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6. Red lights on the inside front doors when open. Civic doesn't have it.
7. Remote hatch/trunk release. Mazda P5 and Subaru TS wagon don't have it.
8. Variable intermittent wipers. Civic has only one setting for the intermittent wipers.
9. Beverage holder with adaptor to fit drinks that are not 44 oz. large
-indy
11) Rubber mat on top of the shift console to hold things in place while driving crazy.
12) Rear seats that have seat belt attachments. The belts have a place to park when not being used.
13) Padded inside door handles.
I know what you mean Jeff. Enjoy your GT.
Yesterday I took the car in to my trusted mechanic so he could perform the 15,000 maintenance. I also asked him to check the source of the oil leak; figuring it was caused by a loose filter or loose drain bolt. After all, a properly maintained 9-month old car should not leak oil....
Anyway, I was shocked when my mechanic called to inform me that the oil leak was caused by stripped threads in the oil pan itself. Not good.
I immediately phoned the quick-lube station where I have been taking my cars for oil changes for almost three years. I had the Elantra's oil changed there on 4/15/02. The manager agreed to see me and we put my car up on the lift. Sure enough - stripped threads it was.
Well, the story has a happy ending. The quick-lube manager agreed to pay for a new OEM Hyundai oil pan (very cool of him, I thought); my regular mechanic is going to install it when he completes the 15,000 mile checkup. Everyone is happy.
The lesson(s) here?
1) Be EXTREMELY careful with the oil drain bolt. Aluminum is a great metal for some applications; oil pans don't seem to be one of them. Don't over-tighten the drain bolt and remember to replace the washer.
2) Save every single car-related receipt you ever get. Ever. I even track the service records on my Palm Pilot.
3) Be nice to people. As he was ordering my new oil pan, the quick-lube manager, Mike, complimented me for being so polite about the problem. I figured a guy who does 12,000 oil changes a year is bound to have a problem once or twice, so I cut him some slack. The way he took care of the problem convinced me to keep doing business with him.
That's all for now. Will make another post after the 15,000 mile service is complete.
Indyslim... you mentioned a remote hatch release. Do you mean one inside the car? Mine doesn't have it and that is one of my major pet peeves. I think all cars should have a hatch/trunk release inside on the floor.
I saw 2 GT's today, a Blue GT driven by a momlady who saw me and waved frantically, and another, Pewter GT with 18in chrome Niche rims, lowering springs and tint.. one word...HOT! the Pewter and I cruised up MCR in centereach for about 2 mile trying to talk to each other through our windows... It was so Funny... we had to stop doing it when we passed a bunch of cops who were responding to an accident on MCR (middle country road for anyone who lives on LI.)
Also was asked about my car at Home Depot where I was picking up some red Mulch (my trunk is covered in it now)... Couple with kid who were behind me in line to pay saw my car and Guy asked "How's it drive?" I said "beautiful" when they were pulling out I heard them say " they did a nice Job on that car" Sure did. For fun I caught up to them on the road and pulled alongside to let them admire my car for a few miles.
Nice catch on the drink adapter. Cant believe I missed that one. Right in front of me. Passengers are always making comments about that.
cjaccetta
Sorry to hear about your drain plug problems. At least the manager is being above board about it and paying for the replacement. I installed the Fumotovalve at my second oil change and it is a pleasure to use. I still think it was silly of Hyundai not to install a steel insert for the threads.
Anecdote: At my last dealer service I had them adjust my emergency brake,tighten the drivers seat tracks and lubricate the accelerator cable.
When I went to pick up the car they made no mention of my Fumoto oil drain valve or my B&M short shift kit. Either they did not notice or they dont care.
th003g
I'm starting to see a lot of GTs on the Island. Not even close to the #s of the sedan. I've caught other drivers staring at my blue dash in the evenings at traffic lights.
I must have been mistaken, may be the subaru TS wagon has it.
I agree that would definitely qualify as a peeve.
How about a list of peeves thread. To start
1) No remote hatch release.
2) Flimsy rear wiper button
3) No fold awayt armrest for back seat passengers
4) No trunk light
I've also been seeing that some of you paid around $12000 for your GT's. Im in Connecticut, and they are pricing at around $16 - $17,000. Please get back to me and let me know what dealerships in the country are offering the best prices. I don't mind traveling if I get a good deal!
I'm 5'9" and I like having my thighs supported by the seat so I roll the front part of the seat up to my thighs and roll the back part all the way down, even so my 5'5" sister can sit in the back like a lady and not bang her knee on my seat. The seats are hard... but so are Mercedes' seats (they say for reasons of comfort and safety, that the softer the seat the easier your body is to get numb or something like that)
I drive my XJR to queens and my A** falls asleep by the time I get to Nassau county (about 15miles) plus try sitting behind me in the Jag...not going to happen...
