Which to buy - Skoda Fabia Est 04 vs Honda Civic 00

Tunstallstoven

Hi all

I appreciate that this is a bit of a stupid question! These are quite different cars on many levels, yet the missus and I are in the market for something new and have a keen eye on these two.....

- Skoda Fabia Estate 1.2 12V 2004. 34,000 miles on clock. £3k. From a dealer (1 yr warranty).

- Honda Civic Tropica SE 1.4 Hatchback. 2000 (X Reg). 37,000 miles on clock. £1,750. From a used car seller (3 mth warranty).

As they are quite different cars, I won't expect anyone to be able to tell me which would be most suitable from a size, features, etc point of view.

But if anyone would choose one over the other for any other reason it would be great to hear from you. I guess I'm talking about things like reliability, value for money and any other factors you might think significant.

The car is to be used mainly for rural driving (back roads etc). Prob around 300 miles per week.

Cheers

Max

worried_jim

Buy the cheaper one and save the rest- easy.

art_for_arts_sake

Well, I've owned a couple of Škodas, and although I've never owned a Honda they (the Škodas) failed miserably for reliability compared to the Japanese made cars I've owned. Check out my previous post https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/56015653#Comment_56015653

There seem to be a lot of low-mileage, well-maintained Hondas about. It's probably the type of people that buy them.

Personally, I would do a bit more research. There are literally thousands of cars out there so don't think it's an either/or situation. If you are doing a lot of rural miles a compact 4x4 like the Suzuki Ignis might be a good idea, especially with winter approaching. My FiL had one and it's genuinely the only car he's had I have been jealous of.

bride2be2012

we've had no problems with reliability with our Skoda Octavia estate (touch wood), but there's no way I'd buy a Fabia 1.2, we had one as a courtesy car while the Octavia was in for repairs (not mechanical, bodywork as someone scored our tailgate).
And it was horrible to drive, just seemed very slow and sluggish, seemed heavy on fuel (though ours is a diesel so very good on fuel) and not as comfy...I could go on but you get the idea..we couldn't wait to get our (9 years older!) car back.

One thing to watch in terms of value for money, is to compare what your road tax will be for both cars - the Skoda will be on the new tax system based on emissions, not sure if the Honda will be too or if it'll based on engine size, given it's age.

rdwarr

Fabia Estate is a great car but that one seems a bit expensive. See if you can get it for 2.5k. Not an expert on Civics but Honda rate #2 behind Lexus with Skoda and Jaguar tied at #3.

gilbert_and_sullivan

A well maintained Civic is a quality car, if you get one you'll be spoiled, Civic and Corolla probably the best quality (durable and reliable) mass produced cars ever made.

Nice and easy to work on for servicing and general maintenance, eg brakes, genuine parts are expensive but good pattern parts aplenty.

I haven't owned a Skoda so can't comment.

s_b

skoda ugly as a dustbin
honda breaks your back as you get in and what a bland dash

look elsewhere