[haisaikat]

Stumbled across this thread today, excellent ownership review i must say. Having maintained a Hyundai Getz (my ownership review is posted here (12 years & 90,000 km with a Hyundai Getz Prime 1.3 GLX)) for 12 years i can agree with you on one thing, if maintained well Hyundai's do run very well especially their export/international models. But the authorised service centres literally thrive on people like me and you who are ready to spend anything to keep their beloved Hyundai running smoothly. I believe Hyundai overcharges for parts of their obsolete model cars so much so that it start costing you almost double the price of what it actually would have been. You being closer to Tamilnadu i do not know if you face delays in getting spares to your service centre but in Kolkata i do face this problem, at times it takes 10 days for only the parts to arrive.

[jonesanto]

Let the picture do the talking

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Stumbled across this thread today...

Hi, haisaikat, sorry for the late reply. Since December it was really crazy, work and travel kept me busy. Things are kind of settled now.
Let's not talk about waiting period for old discontinued models , 99% of the time, parts won't be in stock, if they don't have parts in stock, then it will go as back order, means they will make the part on order. It usually takes about two weeks, it is frustrating at times. But, if the part is available, it won't take more than two days to reach in Bangalore. Ridiculously priced parts are another issue, if you just go over this thread, many times I have commented on pricing of the parts. It is no wonder no one is trying to keep these vehicles.

I visit Kerala very often now. Because I spend a lot of time here, I'm in need of a new, reliable car in Kerala, but I won't purchase anything this year. Brother has three cars, one is always available whenever I require an immediate long trip. For short trips, Elantra is more than enough. Elantra's FC is up next year, that'll be a huge decision making time, I don't know what I am gonna do then, not taking any decisions now. So far Elantra is doing the duty with regular maintenance but when I need to travel anything more than 200 or 300Km plus, I always have that block in my head, it is an old car and anything can happen at any time, the chances of something going wrong is high. Being that said, the current condition car is in, I don't think I have to worry much for at least one year.

Lot of updates since the last post. Front suspension was ordered from Hyundai, though I told them to enquire about back suspension price, they did not get back to me. Suspension reached within a week and work was carried out in one day. Ride has become much smoother after suspension work. I had already decided, once the suspension work is done I am taking Elantra to Bangalore, I ended up doing two up and down Bangalore trips in December. All drives were absolutely phenomenal, any long trip I have in this car, it'll make me think, "Will it be possible to keep this car for little longer?" Even after all these years and kilometers, it is so planted on the road. Every time I floor the acceleration, it brings a smile on my face, such good diesel sprint it has got. Steering feedback is very good at high speeds. This car can give you an excellent driving experience on the highways. Not often looking at the speedo meter? You will be doing some dangerous speed in no time. Yeah, checked the mileage, car constantly giving 17-18km/l, mileage has increased a bit, I don't know what changed now. Well, I am not gonna complain about that

After suspension work, first trip to Bangalore, I visited my trusted mechanic, told him to carry out pending works I had on the car. New lower arms, stabilizer link, ball joints, front and back brake pads. Changed back suspension bushes. Mechanic said, back suspension can run for some time and if required, will do the work next year. Small items like, crank case PCV, bonnet stopper bush were also changed . After all this work, the drive has become even more smoother, brakes have good bite now, steering vibration is gone. I'm not gonna say it drives like a new car, it drives like a well maintained 5 year old car now. Upper radiator hose started developing small leak, changed that at Hyundai service station. Important components, always stick with original parts, no compromise on that.

With a completely refreshed driving experience, wherever I was going, I started taking Elantra till last week, then reality kicked in. I am pushing it too much, December alone, did 6K plus. Two Bangalore trips, Goa, Kanyakumari and then lot of long Karnataka drives. Car is back to "City MOD" now. I really enjoyed all the recent drives I had with Elantra.

ERG gaskets kept as back up, very difficult get these now, see the manufacture date?


Crank Case PCV


Bumper stopper bushes


New radiator hose


New bushes marked in red, old ones got melted due to heat


Finally...

[sagarpadaki]

I suggest you start looking for spares in Boodmo if your HASS is not able to procure them on time. You can get them replaced at your trusted mechanic.

There is a seller by name 'HY6m/SAAN' for Hyundai parts on boodmo. I have had good experience with them for sourcing parts for my i20.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I suggest you start looking for spares in Boodmo...

Thanks, sagarpadaki, I had somewhat mixed experience with Boodmo. Once I ordered handle assembly and they have sent one without the chrome, mine comes with chrome. Could send it back and got the right one. I ordered few mechinacal parts and had no problems with those. I will order parts from HY6m/SAAN next time. You have an i20, which is a very popular model and sold in large numbers, you will never face any issues with parts. Models like, Elantra, Getz, Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe, will have trouble sourcing parts.

