marshallz

Hello All,
We have finally decided to buy a 2003 Acura 3.2CL. However, we are also aware that this year is the last year for the CL model and it will be changing next year. We were told that the car will depreciate quite a bit due to this model change. Most cars depreciate by 12-15% in the first year and were wondering whether it is true that the CL will depreciate considerably. If this is a fact then what should we consider when deciding whether we should buy this car? Any advice would be great.


Thanks

Pappy

Where did you hear this?
...and welcome aboard!

Scrib

The cars (01-02) have already depreciated quite a bit. While a new model may hurt resale, it's not like our cars are gonna be worth 10G's or something.

The '03 will follow the same path. But this is an Acura, not a Chrysler.

marshallz

Well it all started when a honda dealer told me that this year was the last year for the CL model and that it was going to be remodeled henceforth. Then I started surfing and found an article that said that the CEO of American Honda said that if the sales for the CL did not pick up, it was going to be axed to make room for the new MDX and other profitable models.

But here is what I am concerned about. Most new cars depreciate by 10-15% in the first year. I want to keep the Acura for over 7 years definitely (Hopefully it will last that long without too many hassles), so if this is the case, then do I still need to worry about the remodeling of the CL and the depreciation.

Thanks for the help and advice

Scrib

If you are going to keep a car 7 years, resale should be the last thing on your mind. You should be looking for reliability, comfort, value, etc. And the CL-S has all that.

If you're planning on keeping the car 7+yrs, get it! Cars will always progress, have new features, more power, etc. But you have to give somewhere...

marshallz

I am thinking f the base model and not the type-S. It is a little over our budget. Any problems with the 3.2 CL? known problems/issueds that I must be aware about

dajuice27

This is an Acura, not a Chrysler!

Fuggedabout the Honda dealer, get the Acura and enjoy the ride!

If you want resale after 7 years, buy a Lambo or Bentley, if you want the car to still work after 7 years, get the Acura.

Scrib

Marshallz, get the CL and enjoy it. There are always people here who get grumpy over issues with their car, including yours truly. But they're mostly minor, easily fixed problems.

The only issue that has most of us on edge is the tranny issue, but according to people here, that has been fixed.

Acura makes one of the most reliable, safe, value-based cars on the road.

Get it and enjoy!

gavriil

I dont doubt the discontinuation of the CL (even though that is debatable as well), but I doubt it will happen this year. This is the 3rd model year for this generatio of CL. It would be anorthodox for a discontinuation to take place so soon. But it is not impossible. The competition is getting really annoying for Acura in that category of cars. Hence the south direction of the sales of the CL. I dont know. I hope I am wrong and you are right.

DivinDude

Right now .. the CL/TL are battling two major issues that are affecting their value .. first, all of the incentives on other new cars is artificially depressing resale values of used cars - but this is impacting ALL used cars. Secondly, like it or not, the flawed auto-tranny is also impacting the value of our cars (I've had several dealers tell me this) - if you continue to trade with Honda dealers this may not be as much of an issue.

Basically .. don't buy this car if you are looking for an investment (no car makes a good investment) .. buy it because you enjoy driving and THINK it will be reliable.

marshallz

I have been reading this post regarding the tranny as well. Am not a guru in cars but, realistically speaking, how many people have had problems with their tranny? Maybe i can let me dealer know about this problem and get something in writing. Is this a probelm with the stick(5 - speed) shif or auto transmission or both?

I must admit though, the drive in the car was amazing. It almost like i was driving a German car

Scrib

The transmission has been warrantied by Acura for 7yrs/100K miles. You will receive a letter from Acura if you do qualify. Check with your dealer to see if the particulat CL you want to buy qualifies for this.

Acura has supposedly fixed the problem, so not all 2003s are covered.

icy CL

i have had the cl-p since march of 01...have about 19k miles on it and definitely still enjoy the ride. i'm not into heavy modding or racing or doing the 0-60 or 1/4 times...just upgraded the soundsystem. but, for the price, i think the car's a good one. it's got sufficient power when i need it. the other folks are right....all cars depreciate....so expect the acura, no matter what model, to depreciate as well. except for the minor stuff, (of which all can be fixed reasonably), i think it's a great car. go for it! i plan to keep the car for a long time and that's what hondas/acuras are all about! shoot, i have a 1991 honda accord lx with 170k miles on it...looks beat up....man, you should see the 0-60 it pulls...about 12secs or more...but it's great in snow. the point is, the CL will last, maybe not in marketability and value...but in durabilty. unless you get a lemon!!

