I bought DW a Hyundi Accent new in 2002. We are very happy for what we payed for it. Right after the 3 year bumper to bumper warenty expired, her CD player stoped working. It now has about 50,000 miles on it,it was makeing a clunking sound, and they replaced something on the "strut tower?" free of charge. The 10 year, 100,000 mile warenty on the drive train is not transferable, so I would buy a new one, if you can afford it. I would be more inclined to buy a used Toyota, or Honda, than a used Hyundai, cuz without the warenty I would trust them more. We also plan to keep ours a long time, cuz I don't think it's worth much without the warenty being transferable.

Bob

i have owned 4 hyundai elantras best cars i have ever owned for the price. keep in mind the 100k wrranty is onlt to the original owner, the 5 yr 60k is in cluded on a used hyundai or kia. hyundai/kia have the same warrantys and are basicaly the same cars now that hyundai owns kia. we have put 100k on both of our previous elantras with little or no problems, my mother in law has 140k on her accent. i also own a toyota, and a mazda in addition to my 2 elantras, and i would say the hyundais, compare equal to the toyota in most all asspects, except for resale, so if you buy hyundai/kia plan on keeping it for a while. and like any make dealer service can make ownership good or bad.

I believe the quality of the Hyndai has improved year over year, so I'd expect a 2005 to be measurably better than a 2002, which has been give a good rating on this post.

You'll pay more for a Toyota and Honda than for a Mazda a Mitsubishi, and you'll get even lower prices on the Hyundai.

Consumers Reports has noted the improved quality of Hyundai, as I recall from past reading. I haven't paid a lot of attentoin as I have not been in the market. Not true, I purchased a 2004 Subaru Forester last year and was looking with some interest at the Hyundi SantaFe. A few months back I rented a SantaFe and drove it from central NJ to central Virginia, and back. I liked the car, and its gas mileage was fair, don't recall maybe 23-24 mpg. It is a bigger vehicle than is the Forester, I was surprised to learn.

Thank you for reporting on your positive experiences with Hyundais.

Last time I bought a new car (1999), I swore I would never buy new again because I was tired of spending so much, and also, I always sold my used cars for such a good deal to the buyers. I wanted to become one of those buyers getting the good deals on used cars.

I don't know what has changed, but people selling used cars are asking rediculous prices for either very old cars or newer cars with a lot of mileage.

One guy selling a car worth at most $11,000 wanted $14,000, because that is what he owed on his lease. Well, too bad buddy - I don't want to assume your mistake. I am in the used car market looking for a good deal.

Thanks for the heads up on the non-transferable warranty on the Hyundai. The price and the warranty for the Hyundai are the two things that are making me consider buying a new one. I wasn't even considering buying a used one.

Thanks again!

The 6 year old '88 Honda was $6,5000 from the original owner - the best way to buy used, and it took several months to find this one...Best used car and the best car we have ever owned at the time...After ten good years we sold her and bought a '97 Accord for $7K or so...
Last year I paid $2,500 for the '96 Saab 900S, fair to good condition, but NO service history and 140K miles on the odometer.
One must be willing to spend the bucks for a decent machine, and to take time and effort to find one....

Buying a new Hyundai isn't a bad option, but if you do want to buy a used car, there are a lot better deals out there than an Accord or Camry. Because those models are currently popular among consumers, their prices as used cars are way out of proportion to their value. Yes, they're good cars, but there are a lot of other good cars that you can get for thousands less.

I also have noticed the over priced used vehicals.Car dealers are way to high however there price is a just incase your Dumb enough to give it I think.I dought anyone gives those prices?However after getting them down about 25% ussually there still over priced.Private party sales are ussually the same way.They are at the 25% off price to start with however.

Cars with poor reasale value are the ones to buy used.But not the ones to buy new.I learned a long time ago there are only two types of vehicals worth buying.New and Beaters there is no in between.

Hello, all.

New to the forum and surprised to see car issues at a 'home' site - great!

I am a new driver (2002) and my first was a Subaru Forester. I became spoiled...that is until it was sabotaged (another story). My sister took me by a Hyundai dealer for hoots because I was looking at the Santa Fe for some time. Of course, I couldn't afford it, but I would enjoy a test drive. Well, compared to the Forester, it felt like I was driving in a bubble; nothing felt safe and solid. When I returned it to the dealer I told him I wasn't interested because I was looking for a hatchback. That's when the Elantra GT came into play. I loved it as soon as I pulled out of the lot and didn't want to go back too soon in case they detected remnants of the S-E grin on my face. After all the headaches over months of repairs to my Forester (used), I swore I'd get a warranty, even if it was extended. I liken the cost for this to weekly 401(k) payments. And I do realize it may not be a sound investment but, boy, do I rest easy...So, 2002 ELANTRA GT FOR $7.9K@53Kmi + $1.2K FOR B-B EXTENDED WARRANTY TO 100Kmi - $5.6K TRADE-IN. Looks good until you factor in the insurance for a new driver!
IMHO, the Kia is definitely sub to Hyundai. My sister owns the Spectra (what I originally wanted) and it's pooh. She's had it for a year and will be trading up to a Hyndai soon. Beater car my eye!
-K