YACT: Dear Hyunadai Elantra Owners...

[chickadee]

I was curious if anybody on here owns a Hyundai Elantra (circa 2002-2005ish) and if so, what do you think of it?

Back in December I bought a used car and from day 1 it was nothing but trouble. Finally after putting about 3x what is worth in repairs for it, the air compressor seized this past Monday. At the cost of repairing it.. I've given up on the car. My mom is being more than generous enough to give me the money for a new one so I can have a good reliable car to get me to college and my internship. If I had my way, I'd get a sporty car I like ;x But that won't really be happening at this moment because of insurance costs. I have about 8k-9k to spend. I really don't care much for style at this point anymore. Im 21 and have the rest of my life to get the car of my dreams. Right now I am looking for something reliable. Overall it seems the Elantra has extremely good reviews. I was just looking to get the opinion of actual Elantra owners. What do you think of your car? Have you had any real problems with it? What kind of gas mileage do you get? Does the car have any trouble with pick-up or things along those lines?

Any info would be helpful. I'm going in the morning in protest to test drive a very overpriced 2001 cavalier that my moms husband thinks would be perfect :roll eyes::. While at the dealer I will also be looking at a 2006 Chevy Aveo. Does anybody have any opinons on the Aveos? Online reports seem to not be so good.

I don't know much about cars. I've done a lot of research over the last few days. Just looking for opinions.

 

[Zee]

wat was the used car you bought?

 

[Xionide]

ya what was the lemon?

 

[RossMAN]

You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

how did you get that amount? edmunds gave me a TMV of 13500

 

[Xionide]

For that price range I would just get a maxima and pocket some of that cash for repairs. Reliable and a bit sporty. Lots of features and you should be able to find a 97 with lowish miles for that price range. But hey thats just me.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

how did you get that amount? edmunds gave me a TMV of 13500

Loss leaders FTW!

That's how we bought our 2002 Honda Accord SE for $2,500 below invoice :thumbsup:

 

[chickadee]

1995 Mazda Protege. It was bought last October however because of difficulties with registration/insurance and such and because it was supposed to be counted as an xmas gift I didnt get to start driving it till after Christmas. Between Christmas and now (let's seee.. have all invoices on my desk from looking over them this morning) I've:

Replaced every belt at least once. (Serpentine ? belt whatever it is had to go and get fixed 4 times because it kept snapping)
Had to get the fans for the air conditioner replaced cause only about 2 wks after having it, the heater did not work.
Replaced the battery twice.
Replaced the alternator twice. (the second time it was free cause it was still covered under warranty, but I had to go 4 days without my car again). Apparently the car likes to eat alternators.
Had to replace the lower ball joint and adjust the wheel bearings
Repair Hole in Muffler (not so much cars fault as NJ road fault)
Timing Belt and Water Pump Removal and Replacement
Timing Belt Kit
Valve Cover Gasket Set
The electrical system had to be tested and a few things needed repair
Repair bearings in air compressor

Plus the entire time I've had the car, the transmission has been slipping and sometimes it wont shift gears. One time I put the car in Reverse, and it got stuck in drive. Everytime you came to a stop at a light, the car violently shook. For the last few nights I've had to use my moms car to go to school, and I actually got worried at the first light I came to a stop for, and the car didn't start shaking ;x

I also can't help but think I'm missing two invoices that addresses something that had gone wrong with the car cause I recall having an issue for a number of days with the check engine light and one issue with a large grinding noise coming from the front passenger side.

Then about two months ago there was a slight squealing coming from my car. And before I knew it my air conditioner went. I went all through the end of summer without an air conditioner or defoggers to deal with all the rain. Then on Monday night when I was driving home from school there was a loud bang and suddenly a great deal of smoke coming from the car. The diagnosis has since become that the air compressor seized which caused the power steering to go. They can't find one of the parts needed to fix it so it'd be a special parts order and estimated repair was at about $1k. My mom got screwed a bit on buying it and paid $3200 for it to begin with. And a great deal has gone into parts and repair. In 8 months I've been broken down/towed/stranded on about 5 seperate occasions, and my car has probably spend about 1/3 of the time I've had it sitting in a mechanics parking lot.

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

how did you get that amount? edmunds gave me a TMV of 13500

Loss leaders FTW!

That's how we bought our 2002 Honda Accord SE for $2,500 below invoice :thumbsup:

I just read that whole thread and that's incredible. I feel like I overpaid when i bought my first new car at invoice. I'm looking for a second cheap car and will definitely dig around newspapers this weekend. anything to look for? just ads?

 

[chickadee]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

hmm.. how much should i be able to buy a brand new elantra with automatic transmission for?

i will have only had my license a year come october so i dont feel confident enough driving a manual yet. plus i live in jersey and with the traffic and everything, nobody wants a manual ;x

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

how did you get that amount? edmunds gave me a TMV of 13500

Loss leaders FTW!

That's how we bought our 2002 Honda Accord SE for $2,500 below invoice :thumbsup:

I just read that whole thread and that's incredible. I feel like I overpaid when i bought my first new car at invoice. I'm looking for a second cheap car and will definitely dig around newspapers this weekend. anything to look for? just ads?

What car are you looking for and what's your budget?

I'll look in my local newspaper and see what it has. Now I'm curious

 

[chickadee]

I should make mention in buying the car - I wont be getting financing or anything. It's getting paid for in cash.

