How is the long term reliability on Hyundai’s now, specifically the Elentra Touring. I currently have a 1992 Cutlass Supreme and I wish to keep the Touring for 20 years or 200,000 miles. I know the initial quality of Hyundai has improved greatly and I am seeing lots of 8-10 year old Hyundais still on the road so it makes me think that they are building cars to last a long time but I’m still not 100% sure on it.
Probably one of the best car values today. I’d suggest getting a 1 - 2 year-old one for 20% - 30% under MSRP. 10 year 100,000 warranty is transferable.
Twotone
Finding a used one is really hard in the area I am in. On autotrader there is only 1 within 250 miles of me. Its first year was 2009 also.
Anyways I’m still more interested in its long term reliability than finding a used one.
Reliability is better than most comparable cars. Expect it to be on par with a Civic concerning repair/maintenance costs.
Son and daughter in law have Hyundai Elantra…probably before their improvement in initial quality. Yet, they have had few problems in over 150K miles. A recall for a suspension rust problem more prevalent in rust belt. No mechanical issues other than they air cond. and cooling system leaks. They still drive it and will until it drops…that’s them. Seemed to be a good value for them, especially with “don’t care if it’s dinged” in Boston traffic.
The Elantra Touring is on my short list of cars to replace my aging Subaru Legacy station wagon. I’m also anxious to see the 2011 Ford Focus later this year.
Consumer Reports magazine rates the Elantra line very highly, and reliability of late model Elantras has been better than average.
A very fussy engineer friend of mine drives a Hyundai Elantra as his second car. He says it is the most reliable car he has ever had. Most of his cars have been big Fords (Crown Vic, Grand Marquis) and a Taurus.
Hyundai is here to stay and has taken lessons from Japanese manufaturers as to what it takes to keep customers.
Hyundai also has a very strong warranty. That tells you something.
My daughter has an Elantra that is 6 or 7 years old now and doesn’t seem to have too many problems. It needed a new O2 sensor a month or so ago, and it needed clutch master and slave cylinders about a year ago, but other than that it’s been reliable ever since it was new.
I would not worry about their long term reliability.
Generally, the newer Hyundais are pretty good for reliability. Just don’t expect it to last 20 years. You might get that much out of it, but the average car lasts around 14 years. Despite their ads, Toyotas only last about a year longer than average (on average, of course). Their 80% still on the road ad is the result of sales heavily weighted towards the last few model years, not some extraordinarily long-lasting cars (they are good, just not as far ahead of everyone else as they want to make you think).
Keep in mind also that Hyundai resale values are lousy, so be certain that you like the car first, or you’ll get soaked on depreciation. If you keep cars over 10 years, that doesn’t really matter much after that age (they all depreciate to close to $0 worth).
Remember that the warranty is NOT transferable, unlike what twotone says. If you buy a used Hyundai, you will NOT get the 10 year powertrain coverage - you will get a 5 year coverage, but NOT the 10yr/100k (unless you buy from an immediate family member).
Also, if it is at all important to you, most Hyundais are imported, and among major mainstream brands, only VW uses less American labor (white collar and blue collar combined)
The 10 year/ 100k powertrain warranty is NOT transferable, except to immediate family members.
And it is a powertrain-only coverage, and not even on all parts of the powertrain. Most parts get the 5yr/60k, but some get as little as 1 year coverage (sorry, but a clutch should last more than 1 year).
“Hyundai is here to stay and has taken lessons from Japanese manufacturers as to what it takes to keep customers.”
Ford and GM did, too. That effort seems to have helped them, too.
Its great to hear everyone saying this is a good buy. Im not worried about where it is built. If it is built with quality I dont care where it is from.
The Focus is supposed to be smaller than the Touring and I don’t trust Ford reliability with all the recalls and problems happening with Fords.
I feel a good warranty is as much a sales consideration as much as anything. The average hold time of a car in the hands of the original owner is usually shorter than the better warranty and the shorter comes into play. Different capacities of cars from one country to another I’ve found has more to do with it’s warranty than any change mechanical.
