Washed the 45,000 mile Hyundai.

[Spazdog]

I wish my phone could capture how good the pearl white paint is. It's a finish you would expect on a Lexus. I hear a lot of reports on how bad the paint on Hyundais are and this one does not appear to have that problem.

It hadn't been washed in a long time. I would say well over a year. It doesn't get driven anymore.

Things to fix: Left rear speaker, windshield washer pump, and electric trunk release. Everything else is really remarkably good for sitting dormant for over six months. The fuel has to be a year old and it did sputter a bit at first but a fresh tank cleared all that up. Glass smooth. It's how I would expect a 2001 Buick to run and drive.

 

[beast3300]

Looking good!

 

[addyguy]

Uumm...why don't you drive it anymore?

Are you 'preserving' this as some kind of collectors car for later?

 

[BearZDefect]

The white pearl paint on our 2009 Sonata is pretty, no doubt. The only trouble with white is how quickly it looks dirty.

The paint is thin (typical nowadays it seems) and chips easily. And there are multiple rust colored edges. I do not think these are actually rust since they haven't blistered, and I don't notice them at a glance because they are on the sharp folds of the sheet metal that are not facing outwards.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Uumm...why don't you drive it anymore?

Are you 'preserving' this as some kind of collectors car for later?


No, it's my mother-in-law's car and her many medical conditions are robbing her of her ability to drive.

She likes to hang on to it. Maybe her last symbolic bastion of independence. We allow it because she doesn't drive it.

I thought I would drag it out and run a little maintenance, checks, and services. Battery was dead and the 3.0 had a nasty tick for about 5 minutes. But again, it smoothed right out with some fresh gasoline.

She promised it to me when she does give up the keys. It's not my style at all but I gotta' admit, it is as good as any Lexus ES300 I've ever driven. Smooth and quiet.

If you squint your eyes a bit, the front end looks a little like a Lincoln and the back looks like a Rolls Royce. It's not a Rolls Royce...not even close, but it could have had a place in the Lincoln lineup then.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
The white pearl paint on our 2009 Sonata is pretty, no doubt. The only trouble with white is how quickly it looks dirty.

The paint is thin (typical nowadays it seems) and chips easily. And there are multiple rust colored edges. I do not think these are actually rust since they haven't blistered, and I don't notice them at a glance because they are on the sharp folds of the sheet metal that are not facing outwards.


It's definitely better than my Mazda's thin and chip-prone paint.

It was, at the time, Hyundai's flagship so they may have taken more care with the paint. It's really good.

 

[addyguy]

Even tho your MIL can't drive it anymore, is there any way you can maybe take it out once a month for a good highway run to keep everything working well?

Really, really long periods of sitting slowly deteriorate cars worse than many think.

 

[CBR.worm]

My neighbor has one similar to that. I think his is an XG350. He bought it new, drives it about 60 miles a day and loves it.

His is a funky looking car, it does look like a different car from every angle.

 

[Spazdog]

Same car. His has a bigger engine. My sister has an XG350. It feels a lot more powerful than the 3.0 but it actually only has about 10 more horsepower. Gotta' be in the torque the extra 500ccs provides.

It is a funky looking car. I don't think the Koreans had hit their stride in styling yet (and if you look at the Kia stablemate, the Amanti, you see they were cribbing more than just Lincoln and Rolls Royce. It was a flat out rip-off of Mercedes Benz E-Class styling)

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Even tho your MIL can't drive it anymore, is there any way you can maybe take it out once a month for a good highway run to keep everything working well?

Really, really long periods of sitting slowly deteriorate cars worse than many think.


That's my line of thinking. Get things circulating and turning again, fresh fluids, Good charge on the battery, etc...


Just driving it around I can't help but feel like it's a Buick Park Avenue. It doesn't drive like a premium Asian car like an Acura RL or Infiniti I-30. It drives like a big FWD V6 domestic. Soft, slow steering and very quiet. I get back in my Mazda and it almost feels twitchy responding to every input on the wheel.

 

[CBR.worm]

Yeah, they were definitely going for the luxo-barge feel. Actually drives like it is bigger than it is, which I guess a lot of people like. I prefer cars that drive like a roller skate, but have some room inside.

Not at all unpleasant though. I would like to drive an Equus (or whatever it is called).

 

[CharBaby]

I pulled up next to a Pearl White Hyundai XG350 while driving my Pearl White Lexus and thought..."what a beautiful Pearl White Paint Job Hyundai has"! I liked the Hyundai's paint better than the Lexus' I must admit!

 

[VicVinegar]

Not sure if it is true or not, but I've heard that since the XG was Hyundai's flagship at the time, it was a status car in Korea, kinda of like how "driving a Cadillac" used to be the sign you "made it" in America (still is for some people).