How reliable is a 2002 hyundai accent GL?

Question

I am looking at purchasing a used white 2002 hyundai accent GL, a 4 door sedan. I'm not sure whether its manual or automatic. It is only $2995 and it has 40,531 miles on it. How reliable and safe is this car? I'm 16 and it would be my first car but my parents won't let me get a car that I will have to fix up often and is not safe. My mom is insisting that hyundais are not good cars but she does not know much about them. Any personal experience advice or any information would be helpful.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Last year I would've said the same thing about Hyundai, but I've become educated since then (as have alot of people close to me) and learned they are among the best cars you can buy.
On your 1st point, this car has low miles and a quick look at the maintainence log will show if its been kept upto date. The reliability of Hyundai's started to improve in the late 90's, and the 2002's are pretty good.
For safety, this is a rather small car and safety features in cars have improved over the last 5 years with multiple airbags, traction control and stability control.
You certainly can't beat that price (seems to be about $2K less then those on autotrader.com) on a young car...I'm sure you're parents are telling you to get an Accord/Camery...well if they are willing to put up the extra $3000 to get one of those cars with about 100,000 miles then that wouldn't be bad, but for $3K you'll only find dogged out Jap cars just waiting for a major repair.
The only other recommendation with ALL used cars is have an independent mechanic look the car over prior to purchase.

Answer 2

We have owned a 2000 Hyundai Accent since the end of '99, when the newly redesigned models were coming out. We have only ever had one problem with it other than normal wear and tear (tires, brakes, etc.) and it was under warranty and promptly fixed. We remark all the time that we absolutely could not have bought a better car for the price!

We are planning to get rid of our SUV in about a year and will probably buy a Santa Fe because we have been so pleased with our Accent.

Interestingly, we were at the Hyundai dealer today looking at the Santa Fe and noticed that the new Accents are $15,000-$17,000 now! We paid $8,000 for ours - brand new - going on 8 years ago. I can't believe how the price has increased, but I think it's because more people are realizing that Hyundai is a great brand.

One thing to mention...I don't think the warranty is transferrable, so if something does go wrong you will probably have to replace it.

Our neighbors also have an Accent (1999) and love it, too.

Answer 3

Well, I cant speak for the 2002, But I have a 99 accent gl, with a manual... I've had GREAT luck w/ mine, the only major repairs on it have been having all the belts replaced ( including timing belt) and the fuel filter , Aside from that simply routine maintenance, such as tune up & oil changes & brake pads on the front. I've put over 50,000 on mine & it still runs like a champ, peppy for a 4 cyl manual ;) Hope this helps you . As for all the hyundai haters out there.... How many other vehicle makers offer a 10 yr 100,000 mile warranty ? Here's some more info for you as well http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2004-hyundai-accent-5.htm

Answer 4

it all depends on how often you do oil changes and the like, but I bought a 2002 hyundai accent new. It had the 5 speed, and I managed to run up over 212,000 miles on it before I traded it in on a 2005. I ran it over 100 miles a day commuting, and it was very reliable. All it needed replaced were tires, belts and brakes in all the time I owned it.

Answer 5

I had a 2000 Accent, bought it new. I put 102,000 miles on it and sold it to my brother when I bought a new Hyundai Elantra. He is still driving the Accent 2 years later, and has about 120,000 miles on it. Never had any major repairs done, just the basic recommended maintenance. I've had the Elantra for 2 years and have had ZERO problems. Hyundai may have had their problems in the 80's and 90's but they fixed them up and are now excellent cars. You can always take it to a mechanic and have him check it out before you buy it.

Answer 6

No offense, but your mom and all Hyundai basher don't know what their talking about.
My mom owned a 00' Accent, barely did it basics like oil changes and such and still ran good for her. The car is small so like most small cars (not just Hyundai's) it won't be that safe against something like an SUV but it's pretty safe in general. Good car for a first time driver

Answer 7

I bought my Hyundai in 2002 at about $12,650 brand new-1.6 DOHC engine and A/T, and in the early years of owning it-I loved it but as time went on I have been having major problems with the speed sensors and pulse generators are being blown. I have had to replace them several times (4 to 5 times), mainly the car doesn't shift properly at any speed. The mechanics have said I could replace the computer or the electrical harness, but not sure if it would fix the problem. At this time I opted to just replace the speed sensors or pulse generators as it is cheaper. I have approximately 146,685 miles on the car. I still get good mileage on the highway around 35 miles per gallon but the city driving sucks. Not sure you would have same problems with your car as I have had with mine; just something to keep in mind.

Answer 8

I have a 2002 hyundai accent with the 1.5L and manual transmission. 288,000 miles and it runs great. I expect to get a lot more out of it the way it runs.

Answer 9

for under $3,000 that is a good deal, yes the accent is reliable as long as you take care it, people that say hyundai are bad cars have never owned one, you do not drive a car to crash it, my advice period is as long as you change the oil change 4 months or 5,000 miles you car will run a very long time.

Answer 10

My MIL has a 02 Accent GL. She loves hers dearly! No breakdowns, no repairs, no nothing. She's only done the routine maintenance (tires, oil changes, tire rotations). My husband has a 02 elantra and I have a 07 Sonata. Neither one of us have had any issues with our cars. Their awesome!!!!!