Santa Fe vs. Corolla

Hi ya’ll,

Need some insight into which of our two vehicles to sell (picked up a mini-van b/c the family is growing!). We own a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe, four-cylinder, Front WD, with 95,000 miles. This was the family car until the mini-van. We also own a 2001 Toyota Corolla CE with 165,000 miles. Question is which to keep and which to sell. Both have been good vehicles and both are paid off.

Any thoughts on which one will last longer?

Thanks!

Hugh

I’d sell the Sante Fe before the Corolla. Word on the street is that the Toyota is the more reliable as the car starts to get long in the tooth. After 100K is where expensive repairs start to occur. Esp if you have a lot of modern convenience type options. Just my opinion is all.

What is the Corolla used for? Would the poor gas mileage of the Santa Fe be an issue if you used it instead of the Corolla? Would the person driving the Corolla be happy with the Santa Fe?

Problem is, you are not going to get much money for either car. The Corolla, if well maintained could still last, but still less life left in it than the Hyundai. Does the Hyundai have a timing belt?

We had a similar dilemma and ended keeping the extra car around. Since then we have put 50K miles on it just driving around town. It is also good to know that if any of the cars need repairs, it can wait until I have the time (rather than taking it to the mechanic and paying top dollar).

Put them both on Craig’s list. Keep the one that doesn’t sell first.

I’d prefer to keep the Toyota, mainly because it was a better seller, and parts will be easy to find as it continues to age. I’ve saved a lot of money being able to find plenty of aftermarket and salvage yard parts for my '92 Celica, 370K on it. Very rarely have I had to wait for parts on back order, since the Corolla of that era used the same drivetrain.

I would keep the Corolla. It has a very long life expectancy and is cheap to maintain. It also uses less gas. My neighbor across the street drives a Cadillac, but his wife still has her faithful 1992 Corolla! She can have a new car any time she wants.

Thank you all for your input! Sounds like the Corolla is winning the race to stay.

@Galant, the Santa Fe did have the timing belt replaced at 64,000 miles. Driver would be happy with either car b/c it is mainly used to drive to work and back. Gas mileage is definitely preferred on the Corolla, but if it is going to fall apart much sooner than the Santa Fe, we’d keep the Santa Fe.

Again, thanks everybody for giving us some insight!

I would be tempted to turn both of them into a newer Corolla…but, getting something that was as well maintained as yours may be wishful thinking too. Rust would be my concern with a 2001 Corolla and the only reason I would lean toward a newer car. So, one speck of buble rust…go with the Santa Fe. If the body is rock solid, you have a car tha can go 100k more miles and parts are plentiful. Had three of them…they last but bodies need attention. They are NOT problem free but will not fall apart all at once…like cars with poorer reps.