My neighbor is getting his teenager a car. Frontrunner is an 03 Elantra, 150K miles, Auto. Runs/drives excellent, 1-owner, full service records. Supposedly has wear on the outside edge of a tire and the owner says it could use struts. $2500
Good?
Any issues I should tell them of?
Thanks!
Jaynen
Reader
9/3/12 11:17 a.m.
Little bit of research on my end seems like radiators tend to leak and or crack and you need to watch the CV boots and CV joints
I will buck the trend...he doesn't want it. I'll only list the problems I've had with mine.
Radiators crack and leak. The replacements will too.
Brakes cook easily...not a danger, but they will warp and shake again.
Intake manifold gasket goes bad, causes a dead miss and rough running, but will still get you there. Cheap fix, kind of a pain in the ass. No power, rough running, E36 M3ty mileage. Mine's done it three times in the 25k miles I've driven it.
E-brake cables are designed so that they WILL cause the ebrake to freeze if you park it in freezing weather. This is infuriating.
Mine's a manual, but the synchros are already going at 120k miles. Clutch has been replaced twice in the last 15k miles due to a throwout bearing seizing up after 7k miles. Can't speak to the automatic.
Interior materials are kind of janky...honestly, after driving it for a year, I think I liked the interior better on the '93 Protege that I replaced with this thing.
Overall, I just don't like the vibe it gives off. I have found something to like about almost all of the 20+ E36 M3heaps I've owned and driven over the last 15 years. I have nothing but hatred for this thing.
A lot of my problems may be down to the DPO....a well-maintained example might be a different story. I still don't think this think should have the problems it has after only 90k miles when I bought it.
The generation before is a much more fun car ... seems to be more robust as well.
The kid wrecked Mom's new car twice already (just parking lot scrapes). They just want safe and able to run around in town. He could, unfortunately, care less about sporty.
He is signed up for the TR Street Survival School in a few weeks, and I may be his instructor, so that might change!