Are any locals a Hyundai or Ford sales rep?

[Mike Simanyi]

Is anyone on this board a Hyundai or Ford sales rep? I'm interested in either an Elantra or a Focus, and I'll be buying before the (dealer's) close of business on the 31st.

Mike

[Tin Bui]

Just FYI Mike, the Elantra (auto) has alot of fuel economy complaints. The vehicle has poor gradeability so it can't hold 6th gear well.

[Max Hayter]

Buy a Fiesta and then you can run STF when your BMW is broken!

[Bill Schenker]

Buy a Fiesta and you can run STF. Those few times your BMW isn't broken, you can run that!

Fixed that for you, Max.

[Ken Motonishi]

Even blindfolded, I could say the venerable Honda Fit is my choice. Shift and clutch feel perfectly mate. Steering feel is easily the best. Surprisingly commodious inside. Revamped Yaris is much improved- worth a look for sure. Looks better inside and out and drives better than its predecessor. In 4 door hatch guise this would be my second choice. My real first choice would be the Mazda2 but I figured that might be too small for average Americans. More like a zippy commute car with STF written all over it. Fiesta is a bit underwhelming if you have high hopes for it. It's like a bloated Mazda2 that has eaten a few too many hamburgers. Elantra I've yet to drive so can't comment. I completely didn't answer your question.

[George Schilling]

Just FYI Mike, the Elantra (auto) has alot of fuel economy complaints. The vehicle has poor gradeability so it can't hold 6th gear well.

Don't know about this issue, but as an art form, the new Elantra wins hands down. The styling inside and out is pretty remarkable as is the amount of interior and trunk space. Since the Elantra is flying out of showrooms, a deal may be hard to come by.

[Tin Bui]

George, I totally agree that the Elantra is a very ascetically pleasing car inside and out, as with almost all of the new Hyundai/Kias.

Here's a consumer watchdog complaint on the Elantra.
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrel ... ai-account" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To be fair to Hyundai, here's their response in a MT article.
http://wot.motortrend.com/hyundai-respo ... 42051.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As with everything fuel economy, your mileage will vary

I also did testing with the Focus, I just wasn't happy with the driveability of that thing at low speed. Especially the first drive in the morning, the car has really poor 1-2,2-1 shift feel.

[Mike Simanyi]

Thanks everyone, for the comments and info. I'm looking for a sedan... with an automatic. (It makes me cringe to write that.)

This isn't an autocross car. Ever. It's for a sales rep who is on the road daily, taking care of my customers.

Edit: Getting a Focus through a fleet deal. The price ended up far less than the Elantra, and both seem to be quite highly rated in their category. Now we need some window tint...

Mike

[Q V]

HOORAY FOR AUTOMATICS!

[Arthur Grant]

I can speak up for Hyundai's as I currently own 3 of them, and until last month had 4. Current fleet includes 2007 Santa Fe, 2008 Elantra Sedan, 2009 Sonata Sedan, retired 1999 Elantra Wagon with 273K miles. (Still running). I know Hyundai's history having purchased one of the first 500 cars in country a Brown Excel Sedan, and had a couple more along the way, with Fords, Cadillacs, Mercedes Benz, Chevrolets along the way.

If you shop competitively in a bidding fashion you can do pretty well. I paid $22K out the door for my Santa Fe, $15,900, Hardin Hyundai, for my loaded Elantra (Sticker 19,900) Longo Hyundai, and $15,800 for my Sonata (Sticker $21K) Hardin Hyundai.

The gas milage on the Santa Fe has been less than advertised as is common on SUV's. The Elantra has been close, the Sonata has been on target mpg wise.

The warranty is the best part, as I have never had a problem getting Hyundai to pick up a warranty item. My only complaint with the current cars are that the paint is what I would call soft. It scratches easily. I am a bit picky there, and keep the cars washed and waxed, and maybe I was spoiled by my Mercedes but the paint could be more resilient. It is however very color fast.

What has worked for me is to know exactly what car I want, and then go through AAA and Edmunds requesting quotes on line. The best quotes are shared between competitors until a best price is reached. I bring my own financing (Credit Union) and I don't do trade in's so it's a straight up buy for what is offered without games. The Santa Fe was fun to buy as each of the 4 dealers bidding (Allen, Cormier, Garden Grove and Hardin) were bidding the same vin# it turns out the features I specified were available at the time on only one car. The price spread was almost $5K between them. The prices above however are all below sticker for the car, but include tax, license and all other costs.

The transmission in my 1999 was replaced at 6 years and 73,000 miles at no cost to me, (I didn't know about the recall) that spoke volumes to me.

I like the new Fords, but I really havent' been able to beat the Huynudai.