Buying 85 CRX

[infinity89]

I have found a 85 crx that is for sale and looks to be in good condition. Is there anything besides the basics to look for when I go and look at it? Or anything I should listen for?

[lxndr]

How many miles are on the car?

These cars are pretty basic and not too much can go wrong. The major thing to look for is blue, black or white smoke coming from the tailpipe. Somewhere between 150,000-180,000 miles either the head gasket will go out, the valve seals will start leaking or the piston rings will blow. Any Honda with over 180,000 miles is guaranteed to have (or have had) one or more of these problems.

When test driving the car, turn the car as tightly as possible in both directions. If you hear a clicking noise while turning, the car has bad CV axles. Also be sure to drive up a steep hill to see if the clutch is starting to slip.

[Christ]

Rust. It's there. Trust me.

Check the corners of the floor pan, all the way around, under the car. Check the area around the panhard bar mount (the thing that connects near the middle over the rear axle, bolted to the body at one end, and the axle at the other).

Check for a wet carpet anywhere in the car, mostly behind the seats and at the extreme corners of the car. This is often indicative of plugged/cracked/broken/disconnected drain tubes from the hatch area of sunroof area (Si models).

Other than that, check for the obvious things that you'd look for in any car.

[pimpmcdaddies]

I guess you must of made a decision by now on the car but if anyone else is reading this and considering a project...
The main dramas I've had on my cars(Si's) is inner wing rust.The splash guards hold a lot of damp debris that's built up over the years.Rust starts around the guard fixings especially.Best to strip the front down,clean/grind/sand/weld/glass any offending area & undeseal & Waxoyl.Stripping & refitting is easy,you won't need much more than a 10mm socket & spanner.
I learnt to my cost,bought a 2 owner Si from E Bay that sounded/looked great on listing, but being driven up a muddy track every day since 94 had takens it's toll.Still very much with us today though(against my better judgement...)
My other Si which had had an easier life was fairly easy,no major surprises but the usual rear arches.
Well built cars,Honda slapped plenty of underguard & Waxoyl about when they made them but at 20+ years old they would all benefit with redoing.
I'm in the UK with doom & gloom weather so my cars may have suffered more than yours.