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Hyundai Elantra 2001-2006

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

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Elantra, Sedan

Messages Page 158 of 558

#1564 of 5565 High Insurance Costs by csandste

Aug 08, 2001 (11:08 am)

Just came back from my insurance dealer. He informed me my '01 Elantra GLS is rated 16 (meaning extremely expensive to insure). My 1997 Cavalier is a 6, my 1994 Caravan a 2 or 3. All Hyundai's were rated high, the Sonata was 13, the Accent 14, the Tibby 17. This is from memory so these figures may be off a bit.
 
He assured me these ratings were standard to the industry and didn't vary from company to company, although they might be expressed as cost variences. This will run me a couple hundred a year over the same coverage on my Cavalier.
 
Does anyone know why? The Elantra scores well on the government tests, much higher than the Cavalier. The IIHS tests rate good structural integrity although the rating is poor because of bag sensors. I think these ratings predate the testing. Consumer Reports said there was little or no bumper damage on their bashing test.
 
The agent said some cars with high theft have these ratings but that doesn't seem right for the Elantra.
 
I can think of three possibilities.
 
That the Elantra is lumped in with previous cars carrying the same name. I know the previous generation car had to have its bumpers reinforced during the middle of its run because of high claims.
 
That Hyundai is offsetting low purchase price with high parts prices and this is reflected in the insurance costs.
 
That the safety of the car really is bad and the ratings reflect this reality. (Lets hear from all the Korea-phobes out there telling us you get what you pay for.)
 
Anyone else come up with other possibilities?

#1565 of 5565 INSURANCE COSTS by mpgman

Aug 08, 2001 (12:20 pm)

I am paying about $50 more per year for my Elantra GT as compared to a Corolla, for example. The Elantra quote was about the same as the Golf, and slightly more than a Civic. I think the bulk of this is in collision coverage.

#1566 of 5565 insurance cost by lngtonge18

Aug 08, 2001 (3:33 pm)

I think Hyundais have a high insurance rating because in the past they had some of the highest insurance loss claims and injury ratings. They weren't too safe pre-1996 (Elantra and Accent) and pre-1999 (Sonata) and the ratings still reflect that. There just isn't enough new data out yet on the newer and safer models to warrant a lower insurance rating. The one good thing is that your premiums should drop dramatically once the car is a year old thanks to the good old resale factor. I think the low resale factor also contributes to the initial higher premium. I have a 00 Accent and a 97.5 Nissan Altima. My insurance company puts the highest liability person on the most expensive car to replace (there is 2 people on my policy). My age gives me a high liability. They switched me off of the Accent when it turned a year old unto the Nissan even though I drive the Accent all the time. They figure it will cost them more money to replace that 4 year old Altima with 63K than it would to replace my year old Accent with only 17K. So, anyway, once the first year is up, your insurance should drop back down to the same level as your Cavalier. My premium would have dropped around $200 if I was still on that car, instead it dropped $430 by switching to the lower liability person. Remember that new cars are always more expensive to insure than used cars, so a $200 a year hike in insurance isn't a big deal.

#1567 of 5565 tb88... by intrepidspirit

Aug 08, 2001 (4:23 pm)

The salesman who sold me my daughter's Elantra called today (customer service followup). He told me that the sale price of $9,988 advertised last week was for the stick shift. There was a misprint on the ad. So, the lowest price I have seen is on the automatic is $10,788. I feel better because I didn't leave $1,000 on the table, only $200! I don't know if this might influence your bottom line price...
 
He also told me they sold a Sonata to a Florida man who flew to California to buy it..

#1568 of 5565 Elantra Insurance by backy

Aug 08, 2001 (6:28 pm)

My '01 GLS cost about the same to insure with Farmers than my 3-year-old Sentra. I thought that was pretty reasonable, since the Sentra's value at that time was about $7500. Both require imported parts, whereas cars like the Cavalier can use domestic parts, and at a higher volume than cars like the Elantra. My agent told me last October that Farmers did not offer any discount specifically for side air bags, as they do for front air bags, but that they may begin to do so in the future.

#1569 of 5565 Insurance and Famous Ed prices by steveb70

Aug 08, 2001 (9:16 pm)

It's still going to be a few more weeks until I'm ready to actually buy a 2001 Elantra GLS (I still have to sell my current car), but in light of the recent post about insurance rates, I made a call to my agent today.
 
