• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Toyota Corolla vs Honda Civic for Teenage Son

L

Lerose

Guest
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
128
Reaction score
1
Location
Illinois
Resorts Owned
HGVC
I'm planning on buying my son a car for his 16th birthday. I've always bought Toyotas in the past and have never had any major problems with them. I'm leaning towards a Corolla. My son likes the Honda Civic and the Mazda3. Any one had any experience with these cars? Where can you go to buy the car with only the options you want to pay for? The cars on the lot seem to always have "packages" that include extras that you don't really want.

Also any recommendations on sites to go to compare insurance rates? Is it best to title the car in my name for insurance purposes?

Thanks,
Linda
 
Either the Honda or the Toyota would be my choices. I'd pass on the Mazda as I've known enough people who have had them. They're an average vehicle at best. For that matter, I don't think there's a lot of difference between Mazda and Ford.

My daughter has a Toyota Corolla that she bought new 5 years ago. I believe it has 80,000 miles on it and the only thing she has had to do is routine maintenance and one new set of tires. It's been a great little car for her.
 
dougp26364 said:
Either the Honda or the Toyota
Click to expand...

We've had a Corolla for 7 yrs. & love it. The Civic is also highly rated and a little sportier, especially the 2 door. If you're going to treat him, buy him what he wants. But, why not get a small loan on it and have him make the payments-say $50-$75 a month. Could be a good financial lesson.

Phil
 
I bought the new Honda Civic in November and we absolutely love it. It is definitely sportier than the Corolla... the interior is almost futuristic.
The Civic is also the only compact car with a 5* safety rating....there are air bags everywhere, and it was named car of the year by several magazines.

It doesn't make any difference who the car is titled to for insurance purposes, they rate the driver, not who it's titled to.
But if he is involved in an accident and is at fault, and your insurance doesn't cover all the liability, you can be sued if the car is in your name.
 
I bought a Mazda3 this year. It's a great car. Very sporty, fun to drive, etc.

I would use a buying service like the one from Costco to get what you want at a no-haggle price with no need to deal with pressure salesman and no need to deal with the "extra dealer add-on" stuff. Or you can try carsdirect.com

-David
 
Ricci said:
I bought the new Honda Civic in November and we absolutely love it. It is definitely sportier than the Corolla... the interior is almost futuristic.
The Civic is also the only compact car with a 5* safety rating....there are air bags everywhere, and it was named car of the year by several magazines.

It doesn't make any difference who the car is titled to for insurance purposes, they rate the driver, not who it's titled to.
But if he is involved in an accident and is at fault, and your insurance doesn't cover all the liability, you can be sued if the car is in your name.
Click to expand...

As long as your child is a minor (under 18), and perhaps also beyond that if you are still claiming him as a dependent (as in, through college) you are still probably the financially responsible party in case of accidents (at any rate, the one the lawyers/insurance will go after).

It is cheaper to insure children when they are only occasional drivers--as in, more people than you have cars.
 
Contrary to Dougp, the Mazda 3 is a fabulous little car. Our son's girlfriend has one and so far, it's a fun, fine car.
We just returned from 2 weeks in Sydney, Australia and I suspect the Mazda 3 is one of their best sellers. Australian car magazines love it, along with the Mazda 6. I'm a car nut and really enjoyed just seeing all those nice toys our dear Government won't let us import.

The Mazda 3 is sooooo much more exciting than a Corolla can ever be. Honda would be my reluctant second choice, but certain Civic models are nice. We've owned Ford Focus and those are neat, fun cars. How about an Acura Integra (really a Honda)?
Good luck.
 
ZCar said:
Contrary to Dougp, the Mazda 3 is a fabulous little car. Our son's girlfriend has one and so far, it's a fun, fine car.
We just returned from 2 weeks in Sydney, Australia and I suspect the Mazda 3 is one of their best sellers. Australian car magazines love it, along with the Mazda 6. I'm a car nut and really enjoyed just seeing all those nice toys our dear Government won't let us import.

The Mazda 3 is sooooo much more exciting than a Corolla can ever be. Honda would be my reluctant second choice, but certain Civic models are nice. We've owned Ford Focus and those are neat, fun cars. How about an Acura Integra (really a Honda)?
Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm only basing my opinion on others that have owned Mazda's in the past. Toyota and Honda have a good reputation. Mazda's reputation has not been as good over the life of the car. They almost all start out great in the first year or two. It's only after you've owned them for a few years and have put several thousand miles on them that you will find out which ones hold up and which ones find the junk yards.

