Managed to trade the Alto in, thankfully not everyone uses the same HPI check company.
Here is the new steed: www.mkhyundai.com/UsedCarDetails.aspx?CarID=4876&ModelId=11
I went there basically as I had nothing to do this afternoon and half-heartedly enquired about the car. I went through the figures first including the dreaded HPI check on my car which came back clear, after that point I started taking it all more seriously.
Went for a drive and really enjoyed. Its comfy, punchy engine with lots of low down torque like diesels of old, nice slick gearbox, PAS is perfect weight and it just rolls along very nicely.
I like the spec and the adjustment on the drivers seat is very wide so much easier to get comfy - boot is also big so easy to get my work kit in too. Only down side is the age of it but it is very tidy so I can look past that.
Best part was the price though - I paid £2495 plus £175 for years tax - and they GIVE ME £70 back with the Alto as p/x. It gets a new cambelt and two front tyres thrown in too.
Overall it should save me quite a bit up front. In addition to the cashback the Alto was going in for service at £117, it needed two front tyres soon at £100 and the new car will save at least £100 on fuel for our holiday, so its all good.
Alanović, whats your take on these cars, I know you liked the Cerato?
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Nice one Stu, always liked the Elantra.
Just make sure the front discs are good, if not try and get them changed under warranty, its not a normal job, discs fitted from behind hub i believe as Coupe.
Other than that should be a good un.
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Good tip thanks. Brakes were very sharp so they certainly work.
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Hey Hey. Sounds like my kind of motoring Stu. It is amazing how 'cheap', for want of a better word, one can pick up cars that folk turn their back on. Good luck and RTFM.
MD
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>>It is amazing how 'cheap', for want of a better word, one can pick up cars that folk turn their back on.<<
I have found usually I get on best with cars most people dismiss.
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>> >>It is amazing how 'cheap', for want of a better word, one can pick up
>> cars that folk turn their back on.<<
>>
>> I have found usually I get on best with cars most people dismiss.
Like the Alto? And the one before that, and the one, and so on.
I have to say tho that finally you haven't bought a munter. I doubt however, if thats the end of the saga.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 26 Aug 13 at 21:12
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>> Like the Alto? And the one before that, and the one, and so on. I have to say tho that finally you haven't bought a munter. I doubt however if thats the end of the saga.
>>
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands, if you're hap..................
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The ole woman says it's got an executive look about it, so it could be a byrd puller ;)
I wouldn't bring it to Cornwall though if I were thee - unless you want to get it knocked orf.
:}
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Looks nice that Stu, admired them from afar too. The interior reminds me of my Carisma although it hasn't got leather. Looks a keeper, you're far better with a bigger car than them shopping trolleys.
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Zero, last time I found a car I liked someone rear ended the thing so lets leave the future prospects of the car blank for now :-)
I have moved away from small cars and into diesel, first diesel I have owned since my elderly Astravan with the LPT engine so must remember to put the right juice in it.
It suits me from an image point of view as people dont know what it is generally, it defines bland but the matt finish plastic wood is so brilliantly far eastern, though I have seen similar in newer Range Rovers so maybe it was ahead of its time :-)
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I looked at one of those a year or two back - in fact I mentioned it here as I remember GB gave the same advice about the discs. I can't remember the year or the price, but it was cheap for a below mileage car and was in superb condition. Unfortunately an auto so it was no go, but otherwise a well equipped and comfortable car, rather nice looking too in my opinion.
So nice one, FoR.
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Had they made an estate it would have been on my drive three years ago rather than the lancer, the hatchback was a tad too high for dog jumping.
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>> Not sure that's legal.
We live life on the edge down here in Surrey.
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it defines bland but the matt finish plastic wood is so brilliantly far
>> eastern, though I have seen similar in newer Range Rovers so maybe it was ahead
>> of its time :-)
>>
No i think the plastic wood in your Elantra is far better than the junk they throw into RR's, never ceased to amaze me how they could spoil the £60k ship so badly for a ha'porth of tar.
