Advice on used Hyundai i40

Immoschu · 16-01-2021 5:22pm #1

Hey folks,

I'm looking to buy my first car this year, in my 30s and looking for something a bit beyond the standard hatchback starters. Found a nice looking 2012 Hyundai i40 for 8.5k @ ~80k miles (automatic red one with NCT to 2023 on Donedeal atm, can't link).

Just looking for some advice on the model in general and how it fairs on higher mileage/age like this. It seems good value but discussing with family the mileage may be a bit high/something to think about. Is it really that bad? What would be a good mileage target to be filtering on during my searches - ideally I'd budget a car within 10k but if something good enough came along I'd consider up to 15k. Any tips on what would be a good alternative/competitor (has to be automatic) in these ranges.

In the long term I'd be using the car for the odd trip between Dublin/Clare (once a month maybe) and outside of that just possible 2/3 day commutes of 1 hour each way would be only really substantial planned driving. Would I be expecting a lot of issue on older i40 like this at that rate or would it be something comfortable to drive for the foreseeable future.

Edit: Only looking at automatics.

Thanks in advance for any input.

James Bond Junior · 16-01-2021 5:25pm

Heavy on diesel and they eat clutches which are expensive to replace.

I wouldn't. What else floats your boat?

Immoschu · 16-01-2021 5:48pm

Would be picking up auto version rather than manual.

I'm not too fussy on models once it can fit in budgets and is reliable enough, open to suggestions. Saw the Mazda 3 fall under criteria, Mazda 6 also nice but been a bit pricier. Was doing some searches last night in higher (15k) price band and spotted Renault Megane Grand Coupe which looked good. Volvo s60 was another one I think. And Skoda octavia was another one on the higher price band.

Constraining myself a bit too in looking for car that has Sat nav + rear parking cam or sensors. Could get these installed myself I guess but easier if it's built in already. Really trying to find car I can just drive for next 5-10 years so want it to be somewhat future proof.

pullandbang · 16-01-2021 6:10pm

Immoschu wrote: »

Would be picking up auto version rather than manual.

Was doing some searches last night in higher (15k) price band and spotted Renault Megane Grand Coupe which looked good.

Really trying to find car I can just drive for next 5-10 years so want it to be somewhat future proof.

I'm driving a 131 Renault Megane Estate, diesel with an automatic gearbox. Wouldn't expect to get 15k for it though.:)
I'm looking to change too but for "future proofing", I'll be going Electric.

Immoschu · 16-01-2021 11:53pm

pullandbang wrote: »

I'm driving a 131 Renault Megane Estate, diesel with an automatic gearbox. Wouldn't expect to get 15k for it though.:)
I'm looking to change too but for "future proofing", I'll be going Electric.

Yeah to be fair the 15 k Megane was 2017 with 60k odd km on it, looked around at electrics now and again, not a huge amount of appeal there unfortunately right now - mostly Nissan Leafs, Renault Zoe etc. bit smaller than what I'm looking for.

Spotted a nice BMW 3 series 2013 under 100k km just shy 13k price - insurance quotes don't look great on that though, but could prob convince myself if the combo stayed under 15k starting off.

It seems the BMWs can be very expensive to maintain in the long run though from quick searches on the topic. Even more options to be had in that brand if going back a couple years but same issue on maintenance then, guessing it's not worth it vs say paying 15k ish for more modern Passat or w/e.

13-02-2022 7:34pm

I've owned a 2015 facelift i40 saloon for two years, had absolutely no problems with it apart from the paint being very thin and stone chips rusting easily. The clutch issue was pre-facelift so 2011-2015 (the front grill will be silver on the pre-facelift and gloss black on the facelift) and on the newer model it's been fixed. They do high mileage very well and if the clutch does go, it's normally the pressure plate which would be covered under the 7 year warranty.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/115944580#Comment_115944580

AMKC · 13-02-2022 9:14pm

Renault Laguna might be worth a look. The MK III was a great car, very classy in the right spec and reliable too.

bazz26 · 13-02-2022 11:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625924#Comment_118625924

Hyundai give a 5 year warranty, not 7. Also the clutch problem goes on well beyond 2015-2016. My BIL has a 2017 Kia Optima which is the sister car of the i40 with the same running gear and the clutch failed on it after 8 months.

14-02-2022 7:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118626842#Comment_118626842

Apologies I got the warranty mixed up. I was in the motor industry and seen hundreds of these vehicles, the clutch was not as bad an issue it was made out to be and it was basically non-existent on the facelift i40.

Toyotafanboi · 14-02-2022 9:29pm

It's outrageously troublesome, on every model i40. You'd need your two feet to press the pedal in some of them. Personally, i wouldn't recommend an i40 to my worst enemy.

bassy · 14-02-2022 9:33pm

whats the i30 from 2008-2012 any taughts 1.6 diesel,a mechanic told me the i30 for those yrs is a great car.

colm_mcm · 14-02-2022 9:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118631557#Comment_118631557

They’re a very robust car. The automatic version is relatively heavy on diesel because it’s an old school torque converter. Flip side if that is that it’s a reliable and smooth gearbox.

Parts for them can be expensive but for the usual stuff like turbos, injectors etc they’re not known to troublesome.

Manual ones can have bad release bearings, you can easily spot these because they crunch going into reverse. Ignore at your peril as they can disintegrate and take the gearbox casing with it (go on ask me how I know 😬 )

Of all the small engines diesel cars from 2008, I’d buy an i30 or Ceed in a heartbeat over pretty much everything else in that class from a reliability POV.

bassy · 14-02-2022 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118631585#Comment_118631585

thanks for the info and i take it from what you have said you would indeed be happy with the i3o from 08-2012 ?.

colm_mcm · 14-02-2022 10:48pm

Yeah, I mean they’ve dated quite a bit now but they’re a solid car.

Advice on used Hyundai i40

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