Ultimate Oxymoron: Rich and Affordable

Non-car enthusiasts have confused the car I bought for my husband as an Infiniti! "When did Infiniti start making those? Which model is it?" "Aw, it looks like a baby Infiniti! A Hyundai?!? Stop kidding around!" I purchased his 2000 Hyundai Sonata GLS nearly six months ago and we're still bombarded with these questions and comments from family, friends and even strangers. You know what? It doesn't bother us one bit.

About six months ago, my husband's Dodge Intrepid was on the blitz. As a car-enthusiast, I know the basics of vehicle repairs and maintenance so I took a look at it. New air conditioning compressor and rotors were necessary and soon the transmission would need to be replaced or re-built; I confirmed my findings with an auto service shop owned by a friend. My husband's beloved Intrepid needed, at the bare minimum, $1,500 worth of repairs. YIKES! <:o Should we spend the $1,500 now on repairs and wait for something else to break (the car had over 130K miles on it) or go out and buy him a new one? We opted for the second choice.

I thoroughly researched different cars on-line and at dealerships and I crawled around and test drove many cars; I reluctantly decided on the 2000 Toyota Camry (V6) even though I wasn't thrilled with the "ride", price and warranty with the Camry. Before I signed the papers, I left the dealership and went to the nearest Hyundai dealership. My husband was not pleased; In the past, Hyundai had a reputation for being "cheap" and "tinny".

.....Dealer tags on? Check. Seat belts buckled? Check. Key in the ignition? Check. Ignition on? Check . . . wait a minute, I don't hear anything. Is it really on? .....

The 2000 Sonata GLS was so quite after start-up, I thought it had stalled but it hadn't! The ride was incredibly smooth, with a Mercedes-like ride. The automatic transmission was like silk; no jerks or jumps. The interior was nicely designed with plenty of room for 5 adults. Front and side airbags (wow!), cushioned engine mounts, decent factory stereo and speakers, sun/moon roof, bumpers that "bounce" back into shape if something hits it, smooth easy steering, two-compartment console, glove box (with manuals, Hyundai road-side assistance numbers, Hyundai notepad and pen, car maintenance journal), an armrest/cupholder/storage device that folds up for rear passengers, TWO power plugs (I like that a lot!), compartments for change and "junk" (i.e., cell phones, pagers, etc.) The seats are so comfortable; all headrests adjust up and forward and the driver's seat has four adjustment controls. The rear doors have child locks on them so the kids can't open the door and tumble out while the car's in motion. There's a cargo net in the spacious trunk with a lower hidden compartment that carries the full size spare tire and jack (and instructions too). The paint actually felt soft. In comparison to the paint of other cars, it was like cashmere; there are many layers of specialized paint and top coat to give it an enduring beautiful finish.

The cincher was the 100K/10 year warranty. There's even a five year warranty on the paint! "Where do I sign?!?" :)

Customer Service is excellent also. They followed up on the sale to make sure we were happy and reassured us about the warranty and services they offer for free. If we ever have to bring the car in for anything, we'll receive a FREE loaner until our Sonata is fixed. We also get FREE car washes (soft cloth) for the lifetime of the car! That's unheard of here!

"What about that Camry?" you ask. What Camry? The Sonata beats it in every way. The next new car I purchase is going to be for me and guess what I'm going to buy! ;)