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Severed Hand of Skywalker · Dec 8, 2004, 10:06 AM

"Honda is again the best brand for retaining value for new cars and trucks, while U.S. brands were shut out of the top spots, according to a firm that tracks vehicle value for the industry."

This has been the case for a long time though hasn't it? Don't they also have the highest theft rate?

http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/08/pf/a...ex.htm?cnn=yes

ort888 · Dec 8, 2004, 10:12 AM

My GF and I are in the market for a Honda right now (it's all she will own).

You can either buy a brand new Civic for 16,000, or the exact same car with 50,000 miles on it for 14,000. It doesn't make any sense.

She just totaled a CRV and we pretty much broke even on it with settlement. It was bizarre. The car was a year old, but was still worth exactly what she paid for it. How is that possible?

Matt OS X · Dec 8, 2004, 10:14 AM

Own a 1999 Honda Civic Sedan here.

Love it and very dependable.. Runs excellent with 85k miles now.

mitchell_pgh · Dec 8, 2004, 10:26 AM

I try to buy Ford, but Honda has a much better value.

wdlove · Dec 8, 2004, 10:27 AM

It certainly exhibits a popular well made car. The only problem is the theft rate.

nredman · Dec 8, 2004, 10:37 AM

i have a 2002 Civic Sedan - i like it alot, i got it in hopes that it would run for a very long time. knowing hondas history i dont think that will be a problem. when you can get a new civic for about 15k, why wouldn't you do that instead of getting a cheapy ford or chevy? maybe its just me

xi_hyperon · Dec 8, 2004, 10:38 AM

Except for a Ford I owned, I've owned only Hondas in the past 19 years. The quality has been very consistent regardless of their age, which I appreciate. Lots of cars seem to be of good initial quality but start having problems after a year or two.

turtle777 · Dec 8, 2004, 11:29 AM

I still like my VW better than a Honda.

-t

scaught · Dec 8, 2004, 11:31 AM

my honda starts up easy every time. first pull.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · Dec 8, 2004, 11:35 AM

I would have thought a BMW or Mercedes would have done better.

Skip Breakfast · Dec 8, 2004, 11:48 AM

BMW and Mercedes are both having problems holding value, and are depreciating at rates similar to Buick and Lincoln.

I've had 4 Hondas, but I reluctant to get another because they've been putting out a hell of a lot of ugly product in the last 10 years.

G4ME · Dec 8, 2004, 12:38 PM

Volvo paid 300 for it, 50K miles later and about 1K worth of repairs she's still running strong.

MacNStein · Dec 8, 2004, 01:07 PM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
I would have thought a BMW or Mercedes would have done better.

Depends on the model. The "M" class Beemers hold up extremely well with regards to resale (and everything else). You have to remember though, their mid and lower-tier offerings are a completely different matter.

CD Hanks · Dec 8, 2004, 01:09 PM

1996 Honda Prelude here. Absolutely no complaints.

saddino · Dec 8, 2004, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
I would have thought a BMW or Mercedes would have done better.

They did, but only in the "Luxury" group (the list referenced is actually the "Overall" results ).

From the article:

German automakers took the award for best retained value for the more expensive models, as BMW was the best luxury brand overall, although the Mercedes CLK had the best retained value of any one luxury model.

(also, Honda came 3rd in "Luxury" for their Acura models, so that likely helped them get #1 in "Overall")

BRussell · Dec 8, 2004, 01:24 PM

I have a 1996 Civic.

Quick story: For the past year or so, there's been this horrible sound, a kind of rattle, coming from the back, and I couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded like the frame of the car was disintegrating or something. Very loud. The other day I found a little piece of plastic in the trunk, and it looked like it fit at the top of the trunk and held two rods apart. The rods banging together were making the noise. I went to the dealer, and they found the little part - 66 cents. I put it in, and no more horrible noise. I swear I thought by the sound of it that it was going to require a new engine or something that was going to cost a couple thousand dollars. I was happy.

G4ME · Dec 8, 2004, 01:36 PM

how could a rattle from the rear of the car require a new engine?

BRussell · Dec 8, 2004, 01:50 PM

how could someone not recognize a blatantly obvious hyperbole?

xi_hyperon · Dec 8, 2004, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by BRussell:
I have a 1996 Civic.

Quick story: For the past year or so, there's been this horrible sound, a kind of rattle, coming from the back, and I couldn't figure out what it was. It sounded like the frame of the car was disintegrating or something. Very loud. The other day I found a little piece of plastic in the trunk, and it looked like it fit at the top of the trunk and held two rods apart. The rods banging together were making the noise. I went to the dealer, and they found the little part - 66 cents. I put it in, and no more horrible noise. I swear I thought by the sound of it that it was going to require a new engine or something that was going to cost a couple thousand dollars. I was happy.

