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Also, anybody know about when/if Thule will be coming out with a roof rack fit... just given the run-around again by those folks... but still have all the accessories from my Saabing days so Yakima isn't an option.
PS--6000 miles in a bit more than four months, and no problems, don't miss the 900 at all! (except when I want to put my canoe on the roof)
It seems that there is a water leak into the right rear of the trunk. Water pools in the plastic bin it the right side not far from the right tail-light assembly.
Given the excellent weatherstripping around the hatch opening, and the fact that small drips were observed on the inside of the RS tail-light assembly, I can only conclude that water is running down the gutter (on the outside of the weatherstripping) and in behind the tail-light assembly. This problem was not obvious on the left side.
Anyone else have this problem?
We made a so-so deal on the Toyota, but they would have to custom-order it for us (wanted ABS and side airbags). 5 days later the sales guy calls up and tells us no more custom-orders for the year -- have to upgrade to get full package or downgrade. Bye bye.
Finally went to Hyundai to see what they had (Northeast Hyundai in Philadelphia). Selection was adequate but colors on Elantra were very "blah." My mom hasnt had a new car since her '66 VW bug, so she was looking for something a little jazzy. All the Elantra colors were very muted and boring. Until we saw the Cardinal Red GT in the showroom. We told the salesperson we wanted ABS and traction control and they only had one red GT with those options (and everything else too). SO we took it for a spin.
She drove for a while and it seemed adequate -- more room up front than the Corolla and the leather was pretty nice. Then I got in the seat. Immediately noticed all the little do-dads -- power mirrors, cool cockpit lights, sunroof, etc . . . . I took to the road and decided to give it some gas -- WOW! Very impressive oomph for such a small engine. It only struck me days later that it could pull that off with two other adults in the car -- very impressive.
We did the haggling, dickering thing and the lowest we could get was $16700 out the door. After a brief trip to the library and Edmunds.com we saw that was under the TMV, so thought "Why not?" We went back and bought the car.
They also had a sweet deal on financing (5.9%) -- and while it isn't 0% like so many others, the package was pretty phenomenal. I decided to go one step further and see what we could do for the extended warranty. I know most of you probably groan at that, but I wanted to know that my mom was completely covered for 10 years (she averages about 4-5000 miles a year so it isn't going to go over mile-wise). We managed to pick that up for $1050 from $1295 -- probably could have done better since the guy agreed so readily, but ah well.
Never had a new car myself but something like this tempts me. I am very impressed with it so far and can't wait to take her out for her birthday -- I'll insist I drive her in the GT!
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/longterm/articles/46043/page007.html
As for the scarcity of the GT, I was told by the salesperson that they probably won't start mass production of the GT for another 5 years. I'm in New Jersey, and he said that they'll probably release between 4,000-5,000 on the east cost per year until mass production starts. I do know that I haven't seen any GTs on the road at all here in North Jersey.
One question. When I got the car home last nite, and again when I got to work this morning, I noticed a strange smell when I got out of the car. Almost a burning oil smell. But everything appears to be ok. Is this normal. I'll be calling the dealer a little later, but just wanted to see if anyone else had this problem?
--Amy
As for the price... well that is possible. In most dealerships the salesmen with the most sales or who make some particular quota will get a bonus so many of them might eat the profit to make sales in the last couple of days in the month with the hope of getting a larger bonus.
-Jason
Amy
If you don't mind me asking, from what dealer did you buy your car? You got a pretty good price. When I bought mine last June I had to call four dealers in three counties just to find the one I wanted. At that time the car was hard to find. One dealer in Jersey City was charging $2000 over MSRP! I paid $14,500 for a base model with automatic. I bought from Ciasulli Hyundai in Little Falls. No complaints about them - good buying experience.
Good luck with your new ride. Nice to see more Jersey people represented in the Town Hall. The Garden State Rocks!!
Regarding the water leak in the right rear trunk...after driving through a particularly heavy rainstorm on Friday, I made a point of inspecting areas where water could come in (sunroof, hatch, doors). So far my GT is keeping dry.
I also have the burning smell, but it is slowly going away. I test drove a blue GT (bought pewter) last week that REALLY reeked of the burning smell...so much so I was expecting smoke to come pouring from underneath the hood!
The only minor complaint I have so far are occasional rattles coming from the passenger side front seat area and from somewhere in the hatch area. The rattle for the passenger seat area I have fixed somewhat by moving the passenger seat forward a little bit (maybe it was the seatbelt buckle banging against the seat?). It's nowhere near as loud now. The rattle coming from the hatch area will take a little more time to track down.
Also, I need to check the tire pressure. I think the tires are way over-inflated, seeing as the ride seems to be a bit TOO harsh. Overinflation of the tires could also be helping to contribute to the rattles.
