First, I am a new member to the forum. I have owned 4 Legends, the best one being 1994 Coupe Type II.

My lease ended last month and I had to get something quick. I got a great deal on a Mazda Millenia (1998 w/ 63,000miles, owned by an old lady, 1 owner). The only problem is, I hate the way it drives. I had never owned a Mazda before but, to me its terrible.

I am thinking of giving it to my father and getting back to Acura. I have an MDX for the wife and kids. The Honda Civic was a lease for the wife, before we had kids.

Well, I'm trying to decide between the 1st gen TLs and 2nd gen.

In the legends, the 1st gens (1988,89 approx) had great trannys and were very response 0-40. The 2nd gens (1994 approx) had great engines, but the tranny was not as response 0-40. But 45-80, incredible. I just loved the way these cars drove.

One thing I am noticing on the TLs that all the legends, the V-6 engines were in an in-line pattern. I saw a picture of a 99 and it has the same type. However the 2000+ seem to have the V-6 turned sidways?

Anyways, I'm just looking for advice as to whether I should buy a 1st 2nd or 3rd gen. Which has the better ride, engine, tranny, and least problems.

 

the first gen shares the engines with the Type I engine of the legend... 95-98... 200hp, 210ft lbs... C32 series... so it will feel a bit slower than your type II 94 coupe... but the 1st gen TL did not have the BHG issue like the legends did and no MT available..

the second gen TL switch to a J series motor that as you notices is turned sideways... 99-03 model... 225hp and 260hp for the Type S... forgot tq numbers... no MT either unless you do a CL-S6 swap... and the AT is known to be a glass tranny... just search their forum and you will see their problems...

the third gen is still a J series motor with more hp and tq and also for both the TL-P and TL-S models... but there is a 6spd available for this gen... the AT are still having a few issues but not as bad as the second gen...

i guess it all depends on what you can afford, which one you like the design of... then once you have decided, search within that Gen's forum for the problems...

 

what is BHG?

Since I spent 3,000 on the Mazda and will probably give it to my father. I can only spend maybe around 9,000 (financed now). I don't want to finance more.

If the car is nice I don't mind either of the designs. I mean the 2nd gen look nicer than the 1st but I can live with that.

So it sounds like the 1st gen trannys are the better ones between the three gens.

I would have thought the in-line style engine provided more horespower. I have a friend whose a sales person at the Radley Acura dealership, I'm going to test drive a couple of the Acuras gens he has to see which tranny I like.

I'm assuming the 6-speed tranny TLs are going to be a bit expensive.

 

also, out of the three, I guess 1st gen is the most reliable. It seems like it was a continuation of the Legend. The engine looks pretty much the same. I personally loved the 2nd gen legends. I changed the timing belt and water pump on mine. Also, the tranny was not to bad, except from shifting from 1st to 2nd I think there was a little jerk. I had replaced the tranny mount and that helped a lot.

 

If you love 2nd generation Legends, you'll love the 1st gen TL. Its basically a Vigor thats far more refined and has many Legend features in the top trim levels. The 3.2 TL is almost all Legend/RL related. The back seat is a little bit smaller than in the Legend, so check to make sure it meets your needs.

BHG = Blown head gaskets, which are very expensive to repair. Very rare on our cars. I suspect that people who had it happen didn't do their coolant flushes.

As long as you do the recommended maintenance, especially the coolant/transmission flushes, you'll be fine. Our cars are quite reliable.

 

I just like the way the 2nd gens looked. But I'm worried about the tranny problems on the 2nd gens, I've read the posts on the other forum.

Thanks for the advice.