# Toyota Corolla vs. Honda Civic



## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

Looking to trade in my 2005 Honda Accord V6 for something a bit smaller and more economical, but also a couple years newer so I can keep ubering. Something with 100k-130k miles, but I don't have the money for a hybrid in this range. 

Which is more reliable Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla?


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## kmartinez3218 (Sep 26, 2015)

Stick with the Hondas, Corollas are hard cars to sell market is tough for them because of the civic. Civic is roomier better quality interior if you go even after the Lx model and holds its value longer and better. I sell cars so I am not Bsing I had 2 corollas sit on my lot a 2010 and 2011 priced good both under 50 k. They sat over 6 months however i sold a civic within a week after getting it and over 20 civics passed through me and I still had those Corollas..

Also you probably can get a Hybrid a good one but you are probably only looking at civic or prius. First I will say I am probably bias when it comes to Hondas overall they are great vehicles. You do not want a civic hybrid civics since 03 have had battery issues even the 06-08 civics had recalls on their battery pack and an extended warranty given to all civic hybrid owners up to 80,000 miles or 120,000 Ca residents. I have had two 09's with a bad packs at 60k and at 75K those are not under recall but i think they should be as its an issue with them to..So I only purchase regular civics , hybrid civics in my biz is to risky an investment.

Look to an insight honda introduced it in 99 making it the hybrid out the longest and with less issues. First I have never seen an insight with a bad battery pack. I have never been broken down in one either..The price range for them is less than the civic and way less than Prius. Also Prius has some serious recalls in the price range you would have if you sold that accord and took it to buy a prius all 04-09 have recalls on its steering, inverter water-pump which causes the hybrid system to shut down leaving you stranded. I have been broken down in almost every Prius I have owned over bad water-pumps. The 2010 I just sold its engine cooling pump went out at 71K that is a 600 part to an individual not counting labor costs to replace. Again a common issue I think should be on recall but it is not. Prius is well known which costs money. I will give you an example I had two Hybrids within this past month I can compare a 2010 Honda Insight Ex 4 door hatch with 63k selling price was 6100.00 took 9 days to sell. 2010 Prius II 71k sold for 11,100 in 48 hours. This is the car we put a new cooling pump in.

PS: sell your accord if that car is in auction with reasonable miles it would fetch over four grand at a dealer only auto auction, don't let a dealer give you 2k or 2500 and make money on it at auction without doing one thing to it. even if it has 240k on the odometer it would still bring 2400 at auction


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Crow, I'm in the same boat. I recently had to replace the shocks and tires on my accord (being done now) so I was thinking of instead putting that money towards a different vehicle. I had the 06 civic in mind but I've had the chance to sneak a peek at one and it is so small.

Like the above poster said, steer clear of the civic hybrid, trans and battery problems.

Have you considered a minivan? The dodge caravan gets similar mpg to your accord. The used 06 is selling for less than an 06 civic. I was looking at one from a motivated (broke) seller for $1200! It had a bad water pump, back registration owed and 181k miles. I figured I could experiment with XL. I passed on it because I am a wimp and didn't wanna risk a dodge at that mileage. I'm looking at another for 2k with 111k miles and no disclosed problems. Also, my mechanic offered to buy my car, lol. So many decisions to make for a $10 an hour gig.


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## kmartinez3218 (Sep 26, 2015)

Hondas are like my passion just a tip. I love civics they run forever if u know them in and out. If you are going to get a civic regular one that is not a hybrid. You need to pay close attention to to its block. 2006 civics and up to 09 have an issue leaking water from its block. this depends on where the car was manufactured so only some civics have the recall however I check them all when I buy them. Just stand in front with it running and look down below its manifold intake with a flashlight and look for wetness. The aluminum was of poor quality in those years which caused water to seep through it. Which can case overheating and engine failure


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

kmartinez3218 said:


