Hyundai Elantra GT (II)
2004 Hyundai Elantra GT, purchased 2012/11/14
This car replaced Cindy's 2005 Hyundai Elantra GT. After it got killed, we looked around at everything from a Kia Spectra5, Chevy Aveo, Hyundia Sonota, Volvo S60, Volkswagen Jetta, and a bunch of others. Every time, it was "I want my Elantra :(". We even came across a 2004 GT in the parking lot where we returned her rental car. I found the owner in the nail salon next door and asked her if she wanted to sell it. Her answer was a resounding "No! I love my Elantra!"
I had finally almost settled on a 2006 Jetta, when this 2004 with 76K miles showed up on Craigslist. I called and emailed the guy, and he returned my call while I was at lunch. After I got back, I ran the VIN and it came up clean. I grabbed a co-worker, and we headed out to Acworth (about 45 miles away), drove it, and bought it.
I brought it home, stuck a ribbon on it, and asked Cindy to come down to the garage to help me get some stuff out of the car. She walks in, her jaw drops, and she just about starts blubbering. Needless to say, she was quite happy.
In one respect, it's actually an upgrade from her 2005. It has fewer miles, all the sheet metal is straight, leather interior, class-I tow hitch, and remote start. The last two items aren't really that useful to us, but they only add value to the car. It's also the exact same color, which she really liked. Her 2005 did have a complete engine replacement (at Hyundai's expense) about 5000 miles prior to it getting totaled, but at least we got an extra $600 on the insurance settlement for that.
The only unexpected expense is putting a set of tires on it. Turns out the ones on there had about 6/32's tread left, and were showing some signs of dry rot. I put a set of Pirellis on the next day, which is what the 2005 had on it, and we'd been very happy with those (with only 16K on them...). The bright side is we had enough left over from the settlement that we still came out ahead.
I will say that if you're buying a used car, and a Romanian is involved, it's probably been stolen, crashed, and repaired. The Sonata and S60 we looked at were both that way. The Spectra5 was stolen, recovered and wholesaled, and the guy selling it didn't know. He had the Carfax report, which didn't show that. I had pulled a Carfax along with an Autocheck, and the Autocheck showed that history. He was quite shocked, to say the least. He also indicated it had failed emissions, and discovered the check engine light was disconnected. He had the issue fixed, but now has some background as to why that might have been done in the first place.
Service History
- 2015/10/01 - 107870
- Replace plugs (NGK BKR5EGP)
- Replace AC belt (Gates K040336)
- Replace alternator belt (Gates K040345)
- Replace serpentine belt (Gates K030265)
- 2015/09/29 - 107835
- Replace front axles
- 2015/09/28 - 107811
- Wheel alignment
- 2015/09/25 - 107766
- Rotate and balance tires
- 2015/06/10 - 105226
- Oil change
- 2014/12/23 - 101170
- Replace upper radiator hose
- 2014/03/12 - 93015
- Oil change
- 2013/09/25 - 86289
- Oil change
- 2013/06/18 - 82908
- Rotate and balance tires
- 2013/06/17 - 82850
- Replace front & rear wiper blades
- 2013/04/12 - 81342
- Replace rear brake pads
- Replace rear caliper piston boots
- Replace cabin air filter (Purolator C45662)
- 2012/11/14 - 76740
- (4) Pirelli P6 P195/60R-15 tires
