I’m currently looking for my first car, and I happened to stumble upon a fully loaded 2012 Hyundai Azera with 78k on it for about 11.5k . I took it for a test drive and loved everything about it. However, I’m worried about the reliability of it, and there’s not too much online about the azera. Any comments or tips?
The most important thing with this, or any, used car, is maintenance records. Are any available? If this is from a dealer, it’s unlikely records are available.
Secondly, have it inspected by a third party (not the dealer or seller’s brother in law) for condition and any mechanical issues.
Beyond that… I’d check websites for Consumer Reports, Edmunds, and others for reviews.
If you still feel good about the car after all that, then buy it. Good luck.
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My brother owns one, and it has been extremely reliable. When it was brand-new, it did need to have a defective temperature sensor replaced, but after that repair, it has been rock-solid.
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Maintenance records and a through inspection are musts for any car but with an Azera, remember that this car never sold in large numbers like the Sonata and hasn’t been sold in the US for a couple of years.
On the negative side, potentially this could be a future problem for parts specific to the car, in availability and cost.
On the positive side, when bought new it had that 5 year Hyundai warranty, shared many mechanical parts with other Hyundai’s, it’s a smooth, comfortable ride with more than adequate power and trades at a significant discount to similar cars.
The besides normal maintenance only thing I had to do is replace the batteries in the key fob and remember when parking, that the front is very low and you can easily tear off the cheap black plastic under panel behind the front bumper on a high curb.
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Retail price (what a dealer would ask for, but may or may not get) of that car is closer to $10,250. Trade in value is around $7,750. So a realistic selling price would be around $9500ish IMHO. If you live in an area with a higher cost of living (LA,NYC,etc.) then it would be a bit more. I
The Azera is to the Sonata what the Avalon is to the Camry. It’s a little bigger, and a little nicer overall, but they share the same underpinnings The Azera never sold really well, mainly because it sandwiched in between the Sonata, which was a huge hit at the time, and the Genesis sedan which was Hyundai’s first real attempt to move into the luxury arena. The Azera was stuck in an awkward marketing position. I’ve always heard and read that it was a very decent car, just not a popular one.
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Thanks! We were provided the carfax on it, and it looks like it has been pretty well kept up. It’s been maintained regularly- about 9 inspections.
… especially since Hyundai chose to never advertise this model.
Think about it… Did you ever see a TV or print ad for one?
I never did, nor did my brother, and he “discovered” it when he was actually looking for a Sonata.
I am planning to try and get the price down a tad. And it was a great ride. It really stuck out to me as a more unique car to have.
Carfax is a starting point, but it is not guaranteed to have accurate information. You’re better off with an inspection done by YOUR mechanic. Also I would trust records from the current owner (if available) over records from Carfax anyday
Carfax even puts on their website that the report can not be accepted as fully factual . They only have what is reported to them and sometimes they get incorrect info. It should be used as a guide not the sole part of a decision.
Alright thanks. I’ll definitely be sure to get it inspected. It was traded into a ford dealership nearby, and they said they only had to do ~$300 worth of work on it, but they did seem to lie about the former owner, since one guy said it was someone who worked there and another said it was an old lady.
Does not mean the one person ( sales person ) was lying . That may be what they were told by the used car manager . All that really matters is the vehicle condition as it is a 7 year old used vehicle.
Inspections in a free CarFax report mean quite nothing: you gonna get one record over the annual safety inspection (plus 1 on the initial delivery), so 7-years old car will get 8 already just for that.
You might be looking to see the actual oil change records and repair records there, but if these are missing, it still means precious nothing, as the shop is not obliged to report it to a CarFax, so if you have it - good for you, if you don’t it is not a disqualifying factor.
The 14-years old Prius I bought for my kid has 30+ records on free CarFax maintenance records and I was able to get almost every single oil change and every part ever replaced there (including 2 water pumps replaced in a hybrid system under recalls), but the only reason why I’m lucky to get all this info is that the prior owner always maintained the car on the same dealer and that dealer regularly dumps info to CarFax.
My another used car had almost no records in free CarFax and still it was purchased in a very good mechanical shape.
Now, I’m dumping a ton of improvements on both these cars on my own, and guess if CarFax will ever report these?
Get YOUR mechanic to perform a paid full pre-purchase inspection and you get your chances of not buying a lemon much better than relying on CarFax.