A CarScoops Reader Saved The Copart Civic Type-R And She’s Putting It Back On The Road

Back in early July, we posted a story about a Honda Civic Type R with seemingly no damage apart from missing seats and wheels up for auction on Copart. Now, one of our readers has gotten in touch to say that she bought the car and is putting it back on the road.

Tara Bros, an electrical engineer living in Minnesota, said she bought the car with the help of a friend who works at a dealership and reports that, as the photos suggested, it was in remarkably good condition.

“It does actually run well,” she told us. It “has some scrapes and scratches on the flares but otherwise seems to be in pretty good condition.”

Although she got no information about exactly what happened to the Civic, she said she’s convinced it was an insurance job.

“I’ve seen it before and it looks exactly like it, right down to the parts stolen were the easiest, high dollar things that add up to just about the right amount to ensure the insurance would total it,” she proposed. “I mean call me crazy but I don’t see anybody who’s an actual car thief going through the trouble of stealing a Type R and not taking the engine, especially since it runs like a top.”

Since getting it off Copart’s lot, the car has gotten new wheels and the seats from a Civic Type R that went on to become a racecar. It has also required very little work, though the brakes did require some fixing as a result of the car sitting on the discs.

Now the only question is what to do with her current car, a 1999 Acura Integra that she bought from her mom. Bros credits her mother (who now owns a Toyota GT86) with getting her into cars. The kind of person who liked to work on her own cars, Bros’ mother had her in the garage helping out as soon as she could hold tools.

Although she wants to keep the Integra on the road, running both it and the Civic Type R will likely end up being more than she can afford even though she’s getting a good deal on the new car.

When all’s said and done, she figures that she’ll be considerably ahead of where she would have been otherwise. Having paid just $19,200 for the car, she expects to have it on the road with the taxes paid for around $26,000. A quick look at similar vintage Civic Type Rs in Minneapolis finds that prices range from $35,000 to $40,000, though, of course, they don’t have a salvage title like this one.

For now, though, the main focus is getting a VIN inspection and a title in Minnesota so that she can fly out to California and drive her new Civic Type R home later this month for what will undoubtedly be an enviable road trip.