He scotty, my sister is looking for a cheap car under 1000 euro. Its about
1000 dollar. In the netherlands are alot of good civics for sale. But which is better a civic 1.5 vtec or a toyota corolla? All from the late 90s with a standard transmission.
and what do i need to look for?
thanks, Gerard
@gerardberben
Either one would be fine.
Basically from a mechanical standpoint, I would look for trans issues (even though it's a manual), I would also look for oil burning, as Civics from what I've experienced, tended to burn oil as they got older--although oil burning at this price range shouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker (My 97 Civic burnt about 1/2 quart every 3000 miles, and it had about 140k on it).
Biggest thing is make sure the timing belt (and water pump) has been changed at some point--If the belt breaks, you're engine is done and they need the belt changed about every 60-90k miles. Just do a good check on the body panels and make sure it's isn't wrecked / salvaged and maybe get a vehicle history report just to be safe. Those Corollas and Civics from that era were known to go 250-350k+ if reasonably cared for.
Can’t go wrong with either.
Both are excellent especially standard transmission.
Thank you guys. I will check the timing belt. I know they are great cars. But still i wanted to know what to look for. A lot of people here in europe drive these volkswagens and they are junk when they are old so. Thanks guys!
In my opinion and since i've been working on cars for 15 years, Toyota would definitely will outlast Civic. But both cars are good, depends which one do you like from inside and outside. As Scotty said in one of his videos Honda Makes Zippy cars and Toyotas are more reliable. It all comes down looks, and longevity.
They are both excellent vehicles.
In early 90 Honda pushed quite a bit on sales in Europe for Civic and they sold plently.
I had a new Civic VTec back in the days too and drove like a maniac.
It was a zippy car and by now the civic might be burning some oil, but not a major deal if you change it regularly, might not even need a top up between oil changes.
Have an independent mechanic checked them before you buy.
If it was a car for me I would go for the civic, if was for my sister the corolla.