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And it has a rear spoiler!!
Coooooooooooooooollllll!
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>>And it has a rear spoiler!!
Coooooooooooooooollllll!<<
I did query whether or not it really needed all that downforce :-)
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stops getting handprints on the boot when you push it.
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Can it be that I have bought a car the forum likes? If so I am on new ground...
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It means you have bought something mainstream,
At last.
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An obscure Hyundai hatchback that most people will have never heard of is mainstream? Ive only ever seen a handful and never driven one until today.
I thought the automatic choice was a Mondeo for this size of car, not that I ever would.
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A 2005-07 Lancer Estate is not common, pretty rare in fact, not many people have heard of them, but its mainstream.
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"Mainstream is what's the new trend. when one "style" gets old, a new one is reborn, a mainstream person is someone who jumps from trend to trend so that they fit in with the rest of the crowd. Mainstream is being what society thinks you should be, and look like "
I am wondering at what point, ever, an Elantra fitted the society norm when of course the norm was a Mondeo/Vectra. Has an Elantra EVER been trendy?
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>> A 2005-07 Lancer Estate is not common, pretty rare in fact, not many people have
>> heard of them, but its mainstream.
>>
OK, but which mainstream would that be?
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>> ............ plus £175 for years tax
>> - and they GIVE ME £70 back with the Alto as p/x.
I consider the car tax to be mine and not part of the car, so I always remove the tax disc from the car I'm trading in and claim the refund from DVLA myself.
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I need to tax the new car though dont I and claiming back £3 from the Alto tax is being a bit tight, even for me.
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>> Alanović, whats your take on these cars, I know you liked the Cerato?
>>
Good choice, stu. If I had to pick between otherwise identical Elantras and Ceratos, I'd go for the Cerato on looks. But I like the Elantras too, hope it works out for you. Interested to hear your comments about how well the diesel engine performs, I'd expect a Korean diesel of that age to be less impressive. Prejudice there, of course.
Looks a very nice example from the pictures, spec and history. May I suggest a tad pricey for an 04 car, but still it'll probably last forever (or until someone rear ends it).
EDIT: I didn't even realise there was a diesel versing of the Elantra, so kudos to you on finding something so obscure I'd not heard of it.
Last edited by: Alanović on Tue 27 Aug 13 at 10:50
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I agree on exterior styling but I can tell you the interior of the Elantra is far nicer and the gearbox is on another planet, the Cerato was awful. I am rather glad I didn't buy the Certao now, fate I guess.
I found the engine in the Elantra far more muscular than the Cerato but then it is 500cc bigger so I suppose it should be. It isn't a unit you would rev although it is a 16v common rail - in feel it comes across like a 1990's big TD, about 110 bhp I think so no slouch and 235 ib/ft of torque - a 115 bhp Mondeo is 210 so stacks up quite well.
Tad pricey but it is a main dealer supplied car and they gave me £300 above the CAP valuation on my car so swings and roundabouts really - I doubt you could find nicer and I would rather pay a premium for a good car at this end of the market.
I will report back on my wider impressions after the holiday, should have a couple of thousand miles to make up my mind.
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Must correct torque figures, it is 173 lb/ft at 2000 rpm, not 235, misread it somewhere yesterday. Not sure the origins of the engine.
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It's difference to change which is the important figure. I P/Xd our Panda for the Jazz - overpriced - but the dealer "gave" me nearly private seller retail on the Fiat. That finished up at a figure we were prepared to pay to change cars.
I gave him full permission to massage the figures to let him pay less VAT on the special used car margin scheme, which resulted, on the invoice, in both cars being reduced to more realistic prices!
Used to do that myself, in the day - only ever had one punter object in 6 years!
I do like the look of the Elantra, actually. A good workaday car.
