so sad la bro. Sorry to hear that
That's why I saw many young people only get married with korean. Including me (forte). But I hope my story will be happy ending

This post has been edited by jai2005: Jan 6 2012, 05:14 PM

Sorry, but straight to the point? I don't think it's good to use metaphor or 'translated' words since it can be misinterpreted, much like the cent per kilometer you guys were being so critical of me using it?



I have a tonnes of answers to the 'lowered price' part, but I am still looking for all the points you guys want to justify a lower price for Hyundai, else the debate will go on till the cows come home and this thread turns into 'Why Korean cars should be cheaper' rather than '2012 Hyundai Elantra'.

This post has been edited by FluidicSculpture: Jan 6 2012, 05:27 PM

Takign things abit OT here :
It depends on your target market, if you are buying cars like Evo X, Subaru's etc, its so much cheaper in Singapore its not even funny. But if you are buying a regular 1.8 sedan, then depending on the current COE price, u might or migth not be able to afford the car. You also have the option to try your luck and bid SGD1 for the COE every year, u might get lucky.

As for car appreciating... it happened to a friend who bought his Legacy GT aroudn 2 years back.

That being said, if you are really cash strapped, go renew it for 5 yrs and then scrap it lor. I did that for one of my bike (but I managed to sell it to some Msian who is riding aroudn without insurance....)

ps : If you live/work in both Msia/Singapore you will know car is much more affordable in Singapore. if I get paid 15k per month in RM here.. if I go down to SG I will get the same 15k but in SGD! Case in point.. a fellow trader is driving a new Z4 in SG.. she bought it for around SGD240k, i get paid around the same but since I'm in Msia.. no way in hell I can afford the RM550k price tag

This post has been edited by MeToo: Jan 6 2012, 06:38 PM

Just a thought, why must car prices here be compared to SG's? Why not compared to Thailand's

YOu much rather Msia develop into SG standard or Thailand standard?

means the more expensive the car the more developed the country is? Then I'd rather stay in a less developed country

Well to each their own i suppose.

If you see Thailand as a good example of a forward/developed country and woudl liek to mimic them then pls go ahead.

I'll rather our country strive to be as developed as SG (despite whether I actually LIKE singapores/singapore or not).

oh.. using my Z4 example...

a Z4 (3.5l) is 8.5M Baht in Thailand. So.. its cheaper then Msia/Singapore?

But it didn't mention whether this is for the high spec or low spec version. As I know, the high spec version is selling better than the low spec version. Same with Forte EX and Inspira 1.8M, plenty of discounts. Thanks to this sort of market feedback, it's no wonder that SD decided to bring in a high spec Elantra fully loaded and charge a premium for it. When faced with a high spec and low spec variant, majority will opt for the high spec variant because even if the difference was 8-10k, once you spread it out in a loan it won't be that big a difference.

---

Added on January 7, 2012, 4:53 amPpl already gave you the straight answer, you still kept digging, so I gave you a "comprehensive" answer loh lol...

It was merely tongue-in-cheek, but the moral of the mad story was that as what cybermaster said, reputation takes years to build. If this coming Elantra was a successor to a highly successful model, which sadly it's not, people won't forget Hyundai's and Kia's past disasters and would really think more than twice before signing a new loan for another Korean car. And as Msian car buyers are very price sensitive, especially involving prices in excess of RM70k (where most non-national brands reside), demand for Korean cars is still largely quite elastic.

For Hyundai (and Kia with the high pricing on the Optima), most people here are of the opinion that it's still too soon to sharpen the blade. Maybe in a few more years when the current Forte, Sonata, new Elantra and Optima have proven themselves to be resistant to ridiculous price slashing and expensive repairs, i.e., held up to the test of time, then only can they safely bring on the sharpest blades. It's just too plain cocky to expect Msian car buyers to suddenly flock over to a Korean marque based on the flavour of the month.

A simple question you need to ask yourself is this: Are Hyundais a little too out there in terms of design? Remember the Coupe? That car looked interesting enough for a small group of high risk takers to take up the offer, but less than a decade down the road, all previous gens except the current one which is more conservative, the Coupe looks so outdated, simply because when you are too flashy with your designs, it will not withstand the test of time.

Same reason that 90% of all cars (only cars, not all vehicles) sold in the country are sedans and not 3-door hatchbacks or estates.

This post has been edited by gregy: Jan 7 2012, 04:53 AM

Can't agree more, although I owned a hyundai for >6 years now.
I would have no hesitation to go for another kimchi, but, it must price it right.

Optima, was disappointing due to pricing, at that price, I expect a more complete gadget, just like singapore. At current spec, 135-140k would be acceptable.

For elantra, 105k for 1.8, is probably just nice for most, and for me a guy who owned a hyundai for sometime already, <110k would still ok. (but must comes with complete gadget la.

