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Comments
For many years, I and others have benefitted from low prices on Elantras because not many people realized what a good car they are. Now the word is out, thanks to CR et. al., plus anything that gets good FE is in high demand. Plus the reports on the safety value of ESC and the fact that the Elantra SE is the only car in its class that offers it standard isn't helping availability.
My local dealer had one new Elantra of any kind as of this weekend. So I thnk you are right that it might be necessary to wait until the '09s are in good supply to get a good deal, unless there's some dealer somewhere with lots of '08s. GLSes are more plentiful so deals are still to be had on those, e.g. Towne's standard Internet offer of $1500 off invoice before rebates.
i think it's easier to compare prices before TTL, but just make sure there are no extra "fees" included like delivery, admin, etc.
my before TTL for a 2008 SE AT with cargo net, wheel locks, and floor mats was $14,700. tey tried to add $150 for admin costs or something like that, but i said if they add that, no deal.
people are right about SEs being a rare find. obviously, some dealers have them, but they are going fast- especially with the July CR article. in the chicago suburbs (where i am), i only found 4 or 5 SEs out of 8 or 9 dealers- that was 2 weeks ago. i'm sure most are gone now.
may be worth it to wait for the 2009s; however, i wonder how flexible they'll be with pricing.
good luck and let us know what you decide.
eric
As of now, they're offering $16,100 +TTL + $189 "documentation fee." As if the guy who works in finance isn't on the payroll, and only gets paid when poor schlubs like me pay the fee. So $16,289 for the car, basically. He says he has two left; they're the only ones within hundreds of miles of Kansas City as far as I can tell. The dealers on the Kansas side said they couldn't buy one if they wanted to.
Anyway, I told him if we can do less than $17,400 out the door, we have a deal. We'll see what other BS he comes up with this afternoon after he "runs the numbers."
That same car (same set up, in another color) is on Fitzmall's site now for $360 more than what I paid. I'm sure that's due to demand for the Elantra SE going up and supply of '08 SE's being low. The April and July issues of Consumer Reports is helping to drive demand. Considering that, you may not get a much better deal than you have on the table right now, assuming you can even find another SE. The dealers don't need to give these cars away right now and they know it. If you walk, someone else will buy it.
I also pondered waiting on the '09's, but in the end I decided that not knowing what the price of the 09's would be, what if any rebates might apply or if demand would continue to drive up OTD prices, it was worth the $350 I paid to have my '08 shipped to FL and buy now rather than later. Only time will tell if I made the right decision. For now I'm convinced it was right.
I LOVE my car.
Prices on Elantras especially the SE are creeping up, but that should help resale and also consider that a Civic EX without leather goes for over $20k + T&L these days, plus you got ESC and heated leather seats on the Elantra.
I didn't need the leather either originally. I had a GLS with cloth interior for a weekend a few weeks ago and was unimpressed with the cloth seats. The fabric just seemed a little too "thin" and not sturdy enough to hold up. That, and it seemed to pick up dirt really easily. After that I decided to go with leather.
When I started car shopping I thought was going to get an '09 Sonata. After looking at and test driving the Elantra, I found it suitable for my needs, and with better gas mileage than the Sonata. Since it also costs less I could afford to get more options. It's too hot here now to enjoy the sunroof, but the Florida winters are perfect for it.
My husband is impressed with all the options and the warranty for the price. I've been nice and let him drive it a few times.
not sure how much bs this is or not, but when i went into the dealer where i bought my car, they said they arae told now to not go below $500 or $600 under sticker. he said since he already quoted me something, he'll honor that price. could be bs, but i've seen more and more dealers do this.
even though i feel i got a good deal on my SE, i still hoped for more (doesn't everyone?). maybe they can throw in the extended bump-to-bump for $200 or $300. they usually ask for about $1000 for it. or maybe you can get 10 free oil changes or something like that? doesn't hurt to ask.
oh yeah- for sure at least have them take the $189 off for the doc fee. that's a bunch of crap. mine was $150 and i asked what it was for and he said, "to pay the girls upstairs for everything they do." i told him i don't want to pay it and they're response was, "by law in il we have to charge it. every dealer will, blah blah blah..." then i said still have the $150 on the books, but take it off the main price. how frustrating. with more haggling and bringing the "sales manager" over (funny how they have 3 or 4 sales managers in a dealer like that) they finally lowered the price. i still wish i would have asked for something more though. i guess i'm always like that now.
good luck with your decision. whatever you do, if you buy the car (for whatever price), don't keep on thinking about what a better deal you could have gotten. learn from it and move on.
