Faults:

Head gasket blew, causing a bad oil leak.

Oil pan leak repaired twice.

Transmission shift control switches (makes the car change gear).

Fuel pump.

Needs an alignment after every big pothole.

Rear brake cylinders leaking.

Evap cannister plugged.

Burns oil now that all the leaks are fixed... (of course...)

General Comments:

I first got this car and thought it was alright. After a few months of ownership, problems started to pop up. Thankfully these cars are very simply built and easy to fix yourself at home.

I do not enjoy driving this car. It is very slow, loud, uncomfortable, bland, and just makes me fall asleep (not jokes).

I have to say though, I would recommend this car. I have never paid so little to drive a car. It may not be very reliable, but the car is super cheap and easy to fix! If you keep up with regular maintenance, this car will be kind of alright. My little Accent is very cheap to insure and pretty good on fuel; I calculated 7 L/100km.

If you live in the country, in areas with lots of snow, or drive on the highway often, I would not recommend this car.

If you live in a city or small town (and you don't drive far), this is the car for you.

If you find a cheap one, buy it, but don't spend a lot for one of these.

Faults:

Nothing at all!

General Comments:

Very, very cheap to buy and run; 60+ MPG is possible. I drive like a loon and it's impossible to achieve less than 40 MPG.

The engine is a 1.5, 3 cylinder common rail diesel from VM Motori; slightly brash sounding, narrow powerband, but very torquey low down. Not exactly the most refined of motors, but does its job very well.

Build quality is comparable to 1990's Japanese vehicles, but seems more resistant to tin worm.

Interior is slightly gloomy, but the seats are comfy, and it does its job as well as any other car.

Handles OK when up to speed, but slightly dodgy in the wet if you push it!

Boot size is good, enough room for 4 adults, rear middle seat is quite small.

Heater good and hot, radio sounds good, electric windows do the job.

Likely to last a long time, never had a Hyundai before, love the simple technology, and it is possibly to DIY most jobs.

The only downside is the Accent diesel is a rare beast, especially in the UK, and parts could be hard to find and/or expensive should you ever need some.

The car stands me at £700 for a 2003, low mileage and modern diesel car with a long MOT; the price of a family weekend in Skeggy.

Faults:

The automatic transmission went out at 91,000 miles. It's stuck in 1st gear, and occasionally shifts to 2nd, with a hard clank. Our mechanic thinks it's a fault inside the trans, as it won't even shift manually. Estimated repair cost is more than the resale price.

A/C condenser has a leak.

Tie rods needed to be changed on the front wheels at 80,000.

Evaporator valve changed at 81,000.

Coils changed.

Flexible link on exhaust changed.

General Comments:

Since we bought this car, it gave us nothing but headaches until finally the transmission died. This was the one aspect of the car that we were worried about, but didn't expect it to happen so soon.

From the start the dealer was not helpful. The car had a loud noise coming from the engine; the dealer claimed a cracked manifold ($1000 repair), when it fact it was just the flexible link on the exhaust ($80).

Multiple issues with check engine light/air bag, such as the evaporator, seat belt tensioner and misfire.

Though this car was cheap to purchase, we have already sunk almost 1/2 the purchase price into it with misc repairs. After the transmission went out, it's time to get rid of the car and take the loss.