Every so often, you stumble across a car that makes you say, “why are you here?” Perhaps it’s a grey-market Renault Master doing commercial workhorse duty as a mobile cafe, perhaps it’s a Lamborghini Espada in the middle of nowhere, or perhaps it’s something fairly ordinary among stuff less-so. To that last point, a fairly normal 2006 Honda CR-V just sold on Bring A Trailer, the same place you’d go to buy an immaculate air-cooled Porsche 911 or a classic Ferrari.
In some ways, this is like buying Cheetos from Erewhon, not the platform you’d expect for this sort of product. Sure, Bring A Trailer has flirted with normcore cars before, including a freaking Dodge Avenger, but it felt like a shift that happened for the crazy COVID market. That peak came and went, but every so often, a car appears on Bring A Trailer that still makes you go “hunh.”
What we have here is a CR-V from the last year Honda decided a rear-mounted spare tire was the way to go. It’s a late second-generation model, which means yes, it comes with a picnic table. What’s more, it’s the EX trim, netting such nicities as a six-speaker stereo, a six-disc CD changer, alloy wheels, privacy glass, and an exterior temperature gauge. Yeah, talk about middle-class opulence.
Alright, so this CR-V is a fairly high spec, but what makes it Bring A Trailer material? Well, it’s not its odometer reading. While 96,000 miles isn’t exactly high, it’s not the collector-grade sort of low mileage either. A 96,000-mile 2006 CR-V probably wouldn’t be an impossible thing to find another example of, there might even be one in most major metropolitan areas, just not for sale at this time. This particular CR-V is also from Pennsylvania, so its underbody isn’t immaculate. There’s some surface rust, about what you’d expect from a 19-year-old daily driver.
What makes this CR-V a bit more special is that 2006 was the last model year that Honda’s popular crossover offered a manual transmission, and this example is equipped with the row-your-own option. More than that, it pairs the five-speed stick-shift with all-wheel-drive, the ultimate drivetrain combo for North American-market CR-Vs. Sure, you could also get the K24 2.4-liter inline-four with a five-speed manual and all-wheel-drive in an Element, but CR-Vs with that combination fly further under the radar.
So, did the buyer of this CR-V make off or get fleeced? Well, Bring A Trailer charges a five percent buyer’s fee on top of the winning bid, so the buyer of this CR-V’s total pre-tax obligation works out to $7,875 before shipping, if shipping’s necessary. Guess what? That’s actually a pretty good deal.
Looking around on Craigslist, comparable examples are generally more expensive. This 2004 CR-V is both a pre-facelift model and the lower-end LX trim, and although the mileage is slightly lower at a hair under 88,000, the asking price is a whopping $11,995. That’s a lot of cash for a 21-year-old crossover.
Conversely, this 2006 Honda CR-V EX has all-wheel drive, features a driver-operated clutch pedal, and is up for sale in Portland for $7,991. The catch? A whopping 207,000 miles, more than double what the one on Bring A Trailer had. Sure, age kills certain components like bushings just as quickly as mileage, but when you think about having double the mileage on certain ball joints and wheel bearings and the like, wouldn’t you rather own the cheaper, lower-mileage example?
Actually, maybe you should buy your next older but well-kept daily driver off Bring A Trailer, provided the high bid stays below what other sellers want for a comparable vehicle. Because it’s not the obvious venue for well-kept normal cars, you’ll likely be competing with fewer potential buyers, and although caveat emptor applies to sight-unseen purchases, it often also applies to regular used cars, too.
Top graphic image: Bring A Trailer
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Wow, that was a great deal for BAT (I miss when they had stuff where you HAD to bring a trailer) It’s awesome w/ stick and AWD. My Dad has had a CR-V like this for a long time (it’s an auto), still has it, and plans on keeping it a long time
Because a manual Cayenne just sold on cars and bids for 125K. Anything with a manual is now fair game for the auction sites.
As someone who appreciates a rare build combination such as this, I’d pay that much for this car. I’m actively looking for this or an EX AWD 5MT Element again. I’ve had two in my life and I miss them dearly.
