Hi,

Am am considering to buy a Hyundai Accent 1.5 GT 16V Sport with manual transmission from 2001, which has been running 156.000 KM. (96933 miles)

The car is beautiful and seems well-maintained and is running good.

I can see that not many of this kind are on sale in Denmark, and i am wondering if there is a reason? Do you know of any problems with this model - the engine is stronger than the other models, can that give any problems with the life time of the engine? Life time on transmission? Etc?

Anything that i should make special attention to, before i make my final decision.

Also i have heard that older Hyundais are much weaker than the newer models - is a 2001 model in the old range=weaker and still with teething problems?

Thank you very much
Jens

 

2001 is when the accent began to become a good car. its prior to that they weren't great, but still not bad. its the pre 1995 cars that are pretty awful.

the manual will be stronger, consider changing the transmission oil if its never been done.

the 1.5L isn't as stout as the 1.6L but its by no means a terrible engine. most problems are quite minor. not much to look at besides what i would for any used car:

- maintenance. does the seller have records to prove his claims?

- any accident? we have services such as carfax to prove it here, dont know what you have in denmark

- check coolant for obvious contamination (bad colour)

- check oil for any evidence of too long drain interval or contamination

- anything unusual under the hood

- any 'check engine' light? hooking up a code scanner isnt a bad idea.

- compression test is a good idea if the owner will allow it

- test drive!

- rev engine up to a good range, hear or feel anything unusual?

- any gear grinding or harsh shifting?

- does it corner well? any noise from suspension or brakes?

- finally, check everywhere including underneath the car for rust and/or damage. use a magnet on the body to check for body filler indicating repaired accidents or even just minor body damage (ie. a shopping cart in a parking lot)

this is just the generic stuff i look for when car hunting. yeah i go quite the length, but i like to cover my ***. just remember this: any claims of 'babying' a car or 'granny driven' etc. are total garbage until they can back it up with evidence.

 

Thanks a lot. I am glad to hear, that there is no serious flaws with this model, i will go for it. Appreciate your valuable answer, this is what makes up excellent forums like this.

Also thank you for your checklist, i will have that in mind when checking the car a second time.

 

Also ask about the timing belt. The timing belt should be changed every 60,000 miles. If it wasn't changed or the owner doesn't know if it was, then consider having it replaced. If the belt breaks you will do serious damage to the engine.