Sooo...went car shopping yesterday

[ksdaddy]

The '57 and the Corvette are stored away for the winter. My daily driver is my late father's '88 Blazer, the same one that got stolen back in August. (I do have an old '82 Ford pickup I can use if I have to but it's really, really getting unsafe.)

 

4 weeks ago a front axle went bad on the Blazer. $210.

3 weeks ago the alternator. $95.

2 weeks ago a cotter pin and castle nut on the driver's side outer tie rod end came undone under mysterious circumstances and the tie rod end came unhooked at some point in my 55 mile commute. I was going through a town halfway there and suddenly the car was rocking violently from side to side like a wheel was falling off. I stopped and did a walk around and saw nothing out of place. Not at a glance anyway. I took off and drove 65 the rest of the way. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a pound cake to share at work and when I came out, I saw the tie rod hanging. Now WHEN it came apart, I'll never know. It seems physically impossible that the tie rod end would have come undone 25 miles before and the front tire miraculously 'followed' the other 3, but if not, then what was the violent rocking?

 

In any case, I got a castle nut and pin from a nearby parts store and luckily had a pair of vise grips with me.

 

I've also had trouble engaging the 4WD. There's a little $14 clip on a cable in the front axle that I suspect keeps coming undone, keeping the 4wd from engaging. Thursday when I got home from work there was a few inches of fresh snow in my 100' uphill driveway and the &*@#$ Blazer would NOT go up it in 2wd. I was not a happy person and I basically held it to the floorboards until I made it into the garage. I then started the plow truck (outside) and while it was warming up I thought I thought I saw smoke coming from inside the garage. Nah, it's just the wind catching a little snow off the roof. Wrong.

 

When I got done plowing I walked through the garage on my way inside and smelled something scorched, like a combination of burned plastic and burned oil. Later when I started the Blazer and it wouldn't run right I popped the hood and saw the passenger's side of the engine had caught fire. It also went out by itself, presumably from not having anything else to burn within reach. 3 plug wires and the alternator wiring harness were fried.

 

*sigh* I'm done. Frig this. I can't do this anymore.

 

So yesterday I went shopping. I discovered there are more unlikeable cars out there than likeable ones. One lot had piles of nondescript Taurus types. He had a 2003 Buick LeSabre with 85K for $6995, which I laughed at. Nice car, stupid price. He called later and offered to me for a grand off.

 

Another dealer had a pile of 2008 Cobalts and 2013 Escapes with nothing in between. (yawn)

 

I basically need something for the commute but I also don't want to die. So an Aveo/Prius/Focus is out. I like a nice ride but I don't want a one trick pony so the Bonneville/Grand Marquis/Park Avenue is out.

 

I tried a 2007 Jeep Liberty (104K, $8000) and wasn't impressed with the quality. I tried a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder (86K, $4000) and LOVED it but it was rotted out underneath. I then tried a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe (97K, $5600) and try as I might to find problems with it, I couldn't. It was quiet, handled nice, my fat butt got in and out of it without straining in either direction, it was rock solid on the snow packed roads (and trust me, I tried to make it skid)... I just flat liked it, even though it's something I would have turned my nose up at if I had walked past it in parking lot. I think those mid/small CRV type SUVs are ugly as sin but now that I've driven one, I can see the appeal.

 

I talked to 2 mechanics in town. One said avoid Hyundais period because the engines fly apart. The other said they're fine but at 97K I'd better be changing the timing belt NOW before bad things happen. While I'm not committing to buy just yet, I've made it clear that a new timing belt (installed) will be part of the transaction, if there is to be one, and the dealer is willing to do that.

 

Any thoughts on Hyundais? Especially in that price range? To get anything truly "better" on any local lot, I will have to break the 5 digit threshold. It's a WV car so this is the first Maine winter it's seen (I did the carfax thing and it's clean).

 

[RickGibsonDenver]

I've known two Hyundai owners (in the last year) that had the engine implode, and both from a timing belt issue. Apparently when the timing belts break the valves crash into the piston heads, and that's all she wrote. They were both north of 90k miles. Other than that, I haven't heard much wrong with them.

 

I've personally (myself & close family) had very good results with Honda and Toyota. There are thousands of used parts in every salvage yard, so keeping a used car going shouldn't be expensive (unless you repair at the dealer).

