Ask an expert

Hi, I hope you can help me with this: I'm interested in buying a Hyundai station wagon which is listed on TradeMe. I looked up the plate number (ZB5744) on CarJam and that sight shows a spike in the mileage: March 2004- 35K+, May 2004 174k+(!!), Mar 2005 45k+ What on earth could that mean? To be fair, I haven't asked the seller yet since I want to be able to judge if they are 'fudging' the truth or not. Hence me asking this question to the Experts first :-) ...I simply can't imagine what could cause that spike except shennanigans, or a mistake. Can't wait to hear what you have to say. Kind regards, pania (ps the vehicle is year 2000 and the odometer currently stands at 117,000km which is extremely low - and the main reason I am interested...)

Hi there,
We see this from time to time where a typo was made when entering the mileage (usually at wof inspection). If it was a one-off spike and then it recorded back down to a realistic level, then it would most likely be an error. If the mileage stayed high- then we would be a bit suspicious.

That's the reply I was hoping for! Are you able to give me your opinion of this vehicle? Deets: Hyundai Lantra GL year 2000, manual trany, 5 door station wagon. Any comments gratefully received even if they are just general about Hyundai (like how easy is it to get parts for this vehicle in NZ?) Much appreciated! Kind regards, pania PS I currently drive a 2000 Kia Mentor which has been very reliable: I believe Kia and Hyundai are made in the same factory?

There's not a lot we can say about an 18 year old vehicle as it's no longer in its prime life (10 years), as long as it passes a new wof and has been maintained well, it should be fairly reliable. Other than regular consumable parts (filters, brakes etc) parts will most likely be required second hand at a wrecker.
Yes I believe Kia and Hyundai are of the same family.