Junkyard Find: 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT 5-door Hatchback
Back in June, our learned friend Sajeev Mehta traveled from Houston to Colorado, where he learned about single-digit humidity and accompanied me to a number of junkyards along the I-25 corridor. He pointed out this South Korean rarity at a boneyard in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
We've been seeing older cars in this series for quite a while, with every Junkyard Find a 20th century vehicle— and all but one of those from the 1952- 1987 period— since we admired a final-year GM J-Body in North Carolina way back in May. It's time we looked at some discarded automotive history from our current century, yes?
Hyundai got its start in North America by selling the rear-wheel-drive Pony in Canada as a 1984 model. The incredibly cheap Excel showed up in the United States for the 1986 model year, followed by the midsize Sonata for 1989. The Excel-based quasi-sporty Scoupe appeared here two years after that.
At that point, the suits in Seoul must have decided that the company needed a Corolla competitor to squeeze in between the Yugo-rival Excel and the Camry-rival Sonata. This was the Elantra, which first appeared in North American Hyundai showrooms as a 1992 model.
The second-generation Elantra debuted here as a 1996 model and included a station wagon version. The third-gen car arrived as a 2001 model, and the top-trim-level GT was added for 2003.
The original Elantra GT came with a stiffer suspension, leather seats, snazzy-looking aluminum wheels and other goodies. It was the first true performance-tuned Hyundai sold in the United States.
The third-generation Elantra sedan was available in GT form through 2005, while sales of the hatchback GT continued through 2006. When the fourth-generation Elantra went on sale here as a 2007 model, the GT trim level disappeared (but returned for 2013).
The engine is a 2.0-liter DOHC straight-four rated at 135 horsepower.
Transmission choices were a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic. This car has the automatic.
The MSRP was $15,444, or about $26,757 in 2024 dollars.
This car got some body work with thick layers of Bondo at some point during its driving career.
At some point, it passed through Patriot Auto Sales in Cheyenne, which at the time of this writing had just one Hyundai for sale ( a 2013 Elantra GLS).
Another Equality State car retired.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
2003 Hyundai Elantra GT in Wyoming wrecking yard.
[Images: Author]
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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I remember going to a Hyundai dealership with a friend who's 89 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon had become too troublesome to keep on the road. She was quite impressed with this little thing and with a 0% financing option and about $15k price tag, she was ready to purchase. Then I asked about the payments, got the number and the term, did some quick mental calculations and ended up at $22k all in. I asked how this was possibly a 0% financing deal and he muttered something about dealer prep and transport costs. She ended up buying a used 99 Mazda 626 instead, which she loved.
For about two years I owned a 2006 sedan I purchased from a co-worker who bought it new in 2006 and drove it to work and back 90 miles per day on the hwy. In 2018 he just abandoned it in his back yard when he bought a new one. In 2022 I had an acute need for a car for my 16 year old son and used cars, as we all know, were hard to come by for a decent price. We went to his house to see it and it was a sad sight, no doubt. Tires buried in the ground, clear coat gone, doors not locking. Inside was ok-ish, door handles broken and had to reach out to open the door, door panel cloth drooping. He took the spark plugs out, cleaned them, cleaned the MAF sensor, throttle body. I bought a new battery and after a few tries, the Elantra sputtered to life, hesitantly, at first. It had 318,000. While he drove it, he maintained it religiously as per the book ( oil changes, transmission fluid, etc). I gave him $300 and the car became my son's. New Chinese tires ( $280 installed) new, complete AC system for $700 installed, new Denso Alternator for $200 installed, new headlights for $130 complete with bulbs, $20 for interior door handles, $12 for a windshield washer motor, $11 for radiator cap and $23 for OEM thermostat. A lot of the work we did ourselves like oil changes, coolant flush, interior door bits, but AC work done by a good mechanic working from his home.
The car still looked like crap on the outside but no rust. We drove it for 2 years and approximately 20,000 miles and then bought a used 2007 Toyota 4 Runner in great shape. The little Elantra drove great and it almost became like a trusted family pet. Never broke down, never used a drop of oil. At 340,000 miles or so, I talked to my friend, the initial owner, and told him that I don't need it, but would like to sell it/give it back to him and not to anyone else ( he had an emotional connection to it, hence he didn't want to sell it when he parked it in his back yard). He gave me $400 for it in May 2024. Still going, like the Energizer bunny.