2009 Honda Civic, Mustang GT or Mazda3?

[Busaman5000]

Been toying with the idea of buying a new car. Ive looked at several ranging from the Mazda3 to a Mustang GT.

I love both the Mazda3 and Mustang. Mustang for power and just pure sexyness. Mazda3 because its fun to drive, looks nice and gets reasonable gas mileage (27mpg for the 2.3L)

But I keep coming back to the little honda. Honda made the front end a bit different on the Civics for 09 which makes them look MUCH improved IMO. Plus it gets much better MPG than either of the ones above. But the Con is that its not as fun to drive as either one of the other two.

Im tinkering with the idea of getting a Civic EX coupe. Not sure though.

Civic= Reliability, long lasting, great fuel economy and free lifetime warranty from dealer. Probably the most sensible car for everyday driving. Possibly cheapest to own.

Mustang GT= Sexy, powerful, a blast to drive, crap fuel economy, not sure about reliability.

Mazda3= A nice compromise between the two. Decent fuel economy, sporty, fun to drive, great all around reviews.

So which one? This is just hypothetical right now. I may wait till after the first of the year to buy. Or I may find something older and cheaper. Not sure yet.

[SAMBUSA]

Mustang

[greyrocket]

to insure a civic is going to be a ***** since its a high theft car. well in CA it is well over $200 a month with clean record. my k8 is $68 full cov. go for the mustang or wate till the 2010 cammaro come out like i'am doing 420hp 6.2 V-8

[UncleSteve]

gas mileage - honda

[Busaman5000]

I test drove an 02 Mustang GT today. It was $9600 out the door. It had 86,000 miles on it. I freaking loved it. The price was pretty decent to.

Is 86,000 high mileage for a mustang?

[greyrocket]

i bought my cammar 86 5.0 v-8 with 132k original owner never had a problem but crappy millage 11mpg city 25 hwy. 86k that thing is very fresh go for it seen those with well over 200k

[WWJD]

a civic says, "I don't need a big car, because I already have a big
pile of confidence"
I've never had insurance cost due to theft issues on my Hondas. cost was in the average ballpark. good luck with your choice

[greyrocket]

when i was last looking at getting a honda civic it was going to cost me around $270 a month for insurance it was cheaper for me to get a v-8 and pay for the extra fuel then the civic. Like i said CA we take it up the butt

[shawnski]

work for honda dealer. civic and mustang are totaly differnt cars. mazda 3 and civic are in the same class.
if you want power, get the mustang, don't expect a solid ,thight, as safe, great gas mileage, reliable, low maintenance out of it. and the biggest of all resale value down the road when you are going to sell.
mazda 3 is nice, a little outdate on style and gas mileage not as good but nice looking interior and overall nice car for value.

civic has the lowest 5 years cost of ownership of any of the small cars.
drive a civic for 100k + and still drives like new, no rattle, less problems.

i don't say that because i work for honda, it is because i owned honda and acura for 30 years+

[300Busa]

Go find an 05 dodge neon srt4 for cheap and enjoy more power than the mustang, 29mpg, and fun to drive. I loved mine, it just wasn't doable in the winter here with the mods I put on it.

[Busaman5000]

I'll have to check into the Neon SRT4, never really considered them.

My gut tells me to buy the civic. If gas prices skyrocket again I would be regretting buying the mustang.

[WWJD]

doubt this helps, but if my Civic would ever die [going on 11 years, 110k+ miles] I would replace it with a Honda FIT tomorrow. more utility and milage, less... um.... "elegance" than a Civic
As a side note, a close friend of mine bought a Mustang couple years ago... 19MPG later, he wanted to sell and and get a Fit, the $ loss was too great for him to stomach, so, regrettably he still drives it

[Revlis]

After Driving a couple of mustangs and REALLY REALLY wanting to like one, I had to go buy something else. The Mustang has two things going for it, American V-8 and Good Looks. But everything else is a compromised price point product and pretty crappy. Brakes, handling, performance, interior ergonomics, and luggage all a compromise and cheap...

I dunno, I got frustrated...

If it were me, I'd do the Honda Civic or the Mazda 3. Both are pretty good values, get good gas mileage, and will last a good long while. If you can find yourself a MazdaSpeed 3... My goodness that was fun to drive, a real blast...

Just a thought though, Having bought a brand new RX-8, a New BMW 335 Coupe, and a New Pathfinder V-8 4X4 within the last 2 years??? I'm even more convinced that the pre-owned market is a much MUCH better value and not nearly as much of a waste of money as buying new. Only way to piss your money away faster is to buy a boat from what I hear.

SO, If it were me? I'd probably buy a pre-owned something... You'll get a LOT more car for your money, it will likely still be under warranty, and you'll have some money left in the bank maybe... Just a thought.

[Busaman5000]

After Driving a couple of mustangs and REALLY REALLY wanting to like one, I had to go buy something else. The Mustang has two things going for it, American V-8 and Good Looks. But everything else is a compromised price point product and pretty crappy. Brakes, handling, performance, interior ergonomics, and luggage all a compromise and cheap...

I dunno, I got frustrated...

If it were me, I'd do the Honda Civic or the Mazda 3. Both are pretty good values, get good gas mileage, and will last a good long while. If you can find yourself a MazdaSpeed 3... My goodness that was fun to drive, a real blast...

Just a thought though, Having bought a brand new RX-8, a New BMW 335 Coupe, and a New Pathfinder V-8 4X4 within the last 2 years??? I'm even more convinced that the pre-owned market is a much MUCH better value and not nearly as much of a waste of money as buying new. Only way to piss your money away faster is to buy a boat from what I hear.

SO, If it were me? I'd probably buy a pre-owned something... You'll get a LOT more car for your money, it will likely still be under warranty, and you'll have some money left in the bank maybe... Just a thought.

Yeah ive also been looking real hard had used Civics around a 98-2000 model with around 100K on them for around 6K. Thats just barely broken in for a Honda if it has been well maintained.

My moms 2001 Civic has 276,000 miles on it and still runs like new. It needs a new tranny but thats to the be expected. The engine never misses a beat.

[SAMBUSA]

I test drove an 02 Mustang GT today. It was $9600 out the door. It had 86,000 miles on it. I freaking loved it. The price was pretty decent to.

Is 86,000 high mileage for a mustang?

They say that the average vehicle should get 12k miles/year. It's a 7 year old car. So at that rate 84k is what it should have on it. It's not that far off

[dadofthree]

Go with the '02 GT, remove the Toy tag, and add a Kenne Bell Blowzilla

[Busa_Nick]

You can't got wrong gettin honda or acura vehicles unless they been abused.

[Busaman5000]

How about a 2002 Honda S2000 with 49,000 miles for $13,200? Now THAT would be a fun car to drive. Cheap to, those things don't hold there value for some reason.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___2002-Honda-S2000-Convertible-6-speed-Roadster-VTEC_W0QQitemZ190263127602QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item190263127602&_trkparms=72%3A727|39%3A1|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

[georgiabusa_05]

get the civic, a safe bet.

[sleepless_red]

Get the Civic. I've been driving Hondas and Acuras since 1993 and never had any problems with them. I had a '93 Integra and I drove it on the track (Summit Point Raceway) for a couple of years, not even a light bulb went out.