 

[chickadee]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Zee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

how did you get that amount? edmunds gave me a TMV of 13500

Loss leaders FTW!

That's how we bought our 2002 Honda Accord SE for $2,500 below invoice :thumbsup:

I just read that whole thread and that's incredible. I feel like I overpaid when i bought my first new car at invoice. I'm looking for a second cheap car and will definitely dig around newspapers this weekend. anything to look for? just ads?

What car are you looking for and what's your budget?

I'll look in my local newspaper and see what it has. Now I'm curious

hey hey ;x we're supposed to be helping me buy a car!

 

[Zee]

My budget is probably around 10 grand. I'm in NYC so I'm going to try to buy a newsday or daily news instead of something major like the wall street journal/NY times. as for the car, doesnt really matter. probably like a hyundai due to the best bang for the buck and all the media rave about them now. However based on your thread, i dont really have a choice about the car right? It just depends on what the dealership decided to use as a loss leader?

 

[Zee]

Originally posted by: chickadee

hey hey ;x we're supposed to be helping me buy a car!

we're practically neighbors and you are paying cash while i plan on financing

 

[silent tone]

I've had an 04 elantra for about 2 years now. Reliability wise, it's been decent. My only real problem is with the transmission. When I decelerate hard down to first gear, then accelerate lightly, it sometimes hesitates going into 2nd gear. Some passengers have said I drive it hard though. There are a few creaks and sqeaks in the interior. A bit of the weatherstripping on the drivers door has come unglued. It was also sandwiched between a civic and a volkswagen a while back. The civic couldn't leave the scene under its own power. My frame was slightly bent, but the repairs by the dealership were good and it feels like new. Also there have been at least 2 recalls on the passenger airbag sensor. Mine was the first year for this feature. It has difficulty discerning between adults, children and carseats. Mine has been reprogrammed once (on the first recall) and it still has problems detecting my 300 lb friend.

Also note that it has juuust enough space to fit a standard 6 foot folding table for lan parties.

 

[msparish]

I bought an '05 a few months ago and it's been great so far. The recent years have had very good quality, plus even if you get it used you have the 5yr 60k bumper to bumper warranty. Gets decent gas mileage and has more power than a lot of econoboxes. Overall, I've been very pleased with the purchase and wouldn't hesitate to buy another Hyundai in the future.

 

[chickadee]

hmm. thanks for the thoughts.

space in the car isn't much of a problem for me silent i dont transport much other than myself, and I'm only 4'11.. so the smaller the car, the bettter!

guess in the morning ill look on autotrader and car.com and see what places in the area have some elantras.

 

[platinumike]

I bought an 05 elantra a year ago from a Hertz Rental car dealership(meaning the car was used for rentals) with 10k miles onit. Car is absolutely fine. Havent had any problems with it whatsoever, even though it was used by renters, it runs great. The car feels really zippy and fun to drive. I bought it for the same reasons you are. Im not really impressed with the look, but I just need something reliable that will last a while.

 

[slackerinabox]

I own a 2002 elantra, bought new. Has worked fine and it's a great a to b car. No frills, no pretenses of luxury... It works and works well with no mechanical issues. The gas mileage is pretty bad for city drving - 18 or so mpg. Highway driving is ok. But it's engine is pretty peppy for the size. The 2007 elantra looks pretty sweet though.

 

[thomsbrain]

how about a used prelude? sporty, reliable, around $8-9K.

 

[ivol07]

Had a 2001 Elantra that I got for $12k new. Drove it from 12 miles to 100k miles and never had a problem. The reliability impressed me so much I bought a new Sonata (see sig), my wife also bought a Santa Fe. I'm not a Hyundai fanboy, but I found that they are great cars with good prices.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: chickadee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

hmm.. how much should i be able to buy a brand new elantra with automatic transmission for?

i will have only had my license a year come october so i dont feel confident enough driving a manual yet. plus i live in jersey and with the traffic and everything, nobody wants a manual ;x

I bought mine for 13,6...like a month and a half ago. That doesn't mean you couldn't do better. Rossman is the deal master, not I.

I personally wouldn't get a used hyundai. Their resale value is very low, but you lose a lot of that sweet warranty when you buy them used. But in the short time we've had the car I've really liked it.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: chickadee
hmm. thanks for the thoughts.

space in the car isn't much of a problem for me silent i dont transport much other than myself, and I'm only 4'11.. so the smaller the car, the bettter!

guess in the morning ill look on autotrader and car.com and see what places in the area have some elantras.

I know space isn't a concern for you at 4'11", but the car is very roomy IMO.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: chickadee

Originally posted by: RossMAN
You should be able to buy a BRAND NEW Elantra with manual transmission for around $9,500

hmm.. how much should i be able to buy a brand new elantra with automatic transmission for?

i will have only had my license a year come october so i dont feel confident enough driving a manual yet. plus i live in jersey and with the traffic and everything, nobody wants a manual ;x

I bought mine for 13,6...like a month and a half ago. That doesn't mean you couldn't do better. Rossman is the deal master, not I.

I personally wouldn't get a used hyundai. Their resale value is very low, but you lose a lot of that sweet warranty when you buy them used. But in the short time we've had the car I've really liked it.

I was kinda looking at a used Elantra, or maybe a Protege both seem fairly reliable and can be had for 5-7k for one that is 2-3 years old.