Cheers

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Thanks, sagarpadaki, I had somewhat mixed experience with Boodmo. Once I ordered handle assembly and they have sent one without the chrome, mine comes with chrome. Could send it back and got the right one. I ordered few mechinacal parts and had no problems with those. I will order parts from HY6m/SAAN next time. You have an i20, which is a very popular model and sold in large numbers, you will never face any issues with parts. Models like, Elantra, Getz, Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe, will have trouble sourcing parts.

Cheers

Well , agree to some extent. However, recently i ordered some items small items which the HASS was not able to procure since they were out of stock . HY6m/SAAN was able to ship all those parts to me in 3 days. Hence my recommendation. Maybe you can give it a shot with some rare part and see if it works out for you.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Well , agree to some extent. However, recently i ordered some items small items which the HASS was not able to procure since they were out of stock .

You're correct, small items, especially trims are not available with Hyundai. Best to source it from boodmo. Your i20 is diesel, right? How many kilometers has it done? Have you faced any EGR related trouble in your car? Also ever faced brake lights staying on even after switching off the car? It happens due to stopper pedal bush being broken, happened to me twice and SA says it is very common in all Hyundai's.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

You're correct, small items, especially trims are not available with Hyundai. Best to source it from boodmo. Your i20 is diesel, right? How many kilometers has it done? Have you faced any EGR related trouble in your car? Also ever faced brake lights staying on even after switching off the car? It happens due to stopper pedal bush being broken, happened to me twice and SA says it is very common in all Hyundai's.

Yea, trims are the biggest problem to procure, especially the small bits and pieces


It's done around 1.3 lakh kms now.

Have not had any EGR issue. However i got the EGR cleaned at 1.2 lakh mark just to be on safer side.

No , i have not faced the bake pedal bush issue either. Touchwood.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Have not had any EGR issue. However i got the EGR cleaned at 1.2 lakh mark just to be on safer side.

Good to hear you have not faced any ERG related issues in your car.

Over the years of driving in Trivandrum - Palakkad NH, I have observed something. If you are in an Innova, not many others messes with you, this route is notorious for its rash driving and risky over takes, but if you are driving an Innova, you find comparatively lesser cars trying to squeeze in front of you. It could be something to do with the perception created by state owned Innovas. 90% of high officials travels in Innova and they literally fly through those NH, like an ambulance. Even ambulance give way to them I think, I have never seen a state licensed board Innova going sanely. (No offense to anyone) These are my just my observations. I am going slightly OT here, what I wanted to share is...

Our Innova finishes 5 years and the ODO.



As expected, absolutely no niggles or complaints



One cruiser meets another

[jonesanto]

Silence is broken...

Due to lockdown and stuff there was nothing to update, car was barely running at all. My Octavia is in Bangalore and I am stuck in Kerala since March. Luckily, my uncle has a spare key to my flat and I told him to use the car. He is doing that and I am relieved. You leave a Skoda untouched for 3 months, God knows what's awaiting for you when you return. While I was planning for my return to Bangalore, I slipped and fell at home, fractured my leg, so I shall be in complete lockdown till July 15th.

Due to this Elantra was just lying there, then my cousin visited me and I told him to start the car. He started the car and after 5 mins I told him just to move the car forward so that tires will move a little, it is rainy season and wheels can get locked up. I was standing in the varanda, he took forward and started taking reverse and just kept on going till the car banged on the wall and collapsed it. It took me a while to realize what had happened. Neighbors came out hearing the big thud noise. My cousin all panicked and not even able to start the car, I forgot I have a broken leg, limped and reached the car, he is not pressing the clutch and trying to start the car. Told him to get out, somehow got in the car, started it and parked it where it supposed to be.

First thing first: No one was hurt during this fiasco.


Apologized to the neighbor, the wall is ours, told them I will fix it as soon as possible. Told my cousin to relax and come inside. I did not want to look at the car, I knew it will be in terrible shape. Got inside the house. When your time is not good, all the unexpected can be expected. Once calmed down, according to my cousin, when he put reverse and released the clutch, the car took off way faster than he expected and he panicked. He started driving around 3 years back, so yeah. Leave it at that.

Will be fixing both wall and the car once I am back on my feet. The incident took place in the evening around 7:00ish, so morning wife comes and tells me, "Nothing much happed to the car." I was like, "How is that possible? The wall collapsed." Then she showed me the pics.

The Wall


The car



Only question remaining is... Is the car really that well built or the wall was that weak?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Only question remaining is... Is the car really that well built or the wall was that weak?

They don't build cars like this anymore.

