Primeradriver

My 626 2.0 petrol does 420-440 miles per tank. If I were to get the diesel 626 a fig of 600 miles is achievable. Buying second hand I think you dont need to drive more than 12-15K to justify diesel. Admittedly Id be scared of a big bill from a newer model, but I reckon elantra´s have old style engines, so should be more robust!

I have run one of these, the basic TDSi model, 52 reg since Sept 2003. I've covered 100,000 miles in it. Agricultural it is, but robust too. Front tyres have given me about 35-40,000 miles, excluding punctures. Fuel is around 45 miles per gallon on a run 40 around town. Parts are quite readily available from a decent motor factor, eg discs, pads (rear pads and discs for both sides 55 quid), shocks, oil air and fuel filters and no more expensive than any other brand I've owned. OEM parts can be dear-ish eg rear caliper 175 quid, front grill 65, oil filter 15.

Had to get a rear caliper overhauled at 7 years old owing to be laid up for a year, cost 70, handbrake cable (30 for both sides), and a windscreen for 165 fitted.

One near disaster is when the cam belt tensioner failed. Fortunately the design of the housing kept the outer race in place holding sufficient tension on the belt to avoid damage and keep the car running. Fitting a new belt and water pump cost 350 with a little haggling.

I will keep it until it dies, or i do. Don't have to worry about envy vandalism and not a patch of rust. Considerably less trouble than the Fiats we have, and still do, own.

Common rail diesel system is by Bosch, speak to an agent and parts are available, though I haven't heard much in the way of engine snags. The same unit is used in the Mk1 Santa Fe, Tuscon, Trajet, et al.

@davmal:

At what age/mileage did the cam belt tensioner fail? I understand that the recommended cam belt replacement interval is 7 years / 70,000 miles. Does it really last that long, or is a more frequent change advisable?

Cambelt tension idler went at about 80,000 miles. The belt was changed at 70,000 as it should have been, in hindsight having the whole lot done would have been more sensible. When it was replaced for the second time I had the water pump done as well as both idlers. I see no reason to change the belt early, these cars came with a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty, so if the belts were suspect, I would have expected Hyundai to advise a shorter interval to mitigate any early failures and hence warranty claims.

The trade in value is inconsequential, unless you are a trader or trading one in, however, the price does seem a little high for the mileage.

From the age and mileage, I wonder if it could have been a commuter car, running up and down to London, perhaps, it's about the right mileage area.

Something I should clarify about the tyre issue, I never buy "premium" tyres, it came with Hankooks and has Khumo on now, so the tyre life is not "quality" related, and my car has been on supermarket fuel from day one, though I add Miller's now. Why? Because I can.

To be fair I think any car has the ability to bite its owner at five years old, and the clutch packing up is not uncommon across a wide range of newer cars it would seem and is to some extent affected by driving style (and the Getz, which was based quite heavily on the Accent, did have an issue with clutches around 2002-3).

The ECU is a more serious fault but the £600 bill seems reasonable to me -- I've heard of far higher bills for this part.

With a car that is out of warranty it's always a lottery. This is why the newer diesels are such a problem -- it's not so much that they are unreliable, it's their ability to empty your bank balance when they do go wrong that puts me off.

£500 a year on maintenance is to be expected -- any less is a bonus, any more can be deeply annoying. The most expensive issue I had on a used Accent in 50K miles as a second vehicle was a stuffed wiper mechanism -- £90 but a major hassle as it died on the motorway in the pouring rain, 100 miles from home.

I think I said inconsequential, not irrelevant, though the relevance is also in doubt.

You intimated that the dealer is intractable on the price, so what he paid is inconsequential if he won't budge; and as you are not trading the car in, the price is inconsequential again. Either you pay his price or not, you have to decide if it is worth it.

Who decides what is a reasonable profit for a dealer? What work had to be done to the car before selling?

See I actually think the reverse, as I favour buying Korean for the seond car, and I will happily buy at five years old when one comes along cheaply.

Because these cars aren't that respected in some quarters the used values can be quite volatile. They are starting to become more stable though, but you can still get things like Daewoo Lacettis for £1500 at 5 years old on occasion. At this price they are disposable cars, but in my experience no less likely to reach a good age than anything else if looked after.

One of the big selling points for me is that they are generally quite mechanically simple. This is a problem when new because they lack showroom appeal, but as a cheap used car this is exactly what you want -- if the clutch does go you're usually only talking £200 to put a new one in.

Like any car realise that a 5yo Getz or Elantra is a cheap car. Don't go to main dealers for servicing. Your local backstreet is quite capable of fettling these utterly conventional vehicles.

As a reference, Our 12 year old (at the time) Daewoo developed a nasty oil leak, needed the cambelt doing and had a wishbone on its way out as well. Total cost to put right? £230. You try getting that work done on a modern Mondeo diesel at a main dealer!!