OT: We got a new Toy!!!

[Darin Bastedo]

Our 2008 Jeep Patriot served us well over the last three years, but we had already pt close to 90,000 Miles on it and it was starting to show it's age, that and with us taking 2-3 1,000 mile round trips per month we needed something with better fuel economy and a warraty. so Saturday we traded in our old Jeep in on this 2012 Hyundai Elantra. On the last trip I averaged 35 miles per gallon in the city and 45 MPG on the highway. It has a 10 year 100K warranty so that should get us through a few years at least. best of all we needed no money down and the payment is the same as the Jeep.

[Danno]

That's not a Toy ... that's a Hyun.

Congrats on your nice new ride.

[diymirage]

i had a hyundai tiburon at one point, it was a 2003 model and i did the 2005 front end conversion

it was a great car that did well with a peppy 2.0 twincam

the only thing it didnt do very well was handle impact, i totalled it going less then 30 MPH...not even hard enough to set off the airbags

i still miss that car

(great chick magnet)

before the bumperswap

after the bumperswap

after the crash

[FASTBACK340]

the only thing it didnt do very well was handle impact, i totalled it going less then 30 MPH...not even hard enough to set off the airbags

Dude, that folded up @ 30 MPH!?!?! And NO AIR BAGS? Wow.... have you spoken with Hyundai about that?

[RodneyBad]

Good looking car and Great for Mileage

My Scion xD averages around 32 (@70mph) unless ya hit a head wind for 200miles, then it

only gets 29

You sure do have bad luck with cars diymirage

How is your current one holding up to ya??

[diymirage]

Dude, that folded up @ 30 MPH!?!?! And NO AIR BAGS? Wow.... have you spoken with Hyundai about that?

nah, i just figured i hit it just right...the only two body parts that were damaged were the front bumper and the hood, both front fenders didnt have a scratch

funniest part is, the car i hit didnt look anywhere near as bad...a little VW golf

You sure do have bad luck with cars diymirage

How is your current one holding up to ya??

funny thing, ever since i started driving VW they've been fine, the last one i owned i actually got to trade in

that was the first time that ever happened

[ffreak]

Man you'll love that thing. I have 3 Elantras right now.An '04 as mine and a 05 for the wife and a 05 GT for my son. My wife totalled my 99 just like that Tiburon. Lost control and hit a gaurd rail head on. Didn't even bend the fenders, just the hood and front bumper, but it pushed the core support back and the radiator into the exhaust. They already had the core repaired and the ins. bucked up and totalled it !! Really ticked me off, I loved that car. So I went around the block to the dealer and got the 04 off the showroom floor and took it home !! Great little car, 38 mpg hwy. Only have 38k on it so far. Just be sure and keep the timing belt maintenence up on it !!

[ffreak]

Exactly what I ran into. A week later my old " totalled " Elantra sat at a red light beside me and passed me up !! All shiney and fresh !! I was livid !!! And my bags didn't come out either when she wrecked it from highway speed !!!

[diymirage]

My wife totalled my 99 just like that Tiburon. Lost control and hit a gaurd rail head on. Didn't even bend the fenders, just the hood and front bumper, but it pushed the core support back and the radiator into the exhaust.

see if you can spot my fan motors in this picture

[ffreak]

Yep, inbedded in the headers !!! Mine was the stock exhaust manifold and the radiator and condenser just wrapped around it !!

[MrObsessive]

Congrats Darin! You'll love the Elantra! My Mom has an '06 and she swears by it!

I think the newest ones are one of the best looking small cars on the road, and I'm hard to please by some of the new cars' styling these days. It should serve you well for a long time to come!

[charlie8575]

Use it in good health, as my great aunt used to say.

I got a ride home in a Hyundai Azzerra once. I was very impressed.

Generally, I only buy American cars, however, I would be willing to give Hyundai a serious look. They seem to have really gotten their act together.

And I have to agree with Bill, that is a sharp little buggy. At least someone isn't afraid to actually style a car.

Charlie Larkin

[Darin Bastedo]

Congrats Darin! You'll love the Elantra! My Mom has an '06 and she swears by it!

I think the newest ones are one of the best looking small cars on the road, and I'm hard to please by some of the new cars' styling these days. It should serve you well for a long time to come!

It's interesting that you brought up the styling. while styling was way down on our priorities after warranty, gas milage, and comfort, the styling really turned me on too. I feel like I'm driving a concept car, and people have gone out of their way to tell me how much they like it. I think it's about time that a car company realised that inexpensive, and reliable cars could be stylish too.

[Chuck Most]

That's right, Mark! Years ago, you bought such a vehicle as 'basic transportation'. Nowadays, some of the economy cars are pretty cool. I'm actually considering an '11 Fiesta as my next car, now that my 320,000 mile '98 Mercury Tracer has finally given up the ghost . It's well within my budget, gets great mileage, and dare I say... I think the thing actually looks COOL!

[mr cheap]

its just a car .... write a check....sorry drove a tow truck 15 years..jr

[ratrod1]

only 90,000?? that's not nearly enough to get a new car! my dad had his Honda Accord for over 200,000 miles until he needed a new Catalytic Converter and my mom is planning to keep her Toyota Sienna Symphony until it brakes down

Edited July 19, 2011 by ratrod1

[Darin Bastedo]

It all depends on your priorities. One thing that Darin did by trading the Jeep when he did was get some money back out of it. Obviously a depreciating asset like a new car isn't a "good" investment in that it's always worth less than you paid, but there are steps on the depreciation ladder where it makes more sense to shift cars than others. Had Darin kept the Jeep past the magic 100,000 mile mark, or a couple of more years the value would be a fraction of what it was when he traded out. By trading it when it was still young in years, and not completely used up mileage-wise, he got a lot more for it than he would have even a year later.

Again, it's all about priorities. Darin wants/needs a reliable car and the Jeep may have served that purpose for years to come. What he would have had, though, was a potential for out-of-pocket repairs on a vehicle that was quickly bottoming out in terms of resale value, too. A new car has a warranty and the peace of mind that goes with it. Since he's paying about the same per month (albeit for a longer term now) it's not costing him any more, but now he's got several more years before having to worry about paying for repairs and the high-milage maintenance stuff (timing belts, trans fluid change, etc. etc.) that a car crossing into 6-figure odometer readings task an owner with. I can completely understand not wanting to deal with that stuff...

Mark is right. it was out of warranty, and I was looking just in the short term a Timing belt, new tires, and brake work. This on an already stretched budget. I drive about 4,000 miles per month, drining my Fiance' from TN to Maryland and back for cancer treatments, so We needed reliability first and foremost. Having a breakdown of one of these trips would be very bad as an uneventful trip is hard enough for her to handle. Had our circumstances have been more normal I would agree that trading in at only 90K would be dubious. In the end though we got a new 100K warranty, the same monthly payment and on the last trip to MD I got 47MPG, which was 16MPG better than the jeep. All totaled we are saving money at the end of the month, but we will be in debt longer.