At the time I bought my del Sol back in 2019, what I really needed was a car that would be a good daily driver, but I had to have a manual transmission, because I am stubborn. I was looking for something that was a little quirky or interesting, too. I have a thing for small cars, and very few companies make truly small cars anymore. So when this 1998 Hyundai Accent came up in my searches, I was immediately interested. It was in astonishingly good condition and had very low miles for its age. The seller was asking $2500 for it, which was a little over my budget at the time, but I contacted them anyway because it seemed too good to pass up. Unfortunately they were very difficult to reach and were not replying to my messages, so I moved on and ultimately bought the del Sol.
The day after I agreed to buy the del Sol, the daughter of the Accent’s owner finally replied.
How to Buy Two Cars when You Can Only Afford One
I only had enough saved up for one car, so now that I wanted to buy a second car I had to figure out how to make that happen. I went to the bank and tried to get a small personal loan, but they said some things about my debt to income ratio and how that number was not particularly good. It’s not that I’m bad with money (usually), it’s just that I didn’t have a lot of it at the time. So to buy a second car I did something I definitely do not advise doing if you find yourself in a similar situation: I took a cash advance from my credit card. This is typically known as a “terrible financial decision”. If I could not pay the amount back in a short time, this $2500 car would end up costing me a lot more.
Fortunately for me, the following year I got a higher paying job and it all worked out. But this is not something that you can count on or even plan for. You should actually try to live within your means, if possible. Definitely don’t have an expensive habit like buying old cars.
This Car is an Anachronism
Under normal circumstances, a 1998 Hyundai Accent shouldn’t even exist by 2019. These cars were made cheap, probably from cheap steel, and painted cheap. They rust very easily, and I’m sure most of the ones that were sold in the Midwest didn’t last very long. So when I saw this virtually rust-free, almost like-new Accent for the first time, I was amazed. It wasn’t mint condition by any means; the plastic dash was cracked and it had small dents and scratches all over, but it was clearly well taken care of. The odometer read just under 36,000 miles, and by the condition of the underbody and engine bay, it was obvious this wasn’t some mischief. The factory inspection sticker was still on the timing cover, for goodness’ sake.
The woman who owned it had driven all the way from Michigan, around the lake, and up to southeastern Wisconsin to show me the car, which I did not ask her to do, but I wasn’t the only one she intended to show the car to. Fortunately I was the first.
She explained that she had inherited it from a family member who had bought it new in 1998 and went to Florida every winter, leaving the Accent in the garage in Michigan during their yearly migration. It hadn’t been driven through a single winter until she got it the year before.
This is extraordinary. This is a base model Accent with a manual transmission and manual steering. It wasn’t even optioned with air conditioning. It has manual crank windows. This is the sort of car that stopped being made in the late 80’s, and Hyundai continued making it for another decade.
Unless you live in Australia, it’s the sort of car that people buy cheap and throw away in five years, yet it was cared for as if it was a classic muscle car. I had to buy it, so I did. I admit I tried to offer her a little less but she wasn’t having it, and that was fair. I gave her $2500 for it and promised her I would take good care of it. She was so sad to let it go, but due to some health issues, she had trouble driving it. I tried my best to reassure her it would be in good hands, because I know how hard it can be to sell a car you really love.
Trying to Keep it Alive
There was a dent and some rust I had to fix, which I did immediately, and so far that repair has held up well. The only other problem I inherited was that the fuel gauge doesn’t work properly. I read that these cars have a problem with the fuel system which can result in the fuel tank literally deforming. To fix this, Hyundai provided a fuel cap that had more ventilation. The previous owner must have had some anxiety about fuel thieves because she had replaced the original fuel cap with a locking one. I’m not certain this contributed to the problem, but it seems plausible. Now I just use the trip odometer and count the miles. I probably burn about half a tank before the fuel light starts to come on.
Unfortunately for the Accent, it is my daily driver, which means it now regularly sees use during winter. Snow, sleet, and the dreaded road salt all contribute to eroding steel very effectively. To combat this, every autumn I jack up the car and spray a new layer of Fluid Film all over. This creates an oily protective barrier that has so far been somewhat effective at slowing or stopping the rust, at least on the underside.
The body panels themselves are a different story. Every year I also find myself breaking out the sandpaper and removing the beginnings of rust, usually around the edges of the rear wheel arches. I repaint the “repaired” section in something resembling the original white and hope it lasts a bit longer next time. I’m not trying to keep it looking beautiful, you see. I’m simply trying to save the metal. If I lose the metal to that flaky, cancerous rust, I’ll never be able to make this car last.
If I can make it last, perhaps a full repair of the bodywork and a fresh coat of paint is in the future. At the very least, I would like to stop driving it in the winter, but I just don’t have the budget for a third car, and finding the space to store the Accent poses a challenge, since I am already renting storage for the del Sol. For now, the Accent will continue to be my daily driver.
Meet Honey
As I mentioned in my article introducing the del Sol, I like to name my cars. Being that this was a Korean car, I started looking for names from K-pop groups, but I found that I couldn’t really get into K-pop. It’s just not my thing I guess. In the process I discovered a very cool musician named Cifika, who you should definitely check out, especially if you like experimental electronic stuff.
Ultimately I went with a simple alliterative name. This little car was pretty sweet, so I named her Honey. Honey the Hyundai. She’s been very reliable and, apart from some serious difficultly with front wheel bearings, I haven’t had to do much maintenance. I hope I can make her last a long time.
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