Topic: Advice on purchasing used car. Honda vs VW

[dave343]

I'm search of a used car, something to get me from work and back without costing me $18/trip for 90km round trip to work like my 07 Montana current is...

I've narrowed my search down to 3 cars that I have personally seen and test driven, except for the VW.

Car 1) 2001 Jetta 1.8T Manual with only 220K KM, and 1 owner, clutch changed at 150K km. The body had no rust, except for a 3inch x 3inch area near the front week door/wheel. The owner has done the repair himself and painted it over. Underneath looked good, and interior looked clean minus a few broken items. My first concern with this car is that the engine light is on, however the owner states it's the 2nd Air intake underneath. Owner mentioned he passed the e-test by resetting the code, driving around etc... but to replace the part is $400... My other concern, is it has a turbo, which if fails can get $$$, correct me if I'm wrong, also it being a VW, I'm assuming the parts are more $? I went for a test drive with the owner, I didn't drive it myself. The owner said he took the insurance off it, and has never sold a car, so didn't offer to let me drive, although I didn't bother asking either. On the road the acceleration was good, too good =) breaking seemed ok, and I felt no vibrations. If I knew the car would pass the e-test I might be sold, but that engine light, it having a turbo, has be on edge.

Car 2) 2001 Honda Accord Special Ed with 220k km, Automatic. In my search for cars, I REALLY want a manual, however with low(er) km, and in good shape they are harder to find. This car has absolutely zero rust, and the underneath is the same. Almost seems like the car came from Florida. No engine light or other warning lights are on, so hopefully that's good for the e-test..? Body is in 9.5 condition, for it's age. Someone must have hit a curb up front because the very bottom plastic grill is smashed. Zip tied in place now. The interior of the accord is flawless, no rips, stains, and everything works. I had it on the road for a good 20 minutes, acceleration was great, breaks seemed ok, car didn't pull to one side. There was a very, very slight vibration when idle, but only when idle do you notice it and it's very minimal. For it being 16years old the car is in really great shape.

Car 3) 2001 Honda Civic with 220k km, and manual ( +1 for being a manual) This car comes with the e-test cert, and safetied from the owner. Had it out for a spit, pick up seemed very good, breaking ok too. The body has it's normal wear and tear for the age. More so than then VW or the accord. There is minimal rust developing over the rear tire area. Now for the issues... When I test drove it, muffler sounded good, BUT whenever you accelerate, there is a buzzing noise coming from somewhere beneath. It sounds like something is rubbing, but it's a buzzing noise. The same noise you get when kids put carboard in their bike spokes. It's not overly loud but it's definitely present when you accelerate, although it seems to have no effect on the car's performance. Other than that, the car is ok, just in slightly more rough shape then the above two.

Thanks in advance for any replies. BTW, all 3 cars have an asking price of $1500(cnd), and I much prefer a manual but I'm considering the accord because of how spotless condition it's in.

[Guy]

For me the choice is clear, the Accord in first place, then the Civic. I would not consider the VW, sounds like a surprise box.

[Blueprint]

For me the choice is clear, the Accord in first place, then the Civic. I would not consider the VW, sounds like a surprise box.

...but have the slushbox evaluated. Besides rust, automatics of that era are Honda's weakest spot, even on 4 cyl. Accords. Or with that kind of budget, OP will get more bang for his buck with a domestic.

[dave343]

The Accord has the 2.3l. I have read about the tranny issues with those generations, although i thought it mostly affected the 6 cylinder Accords.
The VW does sound like a surprise box. It would probably be the funnest car to drive, but i would be going on the owners word he knows its that specific 2nd air intake thats causing the problem. As he is the original owner i asked him what was changed, but besides the clutch at 150, rear brakes everything is original... So i could be in for a lit of work going forward.

For the 1500 the guy is asking for the civic, i would probably get the accord. Its in a lot rougher shape vs the accord looking like new. I should mention the accord is also being sold from a ford dealership, apparently is was a trade in and they have said i can do the etest as long as i leave a deposit.

The only possitive thing the civic has going for it is the fact it comes with a valid saftey and etest from the owner. Else i wouldnt even probably consider it still seeing as how much better shape the vw and accord are in.

[EV Dan]

The Accord. Have it registered and plated by the dealer, it will be a lot less headache.
With a private Civic sale the MTO may screw you on the HST, because they go by "the book" and not necessarily by what you actually paid. Or whichever number is higher.

[Trainman]

First, welcome to the forum dave343, hopefully you will get info that you find useful and will stick around.

I would also like to thank you for providing a pretty clear idea of what you are looking for, and have done some homework already, sounds like you are well informed.

On the VW, I would have a hard time recommending it, especially as you have not driven it and are relying on the owner to give you info.  And that turbo may be a concern.  Funnest of the bunch, and the heart would say yes, but probably not the wise choice.

