Likes
- Despite being built to a pretty small budget, in terms of reliability, they’re standing the test of time.
- They’re incredibly cheap to buy, own, and repair.
- Surprisingly fun to drive.
Used Hyundai Getz review
2002 - 2011
Dislikes
- If the previous owner neglected it, it could have some dramas.
- They are ageing, so don’t expect anything flash in terms of fit, finish and features.
- If you use cars to form part of your ego, the Getz will do nothing for you.
Stuff you should know
- You can pick up a Hyundai Getz on the used market from as little as $1,000. With the most expensive ones topping out at $10,000.Here in Australia pre-update Getz came packing either 1.3 or 1.5 litre engines. However, the majority on the used market will be either the 1.4 or 1.6 litre found in the post-update models.
- No matter which engine, they’ll be mated to either a 4-speed auto or 5-speed manual transmission.
- Internationally, not only were there a whole host of other petrol and diesel engines available, these were also known as the Hyundai Click or TB, the Dodge Brisa and the Inokom Getz.
- The easiest way to spot a pre or post-update car is to look at the headlights, pre-update they’re quite rectangular, post update they get a little more curvaceous and seductive.
- In terms of tech, obviously these never came with phone connectivity like Apple CarPlay or Android auto however, some of the later models do feature Bluetooth. Although the quality of that Bluetooth in terms of keeping paired to your phone and anyone you’ve called being able to decipher what you’re saying could be interesting.
- In terms of safety, it’s not great news, some early examples didn’t even have anti-lock brakes, a passenger-side airbag was optional and ANCAP awarded it a 3-star rating back in 2002. The post-update models did improve things with stability and traction control, I doubt you’ll ever require the traction control unless you’re driving on ice but the safety rating did increase to a still concerning 4-stars for 2008.
What goes wrong
Exterior:
As far as issues that are intrinsic to the Hyundai Getz, we trawled through owners’ groups and forums, read owner reviews and spoke to various mechanics, and there are no common issues with the exterior that are the car’s fault.
Occasionally you might find a tailgate handle that’s a bit temperamental, or the paint can be on the thin side, so it might chip, mark easily or peel off in high-traffic areas like the door handles and a few owners wish the lights were brighter And they can yellow by now, but even then, reports of these are few and far between.
Still, OEM replacement parts are so cheap and because the parts are bloody resilient, you could also buy whatever you need from a wrecker or online and save even more money.
Really the only big issue you might run into with the exterior has more to do with who the previous owners were.
Because these are so affordable, plenty of people on very tight budgets buy them and if they have an accident, quite often they’ll have the accident damage repaired as cheaply as possible and pass on all the potential on-going issues to the next owners.
Don’t let that be you.
Interior:
Ahhhh, nothing, seriously, again even the few issues and complaints we could find were not what we’d call common at all.
The occasional owner has had maybe an air conditioning compressor let go, some of the plastics might become a bit brittle and therefore the interior can get a bit rattle, or depending on your body shape, maybe the seats aren’t the comfiest but honestly, that’s about it.
And even for the very few problems that might occur, like the exterior, the parts are so cheap and most of the repairs can be really enjoyable “do it yourself” projects.
Mechanically:
Unfortunately, mechanically speaking, poor maintenance is most likely going to be the biggest contributor to reliability issues here. The thing is, they are really cheap to buy, which means a lot of people who are on a budget buy them, and a lot of people just don’t care about them that much because they’re just a cheap car. But, the funny thing is, while they are cheap cars, they are also ridiculously cheap to fix.
Here’s a couple of comparison prices. For context, this is an average of the retail price of those parts on these things. The ignition coils and leads often cause a misfire, and to replace them costs around $275.
Now compare that to a similarly aged Subaru Forester that has coil and leads, the parts for that car are about $400.
The right-hand engine mount on these is also
Exterior:
As far as issues that are intrinsic to the Hyundai Getz, we trawled through owners’ groups and forums, read owner reviews and spoke to various mechanics, and there are no common issues with the exterior that are the car’s fault.
Occasionally you might find a tailgate handle that’s a bit temperamental, or the paint can be on the thin side, so it might chip, mark easily or peel off in high-traffic areas like the door handles and a few owners wish the lights were brighter And they can yellow by now, but even then, reports of these are few and far between.
