Used Cobalt or Accent

fwiw, I still have it in my back yard. My mom finally parked it in 2002
when it was consuming equal amounts of gas and oil. I'm going to start
it up this year so I can laugh one last time and then recycle it. It is
the car I took my driver's test in...

So, if anyone wants parts off an 86 Hyundai Excel GL, let me know... you
pay shipping...

 

I need an automatic temp control head and the electronic memory power
seat controls.

 

lol.
it's an 86 Excel, which means it has manual heater controls (no AC) and
manual seats.

those are probably two of the only things working left on the car.

 

You really don't get it. GM is losing their ass because they are like
microshaft. They own(ed) the market so long they could produce junk
and people bought it. I can now buy much better cars for much less
money with better engineering and often with more US content. GM and
Ford have both made a point of making their small cars low end junk to
justify the sale price of the bigger but not that much more expensive
to build full size stuff. But you will recommend them over somebody
that took quality seriously and fixed it more than 10 years ago.

Oh, and BTW, that includes Honda as their maintenance schedule is
really a scheduled rebuild the last time I looked.

 

Did you read my post? If I had to choose between a Cobalt and an Accent
for an automotive appliance, I'd recommend a Civic or a Corolla.

FWIW, I bought a Subaru Legacy in the fall because I needed a wagon or a
minivan, and wanted awd and a stick shift.

Frankly, nothing compares to driving my Trans Am. If you've never been
slideways on a road course at 120mph, you'll never understand.

Ray

 

A "scheduled rebuild" in what way? Replacement of more parts than other
makes?
Which parts?
Does this imply poor construction?
Is this scheduled rebuild on Honda's or the owner's dime?
--
------
Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY

Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!

entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
all d'numbuhs

 

owner's dime. It's the basic bitch I have heard from every Honda
owner I know. Pull their maintenance schedule for a source. As I
understand it they replace a lot of pars proactively. That said, I
was looking at Accord last year and they were advertising no
maintenance for the first 100,000 miles so they are doing something
about it. I jut couldn't stand the car so I bought my Elantra. One
of the guys I work with bought an Accord. He's around 60K and talking
about the $1000 shop charge for his next maintenace cycle. Go figure.

Oh, and yes, we drive a lot. Service business.

 

choice was Cobalt or Accent. You said Cobalt. I said I couldn't
understand why.

 

Having that service done is, of course going to prolong the life of the car.
OTOH, not having some of the functions done may have very little effect on
the life of the car. No way would I ever follow the dealer's
recommendations. They are a profit center, not just a booster for your
driving comfort. Most important single thing you can do is change the oil
at the proper interval. If you drive a lot, that is probably 7500 miles.

 

Well, I'll take some nervous solace in the "Lowest Cost to Own" glyphic that
Edmund's put on the Honda Fit.
I hope to god they figgered in Honda maintenance.
I'll proly have my local very honest guy do the service/assessments.

I used to thank god I wadn't born in the feudal lords/pirate days, cuz I
didn't think I could cope.
Instead, today we have NYS and their bevy of regulatory agencies, including
the out-of-control DMV, and car mfr's/dealerships.

Bluebeard is looking kind of tame....

Time for another tea party?
--
------
Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY

Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!

entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
all d'numbuhs

 

because of my experience with cars.
Hyundai = korean for garbage.

A Cobalt ain't that great, but it's better than a Hyundai.

For me, it's also a GM, which because I fix my own cars, means I stand a
chance of being able to service it. I can rebuild my wife's Beretta
blindfolded by now, but every time I open the hood of my Subaru, I'm
reaching for the manual for anything beyond checking the oil - it's all
the same and yet completely different.

That's why.

I've also driven in an Accent and a Cobalt, and the Cobalt is the better
driving car.

Ray

 

I can't argue with your experience, but are you talking about anything
recent? Or are we pre-2000?

Every time I see this statement I feel my wallet get fatter. Keep it up
as you are saving me and the other Hyundai owners money.

Actually, no it isn't. And up until the last few years (and yes I know
the Cobalt is fairly new) this was just a matter of personal opinion.

Again, that is your personal choice. If you can service a GM, you can
service just about any other vehicle if you want to spend a few minutes
to learn about it.

LOL. I could do that on the '86 Excel my sister owned too. Since about
'99 or so, I haven't had to rebuild an Hyundai's I've owned. Seriously,
if you know how to rebuild a car blindfolded, you probably done it too
many times. Buy a Hyundai and you won't ever have to worry about that
again.

No offense but it sounds like you don't really want to learn it.

Again, I can't argue with your opinion, but I drove a Cobalt and the
thing felt like a real POS. Others have expressed the same opinion.
And there are probably just as many people that think the Accent is a
POS. Personally, I give the Accent the win hands down.

Eric

 

I'm not looking to argue, really I'm not.

I test drove an 06 Accent with my mom (she eventually bought an 05 Neon
and loves it) and immediately felt like I was in a time warp back to the
86 Excel. I've also test driven an 06 Pontiac G6 and thought "this is a
really nice 1990 Beretta" so it's not just Hyundai. It's a combination
of milking the same old crap under a new hood, as well as the "common
look and feel" each car company has.

Remember, a Cobalt isn't a Cavalier, which has been likened to a
cockroach - ugly and hard to kill. The Cobalt is supposely miles
better, but it was too small of a car for me to consider with two small
kids, and my mom didn't like it when she was car shopping, so we skipped it.

I know I can service any car, but because I've primarily owned GM's and
my friend has owned GM's, the learning curve is a lot shorter when it
comes time to servicing stuff. I'm only a DIY'er, not a professional
mechanic. I have the shop manual for my Subie, but it's just completely
different than any of the other 15 cars I've ever owned.

I can rebuild the Beretta because my wife has owned since 1994, and it's
been a pretty good car - never left me stranded in 10 winters, and in
Winnipeg, that's a pretty good record. When I replaced the struts and
shocks and balljoints last winter, I was able to do most of the work
from memory and barely needed the shop manual for more than torque
specs. It's like on my race car, we can pull the engine in 45 minutes
including time for a beer.

Practice makes perfect. Every car company does a lot of good/stupid
stuff under the hood, but at least it's usually the same across all
their cars, so servicing one gets you some experience servicing them all.

And frankly, if people are allowed to say "all domestic cars are shit"
because they once owned a 77 Bobcat that was a POS, then I'm allowed to
say that Hyundai sucks because of my experience with an 86 Excel.

If I had to choose between an Accent and a Cobalt, I'd probably pick a
used Camaro.

Ray

 

You are playing a old tape...

Matt

 

I never took it as arguing (maybe the comment about Hyundai = Korean for
garbage would be considered argumentative by some, but I took it as a
joke).

And no offense to your Mom, but I owned a '96 Neon. It handled great,
but was a major POS otherwise. Unless they've come leaps and bounds
since then (and they may have), that car was a classic case of M.O.P.A.R
(My Old Pig Ain't Running).

I agree with your servicing comments. I was only trying to make the
point that you shouldn't rule out buying a specific car because it may
take you a little longer to change the ball joints the first time you
need to do it in 10 years. But I guess you bought a Subaru, so you are
only half worried about it.

As to the Hyundia sucks comment, I never said you couldn't express your
opinions, and I don't think I was even picking on you for it. I don't
think all domestic cars are shit either, but the domestic cars that I
would buy are pretty much out of my ball park.

And yes, the choice between a Cobalt and an Accent is a choice I hope I
never have to make. My 2006 Sonata is tight enough for me and my two
kids with all of our crap. Luckily, we have the '07 Entourage to use
when we all need to travel (including the wife).

Eric

 

probably an 8 track

;-)