later.
eric
i'm traveling on business now and haven't driven my new car for over 2 weeks now- looking forward to heading home.
i now looked at all the dealers inventory online in the chicagoland area and only a couple SEs left- that's out of 6 or 6 big dealers, too.
side note: wonder how the 2009s will sell. i'm sure well if the price is about the same; however, thinking they may move it up since demand is so high.
i sometimes think about if i would be interested in the 2009 version- especially the touring, but i don't know. obviously i don't want any buyer's remorse- especially since i think i got a good deal. i just have to think hyundai will increase their price. or if they don't do that, the dealers won't go down as much- especially if they know the SEs are going to sell.
time will tell.
later.
eric
regarding the indicator if someone is in the passenger seat without a seat belt on, i haven't noticed it and i know my wife was in the seat without the seat belt since she was tending to our little guy in the back. interesting. maybe someone else can test theirs to see if it's supposed to. i'm away on business right now or i would.
enjoy the car- it's fun!
eric
One of the worst things about Hyundai is that they don't have a rental car program for cars being repaired. Not only am I having to take off work to have the repairs done, I also have to wait around until they are completed. Also, do not believe that Hyundais Roadside Assistance Program is good. They will pick up your car and take it and you to the nearest dealer, but after that you are on your own. It is your responsibility to find your own way home. You purchase a new car so you don't have to go through these repairs.
As my husband keeps repeating "We should have bought a Toyota."
too bad there are multiple issues with your new car. that's just unfortunate. hindsight is always 20/20; however, many people haven't had issues with their hyundais (i know this doesn't make your situation any better). just think, you could have bought a toyota and also had issues- you will never know so don't beat yourself up over it. i'm sure someone is over on a toyota forum saying they should have bought a different car. unfortunately its luck of the draw sometimes- now the next step is how well you're treated during the repair process.
good luck!
ez
My wife and I have had Elantras since 2000, an '00 and two '04's, and while there were a few warranty issues, over 178,000 miles total I have only paid for one unscheduled repair. When we got the '00, I thought it would never outlive the loan, but we gave it to my stepdaughter at 80,000 and it continues to run.
As for loaners, my dealer does have them, and once I got a brand new XG350 with four miles on the odometer!
That being said, I think we're lookng at the Ford Focus and Elantra. I'd like to keep it under $15k out the door, but with the minimum options we require (auto trans, Sync and Sirius in the Focus, ABS), I think our goal is $16k. Still much less than either a Corolla or Civic, and a bigger, better equipped vehicle than the Fit/Versa/Yaris, without a huge reduction in mileage..
The car will be driven 15-18k/year for at least the next two years, but may go to college with my daughter in two years. We'll have to see, but safety and reliability are up there with price as concerns.
Did anyone evaluate these two cars when buying their Elantra? I'm a little concerned about availability, as both are selling real well right now since they're a great valuecompared to the Toyotas and Hondas
One thing to consider is that since you are down-sizing from an SUV, you might find a wagon to fit your needs better. It would also come in real handy at college. The Elantra Touring wagon is coming this fall, and is equipped similarly to the SE sedan, including standard ESC, but also has a USB port that the Elantra sedan lacks today. Hard to tell if it will be available for $15k OTD, at least right away. It might be a very popular car. Under $16k OTD should be doable though.
If safety is a concern, then if I were you I'd look for something with ESC, like the Elantra SE or Touring, or wait for the 2009 Focus that is supposed to have it as an option.
i was thinking about waiting for the 09s since i didn't need a car now, but i didn't have any idea about the 09 prices. also, the hyundai's warranty appealed to me a lot!
i think you are right on with being concerned about the availability- especially the elantras. the ford dealer by me has a lot of focuses but all the hyundai dealers only have a few GLSs left for the elantra.
take them both for a nice test drive and see what you think. for me, it was a lot about buying the more inexpensive car with the options i wanted- that was the SE for me.
good luck and enjoy!
ez
After two days with the car, I took it to the dealer to have the problem serviced. They now tell me (ten days later) that the replacement part it needs (some sort of fitting, I can't remember the name), is on backorder from Korea, and will not arrive until August 10 (one month from now). In other words, the new car will be undriveable for the first 45 days of ownership, which strikes me as pretty incredible.
My understanding of the lemon law in our state (NC) is that if the car cannot be repaired for 15 business days, it can be refunded. But before I wash my hands of this car, which I otherwise like, I would like to hear if there other experiences with repairs that mitigate this, or if there is another way I should proceed.
