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2009/2010 Jetta or Civic Coupe?

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puma1552

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Original poster
Nov 20, 2008
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Currently living in Japan, but next year I will be going home to America for grad school and I'm already eyeing cars.

Having my first new car in Japan, I'm spoiled on new cars now and during grad school I do NOT want to worry about anything. I love BMWs, as I've had two, and I could get a pretty nice Z4 when I come back, but it would be on the tail end of the warranty, and that's not a good thing with a German car. There are a lot of nice cars I could get in the low-$20k range, but I've decided new is the way to go at this stage of my life--I simply want something with a full warranty, zero miles, and no headaches for my daily driver.

I'm looking at cars in the low-$20k range and the two I like the most I think are the Civic EX-L Coupe or the Jette SE.

Civic Coupe EX-L ($22,745 optioned as I would like)

Pros:

--Reliable
--Leather Seats
--Coupe
--Better gas mileage

Cons:

--140 hp 4-banger
-Mildly Ugly

Jetta SE ($22,497 optioned as I would like)

Pros:

--Maybe a little classier
--iPod hardwire available from the factory
--170 hp 5-banger (pro?? lol)

Cons:

--No leather seats
--4 doors
--Poor man's BMW (I've had two real BMWs...)
--Worse gas mileage
--Less reliable, at least long-term

Right now I'm leaning towards the Civic as the list of pros and cons shows. A Honda Accord Coupe would be nice but it's just a tad more than I want to/need to spend. I'm hoping I could get either of these for a flat $20k out-the-door depending how desperate car dealers are given the economy.

I also considered an Altima Coupe but considering I love the 350/370Z I'd rather just get a used one of those so the Altima Coupe is out, and the Altima sedan is out since I'd rather get the coupe if I was getting an Altima. Also looked at a Mazda or two but Mazdas don't really do it for me to be honest.

I should also say whatever car will remain bone-stock. No I won't chip it, no I won't throw rims and bodykits at it, nothing except window tint. I've already got a weekend toy of the RWD American V8 variety and am looking to buy this as a daily driver.

I'm curious which you would choose and why, or if anyone has any first-hand experience/impressions of either car. Thanks.
 
Honda all the way IMO. :)

Important thing to note is that the Civic has a MUCH higher resale value; not a big deal to some but in the current economic climate you can never be too sure with your investments. GL!
 
Tough choice. In all honesty, although the Jetta is a very nice car, I would have to go for the civic as just a daily driver. They have great reliability and you get the better gas mileage. I would be so tempted for that Jetta though.
 
everyone i have know with recent VW's have had a plethora of problems.
i have a Civic. and has 120,000 on it and runs perfectly.;)
 
If you're talking about reliability, there's no question here - Civic. And if it helps: Civics not only have ipod interface (any usb, actually) available, it's standard.
 
techfreak85 said:
everyone i have know with recent VW's have had a plethora of problems.
i have a Civic. and has 120,000 on it and runs perfectly.;)
Click to expand...

Recent as in when? My understanding is that the current generation of different VWs is finally back in the "average" category. Honda still has higher reliability.

I am looking into getting my next car. In the running are the Mazda 3, Civic Sedan, and Jetta. Looks like the Jetta is where I am going.
 
Civic Coupe ;). I bought a coupe back in 2007 and never had to worry about a thing. I also recommend the Scion TC as that was my second choice.
 
Out of the two, I'd pick the Civic. It's a decidedly unemotional and non-evocative car, which is a bad thing in my book.

If given the chance to add another to the list for similar price I'd go wtih a VW Golf. They look fantastic and they're extremely useful with the space and all. Just my opinion :)
 
techfreak85 said:
everyone i have know with recent VW's have had a plethora of problems.
i have a Civic. and has 120,000 on it and runs perfectly.;)
Click to expand...

Yupp.
My dad's friend said to my dad that he'll sell his BMW (I forgot which model), but it's like an '03. Everything works fine. He'll sell it to my dad for like $8,000. My dad was like No Thanks. I told him to buy it for me (I'm getting my permit in September), and he's like No, you have a perfectly good Honda Civic at home. Plus, you won't be able to afford the costs of repairs on the BMW.

Bottom Line, European cars are expensive to maintain.

