cygnnus

Hi all,

I'm a newbie here, so be gentle...

My wife and I are just about completely sold on the TSX as a "replacement" for my 6 year old Civic. We took a serious look at the Mazda 6, the Accord, the Passat, the Jetta, the Maxima, and the Ultima but we both really fell in love with the TSX. Great kit for the money and nice performance. But you all knew that...

Looking at Arctic Blue with 6MT and the Navi (my wife literally gets lost going to the grocery store!) Unfortunately, that probably means that we'll have to get a new build from Japan as none of the Acura dealers in the DC area seem to have that combo in stock.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping someone can help answer just to get the last couple of "pre-buyer" jitters under control.

First, does anyone really have an idea about how common the "rattle" problems is? I've tried to follow the threads regarding rattles here, and on some other fora, but it's hard to get a sense of how common it really is. Does anyone have any real sense? I know that may be a hard one to answer, but I'm hoping... Rattles are one of my wife's pet peevees, and are the only thing that's kept us from being at the dealership right now getting one. Well that and the fact that she's on a business trip right now, but you get the idea.

Second, has anyone in the DC area (or even the Mid-Atlantic or East Coast you want to chime in), managed to get a TSX for under sticker? We're happy enough with the standard features (and their price) to go sticker if need be, but everyone wants to save a penny, right? We're down in Annapolis, but we're willing to head fairly far to get the car if there's a good deal to be had.

Finally, anyone in the area have any dealer-related horror stories? We're happy members of the Honda family, but don't know the Acura dealers per se. I doubt there'll be real problems, but if anyone's had any problems, I'd love to hear 'em.
Okay, one last question for those who have ordered a car from Japan... How long did delivery really take? It's not like my Civic needs to be replaced (still runs great and all that; just looking to uprgrade) so we're not in a hurry from that front. But I want my new TSC now... ;-) The dealers have said 2-3 months. Is that realistic? Too high? Too low?

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

Vale,

JohnS

AKay

I have never experienced a rattle.
Only complaints i have is poor FM reception and speakers when blaring rattle in the back.
I am replacing my speakers and putting dynamat but i doubt that will be a major concern of yours unless you like blasting your music.
Now dealers up here are getting TSX's on the regular just not specific ones that people want.
I was told i would have to wait 2 months for an artic blue 6mt tsx however they had a 5AT so i went with the 5AT and im in no way dissapointed. To appease my stick fetish im planning on getting me an older honda prelude. As for price, well MSRP is a great buy for the tsx. I paid MSRP total 29k for my TSX with all the trimming except NAVI. This is because of the demand for tsx outwieghing the supply.
Ive heard awesome stories of people on here getting even 1200 off MSRP.
Best advice i have come across on here is email every dealer within 100-200 miles from you for quotes estimated delivery times and tell them they are competing for your business.
Unfortunately I unlike you found this site after my purchase but the TSX is still the most awesome machine i have driven.
It was fun since day one and im a proud daddy of this 1 month old with 2400 miles =0).
Good Luck and welcome to the community.
AKay

ClutchPerformer

First of all, I don't have rattles. Period. I'd say it's happening to about 50% of folks, and I'm not sure what the factors are that play into it (other than music volume/bass).

Second, the DC area is a GREAT place to buy an Acura. There's like 10 dealerships all within easy reach: Radley, Karen Radley, Rosenthal, Pohanka, Bethesda, Criswell, etc. I can't even remember them all off the top of my head. The VA ones are probably a little less convenient for you being in Annapolis, but it's worth an e-mail to the sales manager if you can save the dough.

I bought mine from Radley in Falls Church, VA. Everyone there is very professional from sales to service. I got mine for about 1000 off sticker, but that was because my parents had bought two cars from them before so they treated me as a "repeat customer". You should be able to get around 500 off no problem if you make the dealers compete with each other. Do expect to have to wait for the car, though. From what I hear, Arctic Blue is one of the lower-volume colors and Navi and 6MT are in high demand (as opposed to non-navi, and 5AT).

For delivery, you can see my sig for the real-world numbers. But it actually got there before they originally said it would (they told me the 15th). 2-3 months is very realistic. I'm glad they told you that instead of BSing you.

