Out with the old and in with the new!

03 Elantra GT...


Nope not mine. My dad's. It needs a ton of work. Now that I'm here I can fix it right? Well, not really, I think its beyond repair. With the car acting up this morning while dropping my nieces off at school, my dad's thoughts went elsewhere. "Should I just replace it?" my response has always been neutral. It is his car and he alone needs to make the decision. I think this morning pushed him over the edge though. Metal clanking, and burning belts was the last straw. The car needs four struts, brakes all the way around, and a long list of other tidbits. So his 03 Elantra GT with 175k met its fate today...it was let go.


In with the new...


So after I picked my niece up and drove her to school, I came back to the house and we started looking for cars. At first, he was just interested in used cars. After looking around for a little bit, the only used cars worth getting were really pricey. Does a 2009 Elantra manual with 34k really go for $14,000??? Has the resale value of Hyundai come up that much in the last couple of years? I guess so. So we headed out to our local Hyundai dealership. I saw a white Veloster. I instantly went to go look at it. I knew from the rims that it was a base model. It was also a DCT. So we went inside and asked for the keys. My dad loved the car! So we went inside to work on some numbers. Too bad the guys at Hackettstown Hyundai were trying to play games. Its a  shame really. I know how to shop for cars and the process that goes behind it. Please do not tell me you have zero wiggle room on a car. There is ALWAYS wiggle room. It is whether or not you want to wiggle it.Then they suggested that we do a lease to buy...are you crazy! No dice. I suggested we call our go to guy Joe Ippolitto at Towne Hyundai in Denville, NJ.

Sure enough, we were greeted with a big smile and a firm hand shake. I simply asked him if he had any Velosters on the lot?...nope. Any manual Elantras?...nope Any manual Accents?...one, it came on the truck last night! The car was automatically brought around, I think his assistant was listening and a signal was given, with a dealer tag in the window. How did he do that so fast? We hopped in the car and went. The Accent has the same motor as in the Veloster. The 1.6 GDI with 138 hp and 123 ft/lbs of torque. It also has the comfort package. Everything that my dad was looking for. No joke, 30 minutes we were done. Joe had worked out the numbers while we were on our test drive. Not only was it quick it was cheaper by almost $100 a month! Moral of the story, if you need a Hyundai and your in NJ,  go see Joe Ippolito at Towne Hyundai!

I feel a new dealership partnership may have been found. He even offered me a job there if Sonography does not work out. I politely told him "It has to workout, or my wife will kill me!" I also feel another ATH review in the woodworks.

I have also been looking at cameras. So if anybody out there has an idea for a good camera without being too outrageously expensive, let me know!

so goodbye 03 Elantra GT hatch and hello to the 2012 Accent 4 door.