I remember when Chrysler’s rep for longevity in their power train was killing their sales, so they upped their warranty to 100k. They weren’t making better engines. They just couldn’t move them off the lot without it.
I’d rather buy a new car with a good reputation than a long warranty. Maybe Hyundai has both…that would be a good start.
All the recalls happening with Fords?
Apart from the cruise control switch problems (almost all of those vehicles were built 10 years ago or more), what recalls have they had that make them more worrisome than Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, etc?
You specifically mention the Focus - The 2009 and 2010 have not been recalled at all, and the 2002-2008 models have only had 2 recalls total for all model years, apart from defective aftermarket replacement parts (non-OEM) that affected almost every brand out there. You can’t blame Ford/Toyota/Honda/GM when K2 motor makes check knockoff replacement parts that don’t meet federal specifications (you couldn’t ever buy those parts at the dealerships, even).
For the two recalls that were Ford’s fault for the 2002-2010 model years combined, one affected just 45 vehicles in 2007 and the other affected 589,932 2000-2005 Focuses.
Did you know that the 2006 Honda Civic alone had 7 recalls that were from Honda’s own mistakes, affecting 1,626,373 vehicles (obviously many vehicles were affected several times).
I see no reason to fear Fords - their reliability by all measures has turned very good, and there aren’t really many problems or recalls going on right now.
Now from their last recall, if you can find any of those dealers that billed Ford for repairs and either didn’t do them at all or did them improperly, well I’d avoid THOSE stealerships like the plague.
I think that person was projecting his fears of Toyota onto Ford. Because we all know Toyota has no problems… 
Thanks for replying for me. You really know how to read peoples mind. Keep it up. You are a true genius.
In 2005 and 2009 Ford recalled 4.5 million vehicles. Also the Fusion Hybrid has braking issues that hasn’t received a recall yet. Ford is flying under the radar for this one. Let’s not forget the horrible transmission problems with Fords. Just because a recall is not issued does not mean there is not a persistant problem with the car. Look at the Tundra with the frame rust. That took a long time before they issued a recall.
When I said Focus I meant Fiesta. The Fiesta is smaller than the Touring.
If I trusted Hyundai, why would I ask about its reliability and quality?
One more endorsement… I own a 2002 Elantra with 135000 nearly care free miles and it’s still going strong. I replaced the thermostat at 92000 miles and the clutch at 101000, other than that it has been a trusty steed and is my daily driver for 50 mile commute. Highly recommended.
Those 4.5 million vehicles were built mostly 10-20 years ago, and were recalled for a part that was not used in the Focus. They were recalled simply to end Ford’s cruise control switch debacle - NHTSA confirmed that the necessary conditions for them to be safety issues were not there in those last 4.5 million vehicles, but the cost of the repair was VERY low, so Ford decided to just end the whole problem by recalling every vehicle that ever used the switch.
As for the Fusion hybrid’s braking system, NHTSA has confirmed that at no point is braking lost. Therefore they did not deem a recall was necessary. Ford HAS told owners that they can come in for a free “fix” to improve the FEEL of the braking system.
And as for the “horrible transmission problems”, you’re living in the past. Name a Ford with horrid transmission problems? The Taurus? Those problems were fixed in 1995!
In the past 15 years, Honda has had FAR more transmission problems than Ford.
Look at the Explorer as recent as 2005. Like Ive said already, just because there is not a recall does not mean there aren’t any problems with a car.
This Explorer?
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/reliability.aspx?year=2005&make=Ford&model=Explorer
Looks like a pretty darn good reliability record to me, for 2004+ models.
You’re right - just because there are no recalls doesn’t mean that there aren’t any problems. But where is the evidence that these were/are lousy vehicles? Consumer Reports has 46 of 51 Ford models being average or better for reliability (anything above average is really in a statistical dead heat). That means there are 5 models to avoid - hardly a serious problem (Toyota has models below average, too).