[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by ST7677

One should be careful about reading into these numbers, as they also reflect brand preference of the country.
America is Toyota crazy (in economy segment). In fact it only suggests that with Civic Honda has been able to shake Toyota's strong hold in US.
Take same numbers for Canada and you would see Civic scoring huge sale over Toyota

That is correct. Compared with Civic/Honda, Corolla (and Toyota) in general leads in US, but lags in Canada. In India, consumer preferences are different, and I do not think Toyota Altis would be able to surpass Civic on a consistent monthly basis. Of course, time will tell.

Altis is being launched at a time when fuel prices are at historic highs. Of course that should not affect luxury car sales much. However, if you look at monthly sales, you may observe that after each price increase, the differential between diesel and petrol gets wider. This has pushed up sales of diesel Octavia and Optra, and cut sales of Civic and Corolla.

[sgiitk]

I just came across this thread. I just could not stop myself from commenting.

I am surprised at the inferences being drawn from the US market. Both vehicles in India are no considered as basic transportation and so are taken as up market. So the basic specs differ a lot in the area of creature comfort. Also, road conditions in the US are far more considerate than in Good Old Bharat.

[sindabad.sailor]

This old thread came up on google for Ground clearance differences that I was searching for.

Primarily this seems to be a thread for new car comparison. I was looking for an used car for a friend who would be coming on leave to India soon.

He wants to buy a 4-5 yrs old, max 40-50K km AT luxury class saloon for 4 months ownership. He is looking at 4.5 -5 Lac range and hopes to sell off for about 4-4.5 Lac when he leaves. Does this seem possible?

How these two cars now fare on used car scene. I am finding listings of Civic around 6-7 Lac from Late 2008-09 models. Not many corolla Altis.

The used car price check thread I am checking regularly but thought this thread more appropriate for my querry. Mods pls transfer it there is you feel so.

[mayankjha1806]

Both are similar in terms of cost of ownership, also the GC, which is much talked about when it comes to Civic. I personally do not see this as a problem, as i have been driving for last one year and have only scraped a few times, never badly.

Curious, for a few months use why does he want to get in hassle of buying a used car, transferring registration at RTO (which mind you takes quiet long), then by the time the registration gets changed its already time to sell and do the same thing all over again?

Theres got to be a simpler solution to this problem. Long term car rental? Not sure how expensive will that be.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Theres got to be a simpler solution to this problem. Long term car rental? Not sure how expensive will that be.

Mayank, Another thing which I had heard from many of friends is that the ownership costs of Civics are high.
Have you seen a similar experience ?

This another thing which I also hear routinely. Toyota maintenance costs are very low compared to Honda.
Is it a sweeping general comment, or there is some amount truth there?

[Vid6639]

Most of the Civic's that I know of in my circle, usually need the engine mount change within 3 years. On top of that the service interval is much shorter (is it 3 or 6months?).

The Altis has one year 10K kms interval and my Altis in 3years and 4 months (31K kms) has gone exactly 4 times for service. Service bills are around 2.5K. Only non service part replaced in my car was rear brake pads for 6K.

I feel when it comes to maintenance/service costs the Toyota has one up on the Honda.

The Honda is a better drive though.

[mayankjha1806]

Have you seen a similar experience ?
Toyota maintenance costs are very low compared to Honda.
Is it a sweeping general comment, or there is some amount truh there?

I may not be rightly placed to do justice to the answer as i have been driving the car for only a year. Although in last one year the car has gone for service twice and i was charged some negligible amount second time only. My friends altis was approximately similar in terms of service cost.

How this will span out over the next few years, is something that i will discover but my guess is it would be fairly close

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

How this will span out over the next few years, is something that i will discover but my guess is it would be fairly close

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Most of the Civic's that I know of in my circle, usually need the engine mount change within 3 years.
On top of that the service interval is much shorter (is it 3 or 6months?).

A friend of mine, who has the Civic for over 4 years dreads it going to the service.

