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Bet mine is one of a very, very small number of GLS's with 5-speed and Pkg 13. Hope they can repair her!
Sugarpig1: Keep trying. Have you collected pricing info on all these vehicles showing MSRPs, invoice prices, holdbacks, fees, current rebates & financing incentives, etc? Do tell the Hyundai dealership you'd like to buy a Sonata if the price is right. And point out what other dealers are willing to do to move their cars (e.g., deep discount on Taurus). Can't imagine why they wouldn't be willing to go $1,500-2,000 off on Sonata. Bought mine in May. Had to do dealer trade to get it because I wanted a rare combination. Only one like it in 10-state area. I still got price down from $20,262 sticker to $18,400. I didn't push too hard. Just told salesperson I had crunched all the numbers and would buy the car today at that price. Dealer agreed. The 0.9% financing then made the deal all the sweeter.
If the same had happened to me I would have been very upset.
Of course you may be lucky and have a panel shop where someone actually cares but after a major front end collision involving the suspension, cars don't seem to be the same as new again.
I hope that you have a good experience and prove me wrong.
I agree, the 6cyl allows you to spend more money on options if you want to.... but that is it.
I get good mpg, its quiet, responsive and seemingly reliable.... wont know for another few years.
I paid 13805+cargo net+mats+keyless entry at cost+ tax. The suggested retail was 16,305.
I put the second coat of wax on it and noticed no sheet metal problems. I guess I am lucky or maybe when it gets cooler out they may show up.
I have no regrets at all. BUT I use it as transportation from point A to B unlike some folks that find it to be an extension of their being or some heavy concept like that.
I wont say YOU GOTTA HAVE IT, but I like mine, glad I got it and hope it lasts.
Tony
Sorry about your loss Giowa - hope all goes well in the repair department.
http://www.hmc.co.kr/eng/vehicles/product/grandeur/index.htm
2. 9/7/00 issue of NY Times: "DaimlerChrysler has been given approval by the Hyundai Motor Company to buy a 9 percent stake in the company... [DC] will pay $389 million for the stake and will set terms to buy an additional .99 percent soon... price is a 25% premium to Hyundai Motor's closing price...."
poopy: ding just off center off front hood(hyundai will fix),someone went ballistic with orbital buffer swirl marks and heavy abrasion(hyundai will fix),front seat head rest will not stay in down position(hyundai will fix)/o.e. tires
are cheap-will upgrade.
--after living with a cavalier for 3 years-the sonata feels like a mercedes!!!i like it!
Second, I've only researched the price on the computer and the MSRP and the invoice price in both Edmunds and Kelley are lower than the prices at carsdirect and greenlight. So can anyone tell me what's going on?
Interestingly enough, when I got it I poured over the papers. It was built 8/99, the dealer had it in 10/99 and it had sat on his lot for over 7 months. The Illinois dealer had tacked on a bogus $900 "Autobahn Pkg" that was paint sealer, pin stripe, and mud guards. No wonder it sat their. Bad dealers don't move metal. Think dealer too focused on his VW business.
When I first found this site months ago I remember reading some posts from some guys down South (possibly Georgia) also looking. Don't know if they ever got one.
I think Hyundai doesn't ship many over here at all. What a shame. V-6 w/manual and 13 is a real sleeper bargain!!!
and the exterior design(this is the first car that I have owned that people have actually remarked about how they like the look of the car)has made me a content owner. By the way, I saw an ad in the paper today that the Santa Fe SUV by Hyundai is now on display for ordering. Has anyone seen it.
No regrets here.
Tony
I actually prefer the cam belt in my '99 4cyl Sonata. Belts are typically quieter and slightly less power robbing than chains. They also don't require an oil bath for lubrication. Belts are really quite tough. It takes a major malfunction and/or gross neglegence on maintenance to cause a belt to fail before the typical 60k replacement interval.
As for the Sonata I4 compared to others. I really think this counterbalanced DOHC ranks among one of the most refined 4cyls I've owned or driven. I've owned 3 vehicles with 2.4L DOHC I4, and too many others to count. Practically as smooth in power delivery as a V6 in the low and mid RPM range. It gives away little to other similarly sized I4s in its class.