Hope you do love it long term, FoR
Last edited by: Roger on Tue 27 Aug 13 at 14:40
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It does seem well liked looking at owner reviews, plenty of hardened fans and it seems they are reliable too.
I am most looking forward to running a diesel again, I do like just sticking a car in 5th and leaving it there and this one seems to suit that driving style. It pulled away on tickover up an incline in 2nd gear no problem, something that often makes newer diesels stall. Of course as this car has mpg on the trip computer I see it as my duty to try for the extra urban figure of 58 mpg, I wonder if it is possible.
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There are some quirks about the cost to change components. Like you Roger, at the last purchase I told the salesman to do what he wanted with various prices as long as he hit my desired cost to change.
In the end, for bizarre reasons that I assume are to do with commission or confusion it actually came out cheaper for me if he added that Superguard stuff. I assume it went on, but there's a few bottles of some stuff or other in the cupboard under the stairs untouched, and my final price was about £100 lower than I'd originally thought I was paying.
So I just paid. Maybe it was good psychology to make me go back - which I probably will.
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>>> Tad pricey but it is a main dealer supplied car and they gave me £300
>> above the CAP valuation on my car so swings and roundabouts really - I doubt
>> you could find nicer and I would rather pay a premium for a good car
>> at this end of the market.
>>
>>
Book price doesn't bother me that much. I'd rather pay top dollar to get a car I really liked and was confident had been looked after properly rather than stick rigidly to Glasses or whoever and buy a potential nail I wasn't keen on anyway.
I paid over the odds for a Mondeo that served me faultlessly for over six years and was worth every penny and more.
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I think £2.5k is about as cheap as you will find any main dealer car, the prep is usually bound up by a set of standards somewhat higher than non-franchised cars - mine is a Hyundai approved car and like Suzuki approved it does have some value.
To be fair though aside from the airbag connector needing a squeeze our Matrix has been 100% reliable, I dont expect to need much of a warranty - Elantra owners seem to suggest the same.
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Have you run an Autocheck on the Elantra, stu?
;-)
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Not yet, brb..... all clear :-)
I have another 4 vehicle checks left if anyone wants a freebie.
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>> Not yet, brb..... all clear :-)
>>
>> I have another 4 vehicle checks left if anyone wants a freebie.
>>
Yes please.. I love freebies (of any sort:-)
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How does your father feel about it? I know he lent you the money for the previous car because he wanted you to run a younger car. Now you've changed it for a near-decade-old car again.
I do hope this works for you, but... Let's see how long this one lasts. My money is on February at the latest.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Wed 28 Aug 13 at 17:16
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>> How does your father feel about it? I know he lent you the money for
>> the previous car because he wanted you to run a younger car. Now you've changed
>> it for a near-decade-old car again.
What business is that of yours ?
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Exactly...a step too far, MM.
Pat
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>>How does your father feel about it? I know he lent you the money for the previous car because he wanted you to run a younger car. Now you've changed it for a near-decade-old car again.<<
He did, but he has been disappointed at how unreliable it has been, not to mention its secret history, he is a practical man, he thinks I stuck it out longer than he would have done - my desire for almost total reliability comes from his influence funny enough, in the early 80's he was the weird guy buying Datsuns when his neighbours had a Ford.
It turns out the 'loan' was not really a loan, I have tried to pay him back and every time I pay him I get the cash back through my mum 'for our holiday spending', not sure what the excuse will be after the holiday though. He is giving my sister £60k to help towards a house which he wont be demanding back, so my mum said he is trying to balance that out and I had little hope of paying it back, but he likes that I am trying.
>>I do hope this works for you, but... Let's see how long this one lasts. My money is on February at the latest. <<
Im not saying a word...until February :-)
Seems there is approval for the car choice for once though, almost unheard of and I have done a few car changes over the years :-)
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>> Seems there is approval for the car choice for once though, almost unheard of and
Alas I am not sure that sits well on your shoulders, I fear it will drive you to unjustified and uncalled for munterness just around the corner......