As the Civic and Accord are the same price, I would probably pick the Accord based on your info.  Any chance the Civic owner would come down to around the $1,000 mark?  That may make a difference.  The buzzing you are hearing may be as simple as a loose heat shield.

If you go with the Accord, get a mechanic you trust to look it over; it should look nice if it is at a dealer but they can cover a multitude of issues with a good detail.  Get you mechanic to focus on the transmission; does the fluid look good?  Does it have any strange smell?  And if you buy it, I would suggest getting the trannie fluid changed right away (goes for all the fluids really).

Good luck, and hopefully you will let us know how it all works out.

[tpl]

As someone who buys German cars and who owned a Audi with the 1.8T engine I would not buy that VW.

[quadzilla]

As someone who buys German cars and who owned a Audi with the 1.8T engine I would not buy that VW.

+1

Also look for a Corolla

[dave343]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've been looking thoroughly at over 100 cars, mostly hondas and have been in touch with quite a few of them. I still keep coming back to these three as them seem the best of the lot. I wanted to keep the car purchase around $2k with another $1k for anything i need to get it on the road and fees. 
I'm dissapointed the Accord isnt manual because its in such nice shape and was such a smooth ride. Also only having 200k it would probably last me a good while as long as i keep it maintained. 
The VW looks like such a fun ride but i can only imagine it'll have me running back amd forth to the bank if stuff starts going wrong. I suppose thats the case for any used car, but I'm trying to pick one that will keep me going and keep my wallet closed. Since the struts, springs, bearings, joints etc.. All have the original 220k km on them, how much longer are they going to go if they havent already started. And 220 on that turbo... I think you're all right that i might be in for a bad day with that car.
I've looked at a lot of domestic cars and I'm aware there is probably more of a bang for buck to be had with fords or a chevy etc... But as my drive to work is 100k/day i wanted something fun to drive and ive always loved the 2002 style sedan accords.
Obviously any used thats over 10yrs old is going to need some form of work, and so I'm willing to drop a few bucks into it. I just want something that will keep going for a while after.

[Blueprint]

The cleanliness of that Accord bodes well, but do have the tranny checked - a co-worker junked his hand-me-down Accord of same gen when the automatic went south around 240,000km.

[draghon]

Also look for a Corolla

Reliable? For sure. Fun to drive, doubtful.

Of the three option, sounds like the accord is the best of the bunch even though the op prefers a manual. Perhaps another option if you can find it is a mazda protege.

[dirtyjeffer]

is your Montana in good mechanical working order??...if it is, and isn't costing you much to keep it on the road (aside from gas), i'd say your best bet is to stick that that...all of the vehicles you are looking at are 15 years old and you could be looking at some serious money replacing components that are worn out...even though these vehicles might be better on gas, your likely to realize any savings after spending $1500-$2000 (or more) purchasing them...that will likely buy you several years worth of gas (the difference between them)...perhaps then, you can look at used vehicles, but maybe ones with 80k kms on them and 3-5 years old...given the options, i don't see how you are going to save any more, to be honest.

[johngenx]

That era of VW is marginal in terms of quality, and the 1.8L engine is troublesome.  The Accord is the best of that group.  I'd also consider a similar era Camry or Corolla.  The 2003- Corolla is nice little car.

[2JDM]

My family had a 01' Accord 4cyl auto, and the auto transmission was replaced under warranty. I forget the mileage.

I'd still go Accord out of the three though.

[dave343]

is your Montana in good mechanical working order??...if it is, and isn't costing you much to keep it on the road (aside from gas), i'd say your best bet is to stick that that...a

I need a 2nd car for a few reasons, all sort of top the list.  The Montana was purchased in Sept 2015 for $2k from a Honda Dealer. The previous owner had done nothing to the van to keep up the maintenance, and as such I ended up dropping another $4000 into it... It needed new tires, trans and coolant lines replaced, all new brakes back and front, Muffler, Sparks, Wires, Shocks, Springs and Struts... but, at least it drove amazing after that 
The problem with the Montana is that in Sept 2015, it had 143K km, today I'm at 205km... so about 60k km in over a year and half.  I have kids, and since this is our only vehicle, during the day the wife has nothing to use to take the small ones out. More importantly, the van is getting so much wear and tear, if it breaks down, we have nothing to boot the kids around in.
2ndly, and important as well, ever since buying the van the transmission keeps slipping, slightly, although on occasion from a red light it's very bad. Like it feels like I"ve been rear ended because the rpm's go to 3-4k and then bamn, the trans sets in. This was noticed a short time after purchasing and all the work was done, but it was too late at that point with over $6k invested, I didn't want to put anything more into it. Overall, the van drives beautiful, no vibrations etc, however every week, a few times the van's tranny slips.
The 2nd issue, is that #4 Cylinder keeps miss firing. Like the said, the van drives amazing, and you wouldn't know it has any issues, but I need it to last. I was hoping to get another year at least from it, and so I don't want it being my daily commuter to work @ 100km/day.  I need a small car, cheap on gas, and cheap on maintenance that I can put all the wear and tear on, but still somewhat fun.  I've looked at so many cars, and I've owned a Focus before so I know how cheap they are to operate, but if this is going to be my daily driver, I'd prefer to get a honda.

