Also take Consumer Reports with a large dose of salt.  They are quite
biased and don't track the long-term reliability of vehicles.  And there
data is from a bunch of "names" who are their subscribers and thus
aren't necessarily a representative sample of drivers nationwide.

I've own two cars that were at nearly opposite extremes of CR ratings: a
1984 Accord and a 1989 Acclaim.  The Accord, though drooled over by CR,
was a POS.  The day I traded it on the Acclaim was one of the happiest
days of my life.  CR constantly panned the Acclaim, but that was the
best car I've ever owned.  The Sonata may supplant it, but I'll need at
least another 100K miles before making that assessment.

The Acclaim was bullet-proof.  When my wife totaled it in a deer
accident at 143,000 miles, it still had the original exhaust system and
the only thing it had required other than normal maintenance and wear
items was a new flex plate that cracked at around 100,000 miles.  The
Accord had required more repairs in the first 60,000 miles (including a
$900 exhaust system and that was back in the 80s!) than the Acclaim
required in its entire life.  The Accord engine failed at 72,000 miles
and required a new top end (camshaft and complete set of rocker arms),
whereas the Acclaim engine was absolutely bullet-proof up to 143,000
miles.  Change the oil and filters and run it.  Even the engine
accessories were original when it was totaled.

So, take CR with a BIG dose of salt.  They give you their initial
impressions in their tests and then depend on subscriber surveys for
data longer term, but even that ends at 5 years as I recall.

Personally, I've found the "long term"  (typically still only a year or
so) tests that Popular Mechanics runs are much more useful that CRs
results.  And PM isn't afraid to also criticize Japanese cars unlike CR
who seems to think the Japanese can do no wrong.

Matt

d> Do you guys recommend buying a Hyundai ?

Are you going to base your decisions on the responses of a bunch of 'names'
in an Internet newsgroup? Could be trolls in here and people with agendas
other than providing an unbiased response.

While I loath to do this let me suggest you consult Consumer Reports while
taking any negative responses here with a grain of salt.

I have personally owed 5 Hyundais so far and if they have one to fit my
needs next time I am in the market I will certainly buy it.

Regards
Wayne Moses <wayne.moses@comcast.net> Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:34:35 -0500

Do you guys recommend buying a Hyundai ?