end005

Hello-

First and foremost, I am so exhausted from looking for cars. Last nigh I just test drove an 03 CLs, 6 spd. It was everything I wanted - White, black interior, 6spd, relatively low miles (120K) and for a decent price. Turned out, it had a salvage title. Long story short, I walked away from the transaction.

My question is, how much is it to maintain a 2003 CLS 6spd? I looked through the pages on here and was looking at the Service Maintenence sheet but I wasn't able to download/view it. Upon researching, I know the timing belt, water pump, tensioner should be replaced around the 100k mark. How about everything (???) else?

Lastly, if anyone knows where I can find a WHITE 2003 Acura CLS, 6spd manual, with clean (if not mint condition) interior please...please... please... tell me. I will fly there and drive the car back to MN! (took me 2 hours to drive 20 miles last night after the test drive).

Thanks!

TheWeez

In addition to the timing belt, timing belt tensioner, and water pump, you should also change the spark plugs. Check the condition of the plug wells while replacing the spark plugs. If there is anything in them, might want to replace the seals. A good mechanic should be able to listen to the engine and tell you if it needs to have a valve lashing done too.

Since the vehicle is new to you, might suggest you change the coolant, gear oil, brake fluid, and clutch fluid (also brake fluid). That way you know they're all fresh and where they're at with needing to be replaced so you don't have to worry about if the old owner did or didn't take care of that.

You'll have fun here in MN with a CL-S and a 6-speed on the ice even with good winter tires (highly recommend winter tires especially with FWD, a manual transmission, no traction control on the 6-speed, and our winters). 2nd gear starts are still too much to maintain traction and it can be a pain to get around.

Good luck in the car search. The 6-speeds are hard to find. I got lucky with mine. I found a guy here locally who'd recently totaled his Legend. He flew to Texas to buy the CL-S. Then a month later he decided to goto law school so he sold me the CL-S.

end005

Thank you sir! That CLs you bought doesn't happen to have been black and (if I can remember correctly) was from the Oakdale/Woodbury area would it?

Are these cars maintenence heavy or are they pretty solid cars overall? My brother has an 05 TL 6spd; my father an auto 2.3 98 CL; and I had a 98 GSR. None of the cars had any issues whatsoever. How does the 03 CLs do?

I am coming from a supercharged 98 Integra GSR which I barely drove.

end005

Also, what's a good price on one? Specifically, 99K miles, 6spd, looks relatively clean.

TheWeez

I use to live in Maplewood but haven't for about 8 years now so I'm not on that side of town much.

Maintenance wise it's been very good. I've owned the car almost 6 years. Other than oil changes, tires and the usual plus the 105k tuneup, it's been great.

Besides the usual stuff I have had to replace 1 wheel bearing and 1 coil pack. Still nothing bad for the 66k miles I've put on the car in that time (now has about 126k).

They do tend to go through brake rotors every 30k miles or so but that's not a huge problem. The pads last a coupe rotor changes. Upgrading to larger brakes would solve that. I've found that more expensive rotors doesn't really resolve it. Sure the more expensive ones last longer but I can put on 2 pairs of normal ones for the same price as the expensive ones so it's even in the end.

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

The 6 speed CL is very soild. Warped rotors is a common issue but can be easily fied with new rotors. The drivetrain is bulletproof. The seated seats may not work from broken wires in the heating pad but not a dealbreaker.

end005

I need to find me a 2003 White Acura CL Type S 6speed, with black interior.

That one I checked out last night also had a salvage title. Its just been my damn luck....

Thanks for the reply aznboi2424. You should see if you could locate one for me down there. I've got family down there...

03silvertypeS

I'd say overall cost to own a CLS-6 is probably better than average. I owned mine from '05-'08 and I don't recall any issues with it besides usual maintenence. It had roughly 49k miles when I bought it and approx. 90k+ when I traded her in. As mentioned above (post #2), depending on mileage, you'll want to check all of those. As far as finding a white/black one, I checked autotrader (any distance, 3.2cl, 2003, manual trans) and only found one white (the rarest of the rare for these cars) and it has 176K miles on it. If I was in the market for one (even though I'm not a huge fan of red, I'd check this one out) : http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...gIndex=2&Log=0

Also, check the black market to see if anyone here is selling one.

end005

Thanks for the reply 03silvertypeS. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the blackmarket just yet.

I don't mind Red, however, I just think the white just really brings out the overall lines of the car. At this point though, I may have to settle for a black/black CLs...that's if I can find one.

njlakeshoreg

for the right price i can sell mine....fresh as can be....new paint, all comptech boltons and so forth :0)


to the OP i have a 6spd white on black, took forever to find! i paid top dollar for mine, but it was well worth it!!!!!!!!!!! love it, u did timing belt and water pump accessory belt front brakes and it drives like a new car! it is my first fwd car and first honda, and i came from a stage 3 big turbo 07 audi a4, 2011 bmw 335, 08 g37s, 05 g35.....and this holds up to compare to those past cars!! pull the trigger!!

MTEAZY

So you drove at 10 mph?



BTW, only 55 white/black 6 speeds were made.. GL

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...9&postcount=27

TheWeez

We got about 15 inches of snow in parts of MN around that time. Traffic was a mess. So even moving at 10mph was faster than most were traveling.

