hi guys...

have been reading this forum continuously for five hours now.. very informative.. : )

i am choosing between the 2003 CL AT w/Nav, which carsdirect quoted $27,474 and 2003 Audi A4 1.8T CVT with premium package, carsdirect quoted at $27,682.

since i have been driving my 2001 Audi A4 1.8T for 3 years now(great looking car, very good FREE maintenance service, and no major problem), kind of wanted a change, and I am impressed with the Nav system and other features in the 03 CL...

2 major questions in my mind before making the decision:

1) there seemed to be troubles with the auto-transmission in the CL, after reading from here and in NHTSA, still cant feel comfotable about the situation (case was closed in NHTSA though), do you guys have any advice/news about that?;

2) is the dealership/service ok with Acura?... I used to own a 97 Integra, had really bad experience with the Acura Customer Service...

any input is appreciated... : )

peace..

gi

 

Holy crap that's a hell of a price for a CLS with NAVI!!!

The CL is an awesome car. I'll be honest and tell you I had problems with the tranny, and I've since sold my CL due to them. HOWEVER, most people here are tranny-trouble free.

As for service, my experiences were nothing but spectacular. I was treated well, they remembered my name each and every time I came in, loaner cars, etc. I have nothing bad to say about Acura service.

 

You might be looking at a CLP, not a CLS for that price. Get the 6 speed CLS and forget about it. I prefer coupes to sedans so the Audi is out. I wouldn't recommend the CL or CLS automatic. Of course, it's your decision. I like Audis and am glad to hear you had a trouble-free one.

 

That's a good price on the Audi too...

 

I think those quotes are off...I say CLS6...way better value than the "real" A4 price.

 

seems like they are discontinuing the production of CL...
what do you guys think?.. good time to get one from the leftover stock with great price?.... or should consider something else..

so, anyone know a good Acura dealership in los angeles area (for sales and services)?..
yea.. the price was for a CL automatic... (not CLS)...

 

Didn't you tranny only go out once?

If my tranny went out 3-4 times, or even twice, sure I'd get rid of it. Its such a small % of cars that have been affected by it though.


Who cares about the transmission. Its not as high of a number of CL's as some people make it out to be.

Plus, Acura issued a warranty extension on it.

 

I REALLY wanted an Audi before I got my TL-S, but I wanted to do some mods to it. The Audi dealer here has shi+ service, and they wouldn't help with any mods except the basic $500 chip. That's it