honda civic v skoda fabia v peugot 207 v vw polo

grip

Confused??? Yes, i certainly am!! I've been driving a 1litre VWpolo, 97 and am doing 70 miles a day on it so the poor devil is really beginning to feel the pain and so is my wallet. Most persistent problem seems to be wheel related, varying from bearings to tracking and high wear. So I'm OFFICIALLY on the look out for something a bit sturdier + coming up in years - 01 / 02 maybe. Drove a fabia on hoiday and that was a good drive, local garage has a nice civic, highly recommended + said to be very reliable car but is he being biased? Would love some independent feed back. Of my wishlist what's to be avoided and what do you recommend???
Thanks all.

JHMEG

2005 WhatCar? reliability survey. Based on warranty claims, not owner's perception.

Guy:Incognito

It always amazes me how VW manage to break more often and are more costly to fix than skoda. Do you get "vw tax" added to your bill when you go to the garage?

Also never thought Land rover were so far down the list. They are one of those marques that always "seem" reliable.

JHMEG

Stekelly wrote:

Also never thought Land rover were so far down the list. They are one of those marques that always "seem" reliable.

Same could be said for BMW and Audi.

Guy:Incognito

JHMEG wrote:

Same could be said for BMW and Audi.

True. Was surprised BMW were down so far. Didnt see audi down the bottom till you said it. Just assumed they were up the top and I hadnt seen the name.

bazz26

grip wrote:

Confused??? Yes, i certainly am!! I've been driving a 1litre VWpolo, 97 and am doing 70 miles a day on it so the poor devil is really beginning to feel the pain and so is my wallet. Most persistent problem seems to be wheel related, varying from bearings to tracking and high wear. So I'm OFFICIALLY on the look out for something a bit sturdier + coming up in years - 01 / 02 maybe. Drove a fabia on hoiday and that was a good drive, local garage has a nice civic, highly recommended + said to be very reliable car but is he being biased? Would love some independent feed back. Of my wishlist what's to be avoided and what do you recommend???
Thanks all.

A 01 Civic is about the same size as a Golf so will cost alot more than a 01/02 Polo/Fabia. The Civic is a good car and reliability is generally bomb proof. The downside is that they are very popular with boyracers so their reputation is bad with insurance companies. If your looking at Civics also take a look at the Focus and Corolla of the same year as good alternatives. These are also very good cars and will do 70 miles a day no bother.

The Fabia and Polo are smaller but are basically the same car underneath. Polos like most VWs tend to be overpriced and underspeced in Ireland and in my opinion don't represent value for money. The Fabia would be better equipped and cheaper to buy than the Polo. The Fabia also feels very roomie on the inside.

If your looking at Polos then go for the 2002 onwards model with the twin front headlights. This is the new model, pre 2002 Polos are basically the same car as what you have at the moment so there would be no advantage. Also look at the Seat Ibiza which is based on the Polo/Fabia platform too. If going for a Polo/Fabia or Ibiza and doing 70 miles a day I would avoid the 1.2 litre model as this engine only has 55bhp. Not very good for overtaking or motorway driving. The 1.4 litre would be much better.

JHMEG

bazz26 wrote:

A 01 Civic is about the same size as a Golf so will cost alot more than a 01/02 Polo/Fabia. The Civic is a good car and reliability is generally bomb proof. The downside is that they are very popular with boyracers so their reputation is bad with insurance companies.

Re the 01 Civic. The cost and reliability bits are true, the rest is not.

bazz26

JHMEG wrote:

Re the 01 Civic. The cost and reliability bits are true, the rest is not.

Well my father has a 2003 Civic 3 door hatchback, basic 1.4 and the amount of questions he was asked by insurance companies when he was shopping around was unreal. "What model is it sir? A basic 1.4 S he says. "Does it have any letters like SRi or VTi or VTEC?" Just a 1.4 S he replies. He got these questions from a lot of insurance companies. Also his premium was slightly higher than an equivilant 2003 1.4 Corolla hatch.

So in his experience with insurance companies they do have a tarnished reputation.

JHMEG

The questions are normal, like asking "is that the 1.6, the 2 litre or the 2 litre turbo?".

You say slightly higher than the Corolla, and that's all it would be: Slightly. The Corolla is probably one of the cheapest cars in its class to insure, if not the cheapest.

Henry Ford III

Civic's are beloved of boy racers. Like it or not. Bad rep. because of this.

bazz26

JHMEG wrote:

The questions are normal, like asking "is that the 1.6, the 2 litre or the 2 litre turbo?".

You say slightly higher than the Corolla, and that's all it would be: Slightly. The Corolla is probably one of the cheapest cars in its class to insure, if not the cheapest.

Well I'm not going to get into a long debate on this because it is going off topic.

Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking the Civic its a grand car, probably one of the best in it's class but from my own father's experience alarm bells sound with insurance companies when you mention Honda Civic. Insurance companies tend to regard them as being very easy and popular to modify so add extra to the premiums on them compared to a similar 1.4 Corolla, Focus or Astra.

JHMEG

Henry Ford III wrote:

Civic's are beloved of boy racers. Like it or not. Bad rep. because of this.

Proof in the pudding. Let the OP get a quote on a Civic.

maidhc

The Honda Civics of the past few years are very very dull looking cars. But they were replaced by a very very ugly one recently (except for the 4dr, which is nice!)

Of the choices listed I'd go for one though.

What about a Corolla?

Moanin

grip wrote:

Confused??? Yes, i certainly am!! I've been driving a 1litre VWpolo, 97 and am doing 70 miles a day on it so the poor devil is really beginning to feel the pain and so is my wallet. Most persistent problem seems to be wheel related, varying from bearings to tracking and high wear. So I'm OFFICIALLY on the look out for something a bit sturdier + coming up in years - 01 / 02 maybe. Drove a fabia on hoiday and that was a good drive, local garage has a nice civic, highly recommended + said to be very reliable car but is he being biased? Would love some independent feed back. Of my wishlist what's to be avoided and what do you recommend???
Thanks all.

Doing 70 miles a day I think you would warrant a diesel?

want2play

grip wrote:

Confused??? Yes, i certainly am!! I've been driving a 1litre VWpolo, 97 and am doing 70 miles a day on it so the poor devil is really beginning to feel the pain and so is my wallet. Most persistent problem seems to be wheel related, varying from bearings to tracking and high wear. So I'm OFFICIALLY on the look out for something a bit sturdier + coming up in years - 01 / 02 maybe. Drove a fabia on hoiday and that was a good drive, local garage has a nice civic, highly recommended + said to be very reliable car but is he being biased? Would love some independent feed back. Of my wishlist what's to be avoided and what do you recommend???
Thanks all.

You should be capable of picking the car you want from what the car gives.

Skoda Fabia - Budget car, well built.

Honda Civic - As said earlier, has a rep. for boy racers and higher to insure because of high thieft risk

VW Polo - Overpriced like most VW's, not as much toys as the Fabia for the same money.

want2play

.......and Id buy a Pug 206 over a 207

grip

Thanks to all for all responses. Just to settle it, rang the insurance company:
For an 01 Fabia worth 7000 i'd be paying 212euro extra to see me to my renewal next august (that's with the 'L' plate boyf named on the policy - 'L' plate driver that is...better not insult him!)
For an 01 Civic worth 9000 that's +247 so it seems that my insurance company aren't screwing me for a boyracers car but maybe that's coz i'm a girl, wonder what a guy would be quoted on the same 2 examples???? Anyway, the threat of theft mentioned by one of you has made the hairs on me neck stand up as i've only street parking and there is a boyracer gang in this usually quite harmless town but then again they keep to themselves and am i just being judgemental?
Thanks for all the suggestions though, have definately veered away from VW now.

colm_mcm

Boyracers will be disappointed with the 1.4

The Civic has a terrible interior by the way. It's all very well screwed together, bit the switchgear is probably older than you are, and the general texture of the plastics is way off the mark, with "hard and shiny" being the order of the day.

That said, I'd have a Civic before a Focus, or Astra, but despite their complete lack of power, I'd seriously consider a 1.4 Golf, just for the refinement and comfort. I'd also be thinking of a Corolla. for reliability (I think everyone will agree the Civic and Corolla would be ahead in that area)

Supercell

grip wrote:

Thanks to all for all responses. Just to settle it, rang the insurance company:
For an 01 Fabia worth 7000 i'd be paying 212euro extra to see me to my renewal next august (that's with the 'L' plate boyf named on the policy - 'L' plate driver that is...better not insult him!)

There are different Fabia models with different insurance ranges.

For example the 1.4L 8V 68BHP will be much cheaper to insure than its 16V equivalent, as an L driver i'd definately ask for a quote on the 8V version - cheap, nice to drive and easy to sell once you pass your test (if you are loooking for something bigger like myself!).

colm_mcm

Longfield wrote:

For example the 1.4L 8V 68BHP will be much cheaper to insure than its 16V equivalent,

How true is this? when I bought a Punto Sporting a few years ago, it cost the same to insure a 1.2 8 valve ELX as it did to insure the 16v Sporting. Insurance companies usually go on the engine size, rather than the bhp.

Supercell

colm_mcm wrote:

Boyracers will be disappointed with the 1.4

The Civic has a terrible interior by the way. It's all very well screwed together, bit the switchgear is probably older than you are, and the general texture of the plastics is way off the mark, with "hard and shiny" being the order of the day.

