My girlfriend is currently at the point where she either needs to plunk down around $1300 for her 50k tune up on her 2004 Hyundai Elantra or she wants to use that $1300 to put down on a new car along with a trade in. We’ve been discussing the different options that would work for a new car and she’s expressed serious interest in buying a hybrid, such as a Prius.
My worry is that they haven’t been on the market that long, and I have this nugget that was drilled into my head by my dad that you never buy a car during it’s first few model years so that they can work the “bugs” out first.
Is hybrid tech been around long enough that we know that the car isn’t going to die a swift death after 4 or 5 years? Is it reliable enough that with proper upkeep that it can be kept running well during the lifespan of the car loan (so between 4 and 6 years)? My main concerns are that the battery will nuke off like most rechargables and render the car a very goofy gas only without a really expensive battery swap and that nobody besides the dealer will be able to work on the car, making repairs and upkeep more expensive than it might be on a traditional gas only car. Are my fears unfounded or are there still some weak spots in the hybrid idea?
Hybrids are fine, keeping in mind the cautions about the batteries if she’s going to buy new. On the other hand, if her dissatisfaction with the Hyundai is only due to cosmetic reasons, then why get rid of it? After all, $1300 sounds like a hell of a lot more than a tune up. She shouldn’t have to do any more than what the owners manual says, regardless of the BS that the dealer’s service representative is feeding her.
On the other hand, 2004 is right about the time Hyundai became good quality-wise. So will it immediately fail, or does it have near-Toyota reliability? Might look a little bit further into that. I think it was the '03 model year and beyond where the quality bypassed Chrysler and started becoming world class.
That’s something I didn’t mention because I was keeing it GQ and trying not to go IMHO, the car has to get all the work because that’s what keeps the magical 100k bumper to bumper warrenty valid on the car. Yes, 100k bumper to bumper, it cost a bit extra when she bought it but the dealer pretty much guaranteed the car for ever. I think she’s nuts to get rid of it, but she wants a new car.
I believe that she doesn’t have to get that work done at the dealer to keep her warranty. All she has to do is demonstrate (by receipts) that the work was done. She can do all that at an independent mechanic for much less and still keep her warranty.
Those old enough to remember black and white television sets will recall that it was normal for them to go arse-up on occasion and you had to get a serviceman out to fix it. When colour came in, a lot of folks thought it was “one more thing to go wrong” or “new, untried tech”. And they were more reliable!
Not saying this will necessarily translate to hybrid cars, but hey, if you’ve got the warranty as mentioned above, it looks pretty safe.