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2003 Hyundai Elantra Gls Sedan 4-door 2.0l Perfect For Young Driver on 2040-cars

Year:2003 Mileage:150134
Location:

Austin, Texas, United States

Austin, Texas, United States

Offered for sale, a vehicle perfect for your teen driver! Oh, sure, I've cruised the high school parking lots and seen the late model Mustangs and the shiny new Jeep Patriots. Don't be that parent! Start with an inexpensive way to get from Point A to Point B, and when your child wrecks it (which, statistically, they will), no one is out a fortune. There are many life lessons to be learned here; a beater is the way to do it. And, as beaters go, this one is pretty dang nice.

I purchased this car in late 2002 in Las Vegas, and have been the only owner. Run the VIN through CarFax or your favorite VIN verification. The car has never had any body work, even though I have rear-ended a car, then gotten sandwiched in when a car hit me from behind on a rainy Oklahoma highway with no turn lane. I have pictures of that damage. Additionally, there is paint fading from the bumpers. One piece of trim is missing from the front driver's side of the... part of the car you sit in. Listen, I'm not a mechanic. I don't know the correct term.

Other than that, the only damage is normal wear-and-tear from ten years of use, including several dings made from cars in parking lots designed with spaces the exact width of the vehicles, with no apparent thought to the need for egress. Also, it's possible that I've backed into the occasional telephone pole, trash can, or zombie, but sometimes these things cannot be avoided.

There are two things to consider about this vehicle before you buy, both of which might be seen as drawbacks if you were purchasing a car for your parents or spouse, but please allow me to show you the benefits they might post for your student driver.

The air conditioner just went out. The fan works, and I can hear the compressor, so it's possible that it just needs a recharge. Then again, it might need $900 worth of work. So that's a gamble. However, if you choose not to get it fixed and are buying this car for your son, he might not mind arriving at destinations this summer in full-bore sweat. If you are getting it for your daughter, then sell her on the multi-tasking capabilities of both transporting herself AND experiencing a sauna without having to visit her local gym or sweat lodge (which, I hear, are all the rage among female teenagers). If this is the case, be sure to compliment her on her radiant complexion, and comment often about how much healthier she is now that she's sweating out all of those toxins.

The second thing is that reverse will randomly not work. There doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong with the vehicle; it is likely an electrical problem. When reverse works, it's perfect. The way I have dealt with this is not to park front-end-in anywhere unless the parking space is angled so that I can coast out should the gear fail. The times I have forgotten this mandate and had reverse refuse to cooperate, though, I have had the privilege of meeting extremely helpful strangers, many of whom do not possess the overt musculature seemingly necessary to push a vehicle up a slight incline.

For your young adult child, this offers an opportunity to learn real-world social networking skills. Going back into the cupcake shop to ask if any burly men work in the strip mall, only to have three tiny women absolutely bust it to get you back out on the street again teaches one a lot about the kindness of humanity and about humility. And don't forget to pay it forward!

The power windows and locks all work fine, with no sluggishness, sticking, or weird motor noises. The doors and trunk all close normally, and the interior is still waterproof, even though you will notice some gouges in the lining made from a couple of times I locked my keys in the car. As a side note, without the help of a professional (burglar or locksmith) or a willingness to break a window, you cannot unlock the door with a foreign object from outside.

The rear seats lean forward to allow for storage of large items, and also for escaping in the event that one of your kid's smart aleck friends thinks it's a laugh to shut him or her into the trunk. The trunk also has a glow-in-the-dark safety latch for that, but that smart aleck will probably be sitting on the trunk, and this will surprise the tar out of him.

Everything else is really good. I bought the radio/CD player, so it's not the stock Hyundai one. The interior fabrics are all completely intact. Rather than extolling the virtues of this vehicle, I encourage you to come take a look at it. Test drive it. I think you'll agree that this will be a great set-the-bar-medium-low vehicle for your beloved offspring.

