Need advice re: buying a Honda Accord/Civic

[espeed]

Hey guys

I am looking to buy a new or used Honda Civic or Accord. I thought about the Toyota RAV4 but decided against it since I don't know how good or bad it is on the gas, and it may be taxing on the gas since it's an SUV.

So I'm thinking of getting a Honda Civic or Accord, either new or used.
I'm being swayed towards Accord since I've been told about it being more of a safe car than the Civic since it's bigger.

Also, I'm not sure whether getting a new or used car will be a better deal for me. I think Honda offers some sort of graduation rebate, yes? cuz I'll be graduating in the early summer. Also, I'm looking to trade in my parent's Jeep Grand Cherokee '93, which has only 47,000km.

Which would you guys recommend, to get my best bang for the buck?

Thank you.

[SukSingh]

Hello

Do you have any pictures of the Grand Cherokee? Would you consider selling it privately?

[CARLiTO_]

Sell the SUV, you will get more for it than trading it in. If you do trade in, you are only going to get 2 -3 grand.

[Wiseman]

I am looking to buy a new or used Honda Civic or Accord. I thought about the Toyota RAV4 but decided against it since I don't know how good or bad it is on the gas, and it may be taxing on the gas since it's an SUV.

Please.. The RAV4 is not an SUV.

[kevs]

See my post here about the Accord versus the CSX, i guess it also applies for the Civic since they're very similar cars: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271929

The Rav4 is brand new as well and in high demand so I doubt you would be getting much off the MSRP. Also cars in their first year of production sometimes still have a few issues, even Toyotas, although I believe the Rav4 is currently being built in Japan until the new plant in Woodstock opens up, so the quality should be quite good.

I'd say if you don't need an SUV and you're concerned about fuel economy, then the 4 cylinder Accord would be a much better choice than the Rav4. Personally I like the Accord better than the Civic/CSX as well, as I expressed in that other post, and you should be able to negotiate a good deal on a new Accord. When I was looking for my Accord I looked at used models as well, but they don't depreciate enough for it to be worth the risks associated with buying a used car IMO. Also for 2006 Honda replaced the LX and LX-V6 models with special edition SE models, which are a pretty good value for some of the features you're getting compared to the old LX models.

Send me a PM if you want the CarCostCanada invoice price report for the particular Accord trim level(s) you're looking at.

[R23]

lol the accord v6 prob uses more gas than a rav4, its based on a corolla! lol
only thing is that its 4wd (part time?) so that does use more gas, but the new model uses less than the old style so ive read.

hehe, safer cuz its bigger, are you afraid of getting hit already? a new civic is probably just as safe (or safer?) than an accord. just do some research. an accord is alright (bland, but better appointed than a civic), but dont buy it just cuz you think its safer.

it sounds more like youre minivan shopping here, hehe, jk.

[kevs]

Just for the record, the Accord V6 has better fuel economy than the V6 Rav4, although the Rav4 does come surprisingly close. The K24 in the 4 cylinder Accord has slightly better economy in the city than the 4 cylinder Rav4 and significantly better on the highway.

[espeed]

how does the insurance compare on Civic vs Accord?
I'm trying to compare the insurance cost to the gas cost.

[climacus]

Go with a used 2003+ Accord. You can find these for $16-20k after haggling, and they're still a better built vehicle than the 2006 Civic.

[espeed]

how much do you get discounted per year for a relatively new car (ie. low mileage) for Accord and Civics? Cuz I hear these cars don't depreciate much so I wonder if it's worth buying a used car considering that you do get rebates for new cars, and that buying used cars have a risk to them

And do they give tax credits for Hybrids in Canada? Cuz I think the US does

[mau108]

how much do you get discounted per year for a relatively new car (ie. low mileage) for Accord and Civics? Cuz I hear these cars don't depreciate much so I wonder if it's worth buying a used car considering that you do get rebates for new cars, and that buying used cars have a risk to them

And do they give tax credits for Hybrids in Canada? Cuz I think the US does


I heard you get tax credits for Hybrids, but the savings of gas and tax credits wont balance the cost of the car for atleast 5-10 years. So you'd have to drive that hybrid for 5-10 years in order save over regular vehicles.

Personally I'd go for the 04-05 Black 4cyl Accord. Try to find one at a good price, slap on some nice rims and you got your self a beautiful car.

[climacus]

how much do you get discounted per year for a relatively new car (ie. low mileage) for Accord and Civics? Cuz I hear these cars don't depreciate much so I wonder if it's worth buying a used car considering that you do get rebates for new cars, and that buying used cars have a risk to them

Civics and Accords depreciate just like any other car initially. It's where the depreciation curve plateau that makes the differences. Most cars don't plateau until year 7 or so, but by that point maintainence and repair cost will start to creep into the picture, so it takes a lot of familiarity with the model's reliability in order to evaluate the risk of buying a car more than 5 years old.

Depreciation is calculated primarily on years on the road and whether the total mileage falls within the average of 25000km/year. To figure out how much to pay for an used car, find out the trade-in value and add some money on top.

As far as the risk of buying used vs. new, you can mitigate some of that away by buying from a straight-up Honda dealership and take the Honda extended warranty.