thinking about getting an elantra...

[gw84]

I had an elantra as a rental vehicle last year and I loved it! So...I'm almost ready for a newish car and this is on the top of my list. So I guess I'm just here to ask elantra owners what they think of their rides. I'm trying to find on that's an '07 or newer. Just not sure which trim to go with, although the SE seems to be the better one. Also, does anyone have any input on how the manual trans is on these cars? Any advice you can give about owning this vehicle would be great! thanks

[lowsonoma1999]

The SE's are hard to come by. They were a little bit more available in '07, and they also had a Limited trim level, with leather. I think they dropped the Limited in '08, and the SE's almost disappeared from dealer lots. I've only seen a few SE's on our lot in the past couple years. Mostly GLS's, and a few Blue level. A 5 speed might also be hard to find. I think I've only seen maybe 2 or 3 on our lot since they came out in '07. They are good cars, and we hardly see any problems with them. I have driven a couple as demo's and typically got a hair over 30mpg with mixed city and highway driving.

[gw84]

sounds about like my lumina LTZ trim. It wasnt super hard to find, but I did have to drive around 200 miles to get it. After searching over cars.com the closest SE I can find is actually quite close to you,
lowsonoma1999 , in bloomington, IN. of course it is an '07, not the greatest, but still not bad, got a lot of the options and low miles, Only problems I can see from carfax is that it has 3 owners and was in an accident. Needless to say I won't be making the drive to purchase that vehicle.

What are the differences from the base, GLS, and SE trims? is it worth waiting around to find the SE over the GLS?

[ricebike]

buying any model, keep in mind of the timing belt intervals!?!?!

get that thing done as soon as or a bit earlier than the recommended interval...

i've seen too many horror stories about them breaking and ruining the engine

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/

read on that site if you want to become an enthusiast for this manufacturer

[gw84]

Originally Posted by ricebike

buying any model, keep in mind of the timing belt intervals!?!?!

get that thing done as soon as or a bit earlier than the recommended interval...

i've seen too many horror stories about them breaking and ruining the engine

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/

read on that site if you want to become an enthusiast for this manufacturer

great thanks! I'm trying to find all the information about this make/model that I can before making the purchase. With my last car purchase ('99 lumina ltz) I already knew a lot since I had already owned an older model of the same name. So when it came time to buy I went for the one with the most bells and whistles (sunroof, leather, wheels, larger engine, etc etc). thanks again

[gw84]

Originally Posted by ricebike

buying any model, keep in mind of the timing belt intervals!?!?!

get that thing done as soon as or a bit earlier than the recommended interval...

i've seen too many horror stories about them breaking and ruining the engine

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/

read on that site if you want to become an enthusiast for this manufacturer

Originally Posted by ricebike

buying any model, keep in mind of the timing belt intervals!?!?!

get that thing done as soon as or a bit earlier than the recommended interval...

i've seen too many horror stories about them breaking and ruining the engine

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/

read on that site if you want to become an enthusiast for this manufacturer

great thanks! I'm trying to find all the information about this make/model that I can before making the purchase. With my last car purchase ('99 lumina ltz) I already knew a lot since I had already owned an older model of the same name. So when it came time to buy I went for the one with the most bells and whistles (sunroof, leather, wheels, larger engine, etc etc). thanks again