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I know what quality is. Having a manufacturer who doesn't fix problems until they cause safety issues, who doesn't even try to fix cosmetic problems, who blames the customer for abuse every time unless it is the most obvious of defects, who buys up other car companies when they need their own financial help, and who tries to sell a $24,000 car when they can't even perfect their $10,000 car is not good in my book. The Hyundais in my price range are either dead or close. It may work for my advantage though. There are literally thousands of dead Excels and Elantras and Sonatas in scrapyards around the Dallas area, maybe I could buy a half a dozen and keep one running long enough to show a profit. But spend the money on a new one just to lose thousands of dollars in depreciation? No way. I'll stick with my "junkers". As to did any of my cars last longer than a month or two? The Metro I owned for 20 months and it ran when I sold it. The 1993 Dynasty I owned for 22 months and it was one of the wrecked cars (insurance paid off all but $2000 of what I owed). The 1992 Dynasty I owned for 15 months and it is still being driven locally by a guy who plans to hit 200K (it had 188K when I sold it in July). Hmm...of course those were the only ones I financed so I had a vested interest in them. The rest were cash except the 1987 New Yorker but my father took over te payments when he wrecked his Celebrity wagon, only to trade it in on the 1995 Century Mom still has today. I am the complete opposite of my parents. They have car payments and they buy new when the payments are done. I am never financing a car so long as I can help it and I don't think buying a car less than five years old is worth it, unless it is a dirt cheap taxi that still runs. Some taxi drivers here in Dallas drive Elantra sedans/wagons and Accent sedans, and their passengers are not comfortable but if they can't afford a $20K Crown Vic they might as well get the cheapest car they can find to save on their gas. I have seen ONE Chevy Metro taxi in town. Boy would I love to buy that when he's done...it's lime green! Oh yeah, two of the cars I bought not to drive, but to tick off picky property-value-minded neighbors...the yellow Chevy Crew Cab (paid $900, sold for $1200) and the black VW Scirocco (got for free, scrapped for $50, and was fun to drive when it was willing to run)
If I run by a Hyundai that I think is worth fixing and/or running for courier you'll be the first to know if it works for me. Excepting Excels which at this point are only good for high school auto body shop projects. Ever seen an Excel made out to be a cop car? Thanks CSCC Auto Tech, that was amusing, and it is now in the hands of campus security to issue parking tickets.
You may have made some profit off it, but insurance costs, repairs, registration, etc. not to mention gas for each car if you owned more then one at one time easily eats up that profit. But if thats what you like to do, thats fine. If it makes you happy, great. Just do not think thats a better idea then buying just one good car. Like I, most people would disagree
carlady/host
Accent GS 3DR. hatchback with 5spd. and
air cond. I have been negotiating with the
dealer about total price and trade-in. ( You
probably know the drill, what is the price
of the car and what is the trade worth ).
Anyhow, some key facts stand out on this car:
1. The price is very attractive especially
with the current rebate $500. In some cases
( base model L )the dealer is eating the freight ($435). This model has a MSRP of $9000 but
after rebate many dealers are selling it for
$7995 including freight. 2. Great warranty.
I gave $9500 for the car and am tickled pink. I didn't notice any significant difference in power between the L and GS; the only thing I really wish I had was the clock.
During my car shopping, I narrowed the choices down to 3 (I test drove them all); the Saturn SL, the Honda Civic, and the Accent. Not even considering the price, the Accent is at least the equal of the Civic, and is far superior to the Saturn. It easily beat the Saturn in handling, shifting, and acceleration, and edged out the Civic. Fit and finish are as good as the Honda, and again superior to the Saturn. Comfort is outstanding, actually better than the Civic, and it blows the Saturn away.
Pricewise, it was $2500 less than Saturn and $4000 less than Honda.
If the car turns out to be durable, Hyundai is poised to give Honda a run for its money. About time; Hondas have really gotten overpriced.
The most credible person that i have read on here has had his/her Accent for 42K. Finally someone with some miles on his/her car. Unfortunatly that person realizes the inappropriatness of the comments from a few members on this board and doesn't comment much.
And remember friends, let's all get along. We need to disagree agreeably, thank you.
In the meantime, those of us who have Accents (or other Hyundais) can use this forum to share information, both likes and dislikes, about our purchases.
