Are Hyundai cars expensive to repair?
Fuel consumption and insurance premiums are two of the major factors which determine a car’s running costs, but maintenance and repair costs also make up a large part of a car’s total budgetary needs. Let’s see how much it would cost to keep some Hyundai models on the road, with a specific focus on service-, repair- and maintenance costs.
Hyundai has moved steadily upmarket through the years, but that doesn’t mean that they abandoned the more-affordable market segments, either. While some Hyundai offerings have become quite pricey through the years, the bulk of their sales still come from the budget- and compact car/SUV classes.
This means that their lower-end models should be quite affordable to run, so we decided to investigate Hyundai’s repair costs in relation to their opponents. Because it’s impossible to accurately gauge labour costs at OEM dealerships, we’ll focus on the parts prices of 3 Hyundai models, as listed in the 2021 AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide.
The AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide
In order to compare various cars in terms of maintenance, in our South Africa according to their market segments, and then compare the various models’ spare part prices to those of their opponents.
In the latest (2021) report, Hyundai featured in 3 categories: The Atos was evaluated in the “Entry” segment, and the Venue went up against other “Compact Family” cars. These are 2 of Hyundai’s more-affordable models, so their running- and repair costs will be particularly significant to buyers. Meanwhile, the upmarket Santa Fe competed in the “Executive SUV” segment.
The cars in this report are evaluated in 3 departments: Service parts, Maintenance parts, and Body repair parts. Service parts relates to short-term running costs, Maintenance parts relates to longer-term upkeep, and Body repair parts indicate how much it would cost to fix one after a typical collision.
Hyundai Atos
The Atos is the most-affordable new Hyundai currently available, so it’s also the model for which parts prices will be most impactful. In the 2021 AA Spare Parts Pricing Guide, the Atos went up against such formidable opponents as the Datsun Go and Renault Kwid, both of which are known for inexpensive spare part prices. How do the Atos’s parts prices compare in this class?
In terms of service parts, the Atos has reasonably-priced prices, although its service parts basket was about 20% pricier than that of the least-expensive car in this category (the Renault Kwid). This is largely due to ludicrously expensive spark plugs – more than R 1 000 per set, and the second-most-expensive in its group! Fortunately, aftermarket spark plugs are easy to find, and for about a quarter of Hyundai’s OEM prices...
Matters are decidedly less rosy when it comes to maintenance parts, because the Hyundai Atos’s maintenance parts basket is the most-expensive in its group. It also costs almost twice as much as the least-expensive car’s basket (the Toyota Agya), largely due to the disproportionate prices of brake components, which are the costliest in the group.
The picture changes in a much more-positive direction when accident repairs are considered, however. The Atos registers the third-cheapest parts basket in this department, being around R 6 000 more-expensive than the cheapest in this group (the Datsun Go) and a whopping R 22 000 less-expensive than the most-expensive (Kia Picanto).
Related: There’s a lot to admire about the Hyundai Atos, as shown in this review.
Hyundai Venue
The AA survey used the Hyundai Venue 1.0T Glide for their comparison in the “Compact Family” category. Once again, service parts prices are middling in its group, although the Venue’s service parts basket costs almost R 2 000 more than that of the least-expensive car’s (Peugeot 2008 1.2).
Maintenance parts prices likewise fall midway in this group, being around R 7 000 pricier than those of the Mazda CX-3 (which is least-expensive) and with a similar gap to the most-expensive (Kia Seltos 1.6) parts basket. The same applies to accident repair parts, where the Venue will cost much less to repair than the Kia Seltos, but more than the Mazda CX-3.
Related: The Hyundai Venue proved to be a very likeable when we reviewed it.
Hyundai Santa Fe
Service parts prices are the Santa Fe’s largest drawback, because it has the most-expensive parts basket in its group. Interestingly, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio had the least-expensive service parts basket, although the BMW X3 2.0i and Volvo XC60 T5 weren’t too far off, either. Good thing that the Santa Fe also comes with a service plan for 90 000 km or 6 years, then!
Maintenance parts present a middling result, being around R 11 500 more-expensive than the most-affordable basket in this group (Mercedes-Benz GLB) but a massive R 26 000 cheaper than the Volvo XC60’s basket. This strong performance is unfortunately obliterated by the Hyundai’s accident repair parts basket, because it is yet again the most expensive in its group. In fact, the Santa Fe’s body parts basket costs more than twice as much as that of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio.
Related: Get all the info about the Hyundai Santa Fe latest facelift (2021) here.
Verdict
At the lower end of the Hyundai model range, maintenance and repair parts are priced mid-field, making them neither particularly expensive to repair nor especially affordable. However, the high-end Santa Fe will need a deep pocket to run in the long term, even if you don’t crash it. Its expensive servicing and massive body part prices mean that you’d be best advised to keep it well-insured, as even a minor collision could set you back a substantial packet.
