I had a 2006 TL as a loaner...
06-27-2006, 10:12 AM
#41
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Originally Posted by rpcmx
Yeah, well, I think if Acura wants to pass themselves off as a brand with the same kind of service (and by that, I mean all kinds of services) as other luxury brands, they should at least trot out some of that stuff.
The Mercedes dealer my family goes to at home offers the same drop-off and pick-up loaner service, and the loaners are normally C-class or M-class cars with CD players (automatics, of course). Once, we had a Toyota Corolla as a loaner and it snowed; they offered to drive a C240 4MATIC (all wheel drive) down to our house.
I'm not saying that I want my dealer to do all of that, but still: they couldn't find the car I wanted, I had to travel to go get it form another dealer I'm never going to patronize again, and because of that, my local dealer in Atlanta refuses to give me loaners. I worked with them for weeks, and they just couldn't get the car in the timeframe I needed it (in November, they said March; I needed it before then).
On top of that, the dealer I bought the car from said I would have the car Dec. 22, and it didn't show up until Jan. 2. In the meantime, I had to continue to drive my car, of course; I said I would drop off the car and take a loaner, and they said no, and then tried to devalue my trade by $800 for the extra miles (that would be like $2 a mile). I balked, naturally, and they backed off.
After I bought my car, I got an irate phone call from a sales manager literally yelling at me because she thought the phone review I gave American Honda wasn't good enough.
What I mean by all this is: how does Acura expect to be taken seriously if their dealers act crazy? Rules for this and rules for that... it would do wonders for their reputations if dealers schmoozed a little better. Their product is already heads above the competition; add good dealer service to that and that's everything.
(Have a service appointment tomorrow, obviously. They made it clear I would be waiting.)
-rpc
The Mercedes dealer my family goes to at home offers the same drop-off and pick-up loaner service, and the loaners are normally C-class or M-class cars with CD players (automatics, of course). Once, we had a Toyota Corolla as a loaner and it snowed; they offered to drive a C240 4MATIC (all wheel drive) down to our house.
I'm not saying that I want my dealer to do all of that, but still: they couldn't find the car I wanted, I had to travel to go get it form another dealer I'm never going to patronize again, and because of that, my local dealer in Atlanta refuses to give me loaners. I worked with them for weeks, and they just couldn't get the car in the timeframe I needed it (in November, they said March; I needed it before then).
On top of that, the dealer I bought the car from said I would have the car Dec. 22, and it didn't show up until Jan. 2. In the meantime, I had to continue to drive my car, of course; I said I would drop off the car and take a loaner, and they said no, and then tried to devalue my trade by $800 for the extra miles (that would be like $2 a mile). I balked, naturally, and they backed off.
After I bought my car, I got an irate phone call from a sales manager literally yelling at me because she thought the phone review I gave American Honda wasn't good enough.
What I mean by all this is: how does Acura expect to be taken seriously if their dealers act crazy? Rules for this and rules for that... it would do wonders for their reputations if dealers schmoozed a little better. Their product is already heads above the competition; add good dealer service to that and that's everything.
(Have a service appointment tomorrow, obviously. They made it clear I would be waiting.)
-rpc
06-27-2006, 07:16 PM
#42
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Originally Posted by CGTSX2004
Your situation would be the exception to the rule. They generally are required to take cars out of their sellable inventory to provide the loaners and so any car they can't sell is a cost to them.The rest of the sticker looked "normal", but the lower right corner didn't have a price. In place of the price, it said something to the effect of "dealer loaner car" and didn't list a $. So I guess my dealer got this particular car directly from Acura specifically for this purpose. I wonder how much of a discount they got...
06-28-2006, 10:04 AM
#43
I have never driven or even considered the TL. I bought the TSX because I loved the TSX, not because I hated the TL.
I sat in a TL the other day when I was waiting for my TSX to be serviced at the dealer. I have to say that the seats in the TL were a little more comfortable than those in a TSX. Also, the TL's parchment interior is better looking and warmer than the TSX's parchment interior. Other than that, I still prefer the TSX over the TL. I particularly don't like the matte silver finish grill on the TL. It looks too plastiky to me.
Then I walked over the Lexus dealer next door and checked out the new IS. The exterior was as beautiful upclose as from a distant. The paint was flawless and has a sense of depthness. The doors were heavy and closed with a thud (better than my TSX). Even the rear doors sounded solid. That said, I was not impressed with the IS's interior. The one I sat in didn't have perforated leather. The shiny beige leather looked really cheap.
I sat in a TL the other day when I was waiting for my TSX to be serviced at the dealer. I have to say that the seats in the TL were a little more comfortable than those in a TSX. Also, the TL's parchment interior is better looking and warmer than the TSX's parchment interior. Other than that, I still prefer the TSX over the TL. I particularly don't like the matte silver finish grill on the TL. It looks too plastiky to me.
Then I walked over the Lexus dealer next door and checked out the new IS. The exterior was as beautiful upclose as from a distant. The paint was flawless and has a sense of depthness. The doors were heavy and closed with a thud (better than my TSX). Even the rear doors sounded solid. That said, I was not impressed with the IS's interior. The one I sat in didn't have perforated leather. The shiny beige leather looked really cheap.
06-28-2006, 05:01 PM
#44
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Originally Posted by xenonhid
My main reason why I didnt get the TL was....
