11th November 2009, 09:03
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| BHPian | Joined the Elite Elantra Crdi Club...as of Sep-09!! Hello dear BHPians, After a lot of soul searching and digging deep into my (and my better-half) pockets i finally ended up buying a 2004 Elantra CRDI (TN Registration) two months before. Now, am sorry that i could not share this happy news with you all on-time. Without this forum i won't even have known that a Hyundai 'Elantra' existed  I were initially thinking of a hatch but then turned over to Baleno after reading the rave reviews about the vehicle. Unfortunately i could not find a decent one within my budget (i were intent on Vxi as a Lxi i tested didn't offer me good seating position and i thought driver seat adjustments in VXi would help me there). While i were desperately searching for a nice Baleno i started reading about Elantra CRDI. Though my heart wished that i could own one i knew it would be out of my budget anyway so harbored no real hope on that. And all this changed when i came across an ad for Elantra Crdi 2004 available in Chennai. In a moment of madness i called up the person who has put that ad and enquired about the vehicle. It was decided that i would meet him and test drive his vehicle that very weekend in Chennai. When i drove the car for the first time i were very impressed. The vehicle was in good condition, well-maintained and all stock except the braking which was a bit wobby. I have taken a print out of the PDI check-list and i started checking things based on that. There were a few things not proper as compared to PDI. 1) The service records were not available for the last one year though the ODO reading on the last service record available and the latest ODO reading didn't raise any suspicion. 2) The vehicle had all BS tyres but different models though (Turanza, Potenza GSIII). They had another 7-8k of life left in them. 3) The keyless remote was broken. In spite of these shortcomings i felt at home with the beast and i know the search for my first car ends there. I got a very good deal though it was still a stretch for my pocket. Upon taking the ownership i had to return back to Bangalore and left the vehicle under the care of my BIL for time being. I have decided to get the vehicle serviced with Ignite Raghav and so gave him a call and arranged for the service. As part of the service we did a engine flush and replaced the oil with OWS synthetic. Front brake pads also got replaced and other regular checkups and changes were done. No need to mention that his work was exemplary. My BIL was really impressed with the quality of work and started recommending Raghav to his friends and colleagues and also gave his car for a long overdue 'proper' service. After a couple of weeks i were on another trip to Chennai and this time i drove back to Bangalore in the beast. On the drive I observed that the vehicle steering becomes very light and shaky when i hit speeds above 140/145 kmph. I think it is because of the tyres. Probably when i get the dough for Michelin PPS2 205/55 or XM+ this problem would also disappear. So right now the vehicle is with me in Bangalore. So far i have done couple more round-trip to Chennai and a day-trip to Mysore with my family. On all these long trips the vehicle is fully loaded with 5 people and almost a full boot. I haven't properly calculated the FE but it comes to about 15 in high-way and 12 in city driving so far. I am not planning to 'pete' it for time being. Probably i will check on that along with the tyre upgrade when it is time. I still havent got a single decent day-time shot of the car. Will take some snaps probably from my office parking and upload soon. My heartfelt thanks to this forum once again for helping me find this gem of a car. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PS-1: You can spot my car in and around Jeevan Bhima Nagar, Bagmane Tech Park. I have the team-bhp stickers on him already. PS-2: After i got the vehicle i spoke to a friend of mine in Ranipet. He said his father is planning to sell his 2004 Baleno VXi which has done 40k KMS and is in a very good condition.  It was a bit too late for me then!! If any of you are interested please PM me. |
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11th November 2009, 10:34
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: thane
Posts: 741
Thanked: 5 Times
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11th November 2009, 11:08
| #3 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 692
Thanked: 794 Times
| Congrats on your purchase dude!!!!  WhaT is the price thart you paid for it? How many kms has it been run? Regarding the steering wobble, it might be due to misalingment. Get the tyre alingment done & it should be fine. My friend's elantra had a wobble during braking. He got his brake liners changed & the problem disappeared. Get that checked too !!!!Hoping to see some pics !!! |
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11th November 2009, 11:29
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| Senior - BHPian | |
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11th November 2009, 12:03
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| BHPian | Thanks for your wishes. The vehicle had clocked 68K KMS when i bought it. It is a 2004 CRDI Exotic Silver color. The initial owner is a export company chairperson and it was bought by a doctor (aspiring). He was setting up a clinic on his own and needed some dough and so he decided to sell this car. Regarding price...it came to about 4lk including service, Garware SunFilms and OWS. I saw many Elantra CRDI which has clocked 100k or more in dealerships and the price they were quoting was about 4.5 to 4.75lk. Quote:
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11th November 2009, 12:54
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| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mumbai
Posts: 692
Thanked: 794 Times
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Distress sales give advantage to the buyer !!! | |
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11th November 2009, 13:01
| #7 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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