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I thought the epithet "munter" was only applied to members of the female sex?
(Puts on tin hat in expectation of a salvo from Pat!)
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>> I thought the epithet "munter" was only applied to members of the female sex?
There are lots of definitions in the Urban Dictionary. www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=munter&page=11
For example a munter is a cross between a dog, sheep, horse, camal (sic) and a goat.
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>>Alas I am not sure that sits well on your shoulders, I fear it will drive you to unjustified and uncalled for munterness just around the corner......<<
Im not bothered, Alanović didnt even know there was a diesel version so that makes it exclusive enough for me even if people do like them.
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>> He is giving my sister £60k to help towards a house which he wont
>> be demanding back, .............
Wow! My share of my Dad's estate was £375.
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>>Wow! My share of my Dad's estate was £375 <<
Its just money and my dad would rather it goes to my sister than the government in tax.
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>> Wow! My share of my Dad's estate was £375.
>>
Factored up from 1894 values, that's about what - £1.5m?
;-)
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Is L'es really that old?
Pat
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>> Is L'es really that old?
Shush, you'll disturb his nap.
His nurse will ask him when he wakes up.
;>)
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Took delivery this afternoon. There was a rather awkward moment when I asked for documentation re the cambelt change as they had to print off the internal invoice from the workshop - it turns out the car needed a whole hunk of work done to get through the approved scheme - aside from a cambelt change/oil change and the usual service checks it has also had new pads/discs at the front, an air con re-gas, two tyres, three wiper blades and a pollen filter - total at discounted internal rate excluding VAT was just short of £800, ouch.
At an MOT done in March it had another tyre and rear discs/pads too.
It has already got a black mark though - headlight bulb went not long after I turned lights on and apparently it is a headlight out job although acccess looks easy enough.
Feels lovely to drive after the Suzuki, it has a relaxed manner both in power delivery and the soft ride, you can just sit back and chill out. The engine is a definate old school affair with layers of diesel clatter but it isnt annoyingly noisey, just likes you to know its working.
It needs a proper valet and some work on some minor bits of body damage but nothing I cant sort in a few hours, leather especially needs a good scrub.
The previous owner's first name was Carlos, I dont know why but that made me chuckle.
Happy so far, it is running perfectly, no strange noises, engine is strong and the comfort is exactly what I wanted - the wife likes it too.
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Well done Stu you hit the jackpot there, discs and pads all round done, thats why the bill was so high, i won't bore you with the details but the front disc replacement usually involves new front inner and outer wheel bearings too as they tend to fall apart whilst being pressed out.
Funnily enough i used the M1 extensively on Thursday and saw 4 Elantras, most of them were in Northants.
edit, the previous owners name of the Mustang Boss i owned in a previous life was Moses..;)
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Sat 31 Aug 13 at 21:39
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Looking at the invoice the cost of the brake work was £200 plus VAT. Pollen filter was £26 plus VAT and fitting - pricey parts really for a budget car.
The new tyres were stupid cheap though, £57 for TWO tyres, 195/60R15 - coming to a ditch near you...
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>> Looking at the invoice the cost of the brake work was £200 plus VAT. Pollen
>> filter was £26 plus VAT and fitting - pricey parts really for a budget car.
ECP Pollen filter is between 5 and 14 quid inc vat, disks 40 quid each, pads 25 quid a set.
Bout average really
>> The new tyres were stupid cheap though, £57 for TWO tyres, 195/60R15 - coming to
>> a ditch near you...
57 quid? YOW, nasty. Go on give us a treat, what are they called.
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>>57 quid? YOW, nasty. Go on give us a treat, what are they called. <<
Dont laugh. Landsail. Sailing off into the hedge no doubt... actually I threw it into a few corners and it gripped well enough, have to see what happens when it rains, I cant wait.
