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Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

5565 messages,  Last post on Mar 24, 2013 at 3:24 PM

You are in the Hyundai Elantra Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Elantra, Sedan

Messages Page 119 of 557

#1181 of 5565 The Last Seven Years by dirkm2

Jun 21, 2001 (4:46 pm)

I'm going to be in the market for a new car soon, and have spending a lot of time reading the posts on the Elantra, and other makes I'm considering. For those of you considering an Elantra, I can share my experience.
 
I own a 1994 Elantra which I bought brand new. I now have almost 93,000 miles on the car. I've had the following service done on the car since I've owned it.
 
Soon after I bought it it was recalled for installation of a "cold weather starting kit," whatever that is.
 
At about 40,000 miles the front wheel bearings had to be replaced. That was under warranty. The ball joints were also replaced at that time, and I paid about $50 for that. The service rep said since they would have the wheels off anyway, they'd just charge me for the parts.
 
At about 45,000 the catalytic converter was replaced. That was under warranty.
 
I just had a worn intake manifold gasket replaced, and that cost $325.00. If I had bought the car just a few years later, that would be under warranty, too.
 
I did have the timing belts replaced at 60,000. That is a maintanence item, and it has to be done. It took the shop forever to do it, and it cost $400.
 
Other than that I've only had tune-ups, oil changes, and the brakes were redone at 50,000.
 
I'm very happy with my Hyundai. It's been very reliable. My only complaint is that it uses a quart of oil about every 800-1,000 miles, and my mechanic says don't worry about it. I just have to remember to check it often.
 
I test drove a new Elantra GT with automatic, and I hate the Hyundai automatic. My '94 has automatic. It doesn't shift smooth, it jerks, and clunks, and when I bought the car I thought it would be the first thing to break. It hasn't broken yet. I still hate it.
 
My Elantra was the base sedan which isn't sold anymore. A dealer told me it had the Alpha engine, and the new ones have the Beta engine. I think he means I have a 1.8 liter motor, and the new ones have a 2.0 motor. I have noticed that the new motors are quieter than mine. My car has hard seats, and cheap upholstery, and 65 tires instead of the 60's on the new ones. It has good accelleration, and handles decently. The ride isn't as smooth as I'd like, but mine had the cheap struts, too.
 
When I bought my Hyundai people shook their heads. How could I do such a thing? Now I guess the car is more legitimate.
 
I'm keeping mine till it dies. Basically because it has 0 resale value. I am driving it to Florida again next week. It has been the most reliable car I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of cars.
 
I'm very attached to my Elantra. We've been through snow together, -20 degree temperatures, rain, everything. My children have grown up in its rear seats. And stained them.
 
I'm test driving an Elantra GT tonight. With manual transmission.

#1182 of 5565 The Deal: TMV??? by sanger4

Jun 21, 2001 (6:44 pm)

Hello,
 
My wife and I are seriously considering buying a new Elantra. I've done a lot of research and have approached the purchase in a couple ways. Using the Autobytel service, we were connected with a dealership in Fairfax, VA. We told them that we wanted the 2001 Elantra with option package 4. They offered us that car, albeit with some extras. Using Edmund's pricing service, we determined that:
 
MSRP should be $14,594
Invoice should be $13,290
TMV should be $13,532
 
We also determined that there is a $500 rebate in effect. The dealership offered to sell it to us for $13,449 AFTER rebate, but BEFORE a $300 "processing charge". In turn, I offered them $13,700 BEFORE rebate, but AFTER processing fee. Now as I understand it, it's the Hyundai Corporation that pays the rebate, so I was offering to pay $13,700 for a car that the dealership paid $13,290 for. Is this correct? Is this a fair price? The dealership counter-offered with $13,533 AFTER reabte and processing fee. I refused.
 
If you found that paragraph confusing, well, I found the entire procedure confusing, but that's about how it went. I guess my basic question is, how much should I REALLY expect to pay for this car (MSRP $14,594) right now, while the $500 rebate is in effect.
 
Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
          Jason

#1183 of 5565 Re:morediva, mpgman&bobbib by dorf47

Jun 21, 2001 (7:34 pm)

Went to E-loan for a quote, got 7.19. When I went to the dealer for my Elantra pkg5, Ocean Blue, he asked what rate I got and asked if he could try to beat it. He came back with 6.74 (which, of course I took it!) It doesn't hurt to see what the dealership can do, you don't have to take it. I've had the car for about a week, and with the break in going on I'm getting about 31-32 combined, and I'm not a great respector of speed limits. As far as swapping out the radio, check out Crutchfield.com, then go to the Huyndai site and download the service info on taking out the radio (it's basically pretty simple). Crutchfield provides everything necessary to install the new unit, and matches the units to the car it's going to be installed in. Congrats Mpgman, you're gonna love it!

#1184 of 5565 RE:Sanger4 & dorf47 by browney

Jun 22, 2001 (6:08 am)

Jason,
Try www.carsdirect.com also for pricing.
According to their site they will give you a 2001 GLS 5sp pkg 4 for $13,340 this includes the rebate and all fees except taxes tag and title.
Also try E-loan for loan quote.
 
dorf47,
Great work on using E-loan rate as leverage to get good rate from the dealer.

