ok...im gonna jump in here because i did own a hyundai elantra for 3 years
for the first year and a half, i delivered pizza in it. 100% city driving. hardest driving you can have on a car. in/around may 05, i got an office job. from nov 03-may 05, i put 55k miles on it. i changed the oil regularly (3500 miles), and kept up on any routine maintenence...i think i changed the plugs at 60k, and did the timing belt...still looked fine, but was reccomended. thats it.
in the 3 years i had the car, i had ONE single problem that i did not directly cause...it turned out to be a clutch interlock switch, wouldnt allow the car to start...i took it in, got a rental, it was fixed in 2 hours
now i had problems that i actually did cause. i beat the shit out of the car. ill be honest. i would regularly take it to redline, power shift, roast the tires...i went through 3 clutches...i knew it would happen...cant blame the manufacturer for my driving. the transmission held strong for 3 years of abuse. i never had any odd transmission sounds, grinding of gears, nothing
in july 06, a buddy of mine and me were installing an adjustable cam sprocket. we jumped a few teeth on the belt, in turn bending some valves. my fault completely
now as for repairs...i would much rather have something happen on that car, then my current 95 integra gsr. when i blew the engine in my elantra, i got an engine with 26k miles for 370$ shipped to LKQ in blacklick. i had it installed for 300$ by Rutan TA. know how much it would cost me to get a similar mileage engine for the integra (if you could find one w/ 26k miles)? close to 4000-5000. a new distributor (as quoted from a buddy of mine at an acura dealership in indiana) "Well, it runs $383.87 retail. I can swing $325.55. that's the whole distributor base without ignitor and coil or cap and rotor" figure a few more dollars in for the rest of the parts
the cars are built well. the azera has won many jd power awards, as has the sonata, tuscon, and im pretty sure the xd2 (04-06 elantras) have as well. hyundai has come along way from the old excels and s-coupes...i would not hesitate one second to buy another one. these cars are now competing with honda/toyota, and are doing quite well...thats how far they have come along
actually, a lot of the parts are interchangeable, as they are produced by the same companies. i know for a fact that my throttle body, and oil pan are both stamped KIA and HYUNDAI. i have also seen Hyundai stamped on my dads sorrento. the new kia spectra is built on the same platform as the hyundai elantras, and actually share the same beta2 engines...they swap aftermarket parts all day long
i think the reason a lot of people here are trashing them is because this is a race oriented board...these are not race cars...these are family sedans, good on gas mileage and will haul people around comfortably. these arent made to go fast by any means. i could understand if you went to get the rental and they said 'heres the new race inspired kia optima...bye', but they didnt. im sure you would have this same thread had they given you a stock chevy cobalt or even an aveo