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Any those 03 models who are not covered had tranny failure?

Scrib

I thought the Acura letter said "some".

I'm too lazy to get up and check.

Wires

I think my dealer told me my CL was 10% the first year, 7% the next. (Unlike our Mustang which dropped 30% in the first year!)

russianDude

CL is reliable? I doubt it... lets wait and see when JDpower comes up with 5 year long term reliablity study...
I agree that in the past Acura was very reliable, but 2001 I doubt it

Wires

I don't know. If you forget about the tranny (yeh I know it's a big "forget", there isn't a whole lot of problems with them). They do get a perfect rating for crash safety.

devnull

Many would disagree with me, but I do hope they discontinue the CL. I have a CLS6 and love the car. It would be cool (in my own selfish way) to have the last year of the car. Of course do not really factor in $$ since I plan on keeping the car regardless of wether or not they keep making them.

I'd love to drive around (as a second car) a later year Legend coupe. Same idea...

Wires

erock

I said the same thing when I bought my car. I told my self I'll save a couple thousand bucks since I don't need an extra 35 ponies, I don't race, blah, blah.......

Boy do I regret it now........

If you plan on modding get the type-s. From what I understand you can only get a manual tranny on the Type-S'. Also, the supercharger will not be available to premium models because of EPA standards or something like that......


BUT, If your just looking for a nice car and not too much in performance upgrades the CL-P would do.......

1killercls

2002 Cl Type S, TONS o' Mods, NOT 1 Problem!!!

But in 2 more years, its GOTTA be an M3 for replacement car!

Jungle Jane

yea 01 cl-s was auto but the newer ones are manual

Pappy

I also doubt it will happen this year. They can get one more year out of the current tooling.

Pappy

Agreed. Anything that depreciates is not an investment.

Pappy

I think what it didn't say by saying 'some' is the 6-speed is only covered for the 4/50,000.

JRock

Yup.
Resale is only important if you plan to trade the car in within the first 3-4 years. After that you won't get much if anything for the vehicle.

With your plans, resale should not even come into the equation.

Paul

The CL is a great car. We have 2 in the family. Both CL-P because we dont really race. It has everything I want in a car, and more. Sometimes I do regret not getting the type S, but I thought I didn't need to spend that extra 2k. This car has more than enough power for regular driving. And the sports shift is great. I find myself using it to drop to 2nd while going 50-55mph when I am merging into a lane or merging onto a highway, and then blasting it into red and putting it in 3rd, it gets from 50-80 rather quick. Another fun thing to do in the CL is having it in SS going around 10-15mph then flooring the gas, it drops to 1st and gives a reallllly nice kick and even a little peeling, especially in the tunnel. Oh I love my CL....

Stock03CLS

Don't worry about trade-in value, especially if you plan to keep it for a while. My discontinued '97 Prelude SH (2001 was the last year for them) held over 42% of it's original value at 5 years/60K on trade-in. It would have gotten more had the dealer's used car manager not noticed that my right-front quarter panel was replaced. Hondas/Acuras have historically high trade-in and resale values.

louisn

Does that include the Bush stock market?

AcuraFan

Bush has his own stock market???

Pappy

Yep!

VeeDubDude

if you're worried about depreciation of a model that may not exist after this model year, why not check on the Prelude? (may it RIP) see how its value is holding up after it was discontinued. i'm sure the CL would be similar if not better. just a thot . . .

dfreder371

I agree with Pappy, the CLP and S need to be around at least another year for Acura to recoupe their tooling costs.

And another thing; why have I seen more than one posting here that says the 2004 will have a 280 h.p. engine?

Crazy Bimmer

tmk70

I'll vouch for that...fucker was solid when I wrecked it.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

and why was this bumped up?