The rear end design.........That was the first thing I saw and I didnt like the rear end of it. Besides that, TL is an awesome car!
The rear end design.........That was the first thing I saw and I didnt like the rear end of it. Besides that, TL is an awesome car!
I know I do.
06-29-2006, 04:03 PM
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Spent 120 miles behind the wheel of an 06 TL loaner earlier this week.
Pretty much the same impressions as everyone else, nothing I'm going to say here is going to surprise anyone:
The TL had a rattle coming from the base of the A pillar...just like my new TSX.
Exterior design, while very strong-looking, is also looking dated to me.
Interior design and materials are very good (I loved the aluminum and soft plastics, and the softer leather), but appearance-wise can look dated in spots, especially the gauges and trip computer. Reasonable to assume that both of these "dated" issues are due to the TSX getting refreshed while the 06 TL forges on with a three year old design. I'm not sure why Acura is dragging the TL's mid cycle refresh beyond the normal two years, is the current TL going to be around for five or six years instead of the usual four?
My overall impression of the exterior is that, while it exudes athleticism, it doesn't exude "richness".
The interior definitely does, though.
The texture of the plastic bezel around the audio system is nice, but is a magnet for lint and dust.
My loaner was a non-nav, the design of the non-navi center console looked horrible IMO.
(I really missed having voice commands, too. But that's not apples to apples.)
I wish the underside of the rear parcel shelf in my TSX was lined like the TL's.
I wish the TSX had vents for the rear passengers.
TL is noticeably wider, especially where the armrests scoop out the doors.
But to me I feel like I'm sitting in a deep tub. The car's extra heft made it a bit more challenging to drive on some of the tiny, woodsy roads I took it on.
I don't know how the TSX AT compares to the TL AT, but I found the TL's ziggity zaggity gated shifter infuriating. I used the SS as much as I could, and found that it still tried to outthink me and autoshift all the time when I didn't want it to (mostly at lower speeds), and when I do want it shift, the delay was frustratingly loooong.
Thrust from the V6, is of course quite nice. But I never really got a great sensation of acceleration or speed. Probably due to the quietness of the engine. The AT probably robbed me of some speed, too.
Ride seemed solid and nicely damped, but jiggled more than I expected. Overall, not better or worse than the TSX, IMO, just different.
Handling, as expected, is heavier and a bit slower. TSX is more frisky. TL is more grown up. It's certainly not a "boat" though, like many here will exclaim.
Way too much steering boost, though.
HID high beams sure are nice. I blinded myself momentarily when I flashed a Suburban that was crawling in front of me!
I wonder if the whole debate about the door closing sound can just be settled with "Are the windows opened or closed? With any windows open, both cars' doors can sound tinny. Closed, and they both sounded pretty good (but different) to me.
Bottom line, it's a great car, to be sure. But after some quality time with it, I can say for certain that I prefer my TSX.
Pretty much the same impressions as everyone else, nothing I'm going to say here is going to surprise anyone:
The TL had a rattle coming from the base of the A pillar...just like my new TSX.
Exterior design, while very strong-looking, is also looking dated to me.
Interior design and materials are very good (I loved the aluminum and soft plastics, and the softer leather), but appearance-wise can look dated in spots, especially the gauges and trip computer. Reasonable to assume that both of these "dated" issues are due to the TSX getting refreshed while the 06 TL forges on with a three year old design. I'm not sure why Acura is dragging the TL's mid cycle refresh beyond the normal two years, is the current TL going to be around for five or six years instead of the usual four?
My overall impression of the exterior is that, while it exudes athleticism, it doesn't exude "richness".
The interior definitely does, though.
The texture of the plastic bezel around the audio system is nice, but is a magnet for lint and dust.
My loaner was a non-nav, the design of the non-navi center console looked horrible IMO.
(I really missed having voice commands, too. But that's not apples to apples.)
I wish the underside of the rear parcel shelf in my TSX was lined like the TL's.
I wish the TSX had vents for the rear passengers.
TL is noticeably wider, especially where the armrests scoop out the doors.
But to me I feel like I'm sitting in a deep tub. The car's extra heft made it a bit more challenging to drive on some of the tiny, woodsy roads I took it on.
I don't know how the TSX AT compares to the TL AT, but I found the TL's ziggity zaggity gated shifter infuriating. I used the SS as much as I could, and found that it still tried to outthink me and autoshift all the time when I didn't want it to (mostly at lower speeds), and when I do want it shift, the delay was frustratingly loooong.
Thrust from the V6, is of course quite nice. But I never really got a great sensation of acceleration or speed. Probably due to the quietness of the engine. The AT probably robbed me of some speed, too.
Ride seemed solid and nicely damped, but jiggled more than I expected. Overall, not better or worse than the TSX, IMO, just different.
Handling, as expected, is heavier and a bit slower. TSX is more frisky. TL is more grown up. It's certainly not a "boat" though, like many here will exclaim.
Way too much steering boost, though.
HID high beams sure are nice. I blinded myself momentarily when I flashed a Suburban that was crawling in front of me!
I wonder if the whole debate about the door closing sound can just be settled with "Are the windows opened or closed? With any windows open, both cars' doors can sound tinny. Closed, and they both sounded pretty good (but different) to me.
Bottom line, it's a great car, to be sure. But after some quality time with it, I can say for certain that I prefer my TSX.
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