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Tell me about the....Hyundai Santa Fe


TimC
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I know one of you had to own this abortion of a vehicle at one time. ]It's a 2004 base Hyundai Santa Fe with 79,000 miles on it and in good shape. I've been looking for a car for my neice since she had a baby and her Saturn is dying and a total POS. I want something fairly safe, reliable, with some room and a 4-door, of course. I've had some sticker shock at the used car market. People and dealerships are insane.

 

I have a '94 Corvette with 120,000 miles that I've owned for over 10 years but have driven 100 miles in the past 3 years since getting the C5. Runs great, great interior, hood needs to be painted (clearcoat is peeling). It's pretty expensive to paint one and I doubt I could justify the cost to paint it versus how much I'd drive it. I was going to give it to her to trade-in on something when she got her tax refund and take the raping on it. I didn't want to private sell it and have every bubba in my county come by to take a look and have to deal with that.

 

Soooo, I'm playing poker with my regular group Saturday night and the guy that hosts it just got a new Honda Odyssey (yes, he is as homotastic as Irish Doggy :wacko:) and they have the '04 Hyundai Santa Fe. He has been wanting a Corvette forever and doesn't mind painting it and having fun with it....way more than I ever will. We've been friends for 20 years and I trust him when he says the car is still in really good shape. He was hanging onto it as a spare car. He already has a truck and a Harley so it'd sit there forever like my Corvette probably.

 

Soooo, we're thinking about trading even up. I looked at trade-in value for KBB on mine and it says around $5,500. But my Corvette will probably never dip too far down in the dumps. I looked at the '04 Hyundai Santa Fe and it looks to be about the same on trade-in...give or take. Now, I'm guessing this sucker will drop like a rock. Now, remember the Vette needs paint and the Santa Fe is in good condition.

 

We both avoid the raping of trading in and the idjuts and tire-kickers of a private sell.

 

Soooo, my questions are....

 

1) Would you trust a loved on in a '04 Hyundai Santa Fe? I don't know nothing about it...except it's a Korean we should've killed in the 1950's.

 

2) Would you make the trade for a decent '04 Santa Fe with 79,000 miles versus a '94 Corvette with 120,000 that needs paint?

 

Thanks for any input. I'm in no rush to get her a car or deal with this since her Saturn is still chugging along...barely.

 

ETA: He is willing to buy the Corvette without the trade and I can keep looking at used cars for her.

Edited by TimC
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IIRC you made some fun mods to that C4. I understand though about having it just take up space in the garage. One of my Co-workers has a Santa Fe which I've been in but she's only managed to take two steps out the front door of her trailer and uses the thing to collect garbage in. From what I can tell, it is an underpowered, rear wheel drive SUV that has decent safety ratings. The only thing I don't know is the reliability of the vehicles, especially as the mileage creeps up. Probably not a bad deal for you to make if you really want to get something for the niece though.

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Its obvious that your friend cares for others so much that he is willing to trade a decent auto for your fire trap American hunk of scrap iron. Let him get it off the road before someone gets hurt.

 

Consumer Reports says the 04 is good overall for reliability. I drove one that was a rental and thought it was OK - nothing special, but it was a more recent model. They had a redesign in 2007.

 

For convenience and trust, it sounds like a good deal. However, the one pitfall is if either car has some currently unknown major work that needs to be done, it can strain the friendship. I've seen it happen. So, I'd have a talk about buying "as is" with no hard feelings or agree to some kind of compensation if something major ($500, $1000, etc.) shows up in 3/6 months. Something that's not routine maintenance...

 

I'd be inclined to make the deal, unless of course you can get a used Honda Odyssey.

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IIRC you made some fun mods to that C4. I understand though about having it just take up space in the garage. One of my Co-workers has a Santa Fe which I've been in but she's only managed to take two steps out the front door of her trailer and uses the thing to collect garbage in. From what I can tell, it is an underpowered, rear wheel drive SUV that has decent safety ratings. The only thing I don't know is the reliability of the vehicles, especially as the mileage creeps up. Probably not a bad deal for you to make if you really want to get something for the niece though.

 

They're building 'em in GA now. I'd definitely buy the older version, probably built better (that and you don't have to take it to the detailer to get the smell of redneck out of it.)

 

Used cars are expensive right now because there are not enough of them out there. The dealership from which I bought my Tundra, about 8 months ago, sent me an email asking if I wanted to sell it back to them at the price I bought it for, or if I had another used car that I would consider selling to them because their used inventory is so low.