I get about 19MPG in mostly 4mile jaunts to and from work (im a 22yr old leadfoot)
and these damn people wont stop staring at my car.
I get more looks in my GT than if I were driving my XJR. Now it isnt every day you see a 22yr old kid driving a Jag thats in spanking new condition.
I caught this guy in a Blue RSX type-s staring at my car at Wendy's (he was about to get out of the lot when I came in and he looped around to follow me to the drive through)
Now I know these cars have come a long way since the days of the Excel, but I still do have some concerns that I'd like some real-world advice on.
1) Almost every new Elantra I see out there seems to have a row of dents on the side panels. Is it just me, or do these cars dent really easily?
2) How good is the stopping power in the GT (with discs) without ABS? I've heard some varying opinions on this.
3) Not that it matters a whole lot, but how is the aftermarket following on the GT? Does anyone know?
This car seems to be one incredible ride...all the reviewers love it. And I can't believe what a great value it is, too. If I can just hear from one person that it is possible to keep the car dent-free (they seem to dent themselves! and that the braking is really ok without ABS, I'm completely sold. Thanks!
-Dan
Re dents: I've owned a '01 GLS for over 18 months. So far, I have only one tiny ding on the passenger side (you really have to look closely to see it) and a tiny ding on the character line on the driver's side front fender. Now I should add that I am careful about where I park, e.g. always try to park next to small 4-door cars. But by this time my last car, a '97 Sentra, had several dings on the passenger side, mostly from my own Caravan parked next to it in the garage. So I can't say the doors on the Elantra are any more prone to dings than other small cars. I see a lot of Elantras in my town, and I haven't noticed the "row of dings" phenomenon you mentioned. What I have noticed is that the paint is a little thinner than I'd like, such that a bump from another door will take the paint off down to the primer without denting the sheetmetal. Those nicks are easily touched up with a fine artist's brush, but I'd like it better if the paint were thick enough to shrug off blows like that. They may not show up as much on a pewter car, because the primer is light grey; I have champagne.
Re stopping power: my GLS doesn't have ABS and doesn't even have 4-wheel discs, but the stopping action is first-rate, with a nice progressive feel. Take a look at reviews, e.g. Edmunds.com's long-term test, and they also typically rave about the brakes. And that's without 4-wheel discs.
"Almost every new Elantra I see out there seems to have a row of dents on the side panels. Is it just me, or do these cars dent really easily?"
I live in Houston and almost all of the cars I see have dents in the sides. They come from parking lots at malls etc. where people seem to have an aversion to putting shopping carts back in the corrals. These are the same people who will spend big bucks to join health clubs to exercise their fat off, but can't walk a few feet to return their carts. Major peeve for me. I got a shopping cart ding on my car when it was 2 months old. Cost $500 to fix. Since then I park at the end of the parking lot where no one parks and where shopping carts don't go because the lazy ^%#$^* can't walk that far.
Another alternative is to park right next to the shopping cart corrals. Not much action there.
"How good is the stopping power in the GT (with discs) without ABS? I've heard some varying opinions on this."
According to MotorWeek, this is the best stopping Hyundai they have ever driven -- 60 to 0 in 124 ft without ABS. That is excellent for any car.
See my Elantra GT website for more reviews:
http://gwebworks.com/elantra_gt/
I seem to have a problem. A dealer in St. Louis promised me to get me a GT 5 Speed by tomorrow. Later I came to know that the car is being driven from a Kansas City dealer (about 250 miles). I certainly don't trust a third party driver.
The www.t-h-c.org site recommends certain precautions during this critical initial period. Like not exceeding a certain rpm and constantly changing speeds etc.
Is there anything to worry about? Do you think that I legitimately have a case for another car? I have already put down a deposit for $500/-.
thanks
indy
It doesn't say whether freight is included and/or if there're "mandatory" dealer-installed options or other fees.
The invoice prices including freight are $14,112 and $15,145 respectively.
NOTHING COMES FREE. The Elantra is a great car. I have yet to read a bad review and I've looked at every small car out there and even the Benchmark Civic isn't put together as tightly as the Elantra. But the question isn't really about quality. The question here is resale. To steer somebody away from the Elantra and towards the civic/corolla SOLEY because of resale is unfair.
An example... you might pay more for the corolla/civic but in trade-in time, you don't lose as much. If you go elantra, you pay a couple grand less than the competition but you lose that at trade-in. If you love everything about the elantra, go for it. Either way, you'll end up spending the same in the end. Pay now or pay later... Nothing is free.
http://applications.edmunds.com/products/tco/TCOintroController?id=lin9167
Steering people toward the Elantra solely because it's a better car is as unfair as steering people away from the Elantra solely because of its low resale.