So good luck with your search and purchase. Let us know how it goes. Welcome to the forum!

larchmont

You might want to take a look at this other thread, where we're having a poll on the rattle problem:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=1544

The poll has consistently said about 2/3 "yes." Recently some of us have wondered if maybe quite a few of the "yesses" are actually other kinds of things, like just vibrations. But regardless, it seems clear that many of the cars have rattles. Most of the instances have seemed to be only when the sound system is on, very loud.

If you look around our board, you'll see several other threads about the same problem. One good way to do it is to do a "Search" (see top right portion of this page), use the key word "rattle" or "rattles" (do BOTH to pick up more) -- and also, in programming the search, click the box for searching only "Titles" of threads. (You'll find that on the lower left portion of the "Search" page.)

BTW -- I haven't had any rattles, and no other significant problem either. Good dealer experience as well.

fdl

The most common rattle is caused by very high volume with certain bass frequencies, so depending on what type of music you listen to you may never even hear it ... even if your car does have this rattle/vibration/whatever you want to call it.

I personally seemed to be plagued with many of the different kind of rattles people are getting. But I still have no regrest about the car and would buy it again in a heart beat. The rattles are really a minor issue, just annoying sometimes. The fact that rattling is really the only bad thing we can say about the car right now is good! There have been very few complains about mechanical issues, and most importantly drivetrain problems. So we all complain about rattles...because we have nothign else bad to say!

LeeLee

Hey Cygnus...

Back in late April, I was trying to track down an Arctic Blue Perl 6MT with no Navi in the MD/DC/VA area. Pohanka Acura in northern VA took a deposit from me for one that they said could find in a couple of weeks. We agreed to a price of $1000 off MSRP and full KBB for the trade-in of my old Accord. The man I got the deal from was Byron Bouquet, he is the Internet sales rep I believe.

However, they spent 2 unsucessful months to secure a car for me. By the end of June they still had no firm delivery date for me and my life's priorities changed (got married). So I cancelled the order.

Radley Acura in Falls Church was very quick to offer $500 off, and I am sure $1000 off is within discussion. This is the same dealer through which I got a $30,500 price for my dad's 2003 TL-S that he purchased back in March of 2002, when these things were going for straight sticker. The price included frieght, a rear spoiler, trunk liners, mud guards, wheel locks and cargo net. I think that was a $2000+ off deal.

Santacruz

Almost 4000 miles here and no rattles. In addition to larchmont's comment
Recently some of us have wondered if maybe quite a few of the "yesses" are actually other kinds of things
I suspect that those with rattles are more apt to vote than those without.

majormojo

I don't have any rattles so far. I don't play the tunes really loud either, so like fdl says, maybe some of them are there but not manifested. Doesn't really matter to me, since the car is quiet the way I use it. cygnnus, (welcome, btw) keep in mind that although we're enthusiastic, we are not necessarily representative of all TSX owners. People with no complaints are a lot less likely to be vocal about their cars.

Can't help you with DC area dealers, but the pricing people get does seem to vary by location. I was able to get mine for about $1000 below MSRP "out the door". Interestingly, the Mazda 6 is very hard to get a discount on here, so the price diff for me was less than $2000. I was also pretty serious about the 6 and still get a little pang of doubt/angst when I see one on the road. But I'm sure that in the long run the TSX will be the better vehicle. Good luck with your purchase, hope you don't have to wait too long. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

cygnnus

Thanks for all the feedback!

I'll definately check out all the local dealers. I got my Honda from Rosenthal Honda in VA, so I'm not at all bothered by crossing state lines to get a good deal.

I have checked out all the rattle threads here and elsewhere. I realize that the poll is running 2/3rds with rattles, but I have enough of a statistical background to look at that with more than a grain of salt. First, it's a self-selecting poll. As others have noted, people with a problem are more likely to chime in than others. Second, there have been, what, 11,000+ TSX's sold so far? And how many reponses in the poll? It's a pretty small sample size from which to draw any solid conclusion. I was hoping that, if there's a general problem, someone would have some other source of information (like, perhaps, word that Acura was/wasn't aware or responding). Something like the RX8 hp "problem" that Mazda has... Finally, as others have noted, "rattling" can be a lot of different things. I wouldn't be the least bit worried about the bass rattling when it's cranked up. That's an easy enough fix if there's a problem. What I'm more worried about is rattling in the body panels or in the dash.