 

I would never trade a vette, any year or condition, for a Korean made POS for my niece.

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Kid-He loves the mods. From what I've seen, mods scare alot of people away. I told him that the Vette may louder than his Harley. :wacko: As for power on the Sante Fe, she doesn't need any power. This is the same niece that totalled my beloved Firebird years ago when she borrowed it for a few days. .

 

Doggy-Yeah, we talked at the poker game about the fact that as far as we knew...there was nothing major wrong with it and wouldn't hold each other responsible. We're gamblers and it's a gamble with any used car, of course. But more importantly, why do you hate America? :tup:

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Or in Alabama. Kias are in Georgia.

 

All Asians look and sound the same.

 

ETA: I thought the Santa Fe was a Kia, my bad.

Edited by SEC=UGA
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If you are intent on getting rid of the Vette for your niece, sell it to the dude then take your niece out with and car shop. Not sure what the states bordering Virginia are concerning used car prices, but its been my experience (here in Cali anyways) that buying out of state (depending on the state tax and DMV fee for re-registering in VA) is sometimes the best option.

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I am kind of in the same boat. My 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage is on its last legs and needs about $900.00 in work to keep running. I don't want a car payment but $900.00 into a car worth $1,200 probably isn't a sound money move.

 

I've been looking at used cars for $8,000.00 and under. I've narrowed it down to a 2004 Honda Civic with 70,000 miles and a 2005 PT Cruiser with 46,000. I'm looking for reliability and economy. Despite the extra 24,000 miles, I am pretty much sold on the Civic (with a brand new timing belt). While the PT Cruiser has slightly better side impact rating for front seat passengers (3 vs. 4 stars) the rest of the safety ratings are the same for both vehicles - 4 stars. Just about everyone I know favors the Civic so if anyone around here knows any differently, stop me before it's too late.

 

I'm guessing the Santa Fe has 21,000 miles left at the very best. If she needs help, the gift of reliable transportation is hard to top. I'd agree with taz, sell the vette and get something else.

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I have a 2004 Santa Fe with 80K on it (wife's car before you guys get excited). We bought it new, so here is the scoop.

 

Very reliable comfortable, and decent to drive. About as good as your going to get for the money in my opinion. It is not rear wheel as someone said, that is the Kia. Its fugly but a serviceable car for every day driving, and has been very reliable. At 79K, that one should have had the timing belt replaced by now. If not it will need one right away and it ain't cheap. It's a very long belt and that engine will get fubared if it breaks. My mechanic that works on my other jap cars loves my mazda and subaru, but hates that Hyundai, and says I must stick to the maintenance intervals specified in the manual (in his words "it is not built like my other cars"). I don't think it holds value like other imports, but I buy new and run into the ground so don't care.

 

Overall, we haven't had one single problem with it other than normal stuff, brakes, cooling service, and make sure he has kept up with tranny maintenance.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Made the trade today. Even up. I drove my first Hyundai Sante Fe....I gotta say that it's not a bad ride at all. Not bad at all. Felt very tight and drove pretty well. Pretty underpowered but a nice interior. My neice loved it. She is so excited to have a "new" reliable car. My poker friend loves the Vette and will take great care of it. Better care than I could give it since I'd driven it 100 miles in the past 4 years. I'm happy that she's happy.

 

However, I suddenly have a desire to change my name to "Charlie" and start burning things. Weird.

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around august we were talking about getting mrs a newer used suv. drove several in the class and surprisingly liked the santa fe. we decided to put a little $$ into her current car (03 A6 wagon with 150k on it) and don't regret it...... yet.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Update....my neice loves the Hyundai Santa Fe. Trade worked out great. My poker buddy I traded the ole Vette with got the car painted. He kept it black with a silver stripe down the middle. It looks pretty good.

 

He sent me some pics which I uploaded for your enjoyment.

 

Side view of new paint job.

 

Other side of paint job.

 

Ummm, what the what is that license plate?!!?? Holy mother of all that is unholy.

 

And yeah, he got a C4 tattoo under his Harley tat on his arm. (If you don't know Corvettes, the C4 is now the red-headed stepchild of Corvettes right now.)

 

He promised me he wouldn't ghetto it up. I gave him the same speech by Clint Eastwood that was read at the end of the "Gran Torino" to the Asian kid.

Edited by TimC
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