newbiw: wants a Sonata

Hi All, Came across this newsgroup during my research of the Sonata.
I'm really interested in one because of the price and warranty. My
wife and I will be test driving one this week. I live in Michigan, the
greater Detroit area. The options I want are the 6 cylinder, auto
trans, a cd player, ABS, AC, power windows and locks. I have two main
questions
1. Any other features that are a must have?
2. What is the total bottom line price I should fight for? I don't
want to get ripped off, IMHO, most dealers are ripoffs. Thanks for the
help,

J.W.

 

www.edmunds.com
www.kbb.com

We have a 2001 and 2003 Elantra and a 2004 XG350L ... all are GREAT!

 

Hi all, Well, we went and looked/test drove the Sonata today and
here's my question. What's the catch? At this price, with this great
warranty, and the excellent impression, from the design to the
beautiful interior to the excellent ride, I just can't believe a car
of this apparant quality comes at such a great price. There are two
reasons I am wary. I have never bought a foreign made car before but
my last three American made cars, all new, including a high end Saturn
and Buick have had major mechanical flaws shortly after the 32,000
mile warranty ran out, So at this point, I am ready to try a
non-American made car. With this warranty, all the expensive repairs I
made to my last three American cars would have been covered. I don't
have the exact numbers, but the repairs have easily been $3000 to
$4000. And these were $20,000 vehicles (the Buick in 1996 and Saturn
in 2000) I think there may be a Sonata in my future this week. Thanks
for any imput,


J.W.

 

Buy one! I did. 2004 Sonata LX from carsdirect.com for $16,497.

 

Jon, We own a 2003 Sonata Lx with ABS/Moonroof and my wife loves it. I am
not sure there is a downside to the car. I think it is a fabulous deal for
the money. I have heard that the paint job does not hold up well over time
(unsubstaniated). The only complaint I have is that it is somewhat
underpowered given the displacement of the engine. For just horsepower and
gas mileage I think some of the Ford and GM engines are superior (witness
the new Mailibu). However, the Sonata is a great car. I like the automatic
climate control in the Lx models. My wife loves the leather seats. Neither
of these is a must have. For safety sake I would recommend the ABS/TCS
combination.

 

Had three. - 1989-early 90s.

Working on getting an older 1993 because the price is right and it needs
some work so will get me away from the computer.
Once I have no need of my van (kids are still home), Sonata will likely be
the car of choice to replace. I actually also like the Tiburon, but by the
time the kids are gone, if I were to get one people would think "Mid life
crisis."

Loved them when I had them and they have only gotten better since. AND all
their manuals, Technical Service Bulletins and more are on line
http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/default.asp easy to see what you would be
getting into. Try getting that from some other manufacturers.

excellent impression, from the design to the beautiful interior >to the
excellent ride, I just can't believe a car of this apparant quality comes at
such a great price.

No catch

Early on it was sometimes hit and miss with the dealership service dept and
parts availability. Then Hyundai's mentality also seemed So what? we covered
it in a warranty they should be happy. They learned that, no, we would be
happy if the thing was covered and never broke.

 

I've had my 2004 LX V6 for 1 month and 1 thousand miles and I love it. All
Sonatas come very well equipped with power windows, AC, power locks with
keyless entry, etc. It depends on what other features you want, as to which
model to get. With the prices so reasonable I went for the LX for the
leather seats, power driver's seat and climate control and paid $16497.
through carsdirect.com (MSRP is $20,339).

If there's a downside it's maybe the low resale value (but that seems to be
changing) and parts and service are not as readily available as the Fords
and Hondas and etc. I live over an hour away from the nearest Hyundai dealer
for example. But that too could change.

Good Luck and have fun! I'm real happy with mine.

 

The 'catch' is that they are not 'fashionable' and still carry the bad rep
from years ago !

This is our first non-american car also (2002 Elantra) and we love it.

They are every bit as good as Toyotas and Hondas but without the price
gouge.

As long as you are like us and buy a vehicle that YOU need/want and are not
stuck in the rut of buying for OTHER people you can smile (and laugh) all
the way to the bank !

Michael

 

Buy it, you'll love it. I have TWO base model 2004 Sonata's. I
bought the first one when my 2001 Elanta reached 60,000 miles and when
I brought it home my wife decided she "needed" one too. She traded in
a 99 Mazda.

My 01 Sonata was the cheapest car to run of any of the more than forty
new cars I have owned in my lifetime. Total expense for out of
warranty expense was less than $30 not counting oil, filters and
tires.