Faults:

Great little car that I have owned since new. Never drove it in winter, always garaged next to my antique car collection... just drove it for long trips in summer. Did have problems with the original head / flashing check engine light. I'm mechanical so I found low compression in cylinder 1; 75 instead of 150. The motor was skipping at 83,000 miles; replaced head gaskets, timing belt and water pump while I had it apart. Replaced the A/C compressor also.

It locked up from low usage 1 year prior. Ran great again after that; parts cost 800.00. The car was in great shape so I thought it was worth it.

At 130,000, the engine light came on again... this time emissions. Replaced the catalytic converter and both O2 sensors; I cheaped out and used aftermarket; that was a mistake... The cat was junk and so were the O2 sensors... went to OEM; haven't had any problems so far.

No engine light with 153 000 miles on it; it runs like new... but I took excellent care of this car; I never beat on it, always took great care in keeping it waxed and super clean inside. Changed the oil every 3-4 thousand miles and changed the automatic trans fluid every 2-3 years. Replaced C/V joints and both front wheel bearings and a few other things. It will make it to 200,000 miles easily... I just wish it had 15-20 more HP...

Great looks and is comfortable for a small car. I still love driving it on weekends and I get good comments on it.

I did replace the ugly plastic wheel covers and 13 inch rims with 15 inch ASA BMW wheels... it really dressed it up nice. I did this at 50,000 miles.

I am keeping this car; I do not like the new Accents.. the back is too pointy and the windshield is at too much of a slant... so is the back window. They can have the car payments. They have cheapened the new ones, and the Accent before my new 2000 body style sucked.

General Comments:

Great car, but keep up on the maintenance and you will get a lot of years and miles out of it...

Faults:

Previous owner pulled relay from the fan rendering it useless (30 dollar fix).

Temp gage had to be replaced with cluster (140 dollars).

Needs an alignment and new tires as of right now.

Transmission grinds from first to second occasionally.

General Comments:

Great car overall; mileage is superb, reliability is great (would not buy an auto though).

Performance is decent for a car with its engine size.

Oil consumption has started at around 130000, but not bad at a quart every 3000 miles.

Would buy another in a heart beat, but would make sure to get options next time though.

Faults:

I have just bought the car. Only the battery has needed changing.

General Comments:

As I got the car only two weeks ago, I'd like this review to help other users choose a used car, and generate useful comments by eventual readers.

I traded a very old Fiat (16 years old) for this very good condition 2000 model Accent, with 100.000 km (62.000 miles) on it. The car looks very well cared for, it has been painted once, not recently and apparently by a good professional.

General comments:

Engine is a bit noisy at the 1500-2000 RPM range, so in most city situations you'll hear the engine. Not too intrusive, but it's noticeable.

Suspension is comfortable. No noise from the suspension nor from the body. Pretty tight car.

Seats are comfortable, as are seat belts.

Ventilation is fine, though it could use a bit more power. Of course, in an 8 year old car, some degrading is likely, so I cannot be sure if this small annoyance was present all its life.

Air conditioning is working fine. A friend with the same car since new finds it's cooling as it should. I'd wish for a colder system, but it's OK. The system is particularly suitable for long highway stretches, where you just can't drive with open windows. In not too warm days, city driving can result better with windows lowered and/or sunroof opened.

Steering is comparable with the best I've ever driven, a Mitsubishi Lancer.

Gearbox control is excellent. Clutch is light and all shift movements are easy. Gear ratios seem a bit too far apart, so merging into highway traffic requires a bit too much acceleration in lower ratios.

General workmanship is very good, and taking into account the car's age, I'd say it denotes excellent quality of materials. Classic wearing points, such as steering wheel, pedals, gearshift knob, stalks, and assorted controls, are well preserved. All legends are clearly legible and have not faded. Upholstery is flawless, as is headliner. This car is equipped with a sunroof, and the headliner portion that can be unfastened is in perfect condition, and all the mechanisms fit perfectly.

In Uruguay all cars, new or used, are very expensive, so it's important to be able to examine a used car and get a decent deal. I paid 9300 USD dollars for this Accent, which was a reasonable deal, taking into account that it has lots of options, including driver and passenger airbags, ABS, alloys, driving fog lights, A/C, power steering, sunroof, power windows in all 4 doors, power rear-view mirrors, painted rear-view mirrors, 6CD in-trunk changer, power antenna, and other assorted bells and whistles.

So, obviously I can't say anything about the car's long-term reliability, but I'll post regularly my impressions.