#1185 of 5565 RE: The Deal TMV? by sanger4

Jun 22, 2001 (9:50 am)

Thanks for the advice Dorf47.
 
One problem is that, as residents of Maryland, apparently we cannot use an online broker to buy a car. Too bad becuase, as you say, Carsdirect offers a good price. So, I'm essentially stuck with a dealer. I keep reading messages in which people claim they've purchased their Elantra for under invoice. Is this possible!? Are we talking about the same invoice prive that Edmund's lists? I can't even get a dealer near TMV, let alone invoice. So how accurate IS TMV? Where are these dealerships that offer TMV? We found the one dealer who would give it to us at TMV, but that was only with the $500 rebate added in. This is pretty darn frustrating.

#1186 of 5565 sanger4 by cyanogel

Jun 22, 2001 (6:46 pm)

I know a friend who purchased an Elantra GLS with pkg3 for $11500 in NJ! I got an offer of $12500 for the same car through email. Both prices are lower than invoice.

#1187 of 5565 Our buying experience by sanger4

Jun 22, 2001 (6:51 pm)

Well, we did it. We bought ourselves the first new car either of us has had in ten years. It was a grueling process.
 
Using the Edmund's information, we'd established that the price it was supposedly going for in this area was $13,500. With the $500 rebate Hyundai is currently offering, that price should have been closer to $13,000. We were all set to buy it via an online broker, who claimed that it could be had for right around that price. It turns out, however, that Maryland has a law against brokering cars, and although we tried to manipulate it, it seemed that buying online just wasn't going to work. So we tried a telephone service that hooks us up with a dealer in the area who has the car. As a result, we got a call from a dealership in Virginia. This was supposedly supposed to be competitive pricing, but after an offer and counteroffer, the lowest I could get this guy down to was $13,533. I was getting frustrated.
 
So we got back online to determine if there was some way, again, that we could broker it, perhaps using a relative's address in another state. This time it sounded like it might work out, but the details started getting a little too sticky, and I thanked them and gave up that option. So I finally just started calling dealers in the Baltimore/Annapolis area asking if they had the car and if they'd give me a quote over the phone. The car, with the options we wanted, in the colors we wanted, was sort of hard to come by, and I wasn't expecting much. One of the dealers I called quoted $13,800, and seemed to belligerently defend the price when I pointed out that I had a better offer. Another refused to talk price over the phone. Others didn't have the car, but tried to tell us that they could get it. I was starting to have a headache.
 
Finally a dealer seemed willing to work with me. The salesperson got his boss on the line who asked me what I'd be willing to pay for the car. I told him that I had an offer already, and that I wanted him to tell me what he'd sell the car for, bearing in mind that I already had an offer. He asked me what the offer was, but I explained that I didn't want to provide information that he would just match. He said "Look, we sell a lot of cars. And I want to sell you a car. Tell me the offer and I promise we'll beat it by at least $200." So I took a chance and told him that I'd been offered $13,533 and (doing my math incorrectly - grin) told him that I'd buy from them for $13,233. He agreed.
 
We drove to this dealer near the DC beltway and, much to my amazement, nothing at all had changed. We went through the whole thing with no hassles whatsoever. The dealer and salespeople were a delight (they even threw some pinstripes on for us while we waited), and we now have a new car. With cruise control, sunroof, remote locks, alarm, power windows, stereo w/CD and four speakers, and split rear seats, it's pretty darn loaded.
 
So there ya. I didn't exactly get my car for invoice, and I didn't even get it for TMV, but after a semi-fruitless and frustrating search, I feel good about the price we DID get.
 
          Sanger4

#1188 of 5565 Re: cyanogel & sanger4 by dorf47

Jun 22, 2001 (7:00 pm)

I've seen ads in New York City papers advertising extremely low prices, not just on Hyundai but other makes. The catch is that you must finance the car through the dealer at extremely high rates and are not permitted to put a large down payment down. I paid $14070.00 for an automatic w/pkg 5, floor mats and mudguards. This was $90.00 more than TMV. But since the Consumer Reports issue with a favorable review (one for both Elantra and Santa Fe's)and other very good reviews (including Edmunds) dealers don't seem inclined to "wheel & deal" as much as they did before. The cars are selling well, even in this unsettled economic climate.

#1190 of 5565 Re: Elantra pricing by cjaccetta

Jun 23, 2001 (6:17 am)

Good point, dorf47. I just paid about $200 over Edmunds TMV for my Elantra GT last week and I felt lucky to have gotten that price. Dealers are willing to move on the Elantra, but not as much as I previously thought. You have to do like sanger4 did and contact a lot of dealers (I called five before purchase).
 
The word may finally be out about Hyundai and the Elantra in particular. I hope this doesn't become a situation of demand exceeding supply.

Messages Page 119 of 557

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