 

I've heard few good things about American cars, and I won't own one. However, what is an "American Car" anyway? Most Fords, GMs and other American cars are assembled in Mexico or Canada, while Hondas and Toyotas are assembled in the US. My Tacoma was assembled in Fremont California by United Autoworker's Union employees, and that's where my money went.

 

I had a tie rod disconnect (on a '78 Ford F-150, great truck, BTW) at highway speed. I think the gyroscopic principle will keep the wheel rotating in a straight line at high speed, and the functioning wheel can coax it into a turn, when needed. At low speed though, good luck.

 

My BEST advice, however, whatever vehicle you decide on, is to GET GOOD TIRES. Ultimately it's the tires that turn, brake and accelerate the car. Good all-season, grippy tires will keep you from sliding into another car on ice, and keep you on the road.

 

Whatever you decide, best of luck,

Rick

[vangoghsear]

My last 5 cars have been Kia's. Kia is a sister company to Hyundai. I had a Kia Rio that I had to change the timing belt at 80k miles, it was scheduled maintenance and cost $800. It was the only major maintenance cost or repair that car ever needed. I bought it new for $12,000 and traded it towards my new Optima for $5,000 8 years and 130,000 miles later. I had a Sorento that had such a nice ride, my neighbor called it "the limo."

[ksdaddy]

In the hour or so I drove it, it seemed to do everything that I wanted it to do very well. I am happy about everything about it, including the price. I'm just waiting now to see what their mechanic says about swapping out the belt. I half expect them to come back whining about special tools or some other inability. I will walk away if need be but the car does fit me.

 

I did replace 3 spark plug wires, grafted in some wire into the alternator harness and cut off about 6" of burned heater hose and the Blazer is back among the living, albeit with NO four wheel drive (it's deep in the front differential I'm afraid) and the speedometer cable just broke.

 

Don't care. I'll drive it another week or two, or whatever, and then peddle it on the front lawn for a few hundred bucks.

[Murph]

When I first moved to Illinois 20+ years ago I met a 19 year old drummer with a Hyundai that he had been shot in, it made CNN, by thugs in Paducah Ky. The little car had a million miles on it then and he changed the timing belt in my back yard one day because somebody told him he had to. Somehow my Mom ended up with it for a few months due to her truck having an issue, then my youngest son bought it and abused it for a year or so. Then it was sold again.

 

For YEARS you would see that car being driven by teenagers around Metropolis. It was the little car that wouldn't die.

 

I've never owned one, but will not forget THAT one......

 

Best of luck.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

Hyundai are the worst cars being made today in my informed opinion. The only car manufacturer that still suffer from rust as far as I can tell, let alone the apparent 100k mile engine life, not only because timing belts snap but because the bores literally wear out. I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Or, as a friend of mine says, "I wouldn't touch her with yours".

[stein]

Knowing a little about how you feel about some things, I don't think you will feel quite as good about anything not American.

[Blueblooded]

...I've heard few good things about American cars, and I won't own one. However, what is an "American Car" anyway? Most Fords, GMs and other American cars are assembled in Mexico or Canada, while Hondas and Toyotas are assembled in the US. My Tacoma was assembled in Fremont California by United Autoworker's Union employees, and that's where my money went.

 

VERY FEW of the dollars you spent went to support very few American workers of the offshore products you purchase. The assembly plants that Toyota, Honda and the other offshore manufacturers have in the US are here so that they can meet the regulations needed so they don't have to pay import tarriffs on those vehicles. A LARGE MAJORITY of the money you spent went to support the homeland of the company where the costs of engineering, where the materials were purchased, and where the manufacturing of components that were sub-assembled and then shipped to the US to be assembled into a vehicle in the US to meet those terriffs.

 

Toyota and Honda each have about 4 or 5 ASSEMBLY plants in the US. The others have even less. The US manufacters still have a large number of plants here in the US, as well as in Canada and Mexico.

[ksdaddy]

Knowing a little about how you feel about some things, I don't think you will feel quite as good about anything not American.

 

Weeeell, it's like this. I had an '82 Subaru wagon that I almost wept over when it was ready for the junkyard. Ditto for the '91 Mazda 323 hatchback. The '94 Protégé not so much but only because it was an automatic and could barely pull itself up a hill. And most recently I had a '92 Camry that developed a bottom end knock at 230K.

