[filcord]

I was looking at prices of used Civics as opposed to used Corollas.
It appears to me that the Honda Civic undergoes pretty rapid depreciation. A 2008 VMT, 26k kms on odo new price 14.5 lakhs, was sold for 8.5 lakh. This means it has lost 41%.
A 2008 Corolla on the other hand with 35 k km on the odo, new price 13.5 lakhs was sold for Rs 9 lakhs. Similar pricing is confirmed from carwale.com.

Does in fact the Civic lose value faster than the Corolla? If so, what could be the reason?

[alto99]

It depends on the condition of car but it could be FE, decreasing sales of new civics (impacting its perception in used car market)?

[vasoo]

When I was looking for a used car in the starting of this year, used Civic was priced much above that of equivalent Corolla. Even in Carwale I find that Civic is always priced at least 1 lac more than Corolla for comparable specs and mileage. My colleague recently bought a Sep 2008 Corolla run 28000 kms last week for Rs 7.2 lacs. Civic with same age was going at about 8 to 8.25 lacs here in Bangalore. Not sure if the market is different in other cities.

[akhilesh51]

You have to take into account Honda's Mega success story, Honda City, is placed just below civic in price category prompting much of civic's prospective second hand clientele to a new City.

Secondly, Toyota vehicles are world renowned for their reliability and hence command a substantially impressive rapport in used car market be it corolla or qualis. On the other hand, Honda especially Civic has had reliability issues in past as is evident from some posts in the forum itself.

Finally, Corolla has been in the used car market for a longer time and has been doing pretty decent business compared to Civic which is relatively new entrant in used market.

Also, I completely agree that any such comparison will also have to consider age, condition and upkeep of compared vehicles.

[anilkalvani]

Originally Posted by vasoo

When I was looking for a used car in the starting of this year, used Civic was priced much above that of equivalent Corolla. Even in Carwale I find that Civic is always priced at least 1 lac more than Corolla for comparable specs and mileage. My colleague recently bought a Sep 2008 Corolla run 28000 kms last week for Rs 7.2 lacs. Civic with same age was going at about 8 to 8.25 lacs here in Bangalore. Not sure if the market is different in other cities.

+1
Even I have seen used Civics priced at least 1L higher than used Corolla's which even we consider difference in New Car prices, % wise shows Corolla's depreciate quicker. My estimation though.

[raj.barcode]

In Bangalore, Civics are placed much higher in second hand car market than corolla; This was validated when my close friend picked up a civic at least 1.25 lakhs more than the corolla similarly spec'd.

[bblost]

In cities where Auto Terrace (Honda Siel Cars India :: Auto Terrace) is very active, the buy back from Honda could be keeping the resale values of Honda's higher.

Its my firm belief that Manufacturer controlled second hand dealerships allow the cars to maintain a better resale value.

[prince_pervez]

There is never a fixed formula between Jap cars. Depends on the cars condition really.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by bblost

In cities where Auto Terrace (Honda Siel Cars India :: Auto Terrace) is very active, the buy back from Honda could be keeping the resale values of Honda's higher.

Its my firm belief that Manufacturer controlled second hand dealerships allow the cars to maintain a better resale value.

This is interesting. In Goa, the Honda Auto Terrace no longer functions, they have stopped dealings at least for the time being. Now it makes sense.
But even in other cities, like Pune, if you do a search on Carwale, you'll find two Civics for every Toyota for sale, and usually lower mileage Civics priced equal or less than higher mileage Toyotas.
BTW, does Toyota also have any buyback scheme for the Corolla?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by vasoo

When I was looking for a used car in the starting of this year, used Civic was priced much above that of equivalent Corolla. Even in Carwale I find that Civic is always priced at least 1 lac more than Corolla for comparable specs and mileage. My colleague recently bought a Sep 2008 Corolla run 28000 kms last week for Rs 7.2 lacs. Civic with same age was going at about 8 to 8.25 lacs here in Bangalore. Not sure if the market is different in other cities.

+1

At least in Bangalore, used Civic costs more than equivalently spec'ed used Corolla (and in equivalent condition). During my search for a new car, I did dwell a little but into used car market in Bangalore, and found that used Corollas are cheaper than used Civics.

[Sahil]

Yes I have noticed this trend too. A Toyota has a higher reliability and FE perception in the used car market when compared to even Honda. Def one of the easiest brands to resell.

[ACM]

The Corolla ALTIS does have a higher resale value compared to the current civic, but not the previous gen Corolla. It was simply a case of the newer corolla being introduced and finally selling in good numbers beating the civic. Globally too the corolla holds value better than the civic, probably due to the corolla being perceved / proven to be highly reliable.

Earlier Honda's did comand a higher premium in india, but over time that has changed and though the premium for a honda is more than for other cars now, it is a bit lesser and definately lower than what is comanded by the toyota's.

It is a combination of factors such as the perceived higher pricing of honda's and the perceived higer reliablity of Corollas in the same price band.

While we say this, the ANHC does seem to be holding on to it's price quite well due to the euphoria over it, but not the rest of the family.

Say the above basis my own earlier search for a preowned civic, accord, corolla segment vechile for a friend.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by ACM

While we say this, the ANHC does seem to be holding on to it's price quite well due to the euphoria over it, but not the rest of the family.

True. But that won't hold true for long, currently there aren't any good alternatives to the ANHC but once likes of the Vento,etc come in things will change for ANHC.

[karanraheja]

What is interesting to note is that a 2008 ANHC and a 2007 Civic resale might be in the same price range.

[GTO]

In my search for a used Civic, and I screened the entire market, several Corollas were offered to me. All things being equal (year, trim level, kms, condition), the Corolla was about 50 - 75K cheaper than an equivalent Civic. However, we have to understand that a new Corolla is also cheaper than a new Civic. Thus, I'd say there is hardly a difference in their used values & it varies from deal to deal.

That said, neither of them can boast about strong resale value. No car that costs over 10 - 12 lakhs does. You can buy a 3 year old Corolla / Civic / Laura / Sonata / Accord / Camry for 40 - 50% of their new car price.

Originally Posted by karanraheja

What is interesting to note is that a 2008 ANHC and a 2007 Civic resale might be in the same price range.

Very true. In fact, I could have had 2006 Accords for the same price as my 2007 Civic. Strange are the ways of the pre-owned market.