I took my first real road trip in my Accent this weekend; a 450 mile round trip to Atlanta. The car was like a dream; rides great and quiet as a whisper, even at highway speeds. The ride is actually a little softer than what I like but it is ok. Driving in Atlanta rush hour traffic was no problem; the nimble handling and quick acceleration allowed me to maneuver with ease. Going up a 5 mile stretch of 6% grade outside Chattannooga was a breeze. Even though Edmunds doesn't like the 92 horse engine, I was passing everything on the road going up that steep grade in 5th gear and the engine was not laboring at all. Car got over 43 mpg on the trip. Not like driving a Porsche 911 but it was a lot of fun anyway.
anyway...
okie53, the accent is an excellent car. i have an elantra, but being a professional valet parking attendant, i was able to drive a few. comfortable, smooth acceleration, solid too. hard to except from a 9k dollar car. i got an elantra because i wanted to get the best car i could in my budget, and that was right on target. but the accent is also an excellent choice for the financial concious buyer. Once i get my BMW M3 , i will probaly get an accent as my daily driver after my elantra dies, which wont be for awhile. i think i ll get 200k out of my elantra before it quits. and anyone who argues RESALE, dont bug me because i aint ever selling my elantra. it was so cheap to buy, i would just buy another car and keep the elantra as a daily driver till it quits.
I talked to my mechanic brother-in-law over the weekend to get his perspective on Hyundai's dependability. He said he really didn't know too much about the newer ones, which strikes me as good because that means he doesn't see them in his shop all the time (unlike the Taurus 3.8, Neon 2.0, and Cavalier 2.2 that blows head gaskets all the time). He did inform me as to what their bad rep was all about. He said the Excel was mechanically durable, but because the engine was a dirty running engine, they added a bunch of vacuum controlled emissions equipment that would get clogged up after about 20,000 miles and cause the engine to run bad. That was the main problem with the car and he also said the electronics weren't designed too well. Overall, it sounds like Hyundai isn't near as bad as everyone seems to think.
On a side note, I went to the Orlando car show and sat in about a hundred different cars. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that quite a few cars had a cheaper, tinny feel to their doors than my little Hyundai. It still amazes me just how solid they designed the Accent to be.
I think Honda is over rated,a fortune to repair and not nearly as reliable as the Hyundai.
I am considering an Accent my self but NEVER a Honda !!!
You get impressive gas mileage for the speeds at which you drive. On my commutes, I rarely exceed 65 mph and end up with about 42mpg.
I rode in a friend's brand new $23,000 Buick LeSabre this past weekend and I noticed that the interior quality was about the same as my $9700 Accent. I also couldn't help stopping at the local Honda dealer and reading the sticker price on the basic Civic again - $16,500. I guess I saved almost $7000 and got a better car to boot.
Okie
Clarkmode, my Accent seemed to improve slightly in fuel economy around the 6000 mile mark, after I changed the oil for the second time. Most of the improvement has been seen only in the city though. I was at one point getting as low as 24 mpg when using the AC in the city. Now, the lowest I get is right about 27 with AC and all city driving. My highway mileage has stayed pretty consistent since day one, ranging between 35 and 37 while travelling between 75-85 mph. Your mileage should improve a bit in another 3000 miles. Korean cars seem to have a longish break-in period. Keep in mind that your car is only rated at 35 on the highway, so you are not too far off from that number. As to your gas spilling problem, I might be able to help you there. I have never experienced the problem on my car, but I think I know what it is. Kia just announced a recall of over 100,000 Sephias for this exact problem and it is caused by a malfunctioning purge valve that is located in the filler neck. It's job is to keep gas vapors from escaping into the air and polluting it. From your description, it sounds like that valve is your problem. It may be trying to release the vapors as the gas is trying to fill up, thereby forcing the gas to spill back out due to the backpressure. I would take it in to the dealer and have them look at it. Hope that helps. By the way, what is your thoughts on the performance of the new 105 horse engine? Did you test drive the 92 horse engine so you can compare the two? I'm just curious whether the new engine is more refined and has a noticeable power increase.
Except for the defrost setting, I haven't used the A/C yet. The mileage I've been getting is the result of driving between 55-65 mph on the highway; most people drive a lot faster so will get lower mpg figures.
If I could've found a 5-speed GS model in the color I wanted (red), I might have bought it instead of the L. The only things I really miss though are the tach and the clock. Otherwise mine suits me just fine.
