Please Help Me On This,

[Ozzy man]

Hello

i am thinking of buying a 2001 hyundai santa fe. The thing is that i really dont worry at all much about the second hand market because if i buy a vehicle i will use it for some time,roughly 6-7 years( i'm not that abrupt buying and selling type) so instead i was wondering about its maintenance costs.. Does it cost a lot to do repairs etc??... is it hard to find spare parts etc??...plus whats the exact fuel consumption on it??...

Edited December 30, 2010 by Ozzy man

[jdnet]

I was looking at the santa fe and tucson before settling on the tribute dso here's what I can say...

The 4 banger is decent on fuel but is a little lacking power wise. The V6 is great power vise but you end up using more fuel. Either way I think the 4 cylinder is decent.

From a maintenance standpoint, it's really not that bad. You may have to do a little extra shopping when looking for parts but the costs are not astronomical.

Also the engine setup is pretty basic so any decent mechanic should be able to work on it for you. Before buying check out the transmission to make sure (if auto) the gears aren't slipping. I haven't heard of any major problems that are specific to this vehicle so for the most part you should be good.

For someone like you who basically does not care about resale values it will make a really good vehicle.

Here's another thing you should look into...the hyundai tuscon. I've seen a few go for the same price range and it does look a lot nicer than the santa fe (including the interior).

Eitherway both of these hyundai SUVs are really decent and for the price they go at I doubt you can find anything that would match it (unless you were willing to go for a little IO).

[jdnet]

BTW next time, please use smaller text. It's kinda hurting my eyes.

[MasterDon]

One of my favorite SUV's of alltime.It looks absoloutly gorgeous IMO and was seriously interested in one untill I realised I can't do with out a double cab when considering my line of work.From my experience the V6 does 6 kilometeres per litre.Spare parts and mechanics who know how to fix it should be of no problem,but if the worst does occur a Japanese engine transplant is possible with little fuss.

[Ozzy man]

  On 12/29/2010 at 4:47 PM, jdnet said:

BTW next time, please use smaller text. It's kinda hurting my eyes.

very sorry about that mate.. I had a small mishap with the fonts when typing the message,(i'm quite new to this site, thats why..

[jdnet]

  On 12/29/2010 at 6:10 PM, Ozzy man said:

very sorry about that mate.. I had a small mishap with the fonts when typing the message,(i'm quite new to this site, thats why..

No problemo man. We all make mistakes. So have you had a chance to test drive the santa fe?

[Ozzy man]

  On 12/29/2010 at 6:11 PM, jdnet said:

No problemo man. We all make mistakes. So have you had a chance to test drive the santa fe?

Not yet, But i tried the 2004 honda fit aria(which i originally thought of going for)it was a very good car..

But then an SUV makes more sense for me now

Also i want to know hows the overall performance on this??..I hear the santa fe has a faulty gearbox..Is it true?? Because as i said i will be using the vehicle for some time and i dont want to have large expenditures on it...

Edited December 30, 2010 by Ozzy man

[heavyD]

  On 12/30/2010 at 6:29 AM, Ozzy man said:

Not yet, But i tried the 2004 honda fit aria(which i originally thought of going for)it was a very good car..

But then an SUV makes more sense for me now

Also i want to know hows the overall performance on this??..I hear the santa fe has a faulty gearbox..Is it true?? Because as i said i will be using the vehicle for some time and i dont want to have large expenditures on it...

I've heard this faulty gearbox scenario with the 4th gen Sonatas as well. No hands on experience, but it may due to the fact that they specifically require OEM SPIII tranny fluid, which doesn't appear to be available here. The agents might have it though.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2001-to-2006-hyundai-santa-fe-6.htm

Check out the reliability section.

[Ozzy man]

  On 12/30/2010 at 7:16 AM, Big_D said:

I've heard this faulty gearbox scenario with the 4th gen Sonatas as well. No hands on experience, but it may due to the fact that they specifically require OEM SPIII tranny fluid, which doesn't appear to be available here. The agents might have it though.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2001-to-2006-hyundai-santa-fe-6.htm

Check out the reliability section.

Thanks that helps,,,i think i'll go for the Fit aria