I have a 2006 Acura TSX 6spd, and last week I had to take my wife's Passat in for some mechanical repair. So she drove the TSX since I'm on vacation. On her way home, some young lady driving her grandparents Cadillac Cattera or something hit the car in the rearend going maybe 30 or 40 mph. If not for some scratches and a left bottom reflector being broken, it'd be hard to tell something happened. Now, the trunk doesn't shut completely, and the adjuster said that's due to the unibody being misaligned a little. I'm shocked how well the TSX took the collision. The Caddy's front bumper was dented in, the grill fell out cracked apart, and it was leaking coolant pretty bad. I can't say enough how well they're built.

 

Glad she's safe.

 

I'm glad you wife is safe as well. I'm in the same boat as you. I drive an 08 TSX, and the wife a Passat. Besides the fact the TSX is a great car, owning a Passat truly makes one appreciate how affordable the TSX is to maintain.

the repair cost of a VW Passat are absolutely outrageous. And yes, I really shop around for repair prices, and reputable service.

I have NEVER seen such terrible engineering on a car than the 2004 VW passat 1.8T 4 motion.

 

Good thing everyone walked away.

I will have to call bollocks on the speed though, unless your wife was moving forward at about 20MPH giving a relative collision velocity of 10-20MPH. A 30-40MPH collision with a stationary vehicle would surely cause MAJOR damage to both vehicles. If your wife was stopped, this is equivalent to her reversing into a concrete wall at 15-20MPH. Or similarly, the Cadillac hitting a concrete wall at 15-20MPH.

To get an idea, low-speed bumper collision tests are done at ~6MPH between two vehicles, which is equivalent to ~3MPH with a concrete wall. These tests typically result in cracked bumper covers and bent bumper reinforcements totaling ~$1000+.

 

Glad she's uninjured and everyone was safe!

 

Count me in. We have a B5.5 V6 GLX. The car's built solid, but man does it cost more to maintain then my TSX. Those Germans sure make nice cars!

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you, VW's are nice cars. Maintenance and repairs though have to be close in price to luxury brands such as BMW, Lexus and alike.

 

I drive an 07 TSX and rear-ended somebody at a red light going about 30-35 mph (was changing songs on my ipod) and aside from some cracked paint on the front bumper there's hardly any damage to my car, not sure about the other car as they sped off.

 

wtf, thats weird.

 

Its interesting to me that for the TSX, it seems easier and less costly to maintain...IMO because it has a relation to other cars/engines in the Honda lineup. Parts are interchangeable, and if you're smart, no mechanic is going to bullshit you that the TSX is any more special than an Accord (so it should be just as easy/inexpensive to maintain).

However, for Audi/VW, the effect seems to be reverse?

 

Many of the parts used for the Audi and VW are the same. However when you combine complex engineering and high repair frequency for the VW you get a Non luxury brand car with luxury brand bills.

Here is just a small example, I could give you many if I felt like typing more...

So the wife's 04 Passat (1.8T 4 motion) needed an alignment. So after talking to multiple VW dealers shopping around for the best price i conclude the following information....

1. I need a "special" alignment because of the design used for the 4 motion that year. (Got the same story from multiple dealers) The cost - Anywhere from $129 - $225 just for the alignment.

2. On top of that, I was warned that on that years design, they used rubber boots around the tie rods instead of steel, which means if they are locked up, they will need replaced. There is about a 50% chance on a 6 year old car they will need replaced. Cost - $120 per tie rod.

So at a minimum your looking at $250 + tax just for an alignment. The car is not terribly out of align. I made the decision to save the money and put it towards new ties when need be.

 

Probably an illegal (the one that took off). This is just a stand alone comment; in no way am I opening that can of worms. But.... they're everywhere, and many feel they have no recourse but to flee (and they're right) no matter who is at fault. I'm not a big fan of insurance (invisible bankers), but make sure you carry plenty of insurance coverage that protects against an uninsured motorist.

 

At work, I see tickets every day for uninsured motorists and unlicensed drivers. If a cop pulls over to takes a report and sees that someone is unlicensed or has a suspended license (even if they weren't at fault), they will impound the car for 30 days. Maybe the driver didn't want to deal with losing the car for so long for a slight bump.

 

Again, this is total bollocks. You had to have hit the brakes and slowed substantially or the other car must've been moving. Take a look at

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-problems-fixes-128/front-bumper-how-fix-801200/

this guy had a "not very hard" impact and destroyed his absorber and bumper box (see photo) and didn't sustain any external damage. I guarantee if you hit a stationary vehicle at 30-35MPH without hitting the brakes at all, you'd sustain major damage. People often exaggerate their speed because it happens so fast and that's the last speed you remember. Look on youtube. A 6MPH stationary object collision caused a few thousand dollars in damage despite it "looking" ok.

 

Actually German cars are just more expensive to maintain in general, and Japanese cars are just cheaper to maintain in general.

Lexus' maintenance cost are actually fairly low/cheap compared to BMWs.

Acura, Lexus, Infiniti all have cheap maintenance cost.

 

Glad she is fine. We purchased the tsx to replace our aging integra. I feel much better knowing the wife is safer in it.

 

My sister-in-law and her husband own 2 lexus, It seems when something goes wrong with their cars it is $1,000+to fix it.

 

Being the owner of a 1997 A4 1.8T Quattro, I dissagree. While it may seem you are paying more for the VW part, the Audi part, inconceivably still costs more. Usually MUCH more. eg: The belly-pan on the passat and a4 are identical in size and hole placement. Yet the A4's pan costs more than twice the VW pan. The only difference I can find is 3 extra rings stamped on the Audi pan (Audi Logo). I always put VW or aftermarket parts on my Audi when I can.

Back on topic though:
Up until recently (last week) my 2007 TSX has only ever had it's oil changed since i bought it new in Jan 07. My Audi on the other hand, has new in the last 5 years: suspension, tires, oil changes, spark plugs, icu (ignition control unit), coil packs, turbo, oil pump, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, bov (blow off valve), air filter, coolant, head cover gasket, cam gasket... I'm deferring the rear output seal on the transmission ftm; it's a $1500 repair for a $12 part.

 

How many miles are on each car- Also you are comparing a car that is 10 years older than the tsx. My 06 has been problem free with 118,000+miles. Replaced the OEM tires at 74,000 miles-had the usual oil/filter changes, tire rotation/balance, cabin filters, brake fluid, MT fluid and spark plugs changed. Still have the original brake. My parents used to own a audi, bought new, that spent more time at the dealership than with them. They finally traded it for a honda.

 

I don't know about Lexus, but as for Infiniti, my parents' I35 has been so low maintenance its ridiculous.

Granted, it's essentially a Nissan Maxima with a different grille, but still...

 

This is why I did not go for a BMW 3 series when car shopping. Granted the driving dynamics are superb on a Bimmer, but for day to day costs, cant beat a Honda/Acura. Now BMW offers free scheduled maintenance for the warranty period on the new ones which would make it a perfect lease car.