As for the engines, I test drove the 2000 GL Automatic, the 2001 GS manual, and finally the 2001 GS auto. The 92 HP engine (auto)was DEFINETELY much slower and noiser than the 105 HP (auto). I also test drove the 5 speed 105HP, but i didnt like the fact that I was grinding so much and the engine revs higher in 5th gear (3,300 RPM @ 70MPH) than the automatic OD (2,900 RPM @ 70MPH)I opted for the auto tranny because my commute of 100mi. per day was killing my legs, back, and the road rage was increasing with the manual...So I wanted a car to shift for me, at the time, the MPG were only 2 off form the manual so I thought it was a good idea..but I agree about the lengthy break in...Im at 3,300 miles already. I have to admit, this is a cool car for the money...Im sure I'll like it even more when I get it fixed.
carlady/host
That coolant sensor is of course electric, so any leaks in the area could cause corrosion. A flooded car gets corrosion in every exposed terminal. So if you have even the slightest leak, if it hits a wire, it will cause corrosion. Get yourself a $2 can of battery terminal cleaner and a battery brush and clean that connection up. Then you can wrap it to keep any water out and check it later. If it still corrodes, the leak is from inside the sensor and the sensor may need replaced or resealed.
carlady/host
I spent some time about the car yesterday. The engine compartment is clean and dry, no leaks around the coolant sensor like lngtnge18 described. I put in an air filter. Fram makes the CA7775 for $12.89 but it is not carried in stock in the majority of auto parts stores. I found a Wix filter for $8.29 at O'Reilly. I'll bet Hyundai charges $15-$20 for the same filter. The filter I removed from the car was a Hyundai filter, very dirty, wonder how long it's been in there...
Before the accident I was having a tough time opening the passenger door from the inside or out. Now the the window is gone, it opens fine! I hope when the new window is installed I can still open the door from inside and out. I'll be tinting it myself ($6) because the rest of the car has cheap tint and I see no reason to spend $30 to tint one window with nice 3M smoke tint when the other windows are bluish-purple.
Before the accident the car ran perfect. It still does, but vibrates a little harder at idle. I'll have to check the motor mounts.
So now I am searching for parts...a passenger door panel in tan with the cloth trim piece and map pocket...a dash vent (center right)...a back cushion for the back seat (60/40 split)...and the plastic thing that holds the passenger visor to the headliner. There are NO Accents at the self-service yards. There are some at the nice yards but they want $150 for the door panel, $100 for the whole back seat (won't sell just the back cushion), and they won't sell me the other parts because they are "too small to waste their time on".
Clarkemode, you have nothing to worry about! The small amount of "smoke" you saw was probably nothing more than water evaporating from inside the tailpipe. When a car sits for long periods of time, water condenses inside the tailpipe. When the hot exhaust air hits the water droplets, it evaporates it. Than, when the hot moisture filled air hits cooler drier air outside, the water condenses to form a white cloud. It is the same effect as when your warm breath hits cold air. That's why you tend to see the cloud more when it is cold out. Seeing as the cloud disappeared rapidly, I'm willing to bet that is all you saw. As for the exhaust smell, exhaust always smells funny when you first start a car. The engine is producing the most emissions at that time and therefore smells strange. The smell goes away once the catalytic converter has warmed up. At any rate, I think you are looking too hard to find problems with your new car. Just relax and enjoy it!!
Floridian
I already found this car's replacement. A clean white 1996 Elantra automatic with 75K and some vandalism damage for $2000. I won't repeat the words painted on the car in this family-oriented forum. Funny thing is, it was misspelled.
Hopefully this lady's insurance will not deny my claim. She had the gall to make a claim on my insurance which was promptly denied. So we'll see how much they're willing to pay. I got a $2320 estimate from Hyundai, $1885 from Service King, and the one I'll keep to myself, $1148 from Earl Scheib. I don't think it's worth putting the money in the car. I'll drive it until it won't start, because whether it runs or not, it is worth the same $400 to the junkyard.
there is no "GL" hatchback, only the L or the GS). The Saturn I drove was the entry level SL. I
liked some things about it (particularly the dent-proof side panels) but overall, I felt that the
Accent was the better vehicle, especially for the price (about $3k more for comparably
equipped Saturn). The Accent handled and accelerated better, was more comfortable,
had an unbeatable warranty, and although its highway mileage rating was lower (36 vs. 40
for the Saturn), I consistently get 40 mpg on the highway. In addition, the Accent is a better
looking car than the Saturn and has many more available colors. For about $1200-1500 more
than the L, you can get the GS hatchback with a bigger engine, nicer interior and a few other
amenities. Either way, you get an excellent vehicle for under $11,000.
Okie
Floridian
New Accents for $7,995 in stock, New Rios for $6,995 not available and none have been ordered. Wonder why? Maybe because the Accent is a sure seller while the Rios just sit. I don't know.
i was going to buy my wife an echo, but the air conditioner is very weak. it never seems to cool down in the summer.
does anyone live in the south where it's very hot and humid or where the temperature goes over 100 regularly?
i'd like some input on the air conditioner in the accent.