Today I got a great deal on a car. We needed to replace my daughter's car, a 2004 Hyundai Elantra because my mechanic put the wrong oil in it and the car has gradually developed engine problems.
A friend of my daughter's was advertising a 2011 Hyundai Genesis which had belonged to her grandparents. They didn't drive the car much and were easy on her. The car has 62,667 miles on it. Original.
Picked it up today. It's got a 3.8 V6, 6-speed automatic.
Car will be used for commuting to school, about 32 miles each way.
I would appreciate some good maintenance tips.
Thanks.
Good luck. I wish though you'd asked for opinions before you bought it. Just take care of it and keep your fingers crossed. Any 12-year-old luxury car is going to be a gamble and an old Genesis can all too easily turn into a money pit. Having low mileage does improve the odds.
Opinions on a Hyundai
Scotty's opinion about Korean cars. They are junk.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/hmg/#post-175217
some good maintenance tips.
same as any other car. Read the owner's manual. Keep up with maintenance. Change oil every 5k.
Don't listen to any of the baloney about "lifetime fluid", "sealed transmission" etc.
Generally, Hyundai cars are not recommended.
Read our thread on Hyundai Motor Group products: https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/HMG
Personally I also have own Hyundai-Kia products and choosing the right car is important,
Unlike Toyota, there's a lot of variance when it comes to product quality.
Many are crap, many are decent - mostly depends on if it's an MPI/GDI powertrain.
2011 Hyundai Genesis (...) Picked it up today (...) It's got a 3.8 V6 (...) 6-speed automatic
I hope it's the lower power variant with the good old RWD Aisin transmissions.
While the 290 horsepower MPi is good, The high power 329 horsepower GDi engine is troublesome.
And as far as the transmission, it's a solid unit, the same one used in the Miata and Lexus CS/GS/LS430 variants.
Overall, the MPi variant can last you quite a while, maybe over 150k.
Assuming it doesn't get stolen, that the luxury elections don't blow up, and that it doesn't catch fire...
I would appreciate some good maintenance tips.
Look the Genesis is a luxury car, and an absolute maintenance hog.
With any modern Hyundai for the longest possible lifespan, follow the maintenance requirements laid out under the "MAINTENANCE UNDER SEVERE USAGE CONDITIONS" section.
So mainly engine oil every 3.75k miles,
and for the transmission no more than 60k with OEM spec fluid (I believe it takes Toyota WS fluid, but am not 100% sure. Also it's best to do it every 40k or less! - after all the 3.8L is much more powerful than the Miata's old 2000s 2.0L 170 horsepower)
Otherwise just follow all the other regular requirements too, there's a lot of those: valve clearance adjustments every 60k miles, the fuel filter every 37.5k miles, the fuel tank filter every 30k miles, cleaning the throttle every 15k miles (if you see lots of build up, do it every oil change), every 100k miles (although I'd recommend 60k) replace the spark plugs, inspect the fluid every 37.5k (better to do it every oil change or two), Coolant first at 120k and then later every 30k (although I'd recommend first replacement at 100k), AND MUCH MORE - all requirements as listed the manual should be followed!
<addressing a comment about it being the 290 horsepower MPI variant:>
Nice! that's a reasonably solid engine.
The things to look on the 290 horsepower Lamba is chain rattle on a cold start (usually it's the chain tensioner), rattles in the intake manifold (it can fall apart and get sucked into the intake) and oil leaks (it's best to address them before they become anything too major) - also if oil isn't replaced frequently enough it can begin to burn copious quantities of oil (most of these engines end up burning oil since 7.5k miles between changes is just too long)