> I had two Hybrids within this past month I can compare a 2010 Honda Insight Ex 4 door hatch with 63k selling price was 6100.00 took 9 days to sell. 2010 Prius II 71k sold for 11,100 in 48 hours. This is the car we put a new cooling pump in.
> 
> PS: sell your accord if that car is in auction with reasonable miles it would fetch over four grand at a dealer only auto auction, don't let a dealer give you 2k or 2500 and make money on it at auction without doing one thing to it. even if it has 240k on the odometer it would still bring 2400 at auction


I've been looking on craigslist for my local market, and based on what others are selling Accords for here, I reckon I could get $6,000-7,000 for mine. It is a hand-me-down from my mother that now has almost 125k miles. We both always kept up with all scheduled maintenance, and any mechanical failures were promptly taken care of and parts replaced.

Wow, I'd buy that insight at the price you quoted. Only 63k miles!?


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

kmartinez3218 said:


> Hondas are like my passion just a tip. I love civics they run forever if u know them in and out. If you are going to get a civic regular one that is not a hybrid. You need to pay close attention to to its block. 2006 civics and up to 09 have an issue leaking water from its block. this depends on where the car was manufactured so only some civics have the recall however I check them all when I buy them. Just stand in front with it running and look down below its manifold intake with a flashlight and look for wetness. The aluminum was of poor quality in those years which caused water to seep through it. Which can case overheating and engine failure


What issues does an Insight have? I know they aren't very popular cars. There are nowhere near as many as there are civics, so that could be the reason you haven't heard of problems with them...there aren't that many owners to hear from.


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

IckyDoody said:


> Crow, I'm in the same boat. I recently had to replace the shocks and tires on my accord (being done now) so I was thinking of instead putting that money towards a different vehicle. I had the 06 civic in mind but I've had the chance to sneak a peek at one and it is so small.
> 
> Like the above poster said, steer clear of the civic hybrid, trans and battery problems.
> 
> Have you considered a minivan? The dodge caravan gets similar mpg to your accord. The used 06 is selling for less than an 06 civic. I was looking at one from a motivated (broke) seller for $1200! It had a bad water pump, back registration owed and 181k miles. I figured I could experiment with XL. I passed on it because I am a wimp and didn't wanna risk a dodge at that mileage. I'm looking at another for 2k with 111k miles and no disclosed problems. Also, my mechanic offered to buy my car, lol. So many decisions to make for a $10 an hour gig.


I don't blame you. I wouldn't buy that dodge. Broke people tend not to take care of their cars. Maybe the second one for 111k miles, but I'd definitely expect to find issues when taking it to a mechanic for an examination.

What year is your Accord? Is it V6? How many miles? How much did your mechanic offer?

Personally, I'm leaning away from a minivan, because this trade-in will mostly be for the purposes of having a reliable, economical personal vehicle. I will probably only do Uber 10 hours per week during early morning times when demand likely wouldn't be high for UberXL...or X for that matter.


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

For what it's worth, the 2005 Accords had a transmission recall, and my transmission failed at 48k miles. Due to the recall, the dealership rebuilt the transmission for free. No trans problems since then. Is this a negative point when selling my car, or should I highlight the fact that it had a rebuilt transmission at 48k miles as a positive?


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## Gonzozap (Dec 12, 2014)

crowsandcats said:


> For what it's worth, the 2005 Accords had a transmission recall, and my transmission failed at 48k miles. Due to the recall, the dealership rebuilt the transmission for free. No trans problems since then. Is this a negative point when selling my car, or should I highlight the fact that it had a rebuilt transmission at 48k miles as a positive?


There was a recall on my 2002 Audi A4 for trans problems. Trans was replaced at 60K. When we were selling the car, people did think the new trans was a benefit.


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## Clifford Chong (May 3, 2015)

2016: Civic > Corolla
2014-15: Corolla >~ Civic (roughly the same though)
-2013: Civic > Corolla

Transmission issue affects mainly Civics and Accords from 2001 to 2005. It's more prevalent on early 7th gen Civics (01-02) and Accords (03-04)

Corollas are NOT a difficult car to sell. Tons of people buy Corollas albeit the Civic has the upper hand on the used market because Toyota sells tons of them to fleet companies, thus causing a higher supply (and lower resale value).


