Which one would you buy?

Question

I'm trying to decide between a 97 Honda Civic with 147K miles going for $2,800 from a used car dealership, or a 99 Ford escort with 92K miles from a private party (seem like good decent people). How many miles will a Ford Escort last for?

Answer 1

Both sound like good choices, but I think I'd go with the Escort, even though it's only slightly newer.  how much does it cost though?  You only gave the price for the civic.

Answer 2

Definitely Civic, more reliable.

Answer 3

The Honda, hands down.  My husband has a 92 accord that has 230k miles on it and that thing still runs great.  And the only work he's ever done to it is change the oil.

Answer 4

The Hondas reliability will be better than the ford, yes the Ford might have less mileage but the Honda will keep going on, yes all people seem nice when they are trying to sale you something.

Answer 5

I'm a girl, and I would much rather be chilling by your side in the Honda, fo sho (:

Answer 6

Go with a Civic, my good man. Honda is always reliable unless you're talking about the 1980's. Ford will break down on you a lot and will be harder to maintain even if it has less miles on it.

Answer 7

The Honda for sure. The for is bound to have problems pretty soon with that many mines. They are also Notorius for tranny and head gasket problems.

Answer 8

First question - what kind of transmission are they? If the Honda is a manual, I'd definitely go for it. Actually, in any case I'd go for the Civic. I think you will be much happier and it has a much more reliable engine, better interior quality. I'd estimate that the escort would last for about 100 - 120K before stupid things begin to need to be replaced, i.e. waterpump, power steering pump, radiator, power windows, etc. In my experience, Hondas are infinitely more reliable and it should give you better mileage. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Answer 9

Go with the Ford

I had a customer once that owned & operated a Courier business

He used to buy a new Escort every 4 years.

He wouldn't trade in the old one because he would turn it over to his wife.

The last time I saw him he had 376,000 miles on an old Escort Wagon !

I would go for the Ford. It will be cheaper to maintain too.

The Honda is a good car but not as cheap or easy to work on.

I know a few mechanic guys that drive hot - rods all summer but buy the cheapest, most beat up, Escorts that they can find for theie winter cars because they know how easy they are to fix (if they ever even need to)

Much of the old Escorts powertrain is Mazda design too.

(Ford owns a good % of Mazda)

Answer 10

I would go with the Honda. I'm sure you've heard the term Found On Road Dead when it comes to what FORD really stands for, and it's true. They make excellent trucks, but as far as cars are concerned, they don't come close to Hondas. I know many people who have older Hondas that have put 200,000 miles or more, they keep up with the oil changes regularly and they run beautifully. It takes a lot to kill a Honda. Also, a big factor right now, Honda's have MUCH better gas mileage!!

Answer 11

i didnt like the escort. i did some test driving before i bought my car. but another factor i dont see anyone else bring up is the size. a civic is most definitly smaller than a ford escort. so it depends on whether you feel comfortable driving a smaller or bigger car.

and just an fyi, at least with a car dealer you can get a carfax right there, and they already get it inspected, and typically, at least if you have anything go wrong within the first 30 days, it will be under warranty. plus its best to have your mechanic look over a car to make sure its a good deal.

with a private seller as soon as you hand over the money, the deal is final, anything could be wrong, there could be additional cost to get it to pass inspection, or just in general there could be things wrong with it, and its all expenses you will not know are coming when you drive off with that car.

most car dealers may even come further down in price because the sooner they get rid of that car they can put another on the lot.

best of luck in your car search!