There are a bunch of internet services where you can get price quotes or selling prices . Use Carsdirect, greenlight, autobytel etc. For those who want a 5 speed you can request it through these organizations and they will try to locate a car for you.
I was impressed and if I had not found the one I truly wanted I would have gone that route.
As for the plastic looking woodgrain trim is concerned, I believe I saw it on an aftermarket site and the GLS comes with it. Down side is you have to take the six cyl with it. (just kidding guys, couldnt resist) If I find the accessorie site I will post it for you.
Tony
I believe you can find the woodgrain kit at www.autoanything.com. They have two kit listings under the 2000 Sonata but only one shows up. It is the full 19 piece kit intended for the base Sonata buyers. It is fairly expensive but you have the luxury of applying just the pieces you wish. You can order the real wood for $299 or the synthetic for $199. There is even a piece for the glove box latch!
To my knowledge only the Canadian vehicles get the full wood treatment. American Sonata GLS's get the three center and four door inserts only.
To reiterate since I'm going in to talk price tomorrow: Why is the invoice and MSRP price quoted by Kelley and Edmund lower than CarsDirect and Greenlight? Can anyone tell me?
Repair work was done by my dealers' suggested shop. Excellent repairs. Long wait due to parts holdups.
I would hope that the parts supply problem would be noticeably improved in the past two years. If not, count on two weeks.
The trip included a long mountain section with switch back corners and i can say that i was impressed with the brakes ability to pull the car up even theough the trailer did not have any brakes. Obviously I was able to use the gears for engiine braking but at no time did i feel worried.
The car still cruised nicely at approx. 70 mph in 5th gear, dropping back to 4th for most reasonable hills in order to keep the engine speed up. I found that under 2800 rpm the engine did not have much pulling power but it was fine as long as I kept the revs above this.
The real test was coming home up the mountain still with the same load (less a few beers and some food). Althought not a hot day, the engine temperature did not move at all and I had great pleasure in passing a Camry V6 also towing a trailer as I pulled out of a hairpin corner in second gear.
This was a hard test on the car and I can say that it performed to my expectations.
I drove it according to the conditions and it performed accordingly.
I guess that I can say that the engine is run in now !!!!
I too saw that article a while ago and noticed the following: (see if you agree)
Hyundai Sonata places just below the industry average (this is an entirely new vehicle ('99)built in an entirely new automated plant---most first year production runs have the lion's share of difficulties. The '00 has far less complaints.)
Cars like the VW Jetta place very near the bottom of the list but you never hear this raised against that vehicle. All you ever are going to hear is how great German engineering is and how far back VW has come from their lows in just one decade.
The J.D. Power surveys are but one tool to use in considering any vehicle. And like all sources of information you take each one with a critical eye for the details.
Actually while the Sante Fe is based on the Sonata platform, much of it is different. Because it is a new vehicle I would always recommend caution. If people MUST HAVE a first year run of any car then they must be prepared to suffer a few kinks.
Hyundai has now taken over KIA and will be applying their increasing standards of quality control to that Marque as well.
Considering the vehicles that are listed within 20 points on either side of the average (154) I am amused at the continuing focus on the Koreans. Everyone knows they have been playing catch-up. It would appear that others seem to think that treading water or even falling backwards is a sign of success. Just look at some of the marquee names within that span.
Lastly, the variability of these surveys is widely known. While there are a small number of individual car designs that stay at or near the top, the vast numbers of also rans continually trade positions.
1. Cruise control accelerator sticking problem
2. Steering wheel retainer may cause steering wheel to come off
3. Some 4x2’s were built with 4x4 rear wheel hubs, may cause the rear wheels to become loose or separate from the vehicle
4. Fuel line leakage
The way I see it, how worse can a Hyundai product be than a Ford one.
Although I wanted a all-wheel drive vehicle for the coming winter here in Canada, my safest bet is to wait till spring and continue to monitor both vehicles.
I suspect that Hyundai will likely bend over backwards to make those new customers happy as the vehicle is a move into new territory. Likewise, the new XG. You just can't have enough good customer relations nowadays. Good Luck whatever and whenever you decide.