After the prospective buyer has determined that the Elantra is a better car than the competition, ask him if he still wants to buy it if the total cost to own is the same as the competition even if the initial price is lower. What if it actually costs more to own than the competition? Again, Edmunds' numbers are not indisputable.
Jeff
Just as I expected, the comparison chart conveniently left out that the Elantra has folding mirrors and rear seat head-rests, two things the Focus has on their European models but not here (no requirements here).
About dings - You have to expect thin sheet metal on economy cars. If you don't want dings... there's always Saturn! Eeeeeewwwww!
1. Inaccurate TMV: In my zip code, TMV for a base 5-speed Elantra GLS (what I drive) is under $10,000, because that's been the advertised price by at least one local dealer for many weeks now. That includes destination, putting my actual price about $2400 less than what Edmunds.com calculates. There may be errors for other cars also, but this is a big discrepancy.
2. Maintenance charges: How do they figure $343 for first-year maintenance on an Elantra? Following the recommended maintenance schedule, and assuming 15k miles/year, there should be only two oil changes in the first year and some other minor servicing like tire rotation. That isn't close to $343. I change oil every 3-4000 miles on my Elantra, and rotate tires every 7-8000 miles, and the dealer's charge for an oil change is $25 and for tire rotation about $20.
3. Repairs: Edmunds.com figures $0 repairs for the Elantra for the first 4 years, which is correct given the 60,000 mile warranty. But they do not fully take into account the shorter warranties on other cars. For example, on the Civic they show $0 repair costs for the first three years, even though the warranty expires not even midway through the third year.
Pick, pick, pick. Anyway, it's pretty much moot. Check out the TCOs of related cars and you'll see that, with a few exceptions, they are very close, differing only by a penny per mile, or usually less than $1000 overall in five years. Is that such a huge decision factor if you really like a car better than others?
Examples of five-year TCOs (all are 4-door 5-speeds):
Focus ZTS - $27,725
Neon ES - $27,199
Protege LX - $26,202
Lancer ES - $26,128
Elantra GLS - $25,154
Civic EX - $24,317
Sentra GXE - $24,070
Corolla LE (2002) - $23,562
"...or usually less than $1000 overall in five years. Is that such a huge decision factor if you really like a car better than others?"
Well, that's up to the person shopping for a car. Someone may like the Elantra better even if it costs $3K more to own over 5 years. Some may not want to touch it if it's not at least $1K cheaper to own over 5 years than the more-established entries. Everyone's situation, including how long one plans to keep the car, is different. That's again if you have faith in those numbers.
The point is a low initial price does not automatically mean it's a bargain. A high resale value does not either.
On another subject, my boss was impressed enough with the quality of my Hyundai that he went out and bought a new Accent for his 16 year old son. Unfortunately, after 500 miles the tranny is toast and the engine has dropped a cylinder. (Maybe the kid drives like I did at that age.) I hope he doesn't bring this up at review time! At least it's all covered under warranty and the dealer has given him a loaner.
Selling Price 13,499
Pin Stripe 99 (Wasn't going to begrudge this as it was already on car)
Regis, plate title 162.75 ( I know this is about $100 too high but I am looking at total price not necessarily how it is broken out.
Total Price 13,760.75 + tax
How does this compare to recent sales? Not too concerned with resale value as I tend to keep cars as long as I can. More concerned over reliability. What do you think guys? (I need some affirmation!!!!!)
Jeff
But speaking of dead, it turns out that my boss's son's Accent (the only new Hyundai I've heard of with more than just a mild hiccup of trouble) needed a new clutch, not a whole transmission. It was after he got it back from the dealer with the new clutch that the engine went south. The dealer's talking about putting a new short-block in it. Ouch! With only 500 miles on the clock, I'd be tempted to ask for a new car. This one seems to be a Friday afternoon special.
Thanks for bringing this feature to light. I have been there/done that with the keys myself. Just another nice touch from Hyundai.
gt fan
I could predict a hyper 16 year old male would kill the clutch in any car. My first manual was a Fiat 128 and that clutch went PDQ. But installing a short block with 500 miles on the odo must be a record. I dought that any of this is the fault of the Accent. This kid redefined the term...break-in
Is this recent news? Please point me to the report.
http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=39213&a=a&bt=hyundai+CEO&arc=n
DW
G
Thanks much,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com
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Review your vehicle
which they compare similar models; in this case,
2002 GLS, Corolla, Civic and Cavalier. They were actually complimentary of the Elantra! It had fewer initial defects than the Civic, the same as the Corolla, and 6 fewer than the Cavalier. Still,
it came in third, but they did say nice things about it and and it had all red and white balls (which is good). One day they may be objective>