Belt Auction

2004 Hyundai Elantra Automatic Sedan; Should I Buy It?

The Local Auto Body shop just picked up a 2004 Elantra Auto 4dr, with 54K miles at auction. It was a Bank Repo. They want $5K for it, and it needs some minor body work, which am going to *TRY* and get them to throw in for a bit more/free. I assume it was in a minor accident, have not gotten history report yet. Also needs 2 tires, which my mechanic/tire guy says will be 100 bucks. NBD. Every Edmunds/Consumer Reports/ Etc review i have read is for the Manual 5 Dr Hatchback. Can't find much on the Auto Sedan :( Does anyone out there own/have owned the 04 Auto Sedan? Are there reliable sites that have reviews of that Model out there, that i just haven't found? I have this feeling in my gut that i should pass on it, it just makes me apprehensive for some reason. I have a 93 Grand Caravan with 118K ATM, which gets 22 city 26 hwy, which is about the SAME as the Elantra. Millage & affordability are my 2 major selling points. i know it sounds silly, but my last car i got the same feeling but ignored it and then down the road it was NOTHING but trouble :(

Public Comments

1. Personally there not that bad, depends if its been in a accident ask for a carfax if it was in a accident i wouldnt even touch it. If not see how it runs i had a 2001 and the car ran great for 3 years b4 i traded it.
2. I have a '06 Elantra, automatic. It has been a great car. I haven't had any problems with it. When I bought my Elantra my mechanic told me that most of them are running to 200,000 miles or more with few problems- he also told me to stay away from the older Hyundai's he said that anything '04 or newer has had a very good record. I would check with carfax report just to check and see what types of accidents it has been in- if it is a minor accident I wouldn't worry too much about it, but if it is something major I would move on and look for something better.
3. First of all, ignore these people. I am in the car business, and i drive all sorts of different cars all the time, so I know which ones tend to have what problems. I know for a FACT that these cars have problems with the automatic transmissions. The 5-speeds hold up okay, but thats as far as it goes. These cars or poorly engineered and are far inferior to other compact cars in terms of mileage and refinement. Why would such a small car with such a small 2.0 liter engine get such bad fuel economy for its size. Dodge neons get better gas mileage than these Hyundai's do. That car is seriously sketchy, all that damage and work needed is rediculous for a car they want to charge you stupid money for. They are trying to rip you off, i know how people in the car business are. That peice o crap is definitely not worth 5k, I wouldn't pay 2k for it. Dont buy it!
4. i would save your money hyundai cars are pretty much throw away cars just a week ago i bought a 2004 ford taurus SE for 5k with only 57k on it and it has nothing wrong with it at all and i did a carfaxs on it and the car turns out to be a 1 owner car anyways what im tryin to say is save your money and buy something better that you no for sure has not been in a acident ()-; take care
5. My buddy had a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT Hatchback with the automatic transmission and it was a fantastic car. He had it for a year and a half and put around 20,000 miles on it in that span of time and it never gave him a lick of trouble. He only got rid of it to buy his dream car (a '95 BMW 525i) that has been nothing but trouble. Live and learn, right? I'd say go for it. When I had my Santa Fe in for scheduled maintenance, I asked the service advisor what the highest mileage Hyundai he had seen. It was an Elantra, a 2002 model with 240,000 miles on it...still runs like a dream. My Santa Fe is an '04 with 114,000 on it and it still runs like the day we bought it. Don't listen to these people who "work in the auto industry" and "know that Hyundai's are throw-away cars". Until you actually own a Hyundai and spend time with it, you can't realize how great they really are.
6. Speaking from an owner's perspective (yes, another owner) the Elantra is a very good car. Elantra hatchbacks aren't much different then the car your looking at so whatever you read still applies for the most part. After 7 years and 140,000 miles I'm still getting about 33-34 MPG highway so the numbers you have sound like city driving. I haven't run across any major problems to speak of either. In fact 04' is when Hyundai made some improvements to it so your MPG may be a little better. As good as the Elantra is I would still be careful about this one you're looking at. Even a small accident could generally be a sign of neglect by the owner. I would get as much info as I can about, like running a Car Fax, and a second opinion from another mechanic. This goes for any used car. Also test drive any used car as well. If the shop is reluctant in letting you do any of these things something maybe wrong. Yes, I know the sagely advice you got from another poster was to ignore owner's because being in the "car business" is the end all to end all but I'll direct you to more of those pesky Elantra owners if you want to follow the links. Good Luck.
7. Where I live, it is among the high fuel consumption models Also among those high maintenance models Sadly, poor re-sale value due to the above