Still, OEM replacement parts are so cheap and because the parts are bloody resilient, you could also buy whatever you need from a wrecker or online and save even more money.
Really the only big issue you might run into with the exterior has more to do with who the previous owners were.
Because these are so affordable, plenty of people on very tight budgets buy them and if they have an accident, quite often they’ll have the accident damage repaired as cheaply as possible and pass on all the potential on-going issues to the next owners.
Don’t let that be you.
Interior:
Ahhhh, nothing, seriously, again even the few issues and complaints we could find were not what we’d call common at all.
The occasional owner has had maybe an air conditioning compressor let go, some of the plastics might become a bit brittle and therefore the interior can get a bit rattle, or depending on your body shape, maybe the seats aren’t the comfiest but honestly, that’s about it.
And even for the very few problems that might occur, like the exterior, the parts are so cheap and most of the repairs can be really enjoyable “do it yourself” projects.
Mechanically:
Unfortunately, mechanically speaking, poor maintenance is most likely going to be the biggest contributor to reliability issues here. The thing is, they are really cheap to buy, which means a lot of people who are on a budget buy them, and a lot of people just don’t care about them that much because they’re just a cheap car. But, the funny thing is, while they are cheap cars, they are also ridiculously cheap to fix.
Here’s a couple of comparison prices. For context, this is an average of the retail price of those parts on these things. The ignition coils and leads often cause a misfire, and to replace them costs around $275.
Now compare that to a similarly aged Subaru Forester that has coil and leads, the parts for that car are about $400.
The right-hand engine mount on these is also another common failure point, it just causes a weird vibration, to replace it is about $150 worth. Now if you compare that to a Mazda 2, which also has a similar engine issue, the mount for that is about $250, another big difference in price.
The water pumps do occasionally leak on those, and they’re down in the timing belt area, and the timing belt is due every 90,000 km, so you’re going to do the water pump at the same time. Now a timing belt kit with a water pump for these is about $250 give or take, which is about half the price of a Volkswagen Up! Big difference.
The AC compressor on these is also another fairly common failure point. There’s a big variance in price and quality of compressors, but on average you can expect to pay about $500 for a compressor on one of these things. Compared to a Toyota Yaris, which is about $700.
Another common problem we see on these things is noisy hydraulic lifters, or just tappet noise, which can be worse if the car has been poorly serviced, sometimes just changing the oil makes a huge difference there. But in other cases, that can be a sign that the engine is just about clapped out, unfortunately.
If it is clapped out and you do have to put a new one in it, you can buy an engine for one of these for about two and a half grand on average, depending on its condition. Now let’s compare that to a Fiat 500, the four-cylinder version of those that is probably a third of the price for an engine in a Fiat 500.
Exterior:
As far as issues that are intrinsic to the Hyundai Getz, we trawled through owners’ groups and forums, read owner reviews and spoke to various mechanics, and there are no common issues with the exterior that are the car’s fault.
Occasionally you might find a tailgate handle that’s a bit temperamental, or the paint can be on the thin side, so it might chip, mark easily or peel off in high-traffic areas like the door handles and a few owners wish the lights were brighter And they can yellow by now, but even then, reports of these are few and far between.
Still, OEM replacement parts are so cheap and because the parts are bloody resilient, you could also buy whatever you need from a wrecker or online and save even more money.
Really the only big issue you might run into with the exterior has more to do with who the previous owners were.
Because these are so affordable, plenty of people on very tight budgets buy them and if they have an accident, quite often they’ll have the accident damage repaired as cheaply as possible and pass on all the potential on-going issues to the next owners.
Don’t let that be you.
Interior:
Ahhhh, nothing, seriously, again even the few issues and complaints we could find were not what we’d call common at all.
The occasional owner has had maybe an air conditioning compressor let go, some of the plastics might become a bit brittle and therefore the interior can get a bit rattle, or depending on your body shape, maybe the seats aren’t the comfiest but honestly, that’s about it.
And even for the very few problems that might occur, like the exterior, the parts are so cheap and most of the repairs can be really enjoyable “do it yourself” projects.