Plus, for the wife's sanity, she desperately meed's to get out during the day with the kids, to parks, play places etc... so she need's the wheel's.

I've found a 2003 Accord, with 200k km on it, it's manual, so we'll see if the owner gets back to me. Else, I think I might just go for the Auto Accord I've been eyeballing, seems like the best of everything I've seen.

[Blueprint]

is your Montana in good mechanical working order??...if it is, and isn't costing you much to keep it on the road (aside from gas), i'd say your best bet is to stick that that...a

I need a 2nd car for a few reasons, all sort of top the list.  The Montana was purchased in Sept 2015 for $2k from a Honda Dealer. The previous owner had done nothing to the van to keep up the maintenance, and as such I ended up dropping another $4000 into it... It needed new tires, trans and coolant lines replaced, all new brakes back and front, Muffler, Sparks, Wires, Shocks, Springs and Struts... but, at least it drove amazing after that 
The problem with the Montana is that in Sept 2015, it had 143K km, today I'm at 205km... so about 60k km in over a year and half.  I have kids, and since this is our only vehicle, during the day the wife has nothing to use to take the small ones out. More importantly, the van is getting so much wear and tear, if it breaks down, we have nothing to boot the kids around in.
2ndly, and important as well, ever since buying the van the transmission keeps slipping, slightly, although on occasion from a red light it's very bad. Like it feels like I"ve been rear ended because the rpm's go to 3-4k and then bamn, the trans sets in. This was noticed a short time after purchasing and all the work was done, but it was too late at that point with over $6k invested, I didn't want to put anything more into it. Overall, the van drives beautiful, no vibrations etc, however every week, a few times the van's tranny slips.
The 2nd issue, is that #4 Cylinder keeps miss firing. Like the said, the van drives amazing, and you wouldn't know it has any issues, but I need it to last. I was hoping to get another year at least from it, and so I don't want it being my daily commuter to work @ 100km/day.  I need a small car, cheap on gas, and cheap on maintenance that I can put all the wear and tear on, but still somewhat fun.  I've looked at so many cars, and I've owned a Focus before so I know how cheap they are to operate, but if this is going to be my daily driver, I'd prefer to get a honda.

Plus, for the wife's sanity, she desperately meed's to get out during the day with the kids, to parks, play places etc... so she need's the wheel's.

I've found a 2003 Accord, with 200k km on it, it's manual, so we'll see if the owner gets back to me. Else, I think I might just go for the Auto Accord I've been eyeballing, seems like the best of everything I've seen.

The manual Hondas are sweet and bulletproof, and you'll get a feel for clutch wear by driving it. My only high-mileage car was a 1986 Celica, and the original clutch wore out at 196,000km. Honda timing belts are usually due around 120,000km, and make sure water pump and pulley bearings have been taken car of. A properly maintained Honda four will last and last and last...

Good luck!

[Blueprint]

OP, what region are you in?

A quick local look at my end, and lots of clean Accords on the market, most with high km's though.

http://www.lespac.com/lasalle/vehicules-autos/2001-honda-accord-lx-pneus-hiver-ete-inclus_43298457D0.jsa?searchCriteria=L3NlYXJjaC9yZXN1bHRzLmpzYT9sPTEmaT0wJmRoPTAmaz0xJmU9NDUuNTI1MDAmZj0tNzMuNTU4MzMmaD0xJmc9MTc1NjcmYj0yODYmZGY9Mjg2Jnc9YWR2ZXJ0aXNlclR5cGUmdD0yMDAxJnU9MjAwMyZ6PTEmaj0xJmJtPTE2JmJuPTI2&navigationInfo=YT0wJmI9MTMmYz00MzI5ODQ1N1M0MDY5NDQyOFM0MjgzMTQxOFM0MjQ5MjQ0MlM0MjI4ODQ4OFM0MTg1NjUxMlM0MTIyOTQyOFM0MTQ3NTU0NVM0MTQ1MTQzM1M0MTQzNDQyNFM0MTQzNjQwMVM0MTIzMTQ5M1M0MTIyOTQ1MyZkPTA&requester=SCH

[dave343]

OP, what region are you in?

In the Toronto area, but thanks for the link, some nice cars in Montreal

[rrocket]

We had a 2002 Accord Coupe with manual. Great car and problem free. Had very high mileage when we sold it and still ran like a top.

[dirtyjeffer]

ah, a second vehicle...got it...sorry, i thought you meant you were replacing one.

in any case, at 15 year old car for $1500 is going to be a crap shoot any way you go...but like the others have said, i'd stick with a Honda or Toyota as their likely to be the best of the bunch from that era.