Would you buy a used Hyundai?

What I like about a used Hyundai is that the warranty is still good for the new owner (you) for 5 years (from the original purchase date by the first owner) and up to 60,000 miles. For the original owner, the warranty is something like 10 years and 100,000 miles (I'm not sure about that), but even if you buy it used it comes with a warranty -- just for less years and less miles.

On Mon, 17 Aug 2015 08:45:04 -0400, dgk wrote in

We bought a 2013 Elantra new, but I don't really like it that much. A couple of reasons:

1) Above 50mph it seems to have a lot of road (tire, wind) noise. I have poor hearing and it even bothers me, in addition to my wife. Unfortunately we didn't think to test drive it on the highway. 2) It doesn't even come with one of those crappy "donut" spare tires. All it has is a 12v tire inflator with a can of tire sealant. We didn't think to check the spare tire when we were looking at it. That alone would have probably cause us to walk away.

Of course, these two objections may not be a problem for you.

Pros: No mechanical problems; although we only have 29k miles on it. Gas mileage is good, approximately 35mpg overall for our mix of town/rural/highway driving.

Thanks. After my 24 year old Honda, I doubt any noise would be noticable. Engine,wind, even rust makes noise on that old Honda. But I will test drive it on the highway before buying. Might be good for some bucks off the price.

I'm not sure about wind, but I understand that tire noise is very much a function of the tire. We do drive a lot on the highway here (95) but not for very long distances. My maximum drive is likely to be around 4 hours to Tampa and that won't be very often.

As for the wife, I suggest leaving her home if the noise bothers you. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. Your wording was just ambiguous enough to let me give it a shot. My apologies to your wife.

I think the Honda came with a donut. I chucked it and bought a used tire for a spare. Do they leave room for the tire in the trunk?

I'm a Sonata man for over 25 years now, but my daughter has had 2-3 Elantras. I'm a big fan of the Elantras. The two cons you mentioned are easily corrected.

1) Put different tires on it. 2) Buy a donut spare for it. Of course both of your #1 & #2 were done by Hyundai so you could get your 35 MPG. Which BTW, most people would kill for. I understand that Hyundai is dropping the spare on the Sonatas also. Rest assured that a spare will be included in the negotiated price of my next sonata.

We bought a 2013 Elantra new, but I don't really like it that much. A couple of reasons:

1) Above 50mph it seems to have a lot of road (tire, wind) noise. I have poor hearing and it even bothers me, in addition to my wife. Unfortunately we didn't think to test drive it on the highway.

2) It doesn't even come with one of those crappy "donut" spare tires. All it has is a 12v tire inflator with a can of tire sealant. We didn't think to check the spare tire when we were looking at it. That alone would have probably cause us to walk away.

Of course, these two objections may not be a problem for you.

Pros: No mechanical problems; although we only have 29k miles on it. Gas mileage is good, approximately 35mpg overall for our mix of town/rural/highway driving.

I bought a used Hyundai Sonata from a private party. I forgot what year it was but the dealer honored the original warranty and checked/repaired the AC and replaced the harmonic balancer at no charge. I felt guilty about that so I let them change a light bulb for 10 bucks. The premium sound system was the best I've ever heard. The Sonata had a super-smooth, all-alloy, double overhead cam, veritable valve timing, V6 engine that put out over 240 HP. Wowsers! Unfortunately, my daughter totaled it. OTOH, the insurance company paid me $2500 more than I paid for it. Wowsers!

Not just Hyundai, many of the smaller cars no longer have a spare. Glad to have one though. last December I has a cut sidewall and no can of sealer would have gotten me home. The roadside assistance was nice to have that rainy night.

It's probably not a good idea to have people changing tires on the side of the road. That's too dangerous in too many situations. I don't mind changin g tires because I'm an expert and "danger" is my middle name but I certainl y don't want people that I care about messing with changing a tire. That's why god invented cell phones.

But if you have no spare, it does not do much good when the service guy does get there. If the sealant works on a small leak, fine, but if it is major damage, you have nothing to work with.

Spares are being eliminated to save weight and cost, but can be had as an option on most cars. Tires are much improved over they years and on the three previous cars, the spare was never used, a total of 16 years. But when this one went, it was needed as the tire was beyond repair.

If you are buying a smaller car of any brand, do check to see what you are getting. It may not be a spare tire.

On Mon, 17 Aug 2015 14:06:34 -0400, dgk wrote in

Yes, there is a wheel-well under the trunk floor where they store the

12v tire pump and can of tire sealant. I'm not sure if the wheel-well is for a full size tire or just a donut.

I wouldn't hesitate. I have had five Hyundais since 03. My son got the

93 in 07....used it to about 150K and then got rid of it, but it was still working, he just bought a new car. Then he moved to a rural area and needed a scecond car....he now has my 2005....about 100K and going strong. Never any issues with either car. Oh, both were Elantra GT's.

of the road. That's too dangerous in too many situations. I don't mind chan ging tires because I'm an expert and "danger" is my middle name but I certa inly don't want people that I care about messing with changing a tire. That 's why god invented cell phones.

You got a point there!

The last time I had a flat, it was in the midst of a severe rainstorm. What a day that was! I was several hundred feet from my mechanic so I turned ar ound and drove on the flat tire. He was able to repair it in 15 minutes and charged me 25 bucks for it. I gave him 40. I can't recall when the last wa s that I replaced a tire by the side of the road. I just use a can of fix-a

-flat or Green Slime.

OTOH, I enjoy jacking up the car and removing the tires to do some work. It 's a fairly manly thing to do - just like the old days. ;)

Thanks. I was at Costco yesterday and was reminded that you can buy new or used cars through them. I took the booklet. I'm just a wuss at negotiating with dealer so maybe it will work out.

I have done well negotiating new cars over the years. If you are not a great negotiator, I'd suggest to simply tell them up front you want the sticker price as your "out the door" price....meaning you pay that number and it includes all taxes, fees, etc. I've done that, and depending on the car I've done better than that. Won't work on top sellers though. When I bought two Neons in the 90's I did much better, but like I said....depends on the car. Hyundais are pretty hot right now.