Do repairs commonly wait for weeks for parts?
Does anyone have a contact for a Hyundai Regional Service Manager, especially for the southeast?
I thought I would try a Hyundai given all of the good reviews, but this is preposterous. Even my old Saab didn't have these kinds of problems.
JD
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/- emotorcons/emo_sick.gif
Hyundai should recall every 2008 Elantra and fix the problem before anyone else gets stranded.
Cover King
Day 2 of owning my Elantra: I waited for the call from the dealer and didn't hear anything by 9:30 AM. I called the dealer and spoke with the Service Manager. He was quite a donkey if you get my drift. He told me that I'd "have to wait until the other cars ahead of me are looked at first. Your car won't be looked at until the at least the afternoon". He didn't care that I had bought my car hardly even 2 days ago. It didn't seem to phase him. I then called the dealer that I bought the car from (40 minutes away). The sales manager of the car dealership I bought the car from said I was "overdramatizing" the situation. The sales manager didn't believe anything I was saying...he treated me like he didn't believe ANYTHING I was telling him (about the car dying in the middle of the intersection, that there was a "wait list" for service at the other dealership, that my car wouldn't be looked at until the afternoon...basically the sales manager told me point blank that he would call the other dealership and verify that I was telling the truth!) The dealer I bought the car from then VERIFIED that I was telling him the truth that the repair dealership placed me at the bottom of the list. The sales manager then called me back about 10 minutes later and apologized (he sounded like someone was FORCING him to apologize to me. He was really eating crow!).
By the end of day 2, I find out that my car had "misfired" and they waited to hear from the Hyundai tech line. Hyundai tech people said to run "numerous tests" on the car. They are keeping the car until at least the end of DAY 3 of owning my new car. They said if they can't replicate the problem and if the tests don't show anything else wrong, that they'll release the car back to me. That's nice! I really hope my car konks out in the middle of an intersection...hopefully with traffic coming at me! (I'm being sarcastic).
Now it is the end of day 2 and I won't have an answer to my car's problem until the end of tomorrow. What a great way to start out my new car ownership. I have had a cruddy 1999 Chevy Lumina (the starter died at 12 months and was replaced, 18 months and was replaced, and at 24 months. I traded in the Lumina at this point since Chevy wouldn't do anything about the problem and I kept getting stranded when the starter died). Then my next new car was a Jeep Cherokee (2001) that was in the shop for MAJOR repairs 5 different times between month 24 - 36 of ownership. I've had my 2004 Toyota Camry for 4 years and 87K miles so far without ANY problems. Now my Elantra is spending DAY 2 and 3 in the shop for a dangerous issue (car dying in the middle of the intersection). What a mistake. I almost bought a Corolla and am now really regretting my decision, especially since both dealerships (the one I bought the Elantra from and the one that is "repairing" it) are full of jerk-wads. I feel like I'm living through the same problems I had with the Lumina and the Cherokee. I should have stuck with Toyota. :mad:
Can't Hyundai identify all of their cars shipped with these defective parts (fuel pumps) and notify the owners of these cars that they need to have the part replaced?
My wife and I own two 2008 Elantra GLSs. One now has 37,000 miles and the other has nearly 10,000 miles. We have had no issues yet with either. One minor thing did occur with the airbag light; however, that was just taken care of in about 5 minutes at the dealership...
I think that they're great cars and have everything that we need!
Today (Saturday, day 4 of ownership), the dealer I purchased it from had a car porter drive to the Hyundai dealership where my new Elantra is getting repaired. They drove the car 45 minutes back to the their shop (the dealer where I purchased the car) to do their own investigating. After speaking with the Hyundai customer complaint center, I was promised that if the original dealer I bought the car from can not find the source of the problem and repair it, then the next step would be to replace the car with a different new Elantra. We'll see what happens. I am afraid they will simply turn this malfunctioning Elantra back over to me and the "misfire" will happen again in a more dangerous situation.