Hell, I’d pay that much for another 2nd-gen, low milage manual CR-V (to match the one in my driveway with 160K).
Being a motorcycle guy who watches BaT, this has been going on with motos for a while. I cannot figure out how they choose bikes they accept for auction – some are amazing, but a lot are your grandfathers clapped out BMW oulhead. It’s just weird.
Just today I saw a 2002 Nissan Maxima on BaT and had that same “huh” reaction. A cool car, a fun sports sedan for it’s day, but…..BaT?
A couple years ago, a friend of mine had a first gen Acura Legend in pristine condition and they refused to let him list it.
I feel like I got a deal – bought a 2003 EX with 5-speed back in 2018 for $4000. Had 196k miles but was one-owner, always garaged, and looked like nobody ever sat anywhere but the driver’s seat. It did need a clutch and the bushings were about EOL, but that thing was still bulletproof. We sold it to another family for a kid’s car for close to even money and it’s still cruising around town…
This does strike me as slightly odd for BAT, but it was peak CRV, so maybe that was the reason. My dad always leased cars, but the first one he bought was a 2005 CRV EX-AWD in blue with a manual transmission. Sometimes I regret not buying it when he had to sell it, but it was a lifelong MN vehicle with over 200k and I didn’t have much extra cash at the time. I loved the interior, leather bolsters and cloth inserts, it was definitely not an expensive car but it presented nicely and was reasonably economical.
I think Honda still makes decent cars, but there was something a bit more magical about the CRV/Element of the early 00s. I wonder if they will bring back the Element nameplate and try some truly fun ideas again, probably not, but I am here for it.
At least BaT you get more than 2-3 photos that look like they were taken with a 1997 webcam in the dark, and a description with one sentence that has 3 grammar mistakes.
Don’t like it? Scroll on to the next 911.
My parents bought one of these new. The first one they ordered came from the factory in England and when it arrived, it had an auto, not a 5 speed.
The AWD systems in these were very lacking. My dad drove the same car, but in Escape form, and it could outperform the Honda in inclement weather.
The generation of CR-V is the best CRV, and honestly if you’re into compact crossovers, probably the best one ever? That it has low mileage, stick, and the good blue, means it’s probably one of the best CRVs around. Being on BAT is a little weird, unless the seller had to deal with a million Marketplace dipshits offering 3k for it. Or having 5 people in a row show up to say “oh I didn’t know it was a manual” despite saying it 10x in the ad, and twice in the correspondence before meet-up.
Every person I’ve ever known to own this generation of CR-V loves this car, and some of them are still around even, chugging along competently in the 200k+ range. 90’s Honda might have been coolest Honda, but 00’s Honda might have been best Honda.
I think you nailed it. The seller knew what it could be worth to the right person and wanted to see it go to that right person. I’d also almost guarantee they tried listing it locally only to get flooded with low ball offers because it’s “just a 20 year old Honda”.
It’s because some dealers get special treatment from BAT. So they get all their inventory even the normal cars listed.
I have an ‘03 CRV with a stick, mileage is now 305k. It won’t die. I have it apart right now in order to replace the clutch… for the first time. I’ve done exactly one brake job on it and I bought it new. I’m doing the clutch while the weather is nice but it’s not urgent. It barely uses oil, maybe a quart every 6k. Another 100k will be trivial, it will wear me out before I wear it out. For a nice ‘06 with a stick with 207k and asking $8000, that’s a deal in my opinion, especially if the paint looks nice.
That gen of crv is extremely well liked and durable. Unfortunately, of fortunately if you have one that seems like a good deal for that spec that you don’t see very often. My sister has a very basic 03 auto fwd with around 70k miles. She took it to the dealer for a recall and they were trying to give her $10k for it. They are hitting 3rd gen 4 runner territory for questionable value.
I miss when Bring a Trailer meant ‘this heap probably won’t run’ as opposed to ‘you’d be afraid to drive it back to the climate controlled garage.’
Did that time ever exist or am I imagining things? Regardless, that’s a decent price.
Give it time. I think it is going to swing back to the first situation soon enough.
