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VW Golf vs Honda Civic

666 messages,  Last post on Jul 31, 2012 at 9:27 AM

You are in the Volkswagen Golf Forum.

What is this discussion about? Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic, Hatchback

Messages Page 60 of 67

#590 of 666 Even if you see fewer Civic's by gee35coupe

May 06, 2005 (5:13 pm)

I know around here, we rarely see old Jetta or Golfs. And the first gen Passat is also absent. By old I mean over 10 years. I mean there are the occasional sightings, but I just got rid of my 1993 Civic EX with 120K a couple years ago and nothing was wrong with it. No rust or anything. I just wanted another car. Heck though in the last few years we've owned 3 Si's and 3 03+ Accords. How often you trade cas has nothing to do with the reliability.
 
But VW placing in the bottom of nearly any longevity study speaks more volumes than any anecdotal story anyone can conjure. And the fact that the VW loses value like a sieve would also spell doom for longevity since any major repair to a aged VW could easily end up costing more than the car is worth. The only place that situation leads is to the auto crusher.

#592 of 666 Re: Even if you see fewer Civic's [gee35coupe] by 600kgolfgt

May 07, 2005 (9:18 pm)

Replying to: gee35coupe (May 06, 2005 5:13 pm)
>I know around here, we rarely see old Jetta or Golfs. And the first gen Passat is also absent.
 
I don't know what area you live in, but on both coasts (East Coast and West Coast), there is an abundance of old VWs, Hondas, etc... So I guess the car crusher is pretty hungry at the moment...

#593 of 666 I live in Atlanta Ga. by gee35coupe

May 08, 2005 (9:49 am)

And there are very few older VW's here. Whereas there are 87-91 Civics not only on the road but they still are pretty expensive when they are in good shape.
 
When you consider VW had 8 model lines in 1990 and Honda only had 4, the difference is even more obvious. The Fox, Corrado, and even the popular Cabriolet are noexistent on the roads these days. Whereas Civics, Accord, and even Preludes from that era are pretty commonplace. At least around here.

#594 of 666 Re: I live in Atlanta Ga. [gee35coupe] by 600kgolfgt

May 09, 2005 (4:43 am)

Replying to: gee35coupe (May 08, 2005 9:49 am)
The Fox and Corrado went out of production after 1993. And even during production, not very many were made (as compared to Golfs and Jettas). So naturally you won't see many of these cars on the road (I've only seen 3 or 4 Corrados and a handful of Foxes in my area)...

#595 of 666 Re: Even if you see fewer Civic's [gee35coupe] by fish8

May 10, 2005 (10:02 am)

Replying to: gee35coupe (May 06, 2005 5:13 pm)
I am not going to get into the "which is better" debate. But, please show me evidence that VW's "loses value like a sieve ". VW's have always been known for holding their value in resale. The following links show the retained Value of various car makes. I compared the Passat and Accord. Yes, the Accord retained it's value better, but the Passat was not far behind. According to JD Power: The Accord got "5 stars" = Among the best and the Passat got 4 stars = Better than Most. So, you saying that VW's lose value like a sieve is a little exaggerated.
 
http://www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/jdpa_ratings/retained_value/RetainedValue.jsp?make=Volkswag- en&model=Passat
 
http://www.jdpower.com/cc/auto/jdpa_ratings/retained_value/RetainedValue.jsp?make=Honda&mo- del=Accord+Sedan

#596 of 666 That study was for three year values. by gee35coupe

May 11, 2005 (7:01 pm)

My post was referrring to why there are few older VW's on the road. Between the frequency of repairs and the costs involved, Honda reliability will keep them on the road longer.
 
They sold a lot of Foxes though. And they were cheap. And they are now nearly extinct. The 87 bodystyle Civic went out of production in 1991 and they are still everywhere. I know they sold a lot of them but they also sold a lot of Ford Tauruses back then and they are nearly gone too. Reliable cheap to run cars stay on the road longer. A durable body does you no good if you can't keep the engine running.

#597 of 666 Re: That study was for three year values. [gee35coupe] by 600kgolfgt

May 12, 2005 (3:56 am)

Replying to: gee35coupe (May 11, 2005 7:01 pm)
Conversely, driving a car with a severely rusted body presents a serious safety issue - especially if one were to have a collision. Proper maintenance keeps the engine running on any car - but a rusted body renders the car useless (unless you can find a car with a good body to transfer the powertrain to).
 
Civics are numerous in your area because they don't salt the roads (during the winter) as heavily as the Northeast/Mid Atlantic (where I live) or Midwest. Plus, the frequency of certain automobiles are lower in your area because of population - The Northeast/MidAtlantic region (extending from Boston to Richmond, VA) has a higher population density than the Southeast - therefore, the more people there are, the more drivers there are, and a higher frequency of a given automobile model is seen on the roads.
 
No matter what side of the issue you're on - it's been a good discussion all the way around

#598 of 666 Re: That study was for three year values. [600kgolfgt] by chidoro

May 12, 2005 (5:27 am)

Replying to: 600kgolfgt (May 12, 2005 3:56 am)
As someone who lives in northern new jersey, I can assure you there's plenty of salt on the roads. It doesn't seem to effect the sheer number of older civics (or accords, camrys, corollas, etc) that are still being used as daily commuting cars. It's really quite astounding when you think about it because it's not just the weather, it's a hard stop and go commute to go just about anywhere around me.
I'm actually kind of curious to see cars of my vintage ('98) will hold up body-wise over time as I'm sure they've improved rust tolerance over time.

#599 of 666 Proper maintenance.. by gee35coupe

May 12, 2005 (6:53 am)

Won't do anything to keep the car running when the electronics go bad. A hole in a fender is nothing. I drove such a car when I was stationed in Okinawa. Rear view mirror fell all the way off of my 1976 Toyota Corona. But the car still got me from a-b. Just get some bondo. You can drive a car with rust. You can't drive a car that doesn't run because the fuel injection computer fried itself or some of the other off the wall stuff that happens to VW's.

Messages Page 60 of 67

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