Something minor like a rattle is the extent of problems I've ever had. The car I've got now had some minor vibration in the door panels when the speakers were at a high volume, and Honda came out with a dealer-installed fix for it. They are pretty responsive to even minor problems.

d0ubled0wn · Dec 8, 2004, 04:27 PM

Originally posted by turtle777:
I still like my VW better than a Honda.

-t

I looked at some Accords, but decided on a 2001 Passat. I am fairly impressed with it.

Traded in my gas guzzling Durango 3 days ago. I'm so glad to be rid of it (at least until I have to haul something big

)

hayesk · Dec 8, 2004, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by d0ubled0wn:
I looked at some Accords, but decided on a 2001 Passat. I am fairly impressed with it.

Traded in my gas guzzling Durango 3 days ago. I'm so glad to be rid of it (at least until I have to haul something big )

Funny, I looked at some Passats but decided on the Accord. The Accord was cheaper, and if I wanted to spend extra on the Passat, I wanted the TDI model to save on fuel. But alas, no TDIs were available anywhere in the city, and no dealer could tell me when there'd be one to test drive, so I bought the Accord.

I'm happy with it, though I still wonder about the Passat.

Zimphire · Dec 8, 2004, 08:38 PM

Originally posted by CD Hanks:
1996 Honda Prelude here. Absolutely no complaints.

That is the only Honda I liked.

Sweet car.

MARINEOSX · Dec 8, 2004, 08:50 PM

I am a Toyota guy myself. I have an 85 4runner with 250,000 miles on it and I have not had to replace anything on it. My best friend has an 84 4runner with 436,000 miles on it and it is still going strong. I paid 1500 for it and in the condition it is in it goes for 2500.00. I also owned a 2003 corolla and loved it I totaled it running into a bericade at 80 MPH and walked away with a bruise from my seat belt that was it. Very safe, as far as most stolen car goes it changes every year the most stolen brand of car is another story. The funny thing is that the most stolen car in 2003 was a saturn SL3. But that is not brand. It also varies gratly on location. As far as brand goes though toyota tops the chart. Six years in a row. see for yourself.

http://carolinareporter.sc.edu/archi.../02stolen.html

d0ubled0wn · Dec 8, 2004, 09:01 PM

Originally posted by hayesk:
Funny, I looked at some Passats but decided on the Accord. The Accord was cheaper, and if I wanted to spend extra on the Passat, I wanted the TDI model to save on fuel. But alas, no TDIs were available anywhere in the city, and no dealer could tell me when there'd be one to test drive, so I bought the Accord.

I'm happy with it, though I still wonder about the Passat.

Well, I'd have to say it was my local Honda dealership that steered me away. The guy I was dealing with seemed the slimy dishonest type. I wasn't getting a good feeling dealing with them. The local VW dealer was first class however. It was my first pleasant experience buying a car.

I think I would have been happy with an Accord also.

hayesk · Dec 8, 2004, 10:15 PM

Originally posted by d0ubled0wn:
Well, I'd have to say it was my local Honda dealership that steered me away. The guy I was dealing with seemed the slimy dishonest type. I wasn't getting a good feeling dealing with them. The local VW dealer was first class however. It was my first pleasant experience buying a car.

Honda is known around here for slimy dealers too. I managed to find a fair sales guy. Well, maybe he was just really good. The VW dealers weren't that great either.

Ah well, we may need a second car in a few years, so I think I'll get a VW.

Zimphire · Dec 8, 2004, 10:33 PM

Dad has owned VW, Merkur, Audi, BMW, Porsche, over the years.

And now all he buys in upper end Chryslers.

It seems it's only a few countries making decent cars to even make it in the top 10.

Re-sell value isn't always about quality either. But about quantity and availability.

There are far more Fords and Chevy's on the road than Hondas here in the states.

And imports cost more. Those who pay the higher price for the import, usually takes better care of it as well.

I've seen Honda put out it's share of lemons.

CaseCom · Dec 9, 2004, 01:10 AM

Threads like this make me miss Ca$h ...

I bought a 1996 Civic new for $15k, sold it last year for $6k.

In the wintertime it was developing an annoying case of cold-engine piston slap. Other than that it was a great car. I like the 1996-2000 Civics better than the current models.

Athens · Dec 9, 2004, 02:07 AM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
"Honda is again the best brand for retaining value for new cars and trucks, while U.S. brands were shut out of the top spots, according to a firm that tracks vehicle value for the industry."

This has been the case for a long time though hasn't it? Don't they also have the highest theft rate?

http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/08/pf/a...ex.htm?cnn=yes

In Canada American cars have always lost to imports, I would say VW beats out Honda by a slight margin here, at least when looking in the news paper.