The Civic I'll get has about 100,000 miles on it. We're the only owners (my parents) of the car. My dad bought it brand new in 02 for $16,000 about.
 
I'd never buy a Honda over a VW. I'm one of the rare Americans who hasn't been brainwashed into thinking that Japan makes the best cars in human civilized history.

There's plenty of good cars out there. Honda's are nothing more than a frame, an engine, and some doors. No thought or feeling goes into them things.

Plus, German cars are much more fun to drive, and oh so much more nicer on the inside.
 
fireshot91 said:
Bottom Line, European cars are expensive to maintain.
Click to expand...

Porsche's are rock solid. They run forever.

Also, Ford has dramatically improved. Their cars are very reliable now.

ctwhateveryournameis said:
There's plenty of good cars out there. Honda's are nothing more than a frame, an engine, and some doors. No thought or feeling goes into them things.

Plus, German cars are much more fun to drive, and oh so much more nicer on the inside.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. VW will have a warranty and a couple repairs more than a Civic is worth it in my book. I like cars that drive well, not just that get me from A to B.
 
What I want to know is how a grad student is going to be able to pay for a $20,000 car. Am I right in assuming you're not right out of undergrad?
 
ctt1wbw said:
I'd never buy a Honda over a VW. I'm one of the rare Americans who hasn't been brainwashed into thinking that Japan makes the best cars in human civilized history.

There's plenty of good cars out there. Honda's are nothing more than a frame, an engine, and some doors. No thought or feeling goes into them things.

Plus, German cars are much more fun to drive, and oh so much more nicer on the inside.
Click to expand...


Look at the reliability records. Honda does make a more reliable car. I know of 3 people that have the newer style jetta's and I swear they have the car in the shop more often than out. It is a good looking car though. I'm biased as well. I had an 03 civic ex coupe I bought new and it saved my life twice (deer at 70mph on the highway and rear ended while stopped by someone going 55). I went with the Honda family again when I replaced the Civic and upgraded to a new Accord Coupe, ex-l.

To the OP, I like my accord coupe and with the economy you may be able to get what I got (28k sticker) for the high side of what you want to pay.
 
iShater said:
If you enjoy driving German cars, I recon the Jetta will be more fun to drive than the Civic.
Click to expand...


Agree on this one. It took my wife several years to believe me on this one. She ended up with Audi because the BMW seats were too long for her (she's very petite) and hasn't looked back.


FWIW, if mpg is important to you, keep an eye out for the Jetta diesel...I'm pretty sure that VW is offering one again (might be just the Jetta wagon?). Naturally, a diesel won't be the peaky high revs like the typically "square" gasoline motors that BMW classically uses, but a lot more torque (even more than the old VW "stroker" motors).


-hh
 
-hh said:
Agree on this one. It took my wife several years to believe me on this one. She ended up with Audi because the BMW seats were too long for her (she's very petite) and hasn't looked back.


FWIW, if mpg is important to you, keep an eye out for the Jetta diesel...I'm pretty sure that VW is offering one again (might be just the Jetta wagon?). Naturally, a diesel won't be the peaky high revs like the typically "square" gasoline motors that BMW classically uses, but a lot more torque (even more than the old VW "stroker" motors).


-hh
Click to expand...

The Jetta TDI baby! :D
 
QCassidy352 said:
so why would you pick it? :confused:
Click to expand...

I guess I didn't make much sense when I put in that sentence without explaining it! I meant I'd pick the Civic even though it's an unemotional car because I don't like the Jetta's looks or image. However, if given the choice between the Civic and a car like the Golf (or rabbit, whatever they call them these days), I'd go wtih the VW.
 
Badandy said:
Porsche's are rock solid. They run forever.
Click to expand...

Er, do a little research on the first-generation Boxster, then tell me that Porsche makes "rock solid" cars. Very nice, and for high-performance cars, they are very reliable, BUT...
 
sysiphus said:
Er, do a little research on the first-generation Boxster, then tell me that Porsche makes "rock solid" cars. Very nice, and for high-performance cars, they are very reliable, BUT...
Click to expand...

First generation Boxster...

And besides, old Boxster's dont count. Look at the current Carreras. The reliability is very good.
 
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