Mechanically:
Unfortunately, mechanically speaking, poor maintenance is most likely going to be the biggest contributor to reliability issues here. The thing is, they are really cheap to buy, which means a lot of people who are on a budget buy them, and a lot of people just don’t care about them that much because they’re just a cheap car. But, the funny thing is, while they are cheap cars, they are also ridiculously cheap to fix.
Here’s a couple of comparison prices. For context, this is an average of the retail price of those parts on these things. The ignition coils and leads often cause a misfire, and to replace them costs around $275.
Now compare that to a similarly aged Subaru Forester that has coil and leads, the parts for that car are about $400.
The right-hand engine mount on these is also another common failure point, it just causes a weird vibration, to replace it is about $150 worth. Now if you compare that to a Mazda 2, which also has a similar engine issue, the mount for that is about $250, another big difference in price.
The water pumps do occasionally leak on those, and they’re down in the timing belt area, and the timing belt is due every 90,000 km, so you’re going to do the water pump at the same time. Now a timing belt kit with a water pump for these is about $250 give or take, which is about half the price of a Volkswagen Up! Big difference.
The AC compressor on these is also another fairly common failure point. There’s a big variance in price and quality of compressors, but on average you can expect to pay about $500 for a compressor on one of these things. Compared to a Toyota Yaris, which is about $700.
Another common problem we see on these things is noisy hydraulic lifters, or just tappet noise, which can be worse if the car has been poorly serviced, sometimes just changing the oil makes a huge difference there. But in other cases, that can be a sign that the engine is just about clapped out, unfortunately.
If it is clapped out and you do have to put a new one in it, you can buy an engine for one of these for about two and a half grand on average, depending on its condition. Now let’s compare that to a Fiat 500, the four-cylinder version of those that is probably a third of the price for an engine in a Fiat 500.
Should you buy it?
The thing you really do need to consider is what else could you buy that ticks all the same boxes.
We’d be checking out the first-generation Honda Jazz, Toyota Echo, Suzuki Swift, or early Mazda 2’s.
And yes there are a whole host of small European hatches available but when you’re shopping at this budget,the cost of parts, maintenance, and overall reliability need to be very high priorities and here in Australia, unless you’re planning on doing all the maintenance and repair work, we’d be going with a far safer bet.
Like a Hyundai Getz. Look these are such tough little nuggets of cars, obviously don’t buy one with a sketchy history and it’s important to take into account they’re only slightly safer than a motorbike but find a good one, and you’ll have a solid, nonsense, dependable partner on four wheels.
The right Hyundai Getz can be a fulfilling and healthy relationship personified in car form.
The thing you really do need to consider is what else could you buy that ticks all the same boxes.
We’d be checking out the first-generation Honda Jazz, Toyota Echo, Suzuki Swift, or early Mazda 2’s.
And yes there are a whole host of small European hatches available but when you’re shopping at this budget,the cost of parts, maintenance, and overall reliability need to be very high priorities and here in Australia, unless you’re planning on doing all the maintenance and repair work, we’d be going with a far safer bet.
Like a Hyundai Getz. Look these are such tough little nuggets of cars, obviously don’t buy one with a sketchy history and it’s important to take into account they’re only slightly safer than a motorbike but find a good one, and you’ll have a solid, nonsense, dependable partner on four wheels.
The right Hyundai Getz can be a fulfilling and healthy relationship personified in car form.
Should you buy it?
The thing you really do need to consider is what else could you buy that ticks all the same boxes.
We’d be checking out the first-generation Honda Jazz, Toyota Echo, Suzuki Swift, or early Mazda 2’s.
And yes there are a whole host of small European hatches available but when you’re shopping at this budget,the cost of parts, maintenance, and overall reliability need to be very high priorities and here in Australia, unless you’re planning on doing all the maintenance and repair work, we’d be going with a far safer bet.
Like a Hyundai Getz. Look these are such tough little nuggets of cars, obviously don’t buy one with a sketchy history and it’s important to take into account they’re only slightly safer than a motorbike but find a good one, and you’ll have a solid, nonsense, dependable partner on four wheels.
The right Hyundai Getz can be a fulfilling and healthy relationship personified in car form.
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Please note that pricing information is subject to fluctuations in the automotive market.
Information correct as of Nov 29, 2024.
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