantee. I wanted to keep the selling process simple.

[@rushmatic]

Sad day for me as a viewer but I am so happy for the new owner! Good luck with the next project Seth!

[@crxseth]

Thanks!

[@MJ-fh8fw]

That's one of my favorite cars, I graduated high school in 1988.

[@RandomTubePT]

It were a crazy job... I wish the best of luck for the new owner. Cheers Seth...

[@MotorHeadz87]

Incredible work brother

[@SergioBViera]

You forgot the cost of research and sandwiches 😂 awesome bro!

[@JoeHeine]

Sick build man. Respect.

[@solidsteal]

Excellent work! You're stronger minded than I. I attempted a similar restoration many many years ago on a '91 Si but passion got the better of me and it ended up a left-hand drive SiR 😏 (would have been cheaper to import an original 😢but projects are fun)

[@jccarb1]

Amazing restoration. That car would have been incredible in the factory blue.

[@slgpph]

I’ve had a 89 Si and 88 HF and never got around to putting money into them. I just enjoyed having such a light fun car, but I had an 02 RSX Type S and Prelude SH while I had both cars. That’s where my money went.

[@crisperez592]

Keep up the good content brother man. I can see your channel blowing up.

[@diegomartinmartindiego7829]

It pains me that you sold it only for 21000 . Nooooooooooooo!!!!! At least 30/35 Seth ! You put 2 years into it . Thee car is in fantastic form . They new owner will sell it for more without doing anything . It's a classic . Oh man ! You are a good guy . Please bring your prices up ❤ your work is money

[@Schaems_du_disch_nisch]

Mad respect👌 What a great work.

[@dquangt]

Amazing restoration man.

[@grubbyssmokeshack]

Good job staying committed

[@crxseth]

It’s finished. It’s done.

[@DIYKAI]

Great job Seth!

[@crxseth]

Thank you.

[@Patrick94GSR]

$21,000 today is just over $13,000 in 1988. The CRX Si original MSRP was just over $10k so I’d say you did quite well! Loved the series, can’t wait for the ITR content. Might get some ideas for my GSR.

[@carlosgarza1962]

Seth just an awesome build. Great content

[@crxseth]

Appreciate it!

[@raispang6258]

Congratulations Seth, a handsome profit. I am sure the new owner will be extremely happy. Just like a kid who can’t wait to open up his X’mas present 🎁!

[@crxseth]

Thank you! It was bittersweet to let it go.

[@sabrinagutierrez6614]

Just watched ur last video! Amazing job!!

[@crxseth]

Thank you!!

[@bobbytoledo.]

Feels like you should get more money for all you put in, but the market is what it is. Hopefully all your video and editing work fetches you the rest of your dues. This was a cool random youtube experience to stumble upon. Nice work man.

[@crxseth]

I hope so too

[@kouinvesting]

Congratulations! 🎉

[@roasthunter]

Wow 2 years of effort and you sold it!!!!

[@zezom3341]

When did the radio get installed? I feel like it just spawned there lol

[@crxseth]

I couldn’t show everything. Video would be two years long! Haha.

[@zezom3341]

@@crxseth yeah that's fair lol. Also I totally binge watched the entire series today even though I'd never heard of this car before! you're definitely doing something right good sir! Keep going🔥

[@tengkunasriabidintengkuzai7887]

Excellent restoration like brand new car

[@andreiiasi]

Brilliant work mate.