# Toyota Prius or Honda Civic?



## MaxReaver (Apr 28, 2017)

I am in the process of purchasing a car for personal use and to use part-time for uBer/Lyft etc...

For personal preference reasons, my choice is down to either the new Prius 2 or Honda Civic EX sedan. Pricing, incentives, and finance rates make them almost dead even in terms of cost and monthly payments - the Civic MIGHT be $20 less per month best case...

Given that both cars are acceptable to us for personal use, is the Prius the obvious choice if I want to drive for lyft/Uber? The Prius averages 54 mpg reliably (already have a 3 month old one we bought for my daughter) and the Civic appears to hover around 35 mpg.

Thanks


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

I highly recommend the used Prius. Make sure there’s no hurricane (Houston) damage.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

A lot of people will tell you the Prius. I love the Honda Civic make sure you get the EX. Small difference in price EX to LX but you get a lot more car. Civic has a lot more interior room. Obviously the Prius gets better gas mileage. All that money you save in gas is going to go back into the cost of a new battery when it goes.


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## Katherine Still (Aug 13, 2018)

For gas mileage and maintenance Prius has a slight advantage here. My advice would be test drive both and feel to where you are comfortable sitting all day long.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)




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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

There are plenty of shops rebuilding the dead cells in the battery for a Prius now. In my market expect to pay $400 to get the prius battery back up and running. With the gas savings, I can't think of many cars that beat the Prius. I would buy a used one, mine had 15,000 miles on it in June when I bought it now has 36k miles. It's also 10 years old. I am trying to figure out how to figure out depreciation, I think I can drive another 70k miles and maybe loose $2-3k in value.


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## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

Used Pruis. The 3 year depreciation on those cars makes them cheaper by a lot.

Hondas civics & accords hold value exceedingly well. Like you could buy one, drive it 10k miles, & sell it for close {80%} of the purchase price {assuming you got a decent deal}.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

dryverjohn said:


> I am trying to figure out how to figure out depreciation


Depreciation is easy. Its the market value of the car when you started minus the market value of the car when you've finished with it. To calculate the depreciation per mile, simply divide the depreciation amount by the miles driven.

Notice I didn't say what you paid for it and I didn't say what you can sell it for. If you under or overpaid, it doesn't matter. If you sell it for more than you bought it for, it doesn't matter. What matters is its market value. For example, the car may have been given to you. That doesn't make it depreciation free. You could have turned around and sold it. When finished with it, you could donate it to charity for $0, doesn't matter. What matter is what you could have sold it for.

kbb.com is a good source of estimated value.


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## dryverjohn (Jun 3, 2018)

Using Kbb.com and changing the mileage from 15k to 100k I lose around $3500 in value. That basically breaks down to $.04 per mile of lost value. Assuming all miles are business related, that amounts to write offs of $46,325. Now if it goes 200-300k which I expect it should, I will have to see total costs of ownership. So far it's $50 synthetic oil changes with tire rotation every 10k miles.


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## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

Remember, extended warranties are void once the car is used for rideshare.


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## Uberguy_Toronto (Sep 20, 2018)

MaxReaver said:


> I am in the process of purchasing a car for personal use and to use part-time for uBer/Lyft etc...
> 
> For personal preference reasons, my choice is down to either the new Prius 2 or Honda Civic EX sedan. Pricing, incentives, and finance rates make them almost dead even in terms of cost and monthly payments - the Civic MIGHT be $20 less per month best case...
> 
> ...


No brainer here. Prius has the edge in interior size, comfort, reliability, fuel economy and I can go on and on.



dryverjohn said:


> There are plenty of shops rebuilding the dead cells in the battery for a Prius now. In my market expect to pay $400 to get the prius battery back up and running. With the gas savings, I can't think of many cars that beat the Prius. I would buy a used one, mine had 15,000 miles on it in June when I bought it now has 36k miles. It's also 10 years old. I am trying to figure out how to figure out depreciation, I think I can drive another 70k miles and maybe loose $2-3k in value.


They're expensive and ugly, but Prius V is the ultimate Uber X car. Made in Japan means top quality, rear seat space is heavenly especially considering the back and forth seat sliding and rear seat back reclining. The trunk can fit 4 suitcases with ease.


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## julianaray (Sep 20, 2018)

Toyota Prius will be the best suit for you and your family.


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## robstv (Aug 20, 2017)

No brainer here. For personal use (which you also mention), Civic has the edge in interior size, comfort, interior noise, reliability, fun, superior resale, power, appearance, handling, A/C, safety ratings, much lower repair costs, and I can go on and on. Get the hatchback if you can!

https://www.asburyauto.com/compare/2018-honda-civic-vs-2017-toyota-prius/147572


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## AllGold (Sep 16, 2016)

robstv said:


> No brainer here. For personal use (which you also mention), Civic has the edge in interior size, comfort, interior noise, reliability, fun, superior resale, power, appearance, handling, A/C, safety ratings, much lower repair costs, and I can go on and on. Get the hatchback if you can!
> 
> https://www.asburyauto.com/compare/2018-honda-civic-vs-2017-toyota-prius/147572


That comparison is hilariously biased. The obvious thing is they don't even mention gas mileage.

But there are also a few humorous gems in there like:

_"The Civic Sport Hatchback handles at .93 G's, while the Prius Four Touring pulls only .79 G's of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test."_

I don't think Uber riders will really appreciate the better cornering.

_"The Civic has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Prius (12.4 vs. 11.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups."_

They conveniently fail to mention the better gas mileage of the Prius which actually gives it more range.

I also love the comparisons on the quarter mile and top speed. More things that are really important to Uber riders.


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