The Altis has one year 10K kms interval and my Altis in 3years and 4 months (31K kms) has gone exactly 4 times for service.
Service bills are around 2.5K. Only non service part replaced in my car was rear brake pads for 6K.
I feel when it comes to maintenance/service costs the Toyota has one up on the Honda.
The Honda is a better drive though.

Very true about Altis. Thats what I hear from most. (I remembered your comments too ! )
But on the open road there is nothing like the Civic. Its just brilliant.

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by sindabad.sailor

This old thread came up on google for Ground clearance differences that I was searching for.

Primarily this seems to be a thread for new car comparison. I was looking for an used car for a friend who would be coming on leave to India soon.

He wants to buy a 4-5 yrs old, max 40-50K km AT luxury class saloon for 4 months ownership. He is looking at 4.5 -5 Lac range and hopes to sell off for about 4-4.5 Lac when he leaves. Does this seem possible?

How these two cars now fare on used car scene. I am finding listings of Civic around 6-7 Lac from Late 2008-09 models. Not many corolla Altis.

The used car price check thread I am checking regularly but thought this thread more appropriate for my querry. Mods pls transfer it there is you feel so.

Bought a 2007 civic with 40k on the odo for 4.35. Love it. Highly recommended if he can find a similar deal.

[srinih75]

The Toyota Corolla Altis today has a 7 speed CVT vs Honda Civic has only a 5 speed AT. I had test driven the 7 speed ad its a marvel. The RPM didnt even make it beyond 1500 in my short but good drive on the highway. The only problem is Altis has the "thing" in the middle which is a pain for the person who may sit in the middle.

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Most of the Civic's that I know of in my circle, usually need the engine mount change within 3 years. On top of that the service interval is much shorter (is it 3 or 6months?).

The Altis has one year 10K kms interval and my Altis in 3years and 4 months (31K kms) has gone exactly 4 times for service. Service bills are around 2.5K. Only non service part replaced in my car was rear brake pads for 6K.

I feel when it comes to maintenance/service costs the Toyota has one up on the Honda.

The Honda is a better drive though.

Honda cars need not be taken to the service center every 6 odd months. Period. I have a 6.5 year old Honda Civic which has clocked around 80k kms. After the first 3 years, I realized that the service interval advice is hogwash and there's no need to follow that. I adopted an annual service policy, only once a year and my car is still in brilliant shape. I've had no mount change, absolutely no issues. I don't feel that the maintenance cost is high, in fact service charges have been lower than my 1.4 Fiat Grande Punto, and if I might add, it's more fuel efficient as well.

I would rather go with a superior machine and avg service than an average car with superior service. The Civic, if maintained properly, will give you the same rush it gave you when you first drove it

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

I would rather go with a superior machine and avg service than an average car with superior service. The Civic, if maintained properly, will give you the same rush it gave you when you first drove it

Unfortunately you chose to reply to a post that was almost a year old.

Even I would go for a superior machine with average service but unfortunately that superior machine you speak of is no longer in production or available. Hence I am happy with my "average" car that has superior service and is still available for sale.

Mind you my post still holds good with my car having done 45K kms now and still same service bill of 2.5K. Only brake pads changed so far.

The Altis has service bills lower than my Figo which is my fun car with average service.

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Unfortunately you chose to reply to a post that was almost a year old.

Even I would go for a superior machine with average service but unfortunately that superior machine you speak of is no longer in production or available. Hence I am happy with my "average" car that has superior service and is still available for sale.

Mind you my post still holds good with my car having done 45K kms now and still same service bill of 2.5K. Only brake pads changed so far.

The Altis has service bills lower than my Figo which is my fun car with average service.

Oops. I didn't look at the date.

Well that is purely dependant on how you treat your car. The Altis isn't the segment leader, it never was. I never claimed that the Altis had higher service costs, all I said was that the Civic doesn't require much to maintain either. And the Civic being plugged from sale has more to do with efficient utilisation of production lines rather than market dynamics.

I guess as long as you're happy with your car, it's all good. Happy driving mate!