He said the insurance costs for the Elantra would be about $4 more per month than my 1994 Chevy Corsica. That's not too bad. I got a bit scared when I read csandste's post.
 
Regarding Famous Ed's prices, I was hoping that price was for an automatic because I was going to use it to negotiate a price here in Colorado for a 5 speed manual. I'm hoping to find a 5 spd manual with package 2 for about $10,200 or $10,500. I may be dreaming, but that's what I'm shooting for. A couple of Denver dealers are advertising prices in that range with really no catches, except for the fact there are probably only one or two cars on the lot for those prices.
 
Any new Elantra owners in Colorado?
 
Steve

#1570 of 5565 Need advice on problems about my 2000 Elantra by alec6266

Aug 08, 2001 (10:38 pm)

I have a 2000 Elantra with about 12690 miles on it. I read a lot of positive comments about Elantra on this site before I bought it last July. Overall I am marginally satisfied about my purchase. I believe it is a good quality car but I don't if mine is one of those. Ever since I got my car, several problems have occurred that I am concerning about.
 
Brake pedal: When I hit the brake pedal, there is squeaking sound. Also, I have to step on the pedal hard before I can stop the car completely even if the car is running only about 35 miles. I brought the car to 2 different dealerships and the technicians told me the brake works fine. I just have the brakes checked 3 weeks ago and the squeaking sound remains. It bothers me but I guess I just have to live with the noise!
 
Idle speed: It takes about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes for the idle speed to drop from 1500 rpm to 1000 rpm. It will take another minute or so for it to drop to 800 rpm. However, when the rpm drops to 800, the engine shakes and the rpm indicator will drop suddenly and then back to about 800 rpm. I believe it is abnormal but I don't know what's wrong with the engine. Also, I usually drive my car when idle speed is at 1000 rpm. Is it OK?
 
Gas mileage: It is very disappointing! My Elantra gets only about 15 miles per gallon during city driving and about 22-24 miles on combine driving. On freeway it does get about 31 miles per gallon. I try both regular unlead and unlead premium gas and the difference is minimal.
 
The paint: I think the paint is quite thin, there are several chips and dings on my car already; it makes me mad every time I wash my car.
 
I also want some advices on the following:
 
1. What type and which brand of wax is good? When I go the car, the sales person told me to get butter wax for the car but I can't find any type of butter wax. Any suggestions?
 
2. Where can I find a good Elantra dealership in L.A. area? I live in South Pasadena.
 
Thanks a lot in advance.
 
Alex

#1571 of 5565 Re: Insurance by cjaccetta

Aug 09, 2001 (5:50 am)

csandste: your first supposition is the most correct. Companies use the real-world casualty costs and collision costs reported to them in order to develop rates for a particular vehicle. Each vehicle is given a "symbol" (this may have been the "16" you referred to) based on how expensive it is for the company to cover. Generally, this data takes about 3 to 5 years to become credible before it is developed into a rate. Thus, your 2001 Elantra is most likely rated based on data from the 1996-1998 model years.
 
The Elantra is probably more expensive to insure because older models tended to have a younger ownership base and therefore became involved in more than their fair share of property damage and casualty claims. And because the Elantra is a Korean car, replacement parts (paid for by your insurer when you or someone else breaks 'em) tend to be more expensive.
 
I won't even get into those IIHS/NHSTA "safety" tests. But suffice to say they have little do with how a car ultimately gets rated. A shiny new nickel to the next poster who can tell us why a safe car like the Honda Civic generally costs a bundle to insure....
 
Happy Motoring!

#1572 of 5565 RE: alec6266 by browney

Aug 09, 2001 (6:08 am)

The best wax that I have found is Mother's Cleaner Wax, it makes my Champagne Elantra shine like glass. But any carnauba-based wax is very good. I liked the mother's because it smells good and is very easy to put on and take off. (A bit expensive though $8)
None I have tried will remove small surface scratches in dark colored paint. My wife's van is dark blue and nothing will remove the scratches and swirl marks, not even polishing compound.

#1573 of 5565 Civic insurance costs by majorthomecho

Aug 09, 2001 (7:23 am)

Would the insurance costs have to do with the popularity of the Civic as a tuner car? Or perhaps it is due to the popularity of the Civic among auto thieves?

Messages Page 158 of 558

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