Foolish Pleasure

Is now a bad time to buy a TSX? I have not had good luck finding cars and when I do find them the dealers are not willing to part with what they have at a decent prices. Combining the train wreck, the auto transmission issues and just anecdotal evidence, I am starting to think that I put the purchase off for a few weeks/months. Is this a legitimate point or am I just getting disenchanted with trying to buy one of the most sought after cars.

FYI - The Wall St Journal listed the the TSX as on of its hottest cars on the market. It stated that the cars stay on the lot for approximately 2 weeks (cant recall exact number). The hottest car based on that stat is the Toyota Prius....

KingV

That's crazy, I found exactly what I wanted at the first dealership I looked at and got $500 off MSRP. I didn't realize they were so difficult to get ahold of.

majormojo

That's like asking if now is a bad time for sex. If you have to ask, you don't want it bad enough. :P

KingV

sometimes it's worth it to wait. I mean look at how much the revamped thunderbirds were selling for when they were first released. They can't give the damn things away now.

Think 350Z's and S2000's, People got ROBBED on those cars in the first couple of months they were out. That said, if you pay MSRP or under, I wouldn't feel too bad about the purchase. It's still a bargain at that price.

freudy

I agree that it is hard to get exactly what you want - then again, I figure the car I want is .15% of the TSX's made (CG/Ebony/Man/Navi) (.3 x .5 x .1 x .1) that is going by the numbers 30% TSX's CG, 50% of those are ebony, 10% of those are manual, and 10% of those have Navi) that means if they make 25,000 cars this year, that means 37.5 of them will be the exact car I want - so yes, it can be hard to find what you want - unless you want to order it.

KingV

Heh, not to rub it in your face but that's exactly my car! Wow, I'm amazed the numbers for that model are so low. I just lucked out walking onto the lot and them having one sitting there waiting for me. Strangely, the one in the showroom was SSM auto no-nav.

freudy

if by rubbing it in, you mean that large chunk of salt in my flesh wound - than yes. and it hurts.

what makes it worse - they had the car an hour a way, but i was a day late. i found it 11 hours away... trying to work out the logistics before i have to depart with my current car (end of the month)

i have dibs on the same car/non-navi - but i think the navi is worth it. id rather not spend the next 5 years looking at the CD changer wishing i would have got the NAVI

do you think its worth it?

KingV

Yes, but the Navi is a mixed bag. I use it a lot, but it's not the replacement for mapquest I was hoping it would be. Sometimes it gives poor directions, like taking you well out of your way and backtracking. In metropolitan areas the maps seem to be better updated and more roads are covered and in these places it's simply outstanding. I now am living in a smaller town and the roads shown on the map are spotty. definitely it could be better.

Overall, I'm relatively satisfied with the Navi, and the voice functions are cool, but personally I seldom use them apart from one or two. I find it easier to just press the buttons most of the time. If you travel a lot or live in a metropolitan area, the Navi will be extremely useful and you'll be amazed with it. If not it will still be useful, if flawed.

The color combinations you picked are, IMO the best two offered, though I also like Nighthawk Black a lot. The ebony interior is stunning, but dust is very visible. Carbon grey is a beautiful color, but needs a lot of maintenance to look pristine. If you're not the type to wash/wax regularly and polish semi-regularly, you'd be better served getting a lighter color. It will just stand up better to a low maintenance owner.

IMO, it's worth it to go the extra mile to get the exact car you want. I went 6 months looking for a G35 Coupe in the exact configuration I wanted, and never was able to find it. Then I started looking at other cars and fell in love with the TSX, esp for the price. I haven't looked back since, and am incredibly happy with my decision

slo007

YES! It's worth it! I love the navigation system in my car. Even if I'm not using the feature, the touch-screen controls half the car, and it's much easier to touch the 8" screen (or talk) then to stretch out and look for the right button to press to adjust the air, etc.

I love that feature, and everyone that gets in my car is always in awe. On trips, it's a must-have.

gfxdave99

Springtime is when dealers start to pick up from the winter doldrums.. I picked up mine in Feburary where the guy who sold me the car had sold 5 cars the ENTIRE month of january and now is having problems keeping up with his sales.. So that being said maybe it is a bad time. But what you need to do is shop dealers... The problem comes down to credit.. if you're buying a car cash you can walk in with a check for the amount of the car maybe a few hundred over invoice and be like, listen you want this check lets work together and chances are you will get the car you want because its SOOO much easier for them when its cash. But when its credit, and then a dealer will rope you in with a good APR or whatever and string you a long promising cars they cant deliever because of kicks backs from honda finance etc. Just my opinion however..

Mighty1

After 2 weeks, I'm saying the navi is worth it, we'll see if that holds up for the life of the car.

When I looked at the TSX at first I was thinking non-navi, it seemed a bit silly to spend $2000 for a map book. But my girlfriend is originally from Manhattan and is just learning how to drive. For me, I felt a lot better knowing that she'd be able to find her way home from just about anywhere, so we ended up getting it. Now I'm finding uses for it pretty regularly... a friend is in a band that is always playing gigs in random bars in the middle of nowhere, it's way easier to get food on the way home (phone numbers to any restaurant, just call and place a take-out order), the navi has found a whole bunch of great short-cuts for me to avoid Boston's nightmare traffic. Overall it has just given me a much better feel for the area... and I've lived here all my life.