But again, thanks for the feeback. I really am psyched about getting a TSX. I took one for a second test drive on Monday and the dealer let me out solo! Great fun to be able to see what it can do without feeling a salesperson's eyes on you. Got it up into the low 90's on a parkway and then took it through some housing developments with lots of circles and tight turns (at a FAR more reasonable speed 'natch) and simply LOVED how it drives.

Even thinking about taking a class at the Mid-Ohio Driving School. They seem to specialize in Acura's. Plus, it'd be a nice drive out there! ;-)

Vale,

JohnS

Nachoman

yeah I think if rattles are the only problems people are having with the car, then that's fine with me. Especially when you compare it to the TL transmission problems. Heck even G35 owners are having transmission problems. I'll take a rattle over a bad transmission anyday.

Pershingrifle

Well as far as the rattle problem, I have not experienced it. From what I have seen though, the most common problem with rattles stem from bass/treble settings being to high. I know that the very first thing I did was sit in my car and change the bass/treble/fader settings on the radio to neutral, since almost all the cars I have purchased in the past had the settings maxed out by the dealership/manufacturer.

With the treble setting at midpoint and bass one or two notches below midpoint, I have no problems playing music past the volume of "21" with no annoying rattles or vibrations. This gives the amp more "headroom" for when larger than average amplitude signals are introduced for a given track. When listening at high sound levels you run a good risk of pushing the amp(s) beyond their limit causing amplifier distortion or "clipping"(Clipping in this case occurs when the amplitude of a sound is above the maximum allowed playing level). I suggest changing your setting to neutral at first, then adjust according to your listening style.

If you use a lot of burnt cds, you may want to invest in decent quality recording program like Nero, which gives you the option to "normalize" the song tracks (I now use Soundforge and Cd Architect for better results). In my opinion, Using normalization will ensure you are using all of the dynamic range available to you without "clipping" "(Clipping in this case occurs when the amplitude of a sound is above the maximum allowed recording level). Some of the more "golden eared" audiophiles may be able to give a better expanation than I have.

I've had no problems with rattles from the dashboard, windows, or sunroof. I guess I'm one of the few lucky ones.....

As far as purchasing under MSRP on the East coast, I got mine from Richard Lowry @ Sutton Acura in Macon Ga for $25,990 + TTL. Price negotiation was done by phone, and took less than 30 minutes. They didn't have the combination I wanted (nobody in georgia had one with out Navi and a kit at that time), but Richard got on the phone and did a dealer trade with an Alabama Acura dealership and had it on the lot two days later. They were extremely professional and did not try any of the old school "bait and switch" or "we added a pinstripe/scotchguard/undercoating to make a profit on the back end" tactics (Some dealerships are sneaky - I've worked for some of them in the five years I've sold automobiles, with Acura being the last). Most of the other Ga dealers were trying to "hold gross" and would not budge, except Ken Thomas In Columbus Ga. So I guess it's pretty fair to say that most dealers are trying to hold to MSRP, with a few exceptions in remote areas that don't get alot of sales traffic. You may want to check with Newport News Acura in VA, as it was a pretty decent place to purchase a car when I sold there many years ago. I think they are the only Acura Dealership doing the "one price thing" (I may be wrong) so we were almost always lower on price than our local competitors. This was a loooong time ago so things may have changed, but it's at least worth calling for a quote.

In regards to dealer experiences, they will vary greatly. I've had some good and some bad, with most falling in between. In general, standalone Acura dealerships in the metro areas tend to be a little arrogant like our Nalley Acura, on the flip side the opposite appears to be true in rural areas Like Sutton Acura. Multi-car dealerships tend to be easier to deal with, especially if they happen to carry competing car lines to the car you are interested in. In my opinion, differences in personalities (you and your wife's included) may ultimately determine what you dealer experience will be. How well you guys adapt to, and interact with the differences in personalities can mean the difference in a 1k discount and no discount.

Whatever you do, I wish you all the luck!