Tips on buying a used Hyundai Verna in India

The Hyundai Verna, that is the first one for India was supposed to be a replacement for the Hyundai Accent worldwide. However, as of now, as is the norm, both the cars used to sell side by side. The new 2011 Hyundai Verna, the “Fluidic” one replaced the older Verna, but then the Accent still continues to soldier on here. With the launch of the new Verna, the old one would see its resale value plummeting south. Here, we have got a few tips on buying a second hand Hyundai Verna in India. As always, these tips aren’t exhaustive ones, but only something which we need to keep in mind while buying a used Verna.

Even though the Hyundai Verna was not a sales chart buster much like the Accent, it garnered decent numbers each month and maintained a momentum. But unlike the other cars in its category, it offered a wide range of engine options plus transmission options. The first generation Verna in India was launched in 2006. 5 years is a short time for a product replacement but then Hyundai being Hyundai can be expected to do unthinkable things. So, the Verna presented a proposition which suited a wide range of buyers. For the exterior design, it underwent a change somewhere down in 2009 and the new moniker given to that change was Transform. It is much harder to find than the pre-facelifted model. The Verna presents a very Korean type design language, which is far different from the Fluidic one which the current Verna presents. Watch out for the bumpers though. If there is a bumper sticking out, then be prepared to shell out Rs 7k for the front one and Rs 8-9k for the rear one. The doors, unlike the ones in the Accent, shut with a solid thunk. Door beadings, for ill maintained cars, are known to give way. These aren’t expensive but definitely are time consuming. ORVMs of the Verna cost approximately Rs 1200 a piece. The tail lamps as also the head lamps don’t have a problem of the glass darkening and stuff, so its pretty much easier to find one without this issue. Tail pipes of a Verna aren’t prone to corrosion and hence this shouldn’t create a problem either. The first gen Verna had a leaner tail pipe while the Transform had a chunkier one.

For the interiors part, the Verna presented clean but uninteresting interiors. The fake wood inserts in the central console may please some while others may not like it so much. However, everything has been put together very well and there is no complaints regarding the same. The steering wheel is devoid of audio controls, but the music system is capable of accepting an aux or USB input system. Hyundai’s decision of continuing with beige for their interiors is a taxing proposition since cleaning it is a pain. However, a car interior shampoo job would fix this thing. The electricals and all are trouble free. The boot joints, sometimes, tend to develop a rust problem. That is, if the previous owner wasn’t too keen on checking this out. This can be taken care off by an experienced technician who will suggest remedies for it. Rear seat space is a tad less than the others in its class and also underthigh support is a bit lacking. Boot space is also adequate but the suspension mounts intrude heavily.

The suspension of the Verna has a ball joint and tie rod which tend to wear out after the 35k kms mark, if the previous owner was not too careful about driving it callously on ravaged roads. Approximately Rs 4.5k is the amount that one needs to pay to get them replaced. The car has a tendency to wander around on the highway and this shouldn’t be a concern if you are taking the car for a test drive. For an old car, wheel alignment and stuff need to be checked, plus the tyres of the car give way once past the 25k kms mark. The steering wheel of this car is a hydraulic unit and is utter light for use in the city, however, once on the highway, this steering wheel doesn’t weighten up. The steering wheel is a generally trouble free unit and also there were no problems reported with it.

The Verna came with a 1.5 liter CRDI engine and a 1.6 liter petrol engine. The diesel motor was known as a diesel rocket and it mixed pleasure with practicality. However, diesel Verna cars are hard to find in the used car market and hence the ones on sale need to be inspected very carefully. Whilst examining a diesel Verna, if you find that the car is spewing black fumes from its exhaust, then it means that there is a problem with the engine. Turbochargers of some of the Verna cars were known to pack up at around the 50k kms mark. This results in pickup issues. Together, an engine overhaul looking into all these factors would entail expenses worth Rs 64k. At every 10k kms, the diesel particulate filter needs a replacement and its costs Rs 1500 to replace it. The clutch of a used Hyundai Verna, especially in its diesel form, may slip and this may be the reason of the pressure plate going kaput. Replacing it costs Rs 8,400. Moreover, spare parts are priced reasonably but some are on the higher side. The petrol Verna’s engine literally needs no looking into, if the previous owner has adhered to the service schedules.

A second hand Hyundai Verna would require a periodic servicing every 6 months or 10k kms, whichever is earlier. The total cost would be approximately Rs 1500, which includes oil filter replacement at Rs 85, air filter at Rs 377, engine oil at Rs 759 and labour at Rs 950. Hyundai’s excellent service network ensures that servicing a Verna wouldn’t be a problem. A used Hyundai Verna price from the 2006 batch would start from Rs 3.10 lakhs and this is for a petrol variant. The diesel one would cost approximately Rs 50k more. There was also a 4 speed auto transmission on the diesel variant. However, this would be a hard thing to find since not many such pieces were sold in the first place and also owners developing an affinity to these cars from early on. A fully loaded 2008 model would cost approximately Rs 5.3 lakhs. Buyers can actually haggle now with the used car dealers for some discounts since the newer Verna has been launched. Fuel efficiency for the petrol would hover around an overall 12.3 kmpl while the diesel one would return 15 kmpl.