Buy the Warranty

My wife and I bought a 2004 used SES in 2004 with 21,000 miles on it. It was a good deal, and has been great for road trips and around the city. The car has never stalled or left me stranded, but it has had it's fair share of problems. In the first year, we had to take it in for 2 vacuum leaks. In the 2nd year, we replaced the fuel pump, and then again this year. 2 in one year just about. Plus, this year we had an oil leak and had to replace the oil pan gasket. We had to fix the fuel door sensor or something because it said my gas cap was not sealed properly. The power steering pump has been making noise since we bought it, but now is a little louder. My wife has said it has a hesitation when starting, but all the charging systems are fine. On a minor note, we replaced the front speakers because they blew out in 2 years. We still have the extended warranty, but if it weren't for that, I would seriously consider this car a lemon. I've been told I should already.

As for what I think of the car as a whole, I like driving it. It gets decent gas mileage, especially since I put a K & N Air Filter on it. I can get 30+ mpg on highway if I'm not flying in it. Around city is 24 mpg.

The engine is a little underpowered for a vehicle that size. It still gets up to speed okay, but it would be nice to have about 50 more horses available like some of it's competitors. Granted, the gas mileage might suffer, but it would be a little more fun to drive.

The car is comfortable to be sitting in for long periods of time. I've driven 8 hours straight and took very few breaks, mostly for fuel ups. There is lots of room for 4-5 people. 4 average sized adults will be very comfortable on a road trip. Plus, there is a nice big trunk for your luggage or grocery shopping.

I really like the steering wheel and how it feels driving. Only problem I've had or will have is the noise it makes. Actually, the style of steering wheel helped make my decision on buying a 2004 versus an older model.

One downside, is the gas pedal has a lot of vibrations in it. Every bump is felt through it, and I've only found that on 2004 models and newer. I'm not sure the cause, but it's tolerable and I haven't noticed anything affected by it.

Overall, I would think the car has been good to us. If it weren't for the warranty, I would be singing a different tune. It is a very affordable vehicle for the year that we were able to buy. If you get it checked out before you buy it, hopefully, you won't run into the problems that I have.