Honda Car Forum

Have 5k. Used Honda Prelude or New Car (Like Ford Focus)? Looking For Reliability?

go used just be smart about it you'll save a ton. I'd go with honda, pay attention to milage and engine condition. You can paint if you don't like the color for cheap. good luck

My neighbor just spent 650$ to fix his Focus' ignition switch (a common problem with Focus) and still hasn't got the car back (itstill won't run). Look at the Consumer Reports April edition for the survey results of subscribers who have reported problems with their cars. They also show a grouping of most reliable carsby several $ amounts (2000, 5000, 10000) . Each grouping hasseveral cars which have proven reliability records.

new is going to be your best bet for long term, if its tempaory then maybe a used car. have it inspected any shop will have a pre buy inspection. But i would recommend a toyota or a honda, very relaibale. good on gas. very important, is to make sure the car has no leaks, and get a compresion check to make sure the engine is strong.. good luck

please god don't get a ford over a honda, my old '92civic had 220k miles, i bought it at 175k and i beat the shit out of it and only replaced the alternator. the sunroof worked, the a/c worked, everything worked. It was a SOHC SI hatch and i beat '01 integras and civics all the time and not to mention those v6 mustangs.

I as a focus owner would recommend this car mine is a 2002 zx3 the ignition problems were a concern on the older cars pre 02 but anyway my focus was purchased new and has been taken care of with regular maintenance and has yet to let me down or have I had to pay for a repair (outside maintenance) this vehicle is very reliable rides good handles good and I think looks good

Having driven a Honda Civic up from California to Oregon and also driving a Ford Focus down too California from Oregon. I'm going too say you'll find that the Focus is a lot better then any Honda. The Civic has a better gas mileage rating then the Focus yet got worse. The Focus is a great car and is a consumer recommended car so is a Honda Civic I believe, but I'm sure you'll find it better and more fun too have the Focus. For that matter look at a Mazda 3 as well. Both get better mileage then what a prelude or any Civic will get. Also I don't recommend a Corolla either 1 there's hardly any power in it 2 it's built cheaply so that means that car is way too light a slight wind and you're all over the place. Go for the Focus you'll enjoy it.