"Car Czar's" - Is this worth it?!

[JugStafe]

Ok... I'm not even going to try to attempt to be car savy here, which is why I'm here. I'm in the market for a new car, I'm looking for style, affordability, reliability and something economical... Aka, I'm a college student. I'm limited in funds to about $3,000.00. If I can get something good for cheaper, I'm all there.

So I stumbled across this 1998 Hyundai Tiburon FX. I'm not too familiar with Hyundai's but I've heard that they sucked real bad back in the day but are making a comeback now. Whether or not the 1998 made that comeback list, I don't know.

I've included a picture and here are the stats.

1998 Hyundai Tiburon FX
2 Door Coupe
96,500 Miles
Manual Tranmission*
Silver

Click "Here" for picture.

The price they are asking is $1,495.00.

*Now for the catch... I talked to the dealer and they told me that a little while ago a guy took it on a test drive and abused the gears a bit which resulted in the transmission getting jacked up pretty bad. Thus needing a completely new manual transmission. The pricing it's at right now is a promotional deal to get it off the lot and will be like this for a few days. Three days ago it was at $2,955.00. I've gotten a review on the VIN# and there are no problems at all. In fact, it looks as though it's had only one owner.

Now for my questions, is this worth it? How much money am I looking at spending to get a new manual transmission installed, parts and labor? Is it going to run smoothly after that?

If anyone has any experiences with the Tiburon's please let me know how that's been, and/or even with Hyundai in general. Thanks.

 

[dbk]

I don't know how much all that would cost but if i was in your case with such limited funds..i would just pass on this.

 

[suse920]

i say pass, you dont want to start dumping money into right when you buy it.

 

[Horus]

Clarkson called the Tiburon "A brilliant little sports car for drivers on a budget", and I've heard it's pretty decent on the road. I'd go for it.

 

[KokomoGSTmp]

Originally posted by: Horus
Clarkson called the Tiburon "A brilliant little sports car for drivers on a budget", and I've heard it's pretty decent on the road. I'd go for it.

Except for the fact that Clarkson is an misinformed British doof who threw his back out driving. He's funny but smart and well-informed he isn't.

Most reviewers in the states said it was OK at best and Clarkson said he liked the V6. You can find a better car for same amount of money.

The story from the dealer makes me worry about it instantly. If you have to replace all the synchros and even some of the gears, shift forks, linkage, clutch, etc... you're looking at way more money than a standard rebuild. And that's going to be more than the value of the car.

There's no value in the car other than as basic transportation and because of the damage to it, it's now worthless.

 

[TomKazansky]

Originally posted by: JugStafe
Ok... I'm not even going to try to attempt to be car savy here, which is why I'm here. I'm in the market for a new car, I'm looking for style, affordability, reliability and something economical... Aka, I'm a college student. I'm limited in funds to about $3,000.00. If I can get something good for cheaper, I'm all there.

So I stumbled across this 1998 Hyundai Tiburon FX. I'm not too familiar with Hyundai's but I've heard that they sucked real bad back in the day but are making a comeback now. Whether or not the 1998 made that comeback list, I don't know.

I've included a picture and here are the stats.

1998 Hyundai Tiburon FX
2 Door Coupe
96,500 Miles
Manual Tranmission*
Silver

Click "Here" for picture.

The price they are asking is $1,495.00.

*Now for the catch... I talked to the dealer and they told me that a little while ago a guy took it on a test drive and abused the gears a bit which resulted in the transmission getting jacked up pretty bad. Thus needing a completely new manual transmission. The pricing it's at right now is a promotional deal to get it off the lot and will be like this for a few days. Three days ago it was at $2,955.00. I've gotten a review on the VIN# and there are no problems at all. In fact, it looks as though it's had only one owner.

Now for my questions, is this worth it? How much money am I looking at spending to get a new manual transmission installed, parts and labor? Is it going to run smoothly after that?

If anyone has any experiences with the Tiburon's please let me know how that's been, and/or even with Hyundai in general. Thanks.

please do NOT buy a korean car.

 

[intogamer]

get a 1990 camery with the plastic spinnars - best bang for the buck and pimp!

 

[Ryan]

danger Will Robinson!

 

[EyeMWing]

There was a 1998 Tiburon? I didn't even know it existed, so the it's likely HIGHLY sh!ttastic.

 

[charles555]

if they're hurting to get it off the lot for under 2 grand, there HAS GOT TO be a problem with them. I always wondered if those were decent cars, because i heard that the suspesnion was designed by Porsche. I don't know if there is any truth to that, but they person telling me this wasn't a Hyundai owner.

 

[BD2003]

I wouldnt buy a pre-2000 tiburon, especially with 100,000 miles.

 

[Koenigsegg]

Originally posted by: KokomoGSTmp

Originally posted by: Horus
Clarkson called the Tiburon "A brilliant little sports car for drivers on a budget", and I've heard it's pretty decent on the road. I'd go for it.

Except for the fact that Clarkson is an misinformed British doof who threw his back out driving. He's funny but smart and well-informed he isn't.

Most reviewers in the states said it was OK at best and Clarkson said he liked the V6. You can find a better car for same amount of money.

The story from the dealer makes me worry about it instantly. If you have to replace all the synchros and even some of the gears, shift forks, linkage, clutch, etc... you're looking at way more money than a standard rebuild. And that's going to be more than the value of the car.

There's no value in the car other than as basic transportation and because of the damage to it, it's now worthless.

Or, he was referring to the redesigned '03 Tiburon methinks.

PS Clarkson is brilliant

Back to the original topic though, the old Tiburons were really pretty crappy cars, it was long before they got their act together more recently..so I'd really just stay clear of them. While they may be cheap and depreciate like crazy, their replacement parts are really no cheaper than other cars.

 

[wasssup]

for that cheap, i'd pick it up...seriously, $1500 is nothing...get them to lower it to $1k...