A friend of mine purchased an eBay CAI for his '96 Civic a few years ago. You're right in assuming that the filter wasn't the best (not terrible though), and the fitment left a little to be desired, but the main problem was severe pitting of the polished finish that showed up after ~6 months or so. The silicone/rubber adapters also began to dry out and crack, so overall the durability wasn't spectacular. That being said, with a quality filter, I'm sure the performace was more or less on par with other long-tube CAI's, so for the total investment, I suppose it wasn't a bad deal.