I loved perusing BaT for highly questionable European cars that likely had the same expiration as the half gallon of milk in my fridge.
I loved sharing listings with a friend who’s wife loved Audis that were on their last legs.
I like Barnfinds.com for the fun of sharing silly cars with friends who appreciate them.
Two weeks ago I bought a 2005, one owner from new, top spec, stick shift, CRV. I bought it as a runaround and to teach my kid how to drive a manual. It also means my other two cars can remain garaged while the CRV is street parked.
It has also travelled 456,000 kms. That means it’s travelled the distance from Earth to the moon and 72,000 kms back. Despite this, it’s tidy in the body and paint (apart from a few festering stone chips) and near mint inside (other than a crusty steering wheel). It has no suspension rattles or water/oil consumption and everything seems to work – even the A/C blows cold. The 2 hour trip home in it was completely without issue.
The car has never spent a night inside and for the last 10 years has been parked on the back lawn of the previous owners home, 100 metres from the beach. His plan was to get it to at least 500,000 kms but passed away before he could get it there. I guess we’ll carry the mantel from here on.
Thing is, when you see cars like this, just driven – but very well maintained mechanically – you have to wonder if this was peak automobile.
At an investment of NZ$1500 (US$894) I’m willing to bet it is.
Fantastic deal.
My folks had an ’06, and for a long time it was a spring chicken, but at some point my mom refused to let me dad actually address anything on it and it kept falling into disrepair. Nothing serious, but… a thousand paper cuts.
Went to look at it, and I refused. I ended up buying something worth my time.
Market here for what they were letting start to fall apart with 150,000 miles was about $3000. For $900, if yours is truly cosmetically clean, is a steal.
I agree, in my opinion the mid 90’s – mid 00’s was peak reliability for the average vehicle.
Fully agree. They were modern enough to be reliable and not need constant tinkering with usable OBD2 diagnostics, but not prone to current planned obsolescence. Add in how long and widely the Japanese makes used common parts in their production (even across brands) which made spare parts incredibly plentiful and relatively cheap.
That’s an outstanding deal. We had a 2001 AWD EX. Unfortunately, for me, it was an automatic. But it was purchased for my wife, so that was her call. It was an excellent car other than road noise being borderline obnoxious. It became my son’s daily driver through college. It had over 160K miles on it when he went off to law school. She sold it and I bought a ’15 Escape. It’s been okay, but we all kind of wish we had held on to the Honda instead.
Quite well bought I would say. Just more evidence of how almost any Honda with a manual is going up these days.
The HR-V was available with a manual transmission until 2019, and the Forester was available with one until 2018.
If you really need AWD, Subaru’s system is much better. The manual Subaru’s AWD is completely mechanical, no electronics, always 50/50
If you still prefer a Honda with VTEC, the HRV is about the same size as the old CRV the subject of this article, plus it’s much newer.
Either can be had for the cost of the BaT CR-V
The HRV is an utter dog even with a stick and that’s IF you can even find one. A manual CR-V is a much, much better vehicle and will be equally as reliable. These are bulletproof.
Had an ‘02 CR-V EX with a stick until totaled on a snowy PA road in ‘09- The last great Honda we had-seems like after that our Hondas didn’t really seem the same, especially the ‘16 HR-V (6MT). That was a major disappointment-gutless engine, terrible ride and meh handing.
The ’99 one was pretty nice.
https://ssl.caranddriving.com/f2/images/used/big/hondahrv2.jpg
With Honda’s subcompact being the Fit at the time, I contend that the HR-V should’ve been named Fat. It had the same powertrain, but was so much heavier and sadder. Sort of like me after developing a habit for breakfast sandwiches and a case of plantar fasciitis.
The HR-V did get a bigger motor. It used the R18, same line that powered the Civic from 2006-15, vs. the Fit’s 1.5. Still didn’t clock in quicker than a Fit, but neither really wanted to be pushed; C/D did say it was a bit more refined with the small bump in power though.
Ah my bad, I thought they both used the 1.5. Point mostly stands though.