*Deemed "substantially worse then average" by the Highway Loss Data Institute: Dodge Neon, Ford Aspire, Ford Escort, Geo Metro, Honda Civic, Honda Civic Coupe, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Sonata, Isuzu Rodeo, Mazda Protege, Mercury Tracer, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan 200SX, Nissan 240 SX, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tercel.
I am somewhat concerned that they deem the sonata "substantially worse then average". The car has some extras Air bags (4) and seat belt pretensioners. Does anyone know if the test is for an older year. Is there any information for the 2000. I an wondering if this was the the right choice (I do have children that will be in the car from time to time). I had looked at Accord and Camry but felt the styling and price of the Hyundai were better.
Concerned.
Most of the current insurance ratings on vehicles are several years old, circa '97-'98.
The new Sonata, as you undoubtedly know, is a complete redesign and is currently in its' second year of production. This vehicle gets very high marks from my insurer, GEICO, and resulted in our insurance bill for two cars (both Sonatas) being barely more than the previous bill for the one car.
If you wish to see the current Sonata test info go here:
http://www.highwaysafety.org/
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/
I believe the new car is much safer but will improve even more in future models. Hyundai means business. Enjoy!
My recent accident will count against Sonata for insurance reporting purposes. Even though other guy at fault and ticketed.
Sharp car, but have had my share of problems with stalling at idle since I got it. The air flow sensor seems to be the culprit, but after 3 replacements, I'm not sure what else to do. Is there a chance it could be a different problem since the previous sensors couldn't have all been defective. I might take it to a different dealership to get a fresh perspective on what might be causing the problem.
By the way, my car has reached 3500 miles and she's doing great, I've had no major problems.
Most of this is related to the Airflow Mass sensor but usually it is the Harness which needs attending to. It is subject to strain which affects connection. The harness needs a tie-back near the connector to help it maintain proper connection.
If you are having dealer problems with this issue tell them to check the NHTSA site for the TSB on this.
Dylbrena---your several codes may be related to the one episode as fall-out. Let us know what the dealer reports.
For all interested, go to www.T-H-C.org and check out the Sonata forum. There are many previous posts on this and other issues of concern.
I was astonished to see your comments (#683 & #693 posted on Topic #3325, Hyundai Sonata2) about ‘95 Sonata, especially complaints about its value and low-quality paint. How can you have those prejudices by a few unidentified clues? If you owned the '95 Sonata from the beginning and knew about the whole history of the car, that’s the other matter. But you bought the car from a sap, as you called. Do you get maintenance reports from him or a file of receipts that proves he paid for the proper maintenance of the car? No one knows how he drove the car or even whether he experienced an accident or repainted it for better look. I’m not sure your case is similar to mine, but please hear my story:
I have droved a pre-owned ‘94 Camry (4-cyliner) for four month. I was satisfied for a moment about the price ($7k) and external conditions until I found that the car was repainted. The paint was scratched easily on surface and torn off from the rough edges of parts. After I drove the car for a few months, I felt the transmission and noise of engine was terrible. Fortunately, however, before it almost stops I managed to change the badly ruined oils and paid hundreds of bucks for entire system checks. I also had to change a broken inner door handle and still have to care for defrost wire. Now my car drives a little smoothly but still roars because of irreversible wears in engines and transmissions. I still don’t know this car experienced any accident before, but it reminded me how important is the maintenance of a car, no matter what the quality of a car is. I’ve never been complained to Toyota or about the value of Camry itself. I just feel I paid reasonable money for the badly maintained car.
You didn't specify whether auto or stick. If manual I definitely think the price is too high. If you can wait, get a '01. They should be coming very soon. Supplies of '00's are disappearing faster than gold in a recession.
Because of the success of the new Sonata, it is difficult to predict what Hyundai will do as far as promos. I would suspect the usual $1000 or special financing trade-off.
Also, who knows what sorts of incentives Hyundai might use this fall to move the iron. Since the Sonata had no changes, there won't be a big rush from buyers to buy an unchanged car. And all the action will be with XG300 and Santa Fe.