[marleysdadco]

Hi everyone, i am looking at purchasing my first Hyundai, a 2004 santa fe 2wd manual transmission with 179k miles. This one was owned by a senior citizen and seems to be well kept, it has lots of recent work including a new timing belt. How many miles can i reasonably expect to get out of it? I am pretty vigilant about maintenence, and always keep a little money aside for any repairs that might pop up. This one looks really clean, inside and out with. He is asking $1800 for it which seems like a fair price. Anything else i need to look out for when i test drive it?

 

[Midwest]

You always need to use Edmunds TMV to value used cars. This is worth about $650 USD, in average condition, private party sale. With that many miles, there are issues somewhere. Could be small or large. I’d be concerned about rust, how the suspension feels/sounds, engine idle noise and shifting. Personally, even without seeing the car and assuming it is absolutely perfect, I’d pay not more than $800.

Additionally, for me, when someone put a lot of work into an old car recently and is selling it; I assume there are still more problems and they are done putting money in it.

 

[armtdm]

Sounds like they may have put more money into it than it is worth and have upped the sales price to try to recapture. Unfortunately, like a house, routine maintenance does not increase the price.
Also, climate plays a huge part, you did not state where you are located. A 2004 in he rust belt may be a bad buy, if in Fla maybe a good one! At this age always have a mechanic look at it first!

 

[chris6414]

As an owner of three Kia's and one Hyundai I can tell you, they are solid vehicles when well kept. My 05 Sportage EX with the 2.7 has 250,000 miles on it and runs like a top and I won't get rid of it. Doesn't burn or leak anything. In fact my daughter just started driving and it is her car now. You didn't mention what engine you have. I have read of owners with north of 350,000 on the 2.7 motors. I have a 2.0 with 170,000 K and still running strong as well and plan to keep it well north of 250,000. My 07 Sedona with the 3.8 is just about to go over 200,000 and she runs great. If you can negotiate them down I think you'll still have a good deal. I do agree to have a mechanic look at it if your not comfortable giving it the once over.

 

[marleysdadco]

Thanks everyone, i ended up buying it. I am pretty mechanically inclined, this is just my first hyundai. It is the 2.4 4 cylinder. I am in phoenix arizona. The car was purchased new in arizona, and autocheck verified that so rust was not a issue. I called the shop who did the timing belt 6,000 miles ago. They said the car had been maintained by them for the past couple years and the guy i bought i from always did whatever they reccomended. Im happy with it so far, it drives nice and is immaculate inside. It does have a bit of faded paint, like every early 2000's hyundai ive ever seen on the roads. The sun is hard on paint jobs and just about every car down here over 10 years old has faded paint. I do disagree with the person who said use edmunds tmv, as ive always found them a bit on the low end. Any car that is roadworthy with no issues is worth more then $650, i paid $800 for a 30 yr old toyota a couple years ago and that was a good deal.

 

[Midwest]

I’m happy for you. Greats news you could verifying service. I’m the TMV guy. I’m in finance. Market value is everything. If you see value at $1,800, that’s what’s matters. Just don’t do the same on a house.

 

[marleysdadco]

I’m happy for you. Greats news you could verifying service. I’m the TMV guy. I’m in finance. Market value is everything. If you see value at $1,800, that’s what’s matters. Just don’t do the same on a house.

Thank you. I ended up getting it for $1400, and it was the nicest vehicle i could find in my location for that price. Everything for $700 here was not roadworthy.

 

[seaguy]

We have a silver/grey 2004 Santa Fe 3.5 and 4WD that we purchased new in late 2003. This regal lady has 181k and runs like a Swiss watch. She has been faithfully maintained by a private mechanic since new. Besides the normal wearing out of normal components (alternator, starter, water pump, etc.) she has never let my wife down (daily driver since new). All receipts in a 3-ring since new. Just did a cross-country drive with her and she didn't even breathe hard. Cherry condition (mechanic said she was the cleanest 04 in Sacramento). Right now, we wouldn't take less than $5k for that vehicle since I could not replace her for less.
As far as I am concerned, KBB and Edmunds listings apply for folks getting vehicle loans, only. Otherwise, vehicles are only worth what someone will pay.

 

[seaguy]

We have a silver/grey 2004 Santa Fe 3.5 and 4WD that we purchased new in late 2003. This regal lady has 181k and runs like a Swiss watch. She has been faithfully maintained by a private mechanic since new. Besides the normal wearing out of normal components (alternator, starter, water pump, etc.) she has never let my wife down (daily driver since new). All receipts in a 3-ring since new. Just did a cross-country drive with her and she didn't even breathe hard. Cherry condition (mechanic said she was the cleanest 04 in Sacramento). Right now, we wouldn't take less than $5k for that vehicle since I could not replace her for less.
As far as I am concerned, KBB and Edmunds listings apply for folks getting vehicle loans, only. Otherwise, vehicles are only worth what someone will pay.

 

[marleysdadco]

We have a silver/grey 2004 Santa Fe 3.5 and 4WD that we purchased new in late 2003. This regal lady has 181k and runs like a Swiss watch. She has been faithfully maintained by a private mechanic since new. Besides the normal wearing out of normal components (alternator, starter, water pump, etc.) she has never let my wife down (daily driver since new). All receipts in a 3-ring since new. Just did a cross-country drive with her and she didn't even breathe hard. Cherry condition (mechanic said she was the cleanest 04 in Sacramento). Right now, we wouldn't take less than $5k for that vehicle since I could not replace her for less.
As far as I am concerned, KBB and Edmunds listings apply for folks getting vehicle loans, only. Otherwise, vehicles are only worth what someone will pay.

Agreed. I have always found their prices to be a bit off base, and they cant account for things that do add value to a car, at least when im the one buying it. I would be willing to pay more for a vehicle with a recent timing belt replacement, clutch or transmission replacement etc, then the same vehicle without that work being done, as i know how expensive they are to replace. I just had to replace the clutch on my new santa fe, and now know i have a vehicle that will last me for a while. I had no problem dropping the money for the clutch, as i now know that i wont have to replace it again for a long time. If i were to sell it right now, id be asking 3500 with the new clutch. Mine is a base model , 2wd manual transmission so its not worth $5k. Anything less then that would make the car not worth selling for me.