Mygranddaughter goes off to colleg and parents considering a 2006 Elantra for commuting 40 mile rounr trip.. I would like to receive owners' assessments of this vehicle. Looks good to me. Thank you, Seamus J. Wilson
I've only had my 2006 Elantra for 2 months/5000 miles. I think it is a great car for the money. A also have a 2002 Accent that has gone
105,000 miles with no problems at all. It has all original parts except normal wear items( oil, filters, breaks, tires, wipers, bulbs, spark plugs and timing belt).
If she is going to take a bunch of stuff with her to school, she might want the hatchback.
DO NOT BUY THIS CAR! If you read about the many problems, you'll find that Hyundai is building junk. My 2005 Elantra just had a clutch replacement at 17,000 miles, and Hyundai won't cover it. My investigtion reveals that this is a common problem, along with many others. Get her a Honda.
Capta> Mygranddaughter goes off to colleg and parents considering a 2006 Elantra
Nope, But I didn't read where he spec'ed a Manual or auto for his granddaughter
Blanket statements of "Car bad" don't tell the story of clutch abuse etc.. These are value priced cars.....not sports cars with Super heavy duty clutches.
Hard driving will eat clutches........In my 2nd VW bug w/1900cc bus engine I destroyed bunches of clutches, Drove the poor thing real hard.
I have a 2003, with auto trans. 35,000 miles on it. perfect car. 3000 mile trip got between 32 and 37 MPG two people and ALLL our luggage! who buys a stick shift anyway?
True, but few folks that have an automatic transmission repaired are that specific about what was repaired inside the auto trans. Sure, it may have been a clutch pack in an automatic, but I'd venture to say that
99% of the time when some says they had a clutch failure, they are talking about a manual transmission vehicle.
Yes, that is why my response asked a series of questions. It may have been a failure due to a defective part, but most likely was due to poor driver technique. I've driven standard shift vehicles for 30 years and have NEVER worn out a clutch. I've had several vehicles go well over
100K miles and still on the original clutch.
That is true, but you can drive pretty hard and still no wear the clutch apppreciably. The main wear on the clutch is startin from a stop, or downshifting without blipping the throttle to match rotational speeds of the engine and input shaft of the transmission. I drove OTR trucks for several years so I got fairly good at this, but most folks don't even know they should do this.
Probably the biggest abuse I see of clutches is from people who use the clutch to hold position on a hill while waiting for the light to turn green, rather than using the brakes. That will eat a clutch in a hurry.
I had two VW Beetles and few cars made before or since are as easy to work on! I could pull an engine, overhaul it, and re-install it in one day, assuming all parts were on hand. :-)
However, I drove mine hard and still never had a clutch or t-bearing failure in the 100K+ miles I put on both of them.
I do! The main reason I own a Hyundai rather than a Chrysler is that the Chrysler car I liked only came with an automatic. Three of the four vehicles I know own are stick shift (1986 Jeep Comanche, 1994 Chevy K1500 - which I plow snow with, and 2006 Sonata). Only my wife's Dodge Grand Caravan is automatic - and I try to avoid driving it! :-)
One more thing about stick shifts here in Southern Calif. driving in heavy freeway and city traffic you get your exercise. both hands and both feet moving at all times!!
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