Of course, this is just from observation as I've not owned any of the three mentioned. I can say my step-daughter has a Toyota with 80,000 miles on it and has had done nothing other than routine maintenance and a new set of tires. My step-son has a Mazda that has a little over 50,000 miles on it and it's already becoming a fix and repair daily. He's had more than a couple of small things go wrong like water pumps and alternators. Nothing to make you throw a car away but certainly problematic where as the Toyota is still puring along.

Excitement wears off when the car is in the shop and the bill arives.
 
So, I guess you are saying that in your opinion and with a sample size of 2 vehicles, Toyota is good and Mazda (any mazda) is bad.

-David
 
Honda

I own a 2000 Civic EX which now has 91,000. It runs like a gem! I've had no mechanical problems with it, just your general maintenance. I will own nothing but a Honda in the future! Good Luck! I believe both cars are rated in the top 10. :)
 
Hey Icarus,
When we're on Maui (Marriott) in October and you see a tourist waving at you, it will just be me. (I'll probably be in a Corolla rental). A blue Mazda 3, isn't it?
 
Honda Civic

The Civic and the Mazada 3 are definitely "kid" cars, more sporty and "acceptable" looking to them. The Corolla is usually spoted outside the early bird special locations :D , my choice for a 16 year old would be the Civic. :cool: By the way, personally I would drive either the Toyota or Honda. Both great cars but the "styling" is way different.
 
I've driven Honda Civics as my primary vehicle since 1984 - have owned 2 wagons; currently am still driving a 1992 2-door VX that still drives almost like a brand new car, and I love it. We also own a Toyota truck which we really like - but I once test drove a Corolla however and didn't care for it at all.
 
Have both Toyota (Avalon) and Honda (Accord) right now. We've owned Mazda (626) in the past. IME, all are excellent cars with good longevity. The Mazda never gave me any problems in the 150K miles that I owned it.
 
My son seems to like the Civic for the sporty look. He wants a 2 door with a spoiler. Whatever we end up with will have 4 doors. I didn't get my first car until I was 21 and it was a 2 door Corolla. I kept it for 11 years but got rid of it when I had my son. It was just too difficult to get in and out of the car with all the baby stuff. I ended up buying another Corolla but this time with 4 doors. We now have a Toyota Highlander.
 
Icarus said:
So, I guess you are saying that in your opinion and with a sample size of 2 vehicles, Toyota is good and Mazda (any mazda) is bad.

-David
Click to expand...

All car makers have a lemon or two in the group. However, I've known several people who have owned all three makes. I have a step-dau that owns a Toyota and a step-son that owns a Mazda. From personal experience and of friends who have owned all three makes, Honda and Toyota owners have been considerably happier over all than Mazda owners.
 
ZCar said:
Hey Icarus,
When we're on Maui (Marriott) in October and you see a tourist waving at you, it will just be me. (I'll probably be in a Corolla rental). A blue Mazda 3, isn't it?
Click to expand...

Yep, a blue hatchback, traveling between Makawao and Kehei. But the wife will be driving. I traded in my nice new F-150, and I took the old 2000 Explorer as my car.

I got to drive it for 2 days. The day I bought it home and the day I brought it in so they could uninstall the lowered suspension and tires/wheels they "added on" when it was in the showroom. It was a dead deal if I had to pay for any dealer add-ons. They were willing to remove them.

-David
 
The Search is Over.

We ended up buying the Toyota Corolla S. We never even made it to the Honda dealer. Went to the Toyota dealer first and my son liked the car they had on the lot so we ended up getting that one.
 
Last edited:
My two cents, and of course this is after your search is over...............

Our daughter was driving a Toyota Corolla. We opted to trade it in for a new Mazda 3. She loves it, it's a more "fun" car than the Corolla she was driving. We've had seveal Mazdas in the past and Steve currently drives a Miata. I drive a Camry, so we also like Toyotas. Never would have considered the Honda.
 
When our oldest daughter turned 16, we bought a Honda Civic. She wanted black, 2-door, manual transmission with a sunroof. We bought silver, 4-door, automatic--no sunroof. Both of our daughters have loved the car (a 2002). When the oldest got married late last year, they bought a 2002 Honda for her to drive. She got her stick shift and sunroof this time, though. Great car!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top