Sonata not Elantra, here's why
 

On July 11th I 1st posted here, expecting to be the happy owner of an Elantra in a couple weeks. Time crawls frustratingly to the present. In a couple of days I'll be riding around in my 2006 Hyundai Sonata. Why so long?

In the New York City/NJ area, prices for a 2005-2006 Elantra were way above KBB value. If they weren't, an Autocheck report showed accident(s), or "listed at auction as frame damage." Or there was huge milage. The Staten Island dealerships (pretty much a monopoly of 2), wanted to charge the same amount for a 2005 Elantra (Autocheck report as "fleet use"), that I'm paying for my 2006 Sonata (one owner). Giuffre Hyundai/Kia in Brooklyn was the worst. They advertised an Excel online, I called & they said the car was available. I arrived at the dealership in an hour only to find that it had been sold 2 weeks ago. The 2nd Elantra was priced at $200 less than I paid for my Sonata, but was a 2005, had poorly repaired body damage from an accident, a cigarette burn in the headliner, & the fabric was ripped off the back of the armrest. Plus, they were insistant upon doing financing while I wanted to pay cash. The other odd thing about this dealership is that my home phone has received a couple of calls from people who thought they were calling the dealership, so I'm wondering about their recordkeeping and privacy.

So, thanks to my brother & his co-worker (who has a side business selling cars), I have my Sonata from a dealers' auction. I'm happy :)!