Besides it does have the wow factor.

Jason

I did the same type of math you did last year (when I bought), and it does boggle the mind to realize I have one of about 80 cars manufactured last year. Pretty cool!

Lung Fu Mo Shi

Wow. Back in April '03 maybe I was just ahead of the game. I test drove one on the lot, liked it, ordered one on the boat for MSRP and 2 weeks later it was mine.

And I've been enjoying it ever since (although I still have buyers remorse with my rims).

gfxdave99

Meaning you bought rims you dont like or you wish you upgraded to the alt acura rims?

KingV

Haha, I can understand that the Volk TE37's are pretty pricey, very nice rims though.

freudy

Do you like your Quartz int? I'm not sold on it... I just don't like that color change between the Quartz and the trim, and then the black - but I haven't seen too many pictures. There are two CG/Quartz/Man/Navi available in the region, so I could go that road if I choose, but I'm kind of set on the ebony...

yuhoo22

I wouldn't say its a bad time, but it definitely is harder in the Northeast with the train derailment. I did get one of the "harder colors to get" just this weekend with the Nav, so its possible you just have to do more work.

They are out there if you really want it.

freudy

If you want an automatic, sure - they are definately available. I went to 60+ Acura sites to check inventory, called over 20 dealers, and there are 0 CG/Ebony/Man/Navi's available within 20 hours drive of Ohio.

If i wanted an auto - I could have one today.

Most of the dealers wanted to haggle on price before they found my car. It got the point that I would say 'find me the car, and I'll pay $500 under MSRP' - and they still can't find me one.

Edit - I saw you were from NYC and visited 15 or so sites - 3 of them have CG/Ebony/Nav - and I sent emails to see if they have manuals... that would be a fun drive back to Ohio...

Mighty1

I've got the CG/Quartz/6MT/Navi and love it. It gives the interior more contrast and the silver trim with the gray definitely grows on you. I think CG was really made for the quartz interior, they work beautifully together. The ebony is nice, but I think it works better with the Black and Artic Blue (as always, this is all imho).

Go for what you love though!!

freudy

Do you have pictures online? (I know there are many pictures in gallary and Cardomain.com - but not of that specific car - yes, I'm anal.

freudy

Do you have pictures online? (I know there are many pictures in gallary and Cardomain.com - but not of that specific car - yes, I'm anal.

Mighty1

I had just taken a few photos but I haven't had a chance to put them up yet (and probably won't have a chance to until tomorrow). I had seen this gallery of a CG/Quartz/6MT/non-Navi a while back that had a lot of good shots of the inside and out...

http://imageevent.com/tsx_wiz/mytsx

Note that for some reason the quartz interior is acutally a bit darker than appears in these pics (maybe due to the flash? dunno), but it's still got a great collection of shots.

I will let you all know when I have my pics up.

Lung Fu Mo Shi

Neither....I just wonder at how much I actually spent on rims and think I could have used the money other ways.

Jason

I love my combo. I would jump all over that if I were you.

freudy

Wow... that dude knows how to take some pics! The Quartz is definately growing on me...

BTW - this forum rocks.

Foolish Pleasure

The CG/Quartz combo does look great. Too bad none of the 7 dealers I have contacted in NJ have it in....

gt0279a

http://www.savepic.com/freepictureho...&img=tsx11.jpg

After photoshop,

This is more what the Quartz interior looks like.

Compare that with the original

http://imageevent.com/tsx_wiz/mytsx?...=0&w=4&s=0&z=9

I'm still deciding between the 6spd Non-Navi CG/Quartz or CG/Ebony

Dealer currently has the ebony, but has quartz on its way.

KingV

I'd prefer gray all over instead of the two tone look. Personal preference, however. I like my ebony.

gt0279a

I agree. I like the tan interior, but the sharp contrast between the black dash
and leather is too much.


http://gallery.bussert.dyndns.org/pr...1_TSX_Interior

freudy

GT - I'm havin the same problem, but both look good - I think I'm going to stick with the ebony - having all black with that 'metal' stripe looks so much cooler with the ebony than the quartz - plus, you'll spend most of the time inside the car, so thats almost more important than the outside color - which you already have picked the best one available... IMO

KingV

I find that two tone look to be a very strange design decision. I didn't realize that parchment had the black dash too. It doesn't look "bad" but I think one color for the entire dash would flow better and look more upscale in the parchment and quartz interiors.

Overall, I think the TSX interior is extremely posh for the price, it compares very well to BMW interiors, IMO. It's clear that the design is influenced somewhat by the 3 series interior. The only things I'd change on the ebony are true brushed aluminum rather than aluminum look plastic and a softer touch plastic on the center console, the hard plastic stuff scratches too easily.

acuraaddict_RENAMED

Actually the black dash is not a strange design decision. I have a Volvo V70 wagon with a beige interior. The dash is the same color and in bright sunlight there is so much reflection from the dash onto the windshield that you can hardly see. If you are pulling into the shade from bright sun, you can't see a thing.

The black dash eliminates most of that reflection.

KingV

Hmm, never thought of it that way. I'd still prefer the one tone though.