Hello all!
I was recently shopping for an 04 TSX when the dealer offered me the 03 CL Auto for $28,000 CND ($21000 USD??) and is willing to take my 99 Volkswagen Passat GLS with leather and sunroof for about $13,000 CND (about $10,000USD).

Is the CL worth the extra money i have to fork out considering the tranny problems with auto?? I personally really like the looks and the interior but i'm also concerned with reliability. Is the CL worth that much and should i ask the dealer some important questions ??


The Passat is still running well but the warranty is out and i fear that things will start to break (and let's just say the exterior is not necessarily sporty )

What's a good price to get the CL or should i be shopping around for other cars??

Thanks for the help!!

 

I mean if you don't beat the crap out of it you'll be find and plus there's some good CLs out there but some of them a lemons. Well most of them.

 

ask the dealer if the tranny has ever been replaced...maybe it has a good tranny

 

Get an 03 6 speed manual and you won't have tranny worries. I've read that some of the automatic 03s are not covered by the extended auto tranny warranty and some have had problems. If you can get the extended warranty in writing that would help.

 

i bought my '03 (manual tranny), for $25,000 CDN also in Toronto. what are the KM's?

 

Are we talking a base CL or a Type S

 

03 6 spd is worth it

 

the quality/reliability of the CL is sub-par, transmission problems aside. i've never driven the TSX so i don't know what to expect. i don't think you're getting a better car in the CL than you would in the TSX. the depreciation on the CL is also pretty severe - no matter where you buy it. can't speak for the TSX.

it probably all boils down to preference. how much do you want to spend for more room? you'll also have lower gas milage, higher maintenance costs, higher insurance, etc. how much is the extra room worth to you??????

good luck.

 

The dealer has 1 CL and 1 CLS in stock. Both are automatic. There are also 3 TLS's for $2000CND more. Again they are automatic.

Is the 03 TL/TLS more reliable than the CL?? Because i keep hearing that all acura trannies with sportronic .....are "subpar." If both cars were to have extended transmission warranty, which would be better??

The Base CL has 29000 km i think. I will be going for a test drive in a few hours. I'll post more about what the dealer tells me!

Thanks

 

Would it be better to just get an accord coupe v6??

 

I have an auto CL-s. No tranny problems yet, so I will definately recommend it. Also you have a 100K miles to mess up the tranny. If it's a Type S and has good miles, I would definately say yeh. If it's not a Type S....then screw that.

 

The depreciation hit won't be as bad because the car is used. If its an 03 then you should still have plenty of warranty left and I haven't heard of anyone being denied a new tranny because its an 03. Its upto the dealer but I know a few peeps who have had their trannies replaced even after 100k miles.

Besides the Tranny I think the car is good quality and very reliable. Every car has some squeaks or rattles but its not often that shit falls off the CLS. Some people have had some issues but the majority are happy. Don't get me wrong I do think that the tranny is a big deal but everything else about the car is pretty good.

TSX has a "newer" interior but unless its a 6-speed will lack some balls. handling is good but the CLS is not too shabby for what it is and it can be made better. I personally like the interior of the CLS but the TSX interior looks great also. TLS and CLS are pretty much the same car with a very few differences besides the 2 extra doors.

 

I would recommed the 6spd. You really won't have to baby it all over town if you do. CLS is worth the money. I have a TL-P 00' and should've just waited to get the TL-s. The main reason is just starting off horses the type-s has, i think..., 30HP more than tl-p not including all bolt ons that you do. It is just a much better starting platform if you are going to be moding your car... good luck

 

I looked hard at the TSX, I liked it a lot, but in the end it would cost more and give me less power

I personally like the CL a lot and am glad with the choice. I know around here it's especially hard to find the 6speed, but in my opinion, I too think you should try and test drive one.

