ray1031

I'm considering buying an '07 RDX with 81,250 miles. Asking price is $17,900. Car seems in good shape but I have never had an SUV nor an Acura. I have been a Toyota and VW owner.

What should I look for? Sludge issues due to turbo? Any major maintenance I should be worried about? Recalls? Maintenance costs?

ray1031

Anyone?

DateTSX

I bought my 08 CPO with 22k two years and I'm at 38k now and haven’t had any major issue. But I'm paranoid when buying any car with high mileage, especially one that’s turbo charged. I say bring the car to a local mechanic and have it check out. Does it come with any warranty from the dealer?
Good luck!

pickler

these cars don't have any issues. you just have to be worried about problems that all used cars are prone to:
- accidents/history
- aftermarket parts (like windshield, bumpers, headlights, tints)
- severe under-body/exterior rust or damage
- performance mods (like exhaust, cat, intake)
- proper maintainance records (synthetic oil change every 10,000km min.)

you want to buy >99% stock if possible. chances are moded cars have been driven hard and so have greater engine wear.

ray1031

Well I went ahead and purchased it for $17,000.

creativesession

I'm also looking at a 07 with tech package 83k miles. Asking price is 19,xxx i'm trying to bring it down to about 17,500 - you seem to have gotten a really good price.

wrestrepo

Is that a dealer or private party? I'd say that for a dealer at 19K you seem to have a pretty fair price (assuming that's a CPO with the warranty up to 100K at least).

wasup1357

Hi

I bought one too 07 rdx tech 80k miles for 17k from dealer with no CPO, and I thought I had a good price on it. Looking at yours makes me regrat my decision a little

wrestrepo

I'd say you did well, assuming that it's in good shape

creativesession

How are the cars holding up? ?wasup1357 @ and ray1031

I'm deciding to pull the trigger soon.

wasup1357

I just bought mine 2 weeks ago and only have put 100 miles on it so far haha

My impression on the car so far (although this is first SUV/crossover I have owned so take it with a grain of salt): To be honest I am a slightly disappointed with the RDX as it feels a little boring to drive the RDX imo. The interior (looks great in pictures) feels a little cheap (but lots of features with the tech package). But I gotta say the price on the car was pretty good. I was shopping between the used RDX, CRV and RAV4 awd that I can drive in the snow. Seems like the rdx is only 1-2k more expensive than the used CRV and RAV4 and I ultimately picked the RDX. So far for what I have paid I am pretty happy with my purchase

creativesession

I'm border line debating between this car and the honda CRV as well. I gave up the idea of grabing a 07 WRX wagon because for the same price you get more value out of the rdx. I hope to make my final decision by end of this week. I really like the pearl white rdx

wasup1357

i'll say the turbo gives the rdx a little more kick compared to CRV, and if you are comparing the LX to the RDX the interior is a little better than the CRV. I was at first scared that the turbo will bring a big repair bill later on. But as i shopped the cost between both cars are so similar I just couldn't justify getting the crv

danzio2020

Just bought myself an 07 with 50k miles. You will not regret buying an Acura!

ray1031

So far we love ours but HATE the gas consumption. It is really bad for a 4 Cyl....

wrestrepo

Well it's not really just a 4 cyl, it's a 4cyl turbo.

ray1031

I had a turbo Passat and it was not this bad. Its just hard to comprehend how this little car can use more gas than my V6. I love the turbo and the responsiveness of the engine but still... I wonder if the AWD has anything to do with it?

wrestrepo

Well you cannot compare apples and oranges....The fact to the matter is that the RDX is really bad when it comes to fuel economy, and some people don't realize how bad it is until they buy it (I was in that category).
The RDX has a pretty good AWD system that's always working (unlike most of the competitors that just react when something happens), its a bit on the heavier side, and its a CUV (read tall, wind resistance, worst aerodynamics than a sedan).
In short, the AWD has to do with it, so does the weigh, so does the performance oriented tuning of the engine, so does the shape of the car......
I've owned an MDX for a couple of months now, and the difference in fuel economy is almost negligible in my opinion, for a 1mpg loss I get a lot more car...how does that make sense? right?

