Question on buying an 03 Elantra

A private seller has one in exc. condition, for $6K, his pay-off
amount. I like the 33 MPG HWY gas mileage....but it is a negative for
me that it has auto trans. The Blue Book value for a private seller is
$6700. Its 4-DR sedan, AC, AT. Has abt 87K miles. I see that the
value has gone down abt $800 from last years' Blue Book compared to
this years'. Would it be a reasonable assumption that it will go down
in value another $800 after one year (summer of 2007)?
Also, it is being financed by Navy Federal Credit Union by voucher
check. I have not had good luck with transmissions.... if it breaks,
the car is dead, as there is not $2 or $3 K (or whatever) to
replace/rebuild it. So is it possible to buy a waranty for late model
cars purchased from private sellers? I am expecting to leave the
country in another year, and so will be selling it then. Just need a
short-term waranty.

The last question is---does the engine have interference-type
valves that damage the motor if the timing belt breaks? Does it need a
timing belt change at 100K miles? Is it particularly difficult or
expensive on this 2 L 4-cyl engine?

 

Auto Elantras seem to struggle to get that kind of mileage. I'll bet
that's the best he's gotten, not typical mileage. OTOH, it's not unusual
for manual tranny Elantras to exceed their highway rating. My '04
regularly gets 36+ mpg on highway drives @65 mph and I average ~32 mpg
overall.

Perhaps, but it's likely to be too expensive to be worth it. Also,
private warranty companies have a nasty habit of going belly-up.

Not particularly. Figure it will cost you ~$300 to have it done or you
can DIY for under $100.

 

Actually, the timing belt should have been done at 60k. If it hasn't been
done yet, you should subtract that from the value of the car. Also, 87k
seems like a lot of miles for an '03. Be sure you've also accounted for
this in the pricing.

 

A couple of notes on your post:

Over the holidays, I got me a used '02 Elantra. Before I could even begin
the look-over to see if I wanted it, the dealership it had been traded to
had already done flushes on the tranny, radiator and even brake fluid.

The car had 73,000 miles on it. I had them replace the timing belt (yes, it
is an interference engine) before I brought it home. With those miles on
yours, I might suggest the same - do it NOW, and then you won't have to
worry about it.

I would also recommend an immediate transmission fluid service, preferrably
NOT by a fast lube place, unless they can demonstrate that they have truly
compatible fluid (read - NOT Dexron-based, even if it claims to be
multi-vehicle fluid, unless it is synthetic fluid). The failure rate on
these Elantra trannys is pretty low, and keeping up with the fluid is a big
key to keeping it trouble-free. If you do this, I suspect you won't have
any problems.

You may also wish to do a radiator service of some kind, and that probably
CAN be done by a fast-lube place. (Personally, unless a car has anti-lock
brakes, I don't see the purpose of a brake fluid flush, especially at the
two-year interval suggested by the flush people).

Don't discount taking it to a Hyundai dealer for this work. While there may
be a few less-than-good ones out there, my experience has been first rate.
They can also run your VIN and make sure there are no open recalls, and
maybe even find some additional maintenance history on it for you.

As for value, like almost all cars, it will depreciate. While it's tough to
put a number on it for another year, I think $700 or so is a reasonable
number. I don't find that troublesome, unless you buy your cars only as an
investment. I buy mine to drive them (or in this case, so my kids can).

Have only had my Elantra approximately 7 months, but can tell that those
flushes were a catalyst to keeping this thing going long-term. Have had no
troubles (except needing new tires, which happens to every car) and don't
expect any. Suspect the same will be true for you.

In that vein, I do not EVER recommend a maintenance contract/extended
warranty. Not only do the companies that provide them often go belly-up,
but the value is poor. On the used cars where it has been offered to me, it
would have been cheaper to have the tranny rebuilt or replaced (had that
happened) then to purchase those worthless contracts.

Any car that may need that much work just shouldn't be purchased. And any
car worth purchasing just won't give you anything close to the problems that
would give you your money's worth on an extended warranty.

I say "go for it." But just my two cents.

Tom Wenndt

 

My wife and I have an 05 and an 03. Both are GT's with auto. We both
average 29-30 in mixed driving. About 33-35 pure highway. Hope this
helps. We both are very happy with the cars. I personally like the 03
better than the 05. It feels more solid to me.