New car time. Civic, Focus or Golf?

Flink_Poyd

My aging Focus is literally falling apart now. MOT due in Feb, insurance in a few days so it's crunch time. In reality I could spend a few hundred quid on it and it would keep going for a while, the damn thing just won't die!
Anyway, the choice is as follows, all around £4k or under and 07/08 plates. 


Use is a 40 mile round trip to work, shopping at Morissons and a guitar sized boot for when I go to lessons. Cars are a tool for me rather than a passion so my needs aren't much other than it starts, stops, has a stereo and doesn't break down at the slightest hint of me not washing it. 

Contenders  are

Honda Civic 
The one I've been set on as I like the quirky shape, they have good reviews for reliability and the interior is OK. Insurance will be £70 more than renewal on the current Focus. 


VW Golf MKV
Heard the full range of they're the best car for build quality to don't believe a word the VW fanboys say. Nice one near me, never had a VW and oddly cheaper to insure than the Civic. 

Another Focus
Stick with what I know, stay invisible in the crowd of billions of the the same car, utterly dull interior but good experience with the old model. 

Any Civic or Golf owners real world opinions are appreciated 

TheBigDipper

It's hard to buy a bad car these days, so - based on your stated needs - any of them would work for you. Maybe pick the brand that lets you travel the least for servicing or repairs? 

I owned a petrol, TSi-engined mark 6 Golf for 8 years from new and now own a new mark 7. They're great to drive, quiet at speed and carry more in the back than you'd expect. You need more cash to get in the game and buy one, but you get that back when you sell.  Never driven a diesel. 

Kebabkid

A mate recently bought one of the newer shaped Civics and I loved the internal space = boot space was good and deep and back seats folded down completely flat. However, the seat/bum part of the back seats could also fold up when the back of the seat was upright making for a wider space that could fit an amp.

He said 1400CC was a little underpowered but ECCO was cheap on fuel and tax

fendergibson

Honda would get my vote but if you have a focus already and know their pros and cons I'd say get another it'll be cheaper than a civic like for like

jonnyburgo

For this price range of car I'd go Jap every time. In my experience they have been pretty much headache free.

Deijavoo

I've had a Focus for 4 years now. A titanium X one, and as it's never had a problem I can't fault it, nice interior but utterly gutless and boring to drive. 

Can't wait to get a new car, maybe have to wait a couple of years though.

strtdv

My wife has a Mk5 Golf 1.9Tdi Match edition. 
It's great to drive, well specced for a car of its age (cruise control, air con, iPod compatible, auto headlights and wipers), is spacious and comfortable, and can easily be had for under £4k.
All ours has needed beyond routine servicing is a rear brake calliper about 3 years ago. 

Points to watch out for though: the front wings rust. It's a known issue, and VW will generally replace under warranty after a bit of an argument. Also, the older 1.9Tdi is a more reliable engine than the newer 2.0 which came out in 2008. The 1.9 burns a little oil but is very solid.


If I were going for a Civic I'd get the 1.6 and avoid the 1.4 (it's not a VTEC) and avoid the diesels. The 1.6 VTEC is meant to be very very reliable.

Nunogilberto

£4K should just get you on the ladder fr a nice, V8 engined 80s Yank tank...

Fretwired

If I had £4K I'd go Focus. More car for your money IMHO as they depreciate faster than a VW or Honda. As an aside my mother has a 25 year old Honda she's owned from new. As tough and reliable as a T-34 tank. It's never failed an MOT.

Axe_meister

If space is your no 1 priority go with the Honda it's a tardis.
I also prefer the gear box to any ford (who do ford make such crap feeling gear shifts). VW you will end up paying throughout go the nose for spare parts 

Flink_Poyd

strtdv said:

My wife has a Mk5 Golf 1.9Tdi Match edition. 
It's great to drive, well specced for a car of its age (cruise control, air con, iPod compatible, auto headlights and wipers), is spacious and comfortable, and can easily be had for under £4k.
All ours has needed beyond routine servicing is a rear brake calliper about 3 years ago. 

Points to watch out for though: the front wings rust. It's a known issue, and VW will generally replace under warranty after a bit of an argument. Also, the older 1.9Tdi is a more reliable engine than the newer 2.0 which came out in 2008. The 1.9 burns a little oil but is very solid.


If I were going for a Civic I'd get the 1.6 and avoid the 1.4 (it's not a VTEC) and avoid the diesels. The 1.6 VTEC is meant to be very very reliable.

Whatever I buy it will be a petrol engine. The Golf near me is an 08 1.6 FSI 68k and a shade under £4k. 

The Civic would be a 1.8 AFAIK, had one of the old ones (P reg) as a runabout for a while, had a few Honda bikes which were great. 

Flink_Poyd

Focus Sounds clunky as hell to me

boogieman

The Civic has a design flaw in that there's a bar that goes right across the middle of the rear window, obstructing the view out. Also there's no rear screen wiper. I never understood why they designed them like that. 

I've had two Focuses in the past. Both were ultra reliable and cost peanuts to keep on the road: both only ever needed brake pads and tyres on top of normal servicing. Boring as hell though. Both were 1.8 petrol and not particularly great on fuel economy. 

BigBearKris

I have Civic and can vouch for its reliability. 

