im looking to buy a minivan before 2k6 ends to accomodate space for my family. i currently own '01 nissan sentra gxe and liked its performance and mpg. even so, i got turned off because i felt that after reaching 36kmi, it is starting to break up (yeah, just after the warranty expires); that would cost me more money to repair. it is now only at 57kmi; and i'm getting worried of my xmission, belt repairs, etc.

anyway, looking for a minivan, i am initially considering odyssey or sienna, but as the price is not as affordable as entourage, i wanted to be more cautious on buying one. looking at entourage, the price is very attractive, but i'm not as sure if this is somewhat relative to the number of times i would bring it to the dealer for service. obvously, i have seen/read good reviews on entourage; but i have also seen bad reviews on hyundai's in general. i appreciate if anyone can provide fair/true input as a help. better yet, if you can provide me an electronic copy of their warranty.

on another note, will they ever release a trim with nav system?

hoping to get the right answer(s) in time.

thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by mrdeeno: Sep 8 2006, 08:11 PM

don't know of any plans to have a nav system installed. You should be able to see a copy of the warrenty on Hyundai's web site too

well if it has everything you're looking for in a minivan, and the price is right, you can't really go wrong. And don't listen to those people who say "Hyundai sucks..."..."Hyundai's are unreliable"...etc. You're always gonna get people from both sides saying opposite things on the matter. Honestly, if you ask around on this forum, you're probably gonna be hard pressed to find someone who isn't happy with their Hyundai. Good luck! :thumbsup:

I was worried about the Hyundai name when I made the plunge and bought a Santa Fe; I just traded it in on an Entourage. I had the Santa for 4 years and with the exception of the tail gate latch I had nothing go wrong with it after 55Kmi. The entourage is a very smooth ride and is roomy even with two car seats strapped in. I can't speak of it's reliability yet because I only have 300 mi on it but so far I am totally satisfied.
Good luck with your choice.

Our Entourage is our 5th Hyundai. We also shopped Honda and Toyota and saw no need to jump ship to another brand.

We eliminated the Toyota and the Nissan for that matter over aesthetic issues. The Honda is definately nice but we couldn't come up with a reason for the extra $$$. Especially when they droped the bomb on us that the only way to get roadside assistance is if you purchase the extended waranty.

The sister van to the Entourage is Kia's Sedona. We looked at that one as well. It costs a bit less depending on the options. At the end of the day we decided to stick with the brand that had served us well instead of Kia.

There is rumors that Hyundai is going to be offering a dealer installed nav system for its cars soon. I think I read that on a Sonata thread somewhere. If nav is that important to you (I prefer old fasioned maps) there are plenty of aftermarket options out there now as well so I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker.

This post has been edited by afob3: Oct 6 2006, 05:01 PM

i saw 40% off for sonatas from freehold/nj hyundai. not sure if they will give the same offer for entourages. i also heard some radio commercials, giving out 35% off to all 07 models, but it wasn't clear though if entourage is included. so generally, PRICE is enticing.

as im looking for a 7-seater with rear entertainment and good mileage/fuel efficient, im still having second thoughts of getting '07 highlander instead of this minivan. im a bit concerned right now as edmunds reported the entourage to be more expensive in a 5-year term of ownership -- which i figure probably bec of a limited basic warranty where small parts/labor would bite.

Since the Entourage is new, long term reliability is unknown. My expectations is that it will be more like the Sedona's. Isn't really more like a Kia than a Hyundai? After all, it is the only Hyundai built at a Kia plant.

I plan to purchase an Entourage Limited in the next week. Just have realistic expectations. My next choice was the Sienna, and I've heard of lots of quality control isses with the Sienna surprisingly.

Let me know how it goes and how much you ended up with whom/dealership.

This post has been edited by mrdeeno: Oct 17 2006, 07:11 AM

We bought our Limited w/ultimate package for around $28k, and that was back in July. We now have about 1800 miles on it, and no mechanical issues. In fact the only two complaints that we have with it is 1. fuel economy (by trip computer around 15 mpg and 2. the vehicle will automatically lock itself while parked and running.

Is it the limited base? or with option of rear entertainment already? Do you have the dealership info and sales person you spoke with? TIA.

It is the Limited with the "ultimate entertainment package" (power doors, sunroof, 6 disc changer, rear entertainment)

Dealer we went to was Columbia Hyundai of Cincinnati, dealt with Matthew J.

PS. the upgraded, 6-disc, radio option gives you surround sound through the vehicles speakers for the overhead DVD player. Not, that it's practical while driving, but it is nice when you're stationary.

hmmm.. anyone in new jersey?

i never tried buying out-of-tri-state and not sure if it's wise to purchase the car from cincinnati and just have it delivered. i'd still ask the "what-if-lemon" kind of question..

in general, is it worth to negotiate with a dealership who is not giving "price quote" by email as requested?

Bought a red Limited with sunroof package at Rick Case in Cleveland. Ray Dennis Jr. was my salesman, and despite the issues I describe below was very professional and I'd deal ith again.
Cash price: $27,303
Rebate: ($500)
Subtotal: $26,803
That price is net of taxes, doc fee, title and license. It does include pinstripe, mudguards, floor mats, and wheel locks, plus other extras from the dealer.

