considering a Santa Fe
 

Hello all.

I'm looking at getting a used Santa Fe. I've owned a lot of Japanese cars and have had great luck with them, and am looking now to get a Sante Fe. What are the things to look for, other than the obvious car fax issues. I searched and did not see a lot of threads on this, but perhaps I missed a crucial keyword.

I guess, first, knowing what you all know now, as long as they are maintained properly are they a good used vehicle to buy with good reliability? I saw the thread on reliability and was a bit disappointed with the used models reliability. Am thinking of getting another Hyundai model, now.

From my understanding the timing belt needs to be replaced at 60,000 miles.

Are there any other red flags other than rust through the frame, generic maintenance being done?

Is there a specific year/version/model that has serious defects from the factory?

The one I am looking at has 60kish miles, AWD, and is 8k. (of course question #1 is timing belt, etc.)

Thanks for any and all suggestions. Looking to join the family soon! :)

-Matt

My questions are, what year Santa Fe are you looking to buy and what are your needs?

The 1st generation Santa Fe (2006-older) are smaller than the 2nd gen (2007-newer).

If you are looking at a 1st gen, I'd suggest looking at a Tucson before you buy. The Tucson will be cheaper to purchase, insure and fuel because it's smaller and lighter. And other than the cargo area behind the 2nd row being slightly smaller, the Tucson actually has more space inside for passengers and is also available with AWD.

If you are looking at a 2nd generation Santa Fe, only the smaller 2.7L V6 needs the timing belt replaced. The 3.3L V6 has a timing chain and is a much better engine.

Thanks for the response:

Here is the specific one I was looking at: Of course at 61k miles the timing belt needs to be changed, pronto if it hasn't been already.

http://tinyurl.com/27rvqh5

Needs: Family car to haul stuff (kid on the way), reliability is a huge priority, it will be driven about 10k miles a year (not a ton) decent gas mileage.

AWD is not a huge priority as we don't get a ton of snow here and it being FWD with decent ground clearance and good tires for winter will be fine, but AWD never hurts.

This model here is an 02, the carfax looks decent.

The Tucson is above want I want to spend since they only came out in 07, it appears.

Thanks, once again for the feedback.

Interesting car. Low miles for that year is good but I can't tell if it's a mid-level GLS or a top-level LX. Even if it's an LX, I think the price is about $700 high, If it turns out to be a GLS, then the price is about $1,200 too high. I wouldn't pay more than $7,200 if it's an LX; $6,700 if it's a GLS.

Go here to get a more detailed price: http://www.edmunds.com/hyundai/santafe/2002/index.html
Print out the appraisal and use it to negotiate the deal.

I'd also ask the dealer if they have proof if the timing belt was changed. If they can't prove it, take the VIN (KM8SC73D42U167220) to a Hyundai dealer and see if they can do a search on it and see if the timing belt was changed by a dealer. If you can't get proof it was changed, ask for the price to be lowered about $300 to cover half the cost. (Yes, a timing belt change could be $500-600. Heck, ask for $600 off to cover the whole cost. Or you could ask them to throw in the 4-year extended warranty for free. Even if they give you the free 4-year warranty, without proof the timing belt was changed, get it changed ASAP.

The Santa Fe has full-time AWD. That lowers fuel economy about 1 mpg from 17 mpg (city) / 23 mpg (highway) / 19 mpg (combined) for a FWD to 16 mpg / 21 mpg / 18 mpg. If you don't really need it, I'd skip it or look for another one. FWD will be cheaper, more fuel efficient and less complicated to maintain. And I would take FWD with 4 snow tires over AWD with 4 all-season tires.

The Tucson started in 2005, not 2007, and aside from a slightly smaller cargo area behind the rear seats, it will be fine for a small family. I use my 2006 Tucson for my family of 5 and all 3 kids (13, 11 and 7 years old) fit in the back easily. I am also able to easily carry 2 full size baseball/softball equipment bags plus folding chairs and a bucket of balls for practices and games with the rear seats up. The Tucson is available in FWD or AWD but the Tucson AWD system is not full-time AWD. It only engage AWD when it senses the front wheels slipping (it can be locked in AWD manually). The lighter Tucson with a V6 is able to get 18 mpg / 24 mpg / 20 mpg in FWD and 17 mpg / 23 mpg / 19 mpg in AWD. Personally, my 2006 V6 FWD Tucson has a lifetime average of about 22.5 mpg. Lastly, I've gone through plenty of bad winters with only FWD. And only last year did I buy dedicated snow tires.

https://www.hyundaiforum.com/forum/a...3&d=1285762751

https://www.hyundaiforum.com/forum/a...4&d=1285762763

Hope that helps.

2003 Santa Fe
 

Just sold my 2003 LX which I thought was great. Bought new. Had 93000 miles on it. Big V6 engine. Got 15 around town and 20 on the road. You are right, this engine (no longer used) had to have the Timing Chain changed every 60,000 miles. Cost me about $1,000 at the dealer. They also did a tune-up and water pump. It is strongly suggested by other garages also to do the water pump at the same time. Cargo area is great for hauling large items. Wife bought 150 landscape bricks which fit in easily and no problem with the weight.
Had leather and heated seats which were great in colder weather. Came with cargo cover which I think is a must have. Second row seats do not fold down flat, and you have to take off the head rests to get them down. Not much problem as they stow in the foot area. However if you are going to put in an item that you have to remove the cargo cover, no place to stow it. I would just place it next to the item or leave it in the garage until unloading.
Only problem I had in the 11 years is that the stop light bulbs have a tendancy to burn out. Passenger side 3 or 4 times, drives side once. Also 6 CD player radio went out once. Would not reject CD's. Bought one on EBAY and put it in about 15 minutes - very easy to do.


Also, if you get the large V6 (3.5) engine, the Air Filters are somewhat hard to find. The smaller v6 engine filters are too short and wont work.

First, your SF has a timing BELT, not CHAIN.
Second, I'm guessing Matt bought his car 4 years ago, not long after making his post. You might want to check the posting dates before replying.