That said, I'd have a Civic before a Focus, or Astra, but despite their complete lack of power, I'd seriously consider a 1.4 Golf, just for the refinement and comfort. I'd also be thinking of a Corolla. for reliability (I think everyone will agree the Civic and Corolla would be ahead in that area)

OP, the Leon might be worth considering too, very nice cars and are golf's under the hood.
I looked at a almost mint 2000 Leon Stella for 5K and turned it down in April, it was a beauty to drive but hey I didnt know any better, would bite the sellers hand off now!, nice cars and if you are patient you can get a bargain .

Supercell

colm_mcm wrote:

How true is this? when I bought a Punto Sporting a few years ago, it cost the same to insure a 1.2 8 valve ELX as it did to insure the 16v Sporting. Insurance companies usually go on the engine size, rather than the bhp.

I asked before I was buying as I was looking at two Fabia's one 16V and the other 8V, the insurance people in Quinn were very careful to clarify wheter it was the 8V or 16V version, and quoted about 200 more iirc for the 16v which put me over budget at the time.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

Boyracers will be disappointed with the 1.4

The Civic has a terrible interior by the way. It's all very well screwed together, bit the switchgear is probably older than you are, and the general texture of the plastics is way off the mark, with "hard and shiny" being the order of the day.

That said, I'd have a Civic before a Focus, or Astra, but despite their complete lack of power, I'd seriously consider a 1.4 Golf, just for the refinement and comfort. I'd also be thinking of a Corolla. for reliability (I think everyone will agree the Civic and Corolla would be ahead in that area)

To be honest there is not alot of difference between the interior of a 2001 Civic, Corolla or Focus. They are all plasticy inside except for the Golf. The one thing about the Civic though is that bar the basic model the hatchback has air conditioning.

Lex Luthor

I think the OP's mileage is borderline on whether they should consider a diesel or not but cars with these size engines they are looking at will be economical anyway

The era of Civic they are considering ('01), I don't think these particular Civics were popular at all with boy racers.

of the lot, I would go for the Corolla, but only in the current model and not the previous bug eyed one. Civic 2nd, Focus 3rd.

Take a look also at the Octavia....there were 1.4 models around in '01. You might find a good one.

Don't expect to break any land speed records though

gyppo

Might get a flaming for this, but here goes:

What about a Fiesta TDci ??
http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=511509

Tidy cars, well put together, and economical. Having said that, I have only driven the petrol version.

JHMEG

want2play wrote:

Honda Civic - higher to insure because of high thieft risk

What????? An '01 Civic is more likely to be stolen than the others mentioned? Time for a reality check: Scumbags aren't interested in moderate 1.4 and 1.6 litre Civics that are equipped with "SuperLocks" and rolling code immobilisers! They'll sooner rob the 94 Civic down the road that has no factory security at all.

Things have moved on...

JHMEG

colm_mcm wrote:

The Civic has a terrible interior by the way.
...
I'd seriously consider a 1.4 Golf, just for the refinement and comfort.

One of the motoring mags pointed out once that Honda put more effort into the mechanics and general engineering of the car. Hence the interior isn't as nice to feel as the Golf's, but the Golf can't touch the Civic for reliability.

layke

bazz26 wrote:

A 01 Civic is about the same size as a Golf so will cost alot more than a 01/02 Polo/Fabia. The Civic is a good car and reliability is generally bomb proof. The downside is that they are very popular with boyracers so their reputation is bad with insurance companies.

Not the 01-05 model, no boy racer would be caught dead in it.

Longfield wrote:

There are different Fabia models with different insurance ranges.

For example the 1.4L 8V 68BHP will be much cheaper to insure than its 16V equivalent, as an L driver i'd definately ask for a quote on the 8V version - cheap, nice to drive and easy to sell once you pass your test (if you are loooking for something bigger like myself!).

68bhp though? I wouldn't like to see it tackle a hill.

colm_mcm

Fabias are horrible looking anyway, you'd be better off in an Ibiza

Captain Slow IRL

fiesta tdci is a good pick - but they have to be serviced regularly, fuel filter being the most important item to be replaced when necessary.

i work in a honda garage, and the civics give no trouble whatsoever (or any other honda's) if you could, go north and get a 1.7ctdi (diesel) civic - it's an isuzu engine but these are bomb-proof. if you were going for petrol, stick with the 1.4; 1.6 vtecs are thirsty

stay away from opel, vw, audi and any french or italian cars - they will break your heart

bazz26

layke wrote:

Not the 01-05 model, no boy racer would be caught dead in it.

Well from my old man's experience of ownership of a 2003 Civic 1.4 hatchback his premium is slightly higher (about €150 more) than say a 1.4 Corolla of the same vintage. Both cars having around the same bhp, the same size, similar specification and value.

Unfortunately a bad image or reputation is alot quicker to gain than it is to loose.