Biggest cost seems to be the cambelt change - belts were about £70 but the labour was nearing £400 even at internal rates, glad Im not paying for that, its every 7 years/90k.
Last edited by: FoR on Sat 31 Aug 13 at 23:37
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I never understood why you bought the Alto in the first place, I have never driven one, but all the reviews said they were pretty horrible to drive and tinny.
This Hyundai sounds like a nice comfortable car, just try and keep it :).
Looks to be in good condition from the pictures.
My dads i10 has now done just under 11,000 miles, and in the that time the only part that has been replaced is the oil filter (service). Nothing whats so ever has gone wrong with it, and I have been in the car for many hours it is actually very comfortable. A brilliant little car, it is just a bit bland and boring to drive compared to my Panda.
It has lately been used as a van due to all the building work we are doing, the interior does get scratched easily but then it was a £6500 brand new car with aircon etc so I can't say it is a fault just what you would expect.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 1 Sep 13 at 01:01
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Got the headlight bulb changed today, 10 quid! I managed to do it without removing the unit although it is tight on space, I managed it in 10 minutes including removing some plastic covers to get to it.
Took the car on a 120 mile round trip today and it is running better and better - it only did 5k a year before me but has already done 200 miles since I picked it up, seems to like being used, it is getting smoother at low revs.
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Fuel economy is proving very suprising - I read a few reports from owners saying the economy was 'exceptional' and while Im not sure that is quite the case, it is far better than I expected - it is returning around 52 mpg without any effort, the Combined figure being 46.3. I am somewhat suprised it is as good as it is but perhaps it just doesnt perform well in the lab but in normal driving it does better.
I think high 50's might be possible with more effort, which isnt great by todays standards, but for a low-tech effort by Hyundai, not known for their diesel engines, not bad at all really.
The previous owner only did about 5k a year so I am hoping that doing 300 miles a week will breath some life into it, im sure it never did it much good as it takes about 10 miles to get up to temp, doubtful that happened often.
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I changed the thermostat a couple of times on my first diesel before the penny dropped. It's why they're so economical. The internal combustion engine is basically a heat engine and a diesel wastes less heat than a petrol into the cooling system.
I recall one Winter's evening, driving slowly on icy roads, the temperature gauge was going down as the heater was drawing more heat than the engine was producing.
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>> I recall one Winter's evening, driving slowly on icy roads, the temperature gauge was going
>> down as the heater was drawing more heat than the engine was producing.
>>
I had a 1998 A4 TDI 110 and in Scotland one evening it was -22C, The heater just got colder and colder....
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>> I had a 1998 A4 TDI 110 and in Scotland one evening it was -22C,
>> The heater just got colder and colder....
That's one thing I appreciated about my old petrol Avensis and the Forester. Very quick warm up times. In my Audi Tdi the heater was luke warm by the end of the 25 min journey. It wasn't even that economical at around 45mpg.
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I recall an Allegro taking forever.
Glad you're happy with it Stu, fingers crossed it does you many miles.
I was looking at the Landsail tyres as my garage wanted to fit some with my service; I couldn't find anybody publishing the EU ratings up, so said 'no thanks'.
Interestingly the Kwik Fit Arrowspeed tyres which are their cheapest have a pretty good reputation.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Wed 4 Sep 13 at 18:31
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It has done 350 miles since Sat and all going well - unusually I havent detected any faults either, not often that happens. Actually there is one - the radio front has an iffy connection so might need to clean up the contacts - sometimes you change the station and it turns off instead, but failing that I nicked the good cd unit out of my Charade so I can replace it if I need to.
I found a fair amount of reference to Landsail tyres on Merc/BMW sites, I presume they do the larger sizes at good prices so well worth the savings given the price of branded items - most people seemed happy enough with them and I havent found any issues yet although an Elantra isnt what you would call a handling test.
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Car saga ends, finally :-) - -