08FLrdxSH-AWD

^^^How is that MDX treating you? Sometimes I kick myself for not getting that instead.

OP, I also concur with the fuel economy, its not great at all, but as wrestrepo said, there are a ton of factors that just sap this things mileage. Acura wasnt thinking to clearly about turbo plus fuel economy. I know ford is doing it but that is a case of replacing a big v8 with a still big twin turbo v6. so they can justify the 18 or so mpg as opposed to the 10 or so that their v8s get. All in all though, you dont really get this car for the fuel economy, its the only vehicle really of its kind. Plus they look damn good in your driveway

wrestrepo

Love the MDX, it's an amazing car. As soon as I bought it I was wondering why didn't I get it in the first place (the answer was money)...
Although I loved my RDX, and it was a really fun to drive car, our family had outgrown it. I really like the extra room and just how smooth the car is.
The fuel economy difference is not that great IMO.
I really miss the instrument cluster of the RDX. The one in the MDX just doesn't make sense, the MID menus don't make sense, you can't have both fuel economy and temperature at the same time :why me:, and you can't really see the fuel gauge, you HAVE TO make an effort to see it, it's completely blocked from your line of sight, and off course the part that's blocked is the "empty"
I wish it had more oomph to move it's massive size, but it does an adequate job at it. I had to get used to slowing down on off-ramps, there is a lot more body roll, and I mean a lot....

08FLrdxSH-AWD

I remember that when I test drove the MDX. Lots of weight behind it. It kinda felt like a Tahoe to me IMO. I realy wish i had that kind of towing capacity that the MDX has though.

wasup1357

so are you guys saying that if I try my best not to engage the turbo i will get good 4 cylinder milage (~28 mpg on the highway)?

wrestrepo

I didn't catch whether you have the AWD or FWD, but in either case I don't think that 28 is realistic.

08FLrdxSH-AWD

28 mpg really isnt realistic at all. You gotta figure, the RDX is not a light vehicle to begin with, and even out of boost the engine has to work hard to push it around. Plus its damn near impossible to keep it out of boost. The variable flow turbo has a mind of its own and will kick in when the car determines it needs the boost.

gc_srt

Although I new to the forum, when I research 07 RDX's (which we purchased), the only common issue is with the sunroof. It is common for it to short out part way through and not finish opening or closing. So far we are really happy with it other than the difficult to use bluetooth - it is not exactly intuitive to use.

With the fuel economy, the little 4 cylinder engine has extremely low compression ratio which means it will not as effectively burn fuel (8.8:1) at low speed. But this low compression ratio is required for a turbocharged engine to safely boost to 13.5psi. And when the effectively compression ratio is increased via boost, the engine is dumping fuel to compensate for the extra air. Also, full time AWD system does not exactly help fuel economy. This car is not exactly a Honda Prius, but it is definitely not bad compared to a lot of other cars on the road (like my daily driver that gets 12.8mpg driving like my Grandmother - RDX is hers).

gc_srt

Although I new to the forum, when I researched the 07 RDX's (which we purchased), the only common issue is with the sunroof. It is common for it to short out part way through and not finish opening or closing. So far we are really happy with it other than the difficult to use bluetooth - it is not exactly intuitive to use.

With the fuel economy, the little 4 cylinder engine has extremely low compression ratio which means it will not as effectively burn fuel (8.8:1) at low speed. But this low compression ratio is required for a turbocharged engine to safely boost to 13.5psi. And when the effectively compression ratio is increased via boost, the engine is dumping fuel to compensate for the extra air. Also, full time AWD system does not exactly help fuel economy. This car is not exactly a Honda Prius, but it is definitely not bad compared to a lot of other cars on the road (like my daily driver that gets 12.8mpg driving like my Grandmother - RDX is hers).

wrestrepo

Honda Prius?
What the heck is your dd that only gets 12 mpg?

gc_srt

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT

08FLrdxSH-AWD

Well there's your problem

wrestrepo

I think that probably 90% of the world vehicles will be better in terms of mpgs.
Fun factor though? Hard to match that beast for the money.