Summary:
Good engine, crappy everything else
Faults:
Needed both wheel bearings replaced.
Radiator died (expensive fix).
Car quivered and shook when I went above 70km/h (something wrong in the axles).
Clock ran fast, not sure why, but had to change it every couple days.
A couple other small things.
General Comments:
This car was awful. The sound system was good, and the pick up speed was good. If it hadn't been for the almost $3000 I spent fixing it in the two years I owned it, I would have loved it. It had a good little engine, and picked up speed fairly well. Maybe I had a lemon? Or maybe it was time for the car to die.
I sold it because it quivered on the highway, and I do a lot of highway driving, so I brought it in, asked if it would be over $500 to fix, the guy laughed at me and said yes. Well over.
He suggested I get a new car. When I would bring it in for an oil change, they would laugh at my car (though it looked decent on the outside, minimal rust) and suggest I get a new one before my car fell apart.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 3rd August, 2012
4th Aug 2012, 08:55
Please read your Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue that comes out every year in April. It has a lot of great used cars starting out at less than $4,000.00. Unfortunately an early Hyundai Elantra is not one of them.
Do your homework before you buy your next vehicle. Also take it to a mechanic to check for any prior damage or expensive components that are starting to fail. The days of taking guesses on used cars are over... with the economy in turmoil... lemons and abused cars are being sold left and right.
4th Aug 2012, 13:02
My good friend has the exact same car. Decent car, but what you said was right on. His engine is still running perfect at 240000 kms, which is great, and the original automatic transmission too. The car gets good gas mileage too.
However the low points are the front end, wheel bearings, steering mechanism, suspension, etc.
This car is driven on the west coast where there is no rust, and my friend still spends an average of $2000/year on front end parts, suspension, CV joints, etc.
I have driven this car, and it is impossible to get it aligned properly.
Great car engine and drive train wise, but as his mechanic said, very cheap steering/front end parts that require expensive and frequent maintenance.