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

Plenty of negative comments on the Honda Insight at this link:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/honda_insight.html


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## KGB7 (Apr 23, 2015)

Depends on your market. I see way more Toyotas on the road then i do Hondas in DMV area. Even Taxis use Hybrid Toyota Camrys. The Honda Taxis in DC are none existent.

Im not a fan of Toyota, but its a far better ride then Honda. I test drove a 2015 Accord and i can feel every imperfection on a pavement. Its like your ass is being dragged on a sand paper.

My step father is a Toyota fanatic; 5 Corollas, 4 Camrys and 1 Avalon, . He gets new car every year because hes on the road so much, and after 10 years and 10 cars, only one had an issue; a failed CV Joint boot at 50k on a 2014 Corolla. He didnt bother fixing it, just traded it for a new car.

Toyota has a much nicer and comfier ride then Honda. Honda is more sportier. Both are equally reliable. Both are equally will have failures. Nothing in this world is perfect and 100% reliable.

At the end of the day, buy what you want, because you the one that will be driving it.

Test drive both and then decide. Bring the biggest friend you have to a test drive and have him sit in the back seat of both cars. Have him tell you in which car he felt more comfortable during a test drive.


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## sarah ava (Nov 18, 2015)

*Toyota Corolla is better then Honda Civic.*


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

sarah ava said:


> *Toyota Corolla is better then Honda Civic.*


It also holds its value better for resale.


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## Clifford Chong (May 3, 2015)

Dontmakemepullauonyou said:


> It also holds its value better for resale.


Nope. If you're talking about models older than 2014, then it's a definite no.

In LA, 09 Civics are roughly a bit higher in value than 2010 Corollas. Check Edmunds price if you don't believe me.

Plus it's a better car imo. I had a 2013 Corolla, absolute worst mistake of my life. I traded it in after owning it for 13 months. The 2014 Civic won me over the redesigned Corolla. If I wanted a Corolla, I could've just picked one up at a rental lot. I mean, tons of companies are fighting over customers who are searching for second-hand Corollas anyways. LOL


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## KGB7 (Apr 23, 2015)

Clifford Chong said:


> Nope. If you're talking about models older than 2014, then it's a definite no.
> 
> In LA, 09 Civics are roughly a bit higher in value than 2010 Corollas. Check Edmunds price if you don't believe me.
> 
> Plus it's a better car imo. I had a 2013 Corolla, absolute worst mistake of my life. I traded it in after owning it for 13 months. The 2014 Civic won me over the redesigned Corolla. If I wanted a Corolla, I could've just picked one up at a rental lot. I mean, tons of companies are fighting over customers who are searching for second-hand Corollas anyways. LOL


Resale value is based on region.


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

I just care about what is more reliable, because I'm probably going to drive the next car I purchase into the ground. I'm now leaning away from the Honda Insight, because it sounds like the battery could go bad if the car hasn't been driven in a long time. Battery problems sound pretty common for hybrids. It would be nice to have a car that only required routine maintenance. The Honda Accord I own had to have a new transmission, a new front engine mount and a new transmission mount. The front engine mount was a $250 part. There is also a problem with the driver door sounding like it's slightly off track from its hinge when opened all the way. The power windows sound like they're about to fail too.


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Yeah, the regulator on the drivers window of my accord failed at about 95k miles under normal use. The right rear failed after about 1.5 months of ubering. Damn door slammers. I haven't fixed it. I just shoved the window all the way up and took out the fuse. Every once in awhile I hear "child locks?"

If you do end up needing to replace a window regulator then buy the part on Amazon for 70 bucks and find a mechanic who will install it for you. It's almost $250 for the labor. I looked it up on youtube, if you are handy then you can do it yourself.

Also, don't let it get to the point of full fail. If it starts grinding and popping, roll it up and stop using it. If it fails completely then you probably won't be able to get the window all the way up.


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