 

get it 6speed and its worth it. 28,000$ is expensive though, you can get some cheaper, like around 25,000$

 

U can probably negotiate a better price as they may be looking to push the CL's out.Why don't you request service records for it.If dealer can't provide it,do a VIN check,locate the last owner and get some info off him.Are you in Toronto?

 

but, IMO only if a Type-S, because of power. If you do decide to go with the Auto, make sure it is covered under the 7yr/100k mile powertrain warranty.

 

i'm from vancouver, BC.
checked out the car today. i think it was leased before and so the interior quality has been diminished. The salesmen for acura in vancouver never seem to know anything about cars, they just simply do the math and try to make money. Maybe because of the large amount of asian ppl buying cars?? the dealer had 3 TLS and 1 CL 1 CLS last week, now all taht is left is the 03 CL which did not seem to be well taken care of (it also smells like crap.....haha).
I think i would be better of with a tsx if their transmissions are actually fixed since my family would prefer an auto tranny.

Thanks for all your help guys!

 

ummm....i think he lives in canada which is why he said around $21k in the US.

 

three months ago, looking at: Acura TSX, Nissan Altima, Accord V6 Coup, Passat, Volvo S60 R, Saab 9-3....ended up going with an 03 CL S 6 speed with navi, it was a dealer car - 4k miles - full warranty, and registered it as new - original sticker here in Boston was 32k, walked out with it for 21.5

not a second thought.

The TSX felt as if one had to really wind it up to get any performance, and even then, the power band was only from 4k-6k....also, the leather was nasty, smaller cockpit, and a less quality "feel"

Accord - felt so generic I had to get out

Saab - cool car, but lousy repair records, but for the record, they are giving those away right now.

Volvo - S60R - cool car, if you can find one, but also felt like a geriatric in it.

Just my 2$

 

Great deal on your CL6 navi. Lucky you didn't go Volvo or Saab, reliabilty stinks IMO.

 

Keep your VW or shop elsewhere for a car. The dealer should pay you to take it. I would not recommend Honda to my worse enemy. My 2001 CL-S auto is the biggest pile of horse squeeze you have ever seen. Problems: throttlebody failed; front brakes; rear brakes; battery lasted 1 year; transmission failed; front leather seat covers replaced; coin box replaced; slide out tray near hvac replaced; oil jet kit; rattles up the posterior. And I'm sure there is more to come.

 

wow you had no luck huh?

 

You got that right!

 

How'd you get it to 21.5? Isn't the Blue Book much much higher? esp with 4k miles only

[QUOTE=PJC]three months ago, looking at: Acura TSX, Nissan Altima, Accord V6 Coup, Passat, Volvo S60 R, Saab 9-3....ended up going with an 03 CL S 6 speed with navi, it was a dealer car - 4k miles - full warranty, and registered it as new - original sticker here in Boston was 32k, walked out with it for 21.5

 

a couple of things - they HAD to get rid of it - as a demo they were within ~600 miles of going over the allowed limit, last month and 2nd to last week of the qtr (for the sales guy point of view it is an incentive to move cars)...it is white - which to some is a deal breaker....and I made a mistake - it was 22.5k....yes I had a trade, my wife's VW GTI with a 140k (worthless practically)

And we got the rear bumper repainted, first 6 oil changes included, free 7,500 service, and detailed.

most importantly, we dig the ride!

 

Glad you like it, best deal I've seen on the CL6/Navi! I assume you got the white/tan and not the rare white/black combo?? If you got the white/black you got a super steal.

I bought a used white/tan 03 CLS 6 speed (no Navi) 18 months ago and never liked the color, took me a while to sell it, but I finally did and the anthracite 6 sp w/ Navi I got 6 months ago only cost me $750 more and had half the miles. Great cars.

 

How can you make a blanket statement that most of the CL's out there are lemons? You have no idea what you are talking about. This guy had a legitimate question looking for a real answer.

Are you upsidedown on your Passat? That would be the only thing that would hold me back from that trade in. A '03 CL for $11,000 out the door is a great deal on a great car.