Oh right, actually I know where you're going with your story, but I've already answered many points of contention long ago so I don't really know why you guys are still harping about it over and over again. I'll play along again, before someone said I am 'giving up so soon' on 'reeducation'.

So I will post later, since I have to prepare for work now, not to mention some researches that I have to do.

Bro Fluidic , there is no need to argue whether the Sonata is priced right or not right. The car has been in the market for quite some time and the sales so far has given you the answer whether the general public is willing to accept the kind of pricing by SD for this car. You can say that Hyundai is not able to supply enough car to SD and therefore the sales is low and many are in the waiting list. But how sure are you this booking will eventually turn into actual sales. D segment car is a very competitive and once a new model , assuming Camry comes out in few months, those Sonata booking can easily turn into Camry on the road. Car market is a zero sum game.
I can see many in this thread is willing to pay not more than 105-110k for Elantra 1.8. If the price is higher, then no matter how many extra gadget you put inside the car also will not results to a good sales figure.

Well said. Exactly my point. Its pointless saying waiting period is 6 months and there are 1000 ppl in queue. Because come 6 mths, this 1000 ppl may have been reduced to only 100 and thats the statistics that will show in the end not the initial 1000 bookings. Bookings must turn into actual sales. No 2 ways about it.

And we must remember that the current sales of the Sonata is compared against the the current Camry model which is 6 yrs old and yet the Sonata is nowhere close. Everybody knows a new Camry is due in the next few months. What will happen to Sonata sales when the new Camry comes? Are we still gonna hear stories about 6 months waiting period, factories running at 3 shifts, 1000 bookings, etc to justify even lower sales of the Sonata?

The Camry can be considered the Godfather of D Segment cars. It may not be as beautiful as the BMW or as well specked as other similar makes but it still commands a good following due to brand recognition. Many months after its launch, it will still have a good turnout in showrooms. I can imagine the Sonata sales dropping further once the Camry is launched unless Toyota really screws up the pricing or specs.

bro,stop complaining at ppl rice bowl gotta understand where it comes from

i must say its not easy to fight with the reputation and the fame civic and corolla (altis/camry) is enjoying, they are at 8th generation already. japs car might be cheap, but japs arent stupid. there are stuff that can be copied, and there are stuff that cant be copied

but we as consumer has everything to benefit from, so i welcome their challenges to the jap's throne

and lately, even local car makers are buckling up

I will have to agree on this also. RM110k is the max i would go for it, anything more, i am better off going for something else. The sweet spot would be around or less than RM105k.

As i said many times, they have improved by leap and bounds, but to price their car too close to a Japanese makes right now, it is a bit too early. Gregy does have some valid point. Part of the reason why Forte was so successful is thanks to it's competitive edge in pricing. It is undercutting similiar segment car about RM10k - 15k.

Reeducation does not happen overnight, for it to work, it has to be introduced slowly for the masses to accept. Bear in mind malaysian market for Korean car still have the perception of inferiority to Japanese make, but i can see this is changing slowly. Give it another year or two and you can probably see Korean and Japanese on par.


As much as i hate to admit it, yes even our dear Proton is improving. The latest batch of Saga 1.6 FLX SE is a real piece of work.

This post has been edited by Madgeiser: Jan 7 2012, 10:44 AM

sometimes its not just reeducation, its about proving themselves.

we have civics that is as old as 1st generation right here. which is more than 30 years.

its about long term reliability. thats why honda motorcycle is still hot selling, because the 30 years old model is still running on the street, and THAT is advertisement, not some restyling and some hard sell of sweet talkers can do.

looking at the effort japanese had put in, we must respect them, this beyond former audi designer can do.

1. continuous improvement of the car parts and lifetime.
2. investment and involvement in motorsports such as rally, F1, super GT, which they can learn the knowhow of tuning a car chassis and handling ( thats where UK is excel at, korean i'm not sure)

in short, korean cars need time to prove themselves, but generation x and y are very willing to change, because they do not want to be seen in a car their father's would buy( same fear on iphone now, father using iphone, kids will be more willing to use android)

they need time, more time

True, but looking at the Japanese model of these past decade, i would have to say, they have stagnated somewhat. So is it a good time for other car makers to catch up. When someone has been the king for too long, innovation tends to drizzle out.

The old Hyundai Accent was involved in Rally sport. Not sure how good was the result, maybe someone else in the forum would know?

This post has been edited by Madgeiser: Jan 7 2012, 10:56 AM

yup, they have slow down, design wise

Im getting boring with this thread for all those comments not related to Elantra. Just hope to hear what is bad or good about the new car.

Not about what resale value, comparing to Japan car, what what about Hyundai; it is too general and the arguments will never end.

I would like to see more specific details just about Elantra.

true..in fact, most of us will only be interested at the pricing info..

anything else can wait..