As a response to the individual who asked if they offered a loaner car from the dealer who was originally "repairing" my vehicle...yes, they did offer a loaner car. HOWEVER...I would have had to leave work early in order to get to the dealer in time. I had already left work early to buy the car on Tuesday night. I could not leave work early again on Friday to get a loaner car. The dealer goes through a local car rental place that I've never heard of before. I would have to get to the dealer before 5PM in order to have the rental place pick me up from there, then fill out paperwork for the free rental. It would have been a total inconvenience to me on top of this fiasco I'm already dealing with. I turned down their offer for the "free loaner" as it made no sense to risk my job to take advantage of their poor offer of a loaner car. Normally, dealers have loaner cars on their lots. You simply sign a short agreement that you'll bring back the car with a full gas tank, and that you won't do X,Y,Z with their loaner car. You are on your way in minutes. That wasn't the case at this place! Luckily I still have my 2004 Toyota Camry (my trusty car that has never caused me any issues). Thank goodness I didn't trade it in when I bought the Elantra, otherwise I would have been in trouble without a reliable car to use. I'm not going to ask for a loaner from the repair dealer or the dealer I bought it from, seeing as I am completely upset, irritated and outraged at this whole disaster. I only had my new car for 24 hours and now it's been in the shop the rest of the week. I don't want to talk with these dealers any more than I have to!
Yes...I do realize that sometimes things go wrong with cars. However, a brand-new car that is only 24 hours old should never completely die in the middle of an intersection after making a left-hand turn. And to have a brand new car spend the entire first week of ownership in the shop is unacceptable. If this car was 2 or 3 years old (or older)...I could understand. But 24 hours old??!?!?!? Come on! :mad:
Reading around this forum, I see that many 2008 Elantra owners seem to be facing a fuel pump failure in their new cars.
I urge you & all other owners who have faced such issues in their new cars to file a complaint with NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration- a Government entity, like FDA or FAA). The process can be done online & is very user friendly. Once you log a complaint, depending on the severity & the number of complaints, NHTSA has legal authority to force a carmaker to issue a TSB.
The place to file online complaint is
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
By doing so, not only would you be be helping your case, you would be helping other owners & future owners not face the same problems. Also, it helps the Car manufacturer as well since they get data as well to avoid future issues. Please do your responsible part.
Btw, the car I currently drive is a 2007 Hyundai Azera & absolutely love it. This is my 3rd Hyundai/Kia product & I have to say that I have never faced any major issues with any of them. I do believe that they are very well designed & have equal or better quality than Toyota or Honda in recent years.
But please, if you have faced some catastrophic issues such as being discussed in the last few days, file a complaint with NHTSA & do your duty.
I am really sorry to hear of your experience. I had a similar experience with my Ford Explorer Ltd. I had to pay $50 each time they tried to figure out what was wrong. They do have a rental place on site so yes, that does make a big difference. I have driven my Explorer since 2002 and put about 140,000 miles on it so far. It's still going strong with its V8 BUT at $85 fill ups, I needed an alternative.
I can say that I have known people who have driven Hyundai's for years and have heard nothing but good, seriously. I recently purchased an Elantra and we are really pleased with our purchase.
I have not done the comparison, but I will say this, during all my research of safety of cars, no car could compare with the Hyundai for safety, warranty, price, etc.
Around here, the Toyota Yaris and Corolla's are all the rage, but looking at them safety wise, I would not spend my money on either.
As a side note, I researched the heck out of cars looking for one that had higher MPG 26 and low cost, but had high safety. In my travels, I encountered many crazy salespeople, seriously, but I did encounter many professionals. They are out there, but there is always going to be that 10% and in car salesman, I found it to be about a 20% rule.
From what I understand, and I could be sooo very wrong, when the car is going through it's "breaking in" time frame, many things can happen.
I can see how it may not be replicated. Also, I had problems with the Explorer and it was simply as I was not "giving it full gas" as in pressing down fully so it cut off. I don't recall how they fixed it though, sorry. I want to say that it also had something to do with the battery or EGR but I don't remember as it has been quite awhile since I've had to have repairs.
I say all that to say this, these things happen sometimes in life and it is up to us how we react, we can be bitter or better. I really do hope it all works out for you.
Take care and I hope they solve this for you.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm
I did and we already had an email from an investigator.
My husband's 20008 Elantra stopped on the highway in NJ and he was in the left hand lane. All the cars went around him for a few minutes and then someone not paying attention saw him disabled at the last minute and when they swerved to avoid him they were rear-ended by an SUV and thrown into the cab of an 18 wheeler. My husband could have been killed. This was on July 2, 2008. He and I both bought 2008 Elantra GLS PZEV engines the same day in the first week of June. This being that I lost my Toyota Tacoma due to rust problems and when Toyota bought it back from me I needed a new vehicle and I liked the Elantra and when my husband saw the good deal I got he bought one too. He only drives 1 roundtrip a week to Newark NJ from where we live in NY state. He owns his own 18 Wheeler and keeps it in NJ. So he was on his 2nd trip to NJ with less than 350 miles on the Elantra when this happened.