MTEAZY

Damn. It's 80 degrees in Houston right now, I forgot all about snow

TheWeez

We've had 2 winters of almost no snow so that was the largest snowfall in 2 years. Then again, 2 winters ago we got over 5ft of snow. Not a fun year to be driving, especially a car with 300hp, FWD, and a manual transmission even with high end snow tires.

frankjohnson8

Good thread, I always like them.

end005

Holy hell.. I wonder how many out of those 55 are still around, free and clear of a branded title! I just don't want to settle. I've started looking at black ones...

TheWeez

Yup, low numbers.

123456SPEED

My CLs is 1 of 137 of it's combo. Very trouble free car at 98k miles, I bought it with 7500 miles out of state in 04 or 05. The worst thing on mine is the dam door dings sloppy parkers inflict.
I have the spoiler too which I always wanted to remove. This car is still fun to drive, I love the 6MT. So much that I had a white 03 CLS 6MT first, and sold it to get a loaded Navi w/black interior. The white one, 1 of 135, had the tan and fake wood I hated.

This car is right up there with my 2 Legend coupes and Prelude before it.
I'll never forgive Acura for dissing us coupe lovers. But I am even shopping a ZDX now, a car many love to hate, but I like it too for very diff reasons. The CLS is more fun to drive and handle. I feel lucky to have made such a great choice on it years ago.
Finding a white black 6MT is almost impossible. Red black is rare too. Get an anthracite, it's an original 03 color.

njlakeshoreg

so many people have never even seen a white cl lol.............

acura_dipset_tl

iTrader: (40)

^ they are rare. So if I do a 6speed swap on my white/w ebony interior what number would my car be?

Kabayo

Yes, I have been shopping off and on for a couple of years now, and I can't recall seeing a white one.

I wanted a blue one, but recently found a red one in Florida with only 60,000 miles for $9,750. Too good a deal to pass up.

If I find a comparable blue one in the future, I can always sell the red one without taking too much of a hit.

Kabayo

rbyount

Regarding cost of ownership. I have a 2003 black/black type-S 6MT (no navi) with 90K and love it. Only out of the ordinary cost I've incurred is replacing 2 ballasts for the HID lights. First one went out at 37K, the 2nd one at 85K. Did OEM for the first, did the cheap chinese knock off (courtesy of the forum) for the second for under $100 but a day of my time.

Other than that it has been normal maintenance.

2ndgentl

I have an 03 6-speed taffetta white w/nav and black interior....1 of 15 ....I would buy that CL-S if it drives fine for the right price, with the salvaged title...I wouldnt pay anything over $5500 for it though...

end005

The car drives incredible now that he fixed some bearings. The first night I test drove the car, it was making some noises.

The second time I test drove the car I took it up to see how the motor/car held up. It was great, however, as I slowed down to a stop the idle kept jumping from 1k rpms to 4k rpms. I'm assuming its the IACV.

Lastly, I did a carfax and the car is a flood car, which is why it was salvaged. And upon closer inspection, there is a spec of rust on the passenger wheelwell. And, the guy is a smoker. I hate it... The car also has the 01-02 front bumper with fog lights.

The guy wants $4500 without fixing the RPM jumping... To fix the rpm jumping he wants $4700. His asking price is $4900.

Thoughts?

2ndgentl

Hmmm....flooded cars are the worst, because electrical problems can happen anytime and anything that touched water will eventually start rusting...bearings...etc. I think your going to have more problems with that car, but who knows...

end005

Thank you sir. With it being a flooded car I have decided to let it go. I just feel I would be spending more money on it in the future than the present. Perhaps I'll be lucky and find me soemthing nice in the near future.

njlakeshoreg

hey man, im glad you let the flood car go...i saw one for sale inNJ other than mine......it was freeken cheap! i will look for the link.....

i am still unsure if i would sell mine, id never get near what id want for it..got offered 10,400 yesterday from a friend, i wouldnt sell it lol.........im not ducking you for sending pics, just would hate to get rid of the car, its 100% perfect........*********sighhhh decisionssssss

TheWeez

Not worth the mess you could have to deal with having a floor car. Nightmare after nightmare after....

end005

No problem sir! I understand! I just received a notification that a 6spd CLs just arrived in a dealership around my area so I'm keeping my fingers cross its not silver. hahaha. I've contacted the dealer, let's just hope I'll be able to start off my new year with a nice CLs.

Joe5.0

Original owner here, 192k on mine now and heres the items I've had to fix:


Timing belt/water pump service @ 125k miles - $700
All three heated seat elements (warranty)
Three wheel bearings (~$250)
Rear ABS sensor($75)
Chafed wire in fuel injector harness (was rubbing against underside of upper intake) ($200 including a tow )
1 HID ballast($75)
Driver side axle ($125)
1 coil pack ($75)
Spark plugs (~$60 IIRC)

Tons of tires, brakes, and oil changes

I've done the vast majority of maintenance and repairs by myself, except for the timing belt and axle.

Still on the original clutch, never any engine work, and still pulls 26mpg combined and can chirp 3rd gear. I dont know if I'll ever own a better car.

Marcelechka

1 of 122 (wow)

167k miles on 6psi!

The energizer bunny keeps going and going and going....

bigdaddyKA8

iTrader: (5)

In case you are still looking...

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/3520095197.html

Marcelechka

^

Joe5.0

Man, what happened to the steering wheel? Must have sat in the sahara for a couple years to get that faded.

Marcelechka

S. FL = Sahara in the summer, hence the fading... The interior though is in awesome condition.

http://s3.beta.photobucket.com/user/...%20CL%20Type-S