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#5562 of 5565 Re: Eight-year report [backy] by maxx4me

May 29, 2012 (3:29 am)

Replying to: backy (Apr 01, 2012 11:59 am)

wait a minute Backy, you said that the dealer lied?? No....go on
Glad your car is holding up well. My ET is now being used as a new driver training car due to the great visibility and brakes.
As for your tires, if you have the H727, they are amazing tires. I think they are better than the Michelins I have on my other car. I only wish that Costco would carry tires like the Hankook.
Keep on drivin'

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#5563 of 5565 5th gear stall by guyaume

Aug 14, 2012 (12:23 am)

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#5564 of 5565 Nine-year report by backy

Mar 24, 2013 (10:28 am)

My 2004 Elantra GT turns 9 this week. It's still my son's college and work car, so it's parked outside all the time. Has about 81,500 miles, so still under the powertrain warranty. Finally had the first significant repair costs for non-wear items a week ago: the HVAC fan switch needed replacing, and while in for that the dealer found that the valve cover gasket was leaking a bit and also a power steering cable was leaking a little. In each case the dealer said "a lot of people just live with this and keep an eye on it", but since my son drives the car and he might not keep a close eye on these issues (and I don't want the steering failing on him), I decided to have both repairs done. They also tightened the belts as the steering belt was slipping a bit.
 
Aside from some parking lot scrapes and dings, the body and paint are still great. There is one dime-sized spot in the lower corner of the rear license plate surround where the paint is beginning to bubble from rust-through--not too bad for being through 9 Minnesota winters and a lot of road salt. Interior also is holding up well, except for the left edge of the front seat back, which wore prematurely (I think related to its use as an auto show car before I bought it). Still getting mid-30s mpg on the highway when driven at ~65, which is above the EPA rating of 29. Also no rattles/squeaks, really drives pretty much like it did when new except the engine is a tad rougher when idling.
 
I remember when the 2001 Elantra debuted, one auto mag (MT or C/D I think) said something like, "If this car holds up, there won't be any reason to pay extra for a Japanese car." Looks like that was a good prediction. I paid $13,200 + T&L for the car new, as fully loaded as an Elantra GT could be back then, and KBB says it's worth about $6,500 in a private party sale. So a little over $60 a month depreciation over 9 years. I'll take that any day.

Replies to this message:

• joegiant (Mar 24, 2013 3:24 pm)

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#5565 of 5565 Re: Nine-year report [backy] by joegiant

Mar 24, 2013 (3:24 pm)

Replying to: backy (Mar 24, 2013 10:28 am)

Thanks for the update backy! Kid's driving an '05 GT at college at the moment and have my fingers crossed. Going on third year since we acquired "Ellie the Elantra" second hand and so far, so good. Need it to stay that way 'til grad day!!!