I used to have big engines, fast cars etc but Civic was purchased for almost exactly same reasons as yours. Get to work and back, reliable, enough space in boot for some guitar stuff or when we drive to the airport with luggage for 2/4 people. Honda ticks all the boxes. I have 2001 model and it had 50k on it when I've bought it nearly 4 years ago. Apart from new battery (50 quid for a quality one) and exhaust (60) I never had to worry about a thing, just out petrol in and go. Never failed MOT either.
It's not that exciting to drive, but it is what it is. Hope that helps

Flink_Poyd

boogieman said:

The Civic has a design flaw in that there's a bar that goes right across the middle of the rear window, obstructing the view out. Also there's no rear screen wiper. I never understood why they designed them like that. 

I've had two Focuses in the past. Both were ultra reliable and cost peanuts to keep on the road: both only ever needed brake pads and tyres on top of normal servicing. Boring as hell though. Both were 1.8 petrol and not particularly great on fuel economy. 

I know about the rear view issue, not that much of a concern but didnt know or notice that they dont have a rear wiper, thanks for that. One thing I love about my Focus is the heated front screen, its parked on the street so the last few frosts have been dealt with at the push of a button.

BigBearKris said:

I have Civic and can vouch for its reliability. 

I used to have big engines, fast cars etc but Civic was purchased for almost exactly same reasons as yours. Get to work and back, reliable, enough space in boot for some guitar stuff or when we drive to the airport with luggage for 2/4 people. Honda ticks all the boxes. I have 2001 model and it had 50k on it when I've bought it nearly 4 years ago. Apart from new battery (50 quid for a quality one) and exhaust (60) I never had to worry about a thing, just out petrol in and go. Never failed MOT either.
It's not that exciting to drive, but it is what it is. Hope that helps

I drive a Focus, exciting hasnt been on the list for a while unless its a motorbike

Wazmeister

The Golf build quality is far superior, even in these days, to Civic and def the Focus. Better ergonomics, feel and intelligence. Imho.

ThorpyFX

I shall counter on the civic front..... I shall not buy another again. I have had my 07 Civic Type-S 2.2 Turbo diesel since it was six months old, (3000miles) its now 125000 miles young and on the whole has been great but.... It was designed with some glaring issues.

1) the rear visibility is shocking
2) the bonnet angle makes it very susceptible to stone chips
3) the clutch is a massive weak point, i changed it at 60000 miles, and at 120,000 it needs it changing again. Each time its £1400 because the dual mass flywheel needs changing at the same time (£1k if you just do the clutch)
4) the front suspension ball joints had t0 be replaced.
5)the digital display (radio and environment) has failed and again is a common fault
6)the doors fill up with water as the drainage holes are in adequate (I've had to pull the rubber plugs out)
7)the speakers in the door corrode and fail. I've had to splice a new set of wires in.
8) the boot pours water on you when you open it


The kicker for me though is the clutch, a known fault, rated below the power of the car, and Honda UK will not honour any warranty or offer any goodwill gesture. I will have spent £3000 on clutches and dual mass flywheels by the time i get rid of the car. I don't drive like a lunatic and the car isn't that powerful, when you plant the accelerator the clutch slips and the revs bounce as it struggles to cope.

Honda's attitude is 'ah well'! The funny thing is if the faults had been fixed by Honda I would have probably would have returned to them knowing that they stand by their product, they don't and so I won't.

Flink_Poyd

ThorpyFX said:

I shall counter on the civic front..... I shall not buy another again. I have had my 07 Civic Type-S 2.2 Turbo diesel since it was six months old, (3000miles) its now 125000 miles young and on the whole has been great but.... It was designed with some glaring issues.

1) the rear visibility is shocking
2) the bonnet angle makes it very susceptible to stone chips
3) the clutch is a massive weak point, i changed it at 60000 miles, and at 120,000 it needs it changing again. Each time its £1400 because the dual mass flywheel needs changing at the same time (£1k if you just do the clutch)
4) the front suspension ball joints had t0 be replaced.
5)the digital display (radio and environment) has failed and again is a common fault
6)the doors fill up with water as the drainage holes are in adequate (I've had to pull the rubber plugs out)
7)the speakers in the door corrode and fail. I've had to splice a new set of wires in.
8) the boot pours water on you when you open it


The kicker for me though is the clutch, a known fault, rated below the power of the car, and Honda UK will not honour any warranty or offer any goodwill gesture. I will have spent £3000 on clutches and dual mass flywheels by the time i get rid of the car. I don't drive like a lunatic and the car isn't that powerful, when you plant the accelerator the clutch slips and the revs bounce as it struggles to cope.

Honda's attitude is 'ah well'! The funny thing is if the faults had been fixed by Honda I would have probably would have returned to them knowing that they stand by their product, they don't and so I won't.

I'm staying away from diesel, a bit of reading does throw up a few flags about the 2.2 so not sure whether that would apply to the petrol. All points are of interest as I know nothing is going to be perfect. 

Flink_Poyd

Wazmeister said:

The Golf build quality is far superior, even in these days, to Civic and def the Focus. Better ergonomics, feel and intelligence. Imho.

If that's the MK5 what's the boot size like? Les Paul in a Hiscox size?

Sporky

Flink_Poyd said:

VW Golf MKV
Heard the full range of they're the best car for build quality to don't believe a word the VW fanboys say. Nice one near me, never had a VW and oddly cheaper to insure than the Civic.

They are decently made with nice materials, and, to me, the VAG cars have the best control ergonomics. Not the most reliable cars out there, but nowhere near the least - have a look at the Driver Power surveys fer instance.

I wouldn't have a Focus after my mum's two and my Mondeo, but I accept that I've not encounted a representative sample.

Never tried a Civic; I'd want to be sure about the rear visibility.

Iamnobody

If it's purely A-B stuff I'd say Focus all day. At that age faults will develop over the lifetime of your ownership of the car. The Ford will be cheaper and parts more ready available.