I'm in the same situation as you being retired now for 7 years and have a pension that in real terms goes down each year as it does not keep up with inflation. I have owned two brand new Hyundai's and from new both had engine management issues that the manufacturer and dealer could not fix. They were the worst cars I have ever owned and worse than any unreliable Marina my company gave me. Sorry Brian.
I gave up on new cars and used my ZT-T and this proved expensive as it decided that now was the time to need those end of life repairs one after another with clutch hydraulics being the main reason in the end that I sold it. Someone is still using it so maybe I should have hung on a little longer, who knows. I replaced it with a Volvo V50 which hasn't been without the need to spend money on it but has without doubt in the last three years been much more reliable than the ZT-T (and the Hyundai's) and therefore cost a lot less overall to run. I do not include in that costing the fact that many of you will recall it was written off due to an uninsured Czech driver jumping a red light last year. I purchased the car back ( a class N ) and Big Russ fixed it.
Everyone's experiences with cars is different, my going away from the brand, with a lot of advice from Big Russ, was positive but I still miss the brand and now its unlikely that I would get another. However if one came up that I just couldn't refuse I may be tempted, not as a daily driver, but to join the Dolly as a weekender.
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