Car buying advice

GordonStewart

Hi hoping for a quick answer here, looking at two cars both just under £5K and want feedback on which to go for

'09 Vauxhall Corsa 1.4i 16V Club 5dr [AC] 31364 miles

or

2006 Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC Sport 5dr 61028

Fairly different cars I know, but Honda has such a good name for reliability that I am tempted in that direction, but don't really have a clear idea in my head.

Nodding_Donkey

Honda every time, just on reliability

spacey2012

Two completely different classes of car.
One is a budget gutless economy wonder and the other a premium brand.

DKLS

If you remotely like driving at all, go Honda.

tykesi

Honda all the way although I'm not sure I'd describe it as a 'premium' brand!

Building_Surveyor

Corsa's and honda civics are uncomparable. Honda civic Everytime!

andrewf75

seems a bit odd to pick out a 1.4 Corsa and a 1.8 Civic. Assuming that the OP isn't interested in the performance, why not a 1.4 Civic?

mrcurly1975

Honda. I have had 2 Honda cars and never ever had any problems at all.

nash1977

Honda, my parents have a civic and they have never had a problem in 4 yrs of ownership.

gabitzul

Honda for me as well, had a Civic 06 reg for a while and while I had issues, the car was reasonable.

Also the 1.8 VTEC is a sweet running and capable engine (140 BHP but economy will be similar to the Corsa 1.4).

On the Honda, watch for niggles:

paint is water based and rubbish (and I mean it!) as can peel/flake easily

onset of rust around the bottom of the back doors (also had this on mine)

make sure the alarm works if going for ES or EX spec as they can be problematic

check the suspension to make sure the shock absorbers are ok as they are a known weak spot, especially if on 17" rims. The ride is crashy on them, don't be surprised.

If I remember anything else I will reply.

bigjl

I would go for the Corsa.

It is three years newer and has less miles on it.

The Civic will use more fuel and cost more to service and insure.

Both cars have lowish miles for their age which some may prefer.

If you prefer the Civic, and it is a better car, an idea may be to go for a newer model with higher miles for a similar price.

I did look at a Civic 2.2ctdi when we got the Clio and it drove really well.

But at three yrs old and 90k there was a lot of wear on the painted parts of the interior. The worst being the gearknob, steering wheel and parts of the dash and door panels.

I was a bit shocked. The garage also had an older model Civic a few months older with similar miles. That had no interior wear whatsoever. Have seen the same wear patterns on a few other new shape Civics at auction.