Hi everybody. New to the forum. A little back story. I used to own a 98 Elantra, but sold it and got a 2001 Sebring two years ago. Needless to say, I made a mistake. The Sebring has been one problem after another. Anyway, I'm looking at a 2006 Sonata and wanted to get some opinions on what the car is like. I've read mostly good reviews online, but wanted to see what people on here were saying.

The Sonata I am looking at is from a rental sales agency. It has 34000 miles on it and is the Sonata GLS with 6 cylinder engine.

A couple of things.

1. The warranty should still be good on the car until 60000 miles or 2012, right? Would being at a rental agency cause the warranty to be void?

2. Are there any problems with the 2006 Sonata you can alert me to?

3. What are some of the things I should look at when inspecting the car?

4. Just would like to know the general opinion about the Sonata.

I really loved my Elantra and think a step up to a Sonata would be great. I don't have too much money to spend but think I have found a good deal but wanted to see if anyone had any warning signs for me.

Really appreciate it and if I buy it, you will have another member of the forum.

Thanks.

 

The Sonata is an excellent car and the V6 version is great. I'd be leary of a rental but you can get them cheap. It probably had good maintenance but I don't know how well it was taken care of otherwise. The warranty for the second owner is 5 years and 60K miles from the original date of purchase. So if it's a 2006 the warranty is only good until 2011 or 60K miles whatever comes first.

 

Hyundai's warrenty states "Second and/or subsequent owners have powertrain components coverage under the 5 year / 60,000 mile New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Excludes coverage for vehicles in commercial use (i.e. taxi, route delivery, delivery service, rental, etc.).". I would call Hyundai Motor America (800-633-5151) and ask for certain.

The 2006 through early 2007 V6 Sonatas had problems with the timing chain tensioners. If you search the Sonata section of this forum for tensioner problems, you will find several discussion threads. If you can provide the VIN, I think almost any Hyundai service manager can tell you if this problem has been addressed for that particular car. There are also threads discusing thumping or bounding rear shock mounts on some 2006 cars. These problems are discussed in technical service bulletins on the Hyundai service site at http://www.hmaserevice.com/, but you need to establish a free account and password for access. A fellow named Jerry Stout keeps a web site with TSBs at http://jerrystout.us/sonata/ that focuses on the NF variant (2006 through 2009) of the Sonata (no password needed).

On any used car, you should pay for a carfax report. A rental car can be tough to assess. I think most rental companies do a better than average job of keeping up on routine maintenence, but you never know how some of the drivers treated the car.

I've owned a 2008 Sonata V6 limited for 9 months. The quietest and most comfortable car I've ever owned. It's my wife's daily driver and she has been getting 22 to 23 mpg in mixed driving around town. Our last freeway trip averaged 31 mpg with the cruise set at 75 mph. Mileage drops off to 28-29 mpg through foothills and some mountain terrain. We have less than 10K on the odometer, but so far, it has been an excellent purchase. Our daughter was driving an eleven year old Sentra, and expressed interest in purchasing a new Elantra. She waited two months for our local dealer to get an SE model in for her to look at. When one did arrive two weeks ago, it was a manual and she doesn't drive a stick. We started looking at the 2009 Sonatas. With the present cash incentives and some additional dealer discounts, an 09 Sonata GLS with a 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed auto with the popular option package was only $600 more than the Elantra SE. She bought the new Sonata and hasn't looked back. You didn't say how much the 2006 was selling for, but you may wish to visit some dealer lots and see what available. I think some dealers have new 2008 Sonatas on hand that are discounted more than the 2009. You may find a new car for little more money than you are prepared to spend on the 2006 car.

I wish you luck.

 

A great car but have a mechanic check it out first. If it's been a rental you'll want somebody to check it over for signs of abuse. Plenty of people drive those cars hard.

 

Thanks for all the information. I really appreciate it. I ended up buying a used 2008. Really nice. Looking forward to driving it after my last car.

Again, really thankful for the comments and if the mod wants to delete this thread, I'm fine with it.

Hope to be on here in the future....just not asking about any problems. lol

Thanks

 

HyundaiDan.....Lucky you, I test drove a 2008 Sonata and I fell in love with it, I have an 06....but it seems smaller than mine....but it is very nice!! Good Luck

 

hey, i've good Sonata for 1 and half years now and pretty happy with it for this prices sonata is the best thing to go. ( is use to have BMW, but this time i decided to go a little cheaper and see what i get and i have to say i'm not dissapointed )