It went OK, except for a couple of issues... They had misquoted the milage which got me really streamed. They quoted 25 miles and it had 130 miles. I was looking foward to breaking in the engine correctly for the first 100 miles which is my far the most important. My salesman also underquoted the doc fee by $150. I took possesion since I had driven up from Columbus... We'll see on Monday what they up up doing for me on a price reduction to make me happy.
:auto: :auto:

Droosh,
well, if the cleveland dealer falls through for you, the dealer in the cinci area is right off of 275 east.

Insofar as a previous question about lemon-law, I believe as long as the service center is a hyundai service center it will not matter. And buying out of state should not affect waranty application, either.

I purchased a new 2007 Hyundai Entourage Limited with Ent/ package on 9/30/2006. We test drove several on the dealer's lot after driving both the Odyssey and Sienna on the same day. We were impressed with the Entourages on the dealer's lot and made the decision to go with the Entourage. The only thing we didn't like was the color (they had Blue and White) we wanted Gold. So the dealer (Van Dyn Hoven Imports, Appleton Wisconsin) was able to locate a Gold one for us in Illinois on Dealer trade. We took delivery two days later. Immediately upon leaving the dealership, we noticed a significant and pronounced low-speed engine braking in 'our' new $30K+ van that was not present in any of the Entourages we had test driven from the dealer's lot. I immediately called the dealer via cell phone and informed them of this. I took the van back to the dealer two days later on 10/4/2006 with 251 miles. The dealer's service manager, Joe Hall, used their diagnostic computer and said the van was not showing any 'problem codes' so there was no problem. We insisted our van had low-speed engine braking unlike any of the other Entourages on their lot, so we took the service manager out for test drives back-to-back in both our van and the new vans on the lot to demonstrate. After the test drives, he confirmed ours had an issue. Well, that was 8 weeks ago, and the van still is not fixed. The service manager, Joe Hall, acknowledged the problem and said they would re-program the transmission, so they did that and he said that had fixed the problem. We happily, went to pick it up. Immediately upon driving it out of the dealership, we experienced the same low-speed engine braking issue. Their transmission re-programming did not fix the issue, it just made it intermittent, ie, three times it will engine brake and then it may not for a time or two, and then it will engine brake again. Now the Hyundai District Parts and Service manager, John Hobson, was just in this morning to test drive with us so we could demonstrate the issue to him. Both the Hyundai DM John Hobson and Joe Hall, the dealer's service manager are now denying there is any issue and refuse to do anything about this because their 'diagnostic computer' still reports no problem codes. If this engine braking issue was constant, I might be able to accept their point of it being a driving characteristic of the vehicle, but the fact this is random and intermittent tells me something isn't right. So my advice...BUYER BEWARE when dealing with Hyundai....if their diagnostic computer doesn't spit out any problem codes, you don't have an issue. This simply means that even though your vehicle doesn't operate as it should, they won't admit to any issue, and your 10 year warranty won't be worth the paper it's printed on. Wish we had waited for the 2007 Sienna now. Anyway, if you see a Gold 2007 Entourage in the Appleton/Oshkosh area of Wisconsin driving around with a big lemon on it, please wave to us..at this point, it seems our only recourse. Best of luck to you if you buy a Hyundai Entourage.

It is the limited with the "ultimate" package. That includes the RSE DVD.
We dealt with Matthew @ Columbia Hyundai.

Clearly cxl1 has had some hassles but can we get rid of the other 2 duplicate posts in other threads? I would try another dealer to see if someone with a new perspective will be able to diagnose it.

I am very pleased with our Entourage. We average 19 or 20 mpg a tank now on mixed driving @ 5000 miles. The only issue we have had is a nagging tire pressure indicator when the temperature was cold in the AM and warm in the PM. The temperature change was so significant that the tire pressure would fall enough to set off the light. No problems since after adding a bit of air to offset the fall temperature drop.

The van is our 5th Hyundai. We keep returning because of the value & waranty. More importantly though is our satisfaction with the dealership.

cxl1,
I would question the engine braking as well. But are you, or they, certain that it is the engine, and not the torque convertor?

sounds as if the lock up mechanism is malfunctioning, and grabbing instead of releasing on the coast phase. Just a thought...

This is 2007 Hyundai Entourage Limited with Ent/ package is our 4th Hyundai purchase in our family.

Mark
Ball Ground, GA

Our Entourage has had a couple of small glitches which were immediately taken care of by Hyundai of Athens (GA). They gave us a great deal on our rig which has all the toys including video system. we ended up getting it for around $22K and have enjoyed it ever since. We traded in a Toyota Sienna that had done well for us and were given a great trade for it.

I also own an 06 Sonata which is my work vehicle and at 41K miles, it is going strong. My Hyundai dealer has made all the difference as they take good care of their customers. Owning a Hyundai seems to be a function of the dealer quality more than the car quality. Overall, Hyundai builds a good vehicle that should go a loooong ways for you with minimal problems.

Ray :00000732: