Accord Versus VW GTi

By now, shouldn't a 10 year old Civic with 100,000+ miles have needed
a timing belt (and probably water pump) change as preventative
maintenance (timing belt failures can cause expensive damage in Honda
engines)?

 

Wouldn't the closest equivalent in Honda's lineup be the Civic Si (a
sporty small hatchback), not the Accord LX?

 

Absolutely. I was not being precise. What I meant was that the Civic has
not needed any *repair* work. It has received regular maintenance,
including the timing belt at just over 90k miles. I have not done the
maintenance myself on the Civic with exception of a set of brake pads
way back when.

 

I also am not interested in any flamewars, but I recall when I read
C&D's first review of the present-generation Accord, they said they were
told flat-out by folks at Honda that they benchmarked the B5 Passat. It
shows, IMO - while I still prefer the Passat just a little bit (I'm
biased - I own one), the new Accord is a major improvement. I might
very well have bought one instead, but they were brand-new at the time
and the dealers in my area were marking them *up*. (Not actual sticker
markups per se, but pulling stunts like only selling them with nonsense
"appearance" packages for ridiculous prices, like $700 for unwanted
pinstriping.)

Based on what I've been reading, the A5 Golf will be a significant
improvement over the A4 in the handling department. (Even the A4 wasn't
bad, but admittedly the A3s were much too soft.)

 

At some point that Civic will just up and die on you, especially if
you're not doing preventative maintenance. With proper care, the Golf
can last you 300K miles. (If you want it that long. ;-)

 

Both cars are receiving regular maintenance. Both cars will eventually
die. The VW has required a number of repairs, the Honda has required
none so far.

 

Actually I heard that Honda engines are built to last 300k miles if you take
care of them. I know VW's are supposed to be along with Mercedes, but I also
heard Honda's are almost as durable in high milage. I can't remember who I
heard it from, but someone told me a while ago how they put 450k on a Honda
Civic.

 

You the same dude that hangs out in AMR? IMO, Hondas are excellent cars up
until about 150k. VW's tend to have more problems but can take merciless
abuse and Golfs with 3-400k are all over the place.

Jason

 

If they have problems, how is it they're taking merciless abuse?