I now have 459 miles on mine and I am afraid every day what is going to happen.
My husband's Elantra was towed to Jersey City, NJ. When they found out it was the fuel pump Hyundai paid Roadside Assisstance to tow our car back 80 miles to our dealership. There was a complaint filed and they followed up telling us there are defective fuel pumps in the cars and our dealer told us they had no way of getting a fuel pump before July 17 if they were lucky. Then when I told the service manager what Hyundai told us on Sat, all of a sudden this Monday morning my husband's car was ready. But it contradicted the fact that there was no fuel pump available. I think they took one out of the cars they are selling because if you look in your warranty book it states the first 90 days of use, if your car sits in the dealer for 21 days for a problem then the dealer has to give you a new car. I pointed that out to the service manager on Sat too and Monday the car was fixed all of a sudden.
Anyone who is having a fuel pump prolbem please go and fill out the form to the link supplied. My husband could have been killed and thank god he wasn't.
And Hyundai has admitted that over in Korea they are re-designing the fuel pump for the Elantras and all the ones sitting at the dealerships get the new fuel pumps first before letters start going out that you need to bring your vehicle in for service.
This is an accident waiting to happen. And our service manager told us the pumps are going anywheres from 5 miles to 1,500 miles. And to boot Hyundai knows the fuel pumps are no good and they said point blank that they have to wait for a shipment to come over from Korea with the correct fuel pumps.
I again urge ALL of you who have had fuel pumps fail in their new Elantras to report to NHTSA. You owe it to your friends here & everywhere who have bought an Elantra so that something like this doesn't happen to them. PLEASE!
Whether Hyundai knows about it or whether they are designing a solution or just stonewalling is unimportant at this time. If there's good statistical data, NHTSA can force a manufacturer to take remedial measures IMMEDIATELY. If this is a somewhat common occurence, then Hyundai should stop selling new Elantras until the solution has been found/rectified & also to immediately inform the owners so that nothing dangerous happens. Trust me, 99% owners would appreciate it greatly if the manufacturer is proactive w.r.t. custoemr safety. (I know I would)
Friends, a fuel pump failing is a very serious & dangerous matter. It isn't some dash trim or Audio system not working. It is a basic safety issue. Go ahead & be proactive & complain to NHTSA.
And before anyone accuses me of having an anti-Hyudai bias; read all my posts. I have a 2007 Azera & I absolutely love it!! This is my 3rd Hyundai/Kia product. I want this issue with Elantra resolved as we may be buying an Elantra for my wife later this year.
I filed as an electrical problem and other both. And then explained what the other was. My husband talked on the phone to the investigator too. He told my husband all complaints should come to him and yes my husband was very lucky.
I just hope Hyundai does take care of the problem. And the dealers are giving loaner cars too, but they don't supply one of their cars from what we were told.
They are using Enterprise. So you won't be without a car while waiting for the fuel pump to get fixed, you will just wait for your car to be fixed.
I love my Elantra GLS. I am not knocking them. This is my first Hyundai, and the last car I owned was a Chevy Corsica LT which they no longer even make. And then the Toyota Tacoma. This Elantra by far surpasses both vehicles. I don't want a different kind of car.
Fix the darn pump as I love the mileage I get on it and the comfort and roominess in it. I went from a Toyota Tacoma to this car after my Toyota Tacoma was bought back from me due to safety reasons. And when I found this forum on Toyotas, it was a yr after the reports were being filed. I wish I had found this car forum a lot sooner.
I have been on these forums a long long time & this is the FIRST time I have heard anything seriously wrong with Hyundais (notwithstanding silly/minor issues like dash trim or low mileage). Compared to other manufacturer's like Toyota (engine sludge) and Honda (VCM issues), most of the issues with Hyundais since 2000-2001 have been quite minor (comparitively).
I'm an engineer by training & I'm very impressed by Hyundai's attention to details & pure common sense in designing their cars & components. Hence I'm kinda surprised that a critical component like a fuel pump has either bad quality control or bad design.
A reason why I'm encouraging people to be proactive is that sometimes heightened consumer complaint would force a manufacturer to allocate more resources/money to expedite a solution to a problem to avoid bad press.
All I can say at this time is that it is quite unfortunate that you & others have to deal with this dangerous nonsense. However, as a somewhat longtime Hyundai customer, I can say that their cars are as good as anyone elses's (yes, even including Honda & Toyota).
Good luck & keep us posted on how this matter proceeds...