 

So I'm cool with imported cars. My whining would happen if they started making Chevy Impalas in Beijing.

[duane v]

My Dad has a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe he purchased new, and the damn car has been the pillar of reliability

[milod]

My wife and I have Jeeps. I've had a bit more difficulty with the far more complicated Grand Cherokee. Her little old regular box-shaped Cherokee, '97, six-banger with minimal anythings on it, runs like a Rolex with around 130,000.

 

I think you might get it from her if you had a platoon of Marines. Then again... maybe not.

 

m

[fumblefingers]

Today's Hyundai is NOT the Hyundai of yesteryear. They have come A LONG way, and will offer several hundred thousand reliable miles IF MAINTAINED PROPERLY. As far as the timing belt goes- you will want to change the timing belt, idlers, and water pump on that vehicle all at the same time, if I am not mistaken. It usually runs around $1,200 at an independent shop.

[Guest Farnsbarns]

I have to do this. I have no choice, you understand...

 

[stein]

My wife and I have Jeeps. I've had a bit more difficulty with the far more complicated Grand Cherokee. Her little old regular box-shaped Cherokee, '97, six-banger with minimal anythings on it, runs like a Rolex with around 130,000.

 

I think you might get it from her if you had a platoon of Marines. Then again... maybe not.

 

m

I'm going to go ahead and say it.

 

The JEEP is the original. Everything else is a copy.

[4Hayden]

Wouldn't go Hyundai , I would put a new front end under your car

[milod]

Stein...

 

Ain't got the cash - about $50,000 from Wagonmaster, but I'd give daggone nearly anything else I have for about a 1987-91 Grand Wagoneer. Best overall vehicle I've ever owned. Period.

 

m

[fumblefingers]

Stein...

 

Ain't got the cash - about $50,000 from Wagonmaster, but I'd give daggone nearly anything else I have for about a 1987-91 Grand Wagoneer. Best overall vehicle I've ever owned. Period.

 

m

 

Those things just couldn't pass a gas station to save their lives. I had one, a bit older, but that 360 was a thirsty beast.

 

I just looked up Wagonmaster. Holy SMOKES! What, do they think those things are made of gold? You've GOT to be kidding me. For $55,000, I will go buy a brand new Ram Cummins 4x4 Laramie Crew Cab which will last me the rest of my life.

[milod]

My old Grand Wagoneer ran like a champ until I probably made the error of swapping it for the Grand Cherokee instead of spending a lot less to have a few weaknesses upgraded such as the old-style AC.

 

The 360 would pull anything; started at -40 most of the time not even plugged in. As comfortable as any old-style sedan for road trips and more importantly, it could easily be comfortable enough handle a week's campout under a snowdrift if you got stuck in a blizzard. It wasn't tall, but had all kinds of clearance and handled anything I threw at it better than any other 4x4 I've owned or driven. In any weather they'd haul a trio's stuff for a rock/country gig.

 

I s'pose you can make a good case that the Hummer in milspec was better, but no thanks, not that good in winter if it won't go and you've gotta live in it a cupla days. The really big Ford and GM offerings are pretty nice under rough conditions but they truly are gas hogs.

 

But yeah, I blew it when I coulda spent a cupla grand for updates on my '86 'stedda getting the Grand Cherokee, although the Grand Cherokee I had would cruise over 100. Yeah, don't ask. <grin>

 

Back to gas mileage... yeah, compared to a pregnant roller skate it burned more gas. But this was a real utility vehicle that could do anything well other than that. We've a good Ram dealer here, but I don't care for diesel at local winter temperatures. Just a personal prejudice, but I've seen too many that were DOA colder than -20F.

 

m

[dbrian66]

I am a total Chevy nut so this hurts me to say but.... Hyundai and Kia are making some really great cars today. Like an earlier post stated the cars of today are not the same as the old ones. The original Hyundai Excel with the Mitsubishi engine was junk. I was working in private repair shop at that time and worked on alot of them. The newer ones are just as good as the toyotas and hondas. Really any car you get from the mid 2000's on will be a good car if you take care of it. Like replacing the timing belt when the book tells you to! LOL. Good luck with your purchase.