I remember in my early days of Team Bhp when a BHPian went through a wall in a Lancer and came out with minor injuries (No airbags those days I believe). Car looked pretty ok too - considering it smashed a wall built for military grade security.

Unlike those days - pedestian safety demands flexible bumper plastics and every kilogram of material saved matters for better FE figures.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Is the car really that well built or the wall was that weak?

It is a combination of many things :

1. The wall was quite weak - there must have already been a wide enough vertical crack at the point where the wall collapsed

2. Old Hyundais are built quite strong; I remember even seeing a thermocole sub- bumper placed between the bumper and the frame in the case of an old i20.

3. The 3 inch extension on the rear bumper which was part of the old age design has also helped. You'd have seen your boot dented had this been a new City/ Jazz/ Amaze/ Dzire/ Ciaz/Nexon etc.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Only question remaining is... Is the car really that well built or the wall was that weak?

Many people who without even touching a Hyundai, keep claiming that they are flimsy, lightweight cars, amuse me quite a bit.

Your car is good evidence of its build quality. I've seen a coconut bouncing off of my car with nary a scratch, cars that rear end only to have their bumpers misaligned while mine stayed intact and an impact by a Swiggy delivery guy at about 30 kmph while mine was stationary, just pushed and shoved the bumper back into its housing clips and back to business.

Hopefully you recover soon and cross the half a million kilometers mark with the car, its a keeper, Elantras have always been, speaking as the owner of the storm-edge Elantra, 2017.

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

They don't build cars like this anymore.

Exactly my thoughts. One year back I saw an accident, a new Swift rear ended an old Lancer, from bumper design, an early 2000 model Lancer. Swift bumper came out, radiator broke and coolant was all over the road... And the Lancer, I was passing by and I could not even notice a scratch on Lancers rear bumper. We all know, those days are long gone where manufactures used to make quality products even in starting range models, talking about old Zen, 800 etc. I think till about 2008, most of the cars came with decent quality materials and from there on like you mentioned, pedestrian safety demanded flexible bumper plastics and better FE figures came into play and quality of the materials went haywire. Now, you gotta get into minimum 15 plus lakh league to experience fine quality materials.

The sad part is, like your Hyundai quality issue thread, quality of crucial mechanical components are getting compromised. This is not acceptable at all! It is not like we are paying peanuts for those cars, are we?

Originally Posted by vigsom

It is a combination of many things :

Thanks, Vigsom, you went for the scientific route and I liked it

I could not agree more on that old age bumper design. I thought, boot and rear lights are gone for sure, that design definitely saved me a lot of money. In modern cars, even a small hit can cause major dents and stuff, experiencing the same with our new cars. The wall must have been quite weak too.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Many people who without even touching a Hyundai, keep claiming that they are flimsy, lightweight cars, amuse me quite a bit.

Thanks for your wishes, dark.knight.

Though I can vouch for the quality of older Hyundai models, can't say the same about their newer models because I am yet to own a new generation Hyundai, but I hear lot of complaints. From Elantra and above cars could still be an exception because they are entry level luxury sedans. I am really not happy about their current service. I have been dealing with Hyundai service for 14 years now, I had nothing to complain till about 2014-15, it is after that I noticed serious dip in their service, and parts too. I have contacts in Malaysia and Korea, so I am able to source parts and I have good FNG in Kerala and in Bangalore, that is the only reason my car is still rock solid.

I am wishing you a fuss-free ownership with your Elantra. I traveled 200km in a 2018 Elantra, did not drive the car, but the interior is a nice place to be in, that is for sure

[JojyKerala]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Only question remaining is... Is the car really that well built or the wall was that weak?

No doubt about your car's sturdy build.

There's a similar black Elantra parked next to mine in our building. Looks great and drives well.

I believe Hyundai will contact you soon and chronicle your vehicle. Your car is living proof of Hyundai's long-term reliability.

From a personal perspective, your car is the most kilometers driven I have seen in a car after Regi Mathews' Qualis. Here is Regi's video in case you missed it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUeRpbhZ6XA

Wish you many more miles with the car!

[frozen.ash]

Hello, Jonesanto.

Really refreshing to see a Hyundai that has lasted so long. The odometer reading is testament to how well you have treated your Elantra, and how much care you have shown him throughout the years. Hope you will continue to have positive memories. I really hope that one fine day the folks from Hyundai would knock on your door and hand you the keys to a brand new Elantra as a gesture of appreciation (don't bet on it!)

Relieved to see that not much has happened to the rear bumper with the unfortunate hit. I am sure if you had to pick between the two for a damage at impact, you would have chosen the wall, instead of the car.

Thanks a lot for sharing your ownership experience with us.
(And hope your leg get fully healed and ready to go soon!)