Better Buy: Volkswagen Golf or Honda Civic?

Questions: Trying to decide between a 2007 Jetta S automatic for $13k in good condition with 33,000 miles and a new Golf TDI automatic. Which one is the better buy--thinking about quality, reliability, gas mileage, safety, and any other criteria?
Other possible choices are a new 2009 Civic LX automatic,the Honda Fit sport and the Nissan Versa. I like either sedans or hatchbacks.

Answer: All of the cars you’re considering are smart choices. I’m an advocate of buying new when you can afford it, so I’d put the Golf TDI and Civic LX at the top of the list. The Honda Fit and Nissan Versa are fine choices, but the Golf and Civic are larger, more substantial cars.

The Honda brand trounces VW in surveys of owner satisfaction and reliability. The Civic is a clean, modern design, well-built, and entertaining to drive. The 2009 model will basically carry over for model-year 2010, but Civic will be all-new for model year 2011.

Like all VWs, the Golf gives you a genuine German driving experience, which means a combination of ride, handling, stability, and ergonomics that sensitive drivers appreciate. The Golf gives you the utility of a hatchback, as opposed to the closed-trunk-security of the Civic sedan. And the TDI is a particularly intriguing choice. This little turbodiesel will provide quicker acceleration than the Civic, deliver astonishing mileage, and hold its value better than most VWs. The price of diesel fuel is unpredictable – sometimes it’s 20 percent more expensive than gasoline, sometimes it’s priced 10 percent below. But you shouldn’t have trouble finding service stations that carry diesel (especially along the Interstate), and you’ll find that when your tank shows only ¼ left, you still have a 120-mile range to locate a station.

In response to concerns about reliability, VW covers all its 2009 models with the no-charge Carefree Maintenance Program. Under this program all of the scheduled maintenance, as described in the maintenance booklet, is covered for the length of the New Vehicle Warranty—three years or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Finally, note that your 2009 “Golf” is actually badged “Rabbit.” VW has freshened this car for model-year 2010 with revised styling inside and out. The engine choices are basically the same as for 2009, but VW has doubled-backed on the name, dumping Rabbit and returning to Golf.

Follow-Up Questions: Seems like you lean toward the Golf I mentioned. With respect to that, I have one other question: do you think that Volkswagen buyers (not leasers, since there's a tax credit for those financing) end up paying through the roof after the warranty expires and when you have to pay out of pocket for repairs to a German-made car whose reliability record is in question? Has VW at all improved on their reliability, and if not, what is it about such cars that make them less reliable? Are such cars overly sensitive because of their sophisticated machinery?

Answer: VW has improved its reliability, but Honda and Toyota remain the gold standard in terms of fewest things gone wrong over the life of the car.

You might pay more for some VW parts because many of them have to be imported. None of the cars VW sells in the U.S. are built in the U.S. The closest VW comes is its Mexico plant that assembles American-market Jettas and New Beetles. Most Hondas, Toyotas, and even Nissans sold in the U.S. are built in transplant factories operated by those automakers. They can rely more – but not exclusively – on U.S.-sourced parts, thus avoiding higher costs associated with overseas shipping and manufacture. (It’s the reason VW is building a plant in Tennessee for a new, as-yet unnamed sedan designed specifically for the American market.)

Repair costs for European cars in general have traditionally been high, partly because sales volumes were low and the cars themselves tended to be expensive and purchased by people who could stomach being gouged by dealers. Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti forced the high-end Germans to change their ways, and it’s now hardly more expensive to maintain a Mercedes than a Lexus of similar price.

Between a VW and, say, a Honda, actual repair costs are probably not that much different. Both brands are chasing the same sorts of buyers, and VW’s emerging business plan is to compete on volume and price in an effort to become fully mainstream.

Granted, the fact that Honda dealers outnumber VW dealers might increase competition among Honda service centers for your Civic repair and thus result in lower costs. And of course, fewer unplanned repairs over the life of the car mean lower ultimate out-of-pocket expenses.

Bottom line, you are taking more of a gamble on out-of-warranty repair costs with a VW than a Honda. Don’t forget that repairs are time-consuming hassles, too. But if you maintain your VW by the book, you might find the pleasure of driving the Golf outweighs the few extra bucks you may end up spending.

Regards,
Chuck Giametta
Managing Editor, Iguida.com