When I bought my Hyundai, it was to replace an 85 Audi 5000 that I absolutely loved (hated getting rid of it).. but I would have had to put 3 grand into it to make the car reliable again.
For me it was a combination of price and warranty. Brand new car for 10K and not have to pay to fix a damn thing for a few years? Easy math.
What has grown on me after owning one is quality... The majority of things I've had to replace would need to be replaced on most cars with the mileage that I have... (almost 200,000 miles in 7 years).
Out of the 6 dealerships that my fiance (she has a Santa Fe) and I have had to deal with, there is only 1 that we wouldn't go back to. The 5 that remain were helpful and have not tried to dick us over.
Finally, Hyundai MC backs their vehicles... I had a catalytic converter issue (I'm on my third one) that could have gotten ugly. 1rst one was replaced under warranty, the 2nd replacement I had to pay for, but I contacted Hyundai Consumer Affairs and they reimbursed me for half of the costs .
Things to my liking with Hyundai while I wait to purchase my next one:
*Safety has vastly improved
*Still competively priced against other car companies
Stuff I don't like:
*No diesel/hybrid for the US yet (they seem to be playing a "wait-and-see" game)
*Handling still appears to be "soft" (I grew up driving Saabs and Audi's... I've installed strut bars to both my car and my fiance's Santy... the suspension on rentals of newer hyundais still seem spongy to me).
*I'm not a big fan of the drive-by-wire technology... seems too prone to issues.
The thing with me is that I don't buy a new car every few years... I drive them until the wheels fall off so I don't care about resale value (why anybody does is beyond my comprehension... why invest in something that depreciates as soon as you take possession?)
Last edited by Tugger5000 : 07-08-2008 at 08:30 PM.
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