When I was 16, my grandparents gave me a canary yellow Chevy Caprice Classic. It was hideous, and it didn't need a key to start. But I drove it until I totaled it, over-correcting when my back tire went off of the pavement on the winding road where we lived. Although my dad made me drive the next day so I wouldn't lose my nerve, I didn't own another car for over a year. I had to buy my next car, and my expectations were pretty low. When I did get a car, I paid cash for it. Now, I'm an adult with no consumer debt, no car payments, and I'm pretty content in addition to being fiscally responsible. So let those other guys buy high-end show-off pieces for their kids. You know better. You don't have to prove anything to anyone, and you want your kid to be awesome!

If you buy this car, I guarantee* that will happen.

*I don't guarantee that. No one can. But it's 55%** more likely to happen.

**I just made that number up.

Auto Services in Texas

Yescas Brothers Auto Sales ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers
Address: 11510 US Highway 183 S, Buda
Phone: (512) 243-1717

Whitney Motor Cars ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers, Wholesale Used Car Dealers
Address: 5303 Burnet Rd, Round-Rock
Phone: (512) 454-2515

Two-Day Auto Painting & Body Shop ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Wheel Alignment-Frame & Axle Servicing-Automotive
Address: 1143 Airport Blvd, Geneva
Phone: (512) 926-9980

Transmission Masters ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Auto Transmission, Auto Transmission Parts
Address: 301 Sampson St, Deer-Park
Phone: (713) 236-1307

Top Cash for Cars & Trucks : Running or Not ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Salvage
Address: Whitewright
Phone: (817) 966-2886

Tommy`s Auto Service ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Tire Dealers
Address: 219 Fort Worth Dr, Lewisville
Phone: (940) 382-0070

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Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

Wed, Feb 25 2015

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

Recharge Wrap-up: Hyundai visually explains fuel cells, BYD T5 electric truck

Wed, Aug 13 2014

Are you still unclear about how exactly a hydrogen fuel cell works to power a car? Hyundai is offering a great visual on how its fuel cells operate in cars like the Tucson fuel Cell. Basically, the anode splits the hydrogen molecule into a positive and negative ion. The negative ions are used for electricity, while the positive ions are pushed through a membrane to the cathode, where both ions are combined with oxygen to create the byproduct of water. There's a little more to it than that to make it work in a vehicle, so see for yourself in the infographic below. BYD is launching its T5 electric light truck in China. The truck has a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour, making it mostly suitable for in-city and campus duty. It has a range of almost 250 miles, though, and with its size, the T5 could make a pretty adept delivery truck. The battery is situated under the load bay between the axles, keeping the center of gravity low. Price could be an issue, but government subsidies might help convince some companies to make the switch to BYD's electric truck. See more over at Car News China. The Mahindra Reva e2o electric vehicle will offer a fast charging feature, called Quick2Charge. Normally, the e2o takes five hours to fully charge, but that time gets cut to just one hour with the new option. Choosing the Quick2Charge option adds 45,000 rupees (about $735) to the price of the e2o. The new e2o is supposed to get electric power steering, and, later, a four-door variant. Mahindra Reva is also making an export-only version with Quick2Charge, longer range, electric steering, airbags, and ABS. Read more over at Indian Cars Bikes. The Quebec-Vermont Electric Charging Corridor is set to expand with 14 new charging stations. Melanie Dufresne of the area's tourism board announced that the 240-volt chargers would be installed in Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality. Drivers will use a special access card to charge at the stations in the region for $2.50. The stations will be installed by the end of the year. To see all the locations and learn more about the announcement, head over to Hybrid Cars.

Hyundai, BMW in plant talks with Mexican officials

Fri, 27 Sep 2013

BMW and Hyundai may be joining the rush for the border that has already seen Nissan, Honda and Mazda begin factory construction in Mexico, while Ford and General Motors have both made significant investments in their Mexican facilities. BMW's interest in Mexico has been apparent for some time, and while we'd heard grumblings about Hyundai's move into Latin America some time ago, the last we heard about it was in 2009.
This new move, reported by Bloomberg, doesn't get specific on which models will be produced south of the Rio Grande, and as neither automakers' spokespeople responded to the business site's request for statements, all we really have to go on are the statements of Mexico's Economy Minister, Ildefonso Guajardo: "I cannot talk for them, but I think that starting 2014 we'll have new announcements. At least for one." Which manufacturer that will be remains anyone's guess, although judging by all the recent scuttlebutt that's been going around, the smart money seems to be on BMW. We'll stay with this one.