Other than the unwanted noises, everything on the car works as advertised. The leather seats are very comfortable and I really appreciate the lumbar support.
For the money, the Elantra GT can't be beat!
"Regarding the water leak in the right rear trunk...after driving through a particularly heavy rainstorm on Friday, I made a point of inspecting areas where water could come in (sunroof, hatch, doors). So far my GT is keeping dry."
Glad to hear. I have done some checking and am convinced that the water runs down the rain gutter and behind the RR lamp assembly. Took the backplate off both rear assys and true enough, there was water on the RHS and it was bone dry on the LHS. It is going in to the dealer tomorrow for them to sort it out. At least I will tell them what the problem is.
As for the burning smell -- I had it too and it went away after a day or two. Don't worry about it. It is all of the protectant on the engine etc. burning off.
No real rattles other than some leather rubbing against itself somewhere on the passenger side sometime. This could be because I had the dealer install window tinting on my car, and they may have had to remove the door panels.
Got the car with 35 psi in the tires. Door jamb says 30 so I deflated to 30 and the ride does get a bit more pliant. However, I liked the 35 psi so I will be putting it back there.
I'm now up to 125 miles, and the burning smell does seem to be lessening each time I drive.
Amy
1) The crash results for the 2001-2 Elantra got a "poor" rating overall, and a "poor" rating for head/neck injuries. This is my first new car purchase, and I don't know how much stock to put in this test. Any thoughts by anyone on the topic?
2) Can anyone recommend a Hyundai dealer in the Chicago area with whom they have had honest/pleasant dealings in the past?
Thanks!
I live up in the Gurnee area and bought my GT from Liberty Hyundai in Libertyville in October. If you're willing to make the 45 minute drive north, it was by far the best buying experience I've ever had. I personally recommend Elmer Hansen, the salesperson I dealt with. I had to bring the car in because the speedomoter needle is sticking (they're replacing the whole instrument cluster tomorrow), and was just as pleased with the service department. Just hit the 3000 mile mark and I am still loving this car! The only disappointment thusfar is the insurance rate (about 15-20% higher than my 98 Grand Am V6 was...), but with the gas I save, financially it's pretty much a wash. Good Luck!
Jill
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Read the IIHS test report carefully and it will explain the reasons the '01 Elantra GLS (GT and '02s not tested yet) did so poorly on the head and leg injuries. They ran 3 tests, and on some of them the driver's front air bag was slow to deploy, so the driver dummy's head his the steering wheel. Also the driver's seat moved forward on its track a few inches, causing the leg "injury".
Some good things about the test was that the car's structural integrity scored Good (highest) and there were positive comments about how the side air bag prevented the driver dummy's head from hitting the B pillar.
Hyundai has stated that the IIHS tests do not match Hyundai's own test results and that there is no defect in the car that can explain the IIHS results. So who knows whether the test cars had bad airbag sensors, or defective seat tracks (or maybe they weren't latched fully), or if there was some other problem. We may not know until IIHS conducts tests on the GT (if they do).
You may have noticed that the GLS did very well in the NHTSA crash tests. But the IIHS test is considered tougher because of the speed and angle of impact (the impact can't be spread across the entire front end structure like it is on the head-on NHTSA test).
I've heard positive things about Towne Hyundai's service. Hopefully you won't ever see the service area of ANY dealer but it's nice to know that you've got options. I haven't had to bring my GT in for service yet but I am thinking about taking it back to Ciasulli for a 15,000 mile checkup.
Good luck with your new car. If you see a pewter GT with an American flag in the rear window - that's me! Honk and wave!
I had read the crash test results pretty thoroughly, and I was surprised that only three tests were done to reach their conclusions. I am glad to know about the recall & correction of the airbag sensors... you would think that a re-test would bring much better scores if the airbags now deploy properly.
And the 2 questions...
1) I live closest to Glenview Hyundai, with O'Hare and Libertyville within around 20 miles of me. Did any of you Chicago buyers find a difference in price between the beginning and end of the month when you purchased your GT?
2) How many of you went for the ABS? Are you happy that you did, or do you feel it was unnecessary in hindsight with rear disc brakes standard?
The dealer had a sweet looking black 5 speed with 20 miles on it. The color looked great on the car, but I'm hesitant to get black because of the trouble keeping it looking clean. I'm leaning towards the midnight gray.
The interior was very nice, much more so than the Focus ZX5. The dash was uncluttered but a bit sparse, and the purple lights were cool (although they'd take a bit getting used to). The radio looked a bit wimpy and we never turned it on.
Three adults piled into the Elantra and drove off. The first thing I noticed was that the clutch is very easy - almost too easy. It barely feels like you're shifting. The car handled well and had good acceleration. Steering was very light and responsive. The breaks were also good, even though this model didn't come with the ABS/Traction control.
The only negative was that the engine did seem a little loud and buzzy while working through gears 1-3. But, that's to be expected with a small 4 liter. We also had the radio off, so the only noise I could hear was the engine. When the short test was over, we popped the hood and took a look. I noticed a burnt oil smell. Perhaps that's the new smell people have been noticing. Hopefully, it was truly some protectant burning off and not something worse.
All in all, it was a very nice test drive. It looks like a great value for the money. Afterwards, I came home and turned on Motor Week. They had a very nice review of the exact same car! Talk about a coincidence.
I filled up for the first time tonight and made a point of eyeballing the fuel gauge when I started the car. Others have posted about fuel gauges not reading full after a fillup. Good news...the minute I started the car after filling up the needle shot past the full mark almost immediately.
I'm slowly pinpointing some of the rattles. Hard to do since they only happen occasionally over rough surfaces. One rattle I traced to the front passenger seat. Moving it forward a notch or two seemed to solve that problem. Another rattle I found in the sunroof sunshade...closing it made the rattle go away, while opening it fully made the rattle appear. I wonder if this is something the dealership can fix without tearing apart the headliner! A rattle in the hatch area was caused by an ice scraper (DOH!).
Comments from friends and co-workers have all been positive. Some are left speechless when I tell them about all the items that come standard on the GT. No one was expecting leather seats to be available, let alone standard, in a car of this price class.
The pewter color hides the dirt really well, and I am surprised at the LACK of brake dust on the front wheels so far.
More later!
1) The speedo needle seems to move very roughly and cannot hold a constant speed, even while the cruise is on.
2) There's a small vibration emanating from somewhere, especially when cold. It seems to disappear for the most part once I depress the clutch pedal. I'll have the dealer check this out. .
Other than that, I'm pleased for the most part. Hey, how come us in Canada don't get that long warranty that Hyundai offers in the States?
I just wish they would have made longer sun visors or at least slid out extensions to cover the entire window.
This is our second Elantra (also have a 2000) and I am really impressed with their progress. 5 more years and they will be breathing right down Honda's neck.
I too find them a bit mediocre, and noisy, especially on concrete. They're also wearing at a rate that will require a replacement at about 40K.
I did buy the $7.99 lifetime rotation and balance at Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart actually got the slight vibration out of them on the first try. Strange given the difficulties reported in the GLS thread.
She's at the dealer right now getting those prior issues looked at.
I guess prices are a little cheaper in Canada. I'm just glad leather isn't standard here, because that would have put a serious s-turn into my decision to buy. Honda Civic - boring - oh, man. . .
jwc74
I believe the price differential that our American friends have between the P5 and GT *is* significant, however. In the US, it appears that the GT is thousands cheaper than the P5 (real prices), making the GT a *fantastic* value. Note that in Canada, we can get the less-featured model that is unavailable south of the border.
With regard to warranties, these are often different between Canada and the US, usually to Canadians' detriment. I've heard that the harsher climate may be a contributing factor to the less lenient warranties, as well as the propensity for Canucks to keep their cars longer. However this is just unsubstantiated rumour.
Good luck with your GT!
The list is now $16,600 and the price I got is $15,400. Is that good ?
BUT..... the color they have I don't like and they said if they DX with another dealer, that dealer still receives the Manufacture's money of $500 and therefore, my cost would be 500 more.
Or I can wait until they get their next shipment in. Is this true, I would think if it is by swaping cars they still would get the 500 from the car they gave the other dealership.
Pleas advise
Regarding waiting for your specfic color: I just took delivery of a GLS (w/ABS & TCS) after waiting 10 weeks for my exact config to come in. But this car ended up being a dealer exchange after I ran out of patience waiting.
If you look up to post #1137, there may be a strike at the Hyundai plants. So, there may not be much coming.
The car Elantra GT with sundroof, ABS/traction control package, mudguards, floor mats cargo net, unfortunatly, california emissions charge: Total MSRP of $16,745 for $15,400. The invoice cost should be $15,344. His profit should be $56, plus the dealer holdback of $502 less any real advertising cost asigned to each car. They said it is $428. They are actually then making $558 less any REAL adv. costs, and if it is 428, then they are making $130. Never the less, I can't imagine getting it for any less. What do you think?
After living with the color for almost six months, I must report that I'm happier and happier with it. I think it's going to age well. It has most of the class of a black car but is easier to maintain. So sometimes, what you think you'll want on the lot isn't what makes you happiest in the long run.
DW