used car advice/running out of gas

[Dis]

This is for my mother, but any help would be appreciated.

She was test driving a Hynundai Elantra- I believe is the name of the vehicle. It's a 2006 with about 5000 miles on it. And the car runs out of gas.

First of all, what kind of damage occurs when a car runs out of gas. And secondly, does anyone know if this is a decent model of car?

thanks for any help.

[Flubber]

I'm really not sure but I thought that the main thing was that it was more likely that any dirt/gunk in the gas tank would be more likley to clog fuel lines and such.

I didn't think running out of gas would do anything serious. Running out of OIL on the other hand-- OUCH


BUt I am so not the car guy

[Dis]

yeah I thought it had to deal with the fuel injectors.

anyways.

bump

[BlackCat]

I seriously doubt that any dirt will get into the system just because of this - why should it ?

What could mess up things would be that the engine gets air instead of gas and that might do nasty things to volatile parts.

[Provost Harrison]

It'll be fine...the problem is getting **** into the fuel system but it shouldn't be a big deal...especially at that age...I would doubt there would be that much **** in it anyway...

[SlowwHand]

In cars these days, with fuel injectors rather than carbureators, running out of gas is a bigger deal. I'm not sure of the consequences. Don't let her do it anymore. Don't go under 1/4 tank.

[Dis]

actually she didn't buy the car. It ran out of gas on the test drive.

The salesman was so embarassed. He had to come back with a 3 gallong gas can.

But my mom is still thinking about buying the car, and wants to know what kind of damage running out of gas did to it.

[Winston]

Don't buy cars, we'll run out of air.

[CerberusIV]

Shouldn't be any damage. Once there is no gas the fuel/air mixture in the cylinders can't ignite and the engine stops. Put more gas in the tank, turn the engine over and the fuel pump should refill the lines and injectors and everything should be OK.

The real problem with a car is when you put petrol in a diesel engine or vice-versa.

Recent Hyundai's in Europe are basically fairly average. They start, go and stop and don't have a habit of shedding bits too often. Not exciting but if all you need is transport they're OK.

[Spec]

Absolutly no damage at all.

A 2006 Elantra is rated as a great reliable car if your compare price to quality. I say buy it since it has only 5000 miles, she'll save a bundle on the dealers MSRP since it's like new...hell, it'll even be roaded. Was it a rental car before?

Spec.

[Spec]

Originally posted by CerberusIV
The real problem with a car is when you put petrol in a diesel engine or vice-versa.

Actually, that's not entirely true. When you own a diesel car, it is recommended to put 2% to 3% of regular gas mixed with your diesel every oil change or so. It helps clean the injectors and reduce carbon build-up.

Spec.

[rah]

If the car was 5 years or older there might be some crap in the fuel tank that could gum things up, but for a newer car like this, there shouldnt' be any problems.

And if the salesmen was dumb enough to take it for a test drive without checking the fuel, I would have tried to take advantage of his embarassment and tried to strike an even better deal.

[Spec]

How so?

Your car ran out of gas, so why dont you shop 500$ off the purchase price?

Spec.

[rah]

If a salesman left me in a car waiting while he had to go get gas, you bet I'd try to take advantage of the situation. Any leverage in bargaining can be useful. I've gotten discounts for more minor things than that.

[SlowwHand]

Recent Hyundai's in Europe are basically fairly average. They start, go and stop and don't have a habit of shedding bits too often. Not exciting but if all you need is transport they're OK.

Starts, goes, AND stops? I'm sold.