She’s really gone this time…
Shortly before Christmas, I took the Hooniverse Honda Civic Si(gh) out for one last drive. That trip took me inland, away from the beaches of Southern California. The route was out towards Corona which, oddly enough, is the same town that saw me pick up the car a few years ago. It wasn’t returning to its home garage though, but to a new owner.
The 2000 Honda Civic Si that I had plans for, has moved on.


Call me a wimp. Call me lazy. Call me whatever you want (… Kamil), but I believe that when you lose interest in a project, it’s time to step back and assess if you should continue to hold on to it. For me with the Civic, the answer was no and it was time for the car to go. I listed it for sale on Craigslist with what I believed to be a pretty fair price.
The ad was asking for $3,000 or best offer. Much like hot singles, there are a handful of EM1-generation Civic coupes for sale in my area. Many have salvage titles. Many have swapped in junk parts. Almost all of them have mileage figures over 150,000 and approaching the 200,000 mark. Those same cars are also asking for around $5,000.
My car… well, she was my car, has its bruises and bumps. The airbags are both blown. The title says SALVAGE on it, like the others but I’m now convinced this was a factory option. The car did have its plusses compared to the others though, thanks to its sub 130,000 mile odometer, minimal aftermarket CARB-legal parts, and (ahem) recently replaced-replaced timing belt.
I had a few calls and texts. Most wanted to trade for other crap, which I was certainly not interested in, but a few said they’d pay cash. There were some no shows, and then there was a person who decided to step to the plate and make the Civic their own. That person was the very man who helped bring the Civic back to life*. Rick Radcliffe paid me near my asking price, which leaves me enough remaining to begin a new project car path.

Actually, I’d guess that would be project … truck. Stay tuned.

*even if his students attempted to do the opposite, sorry Rick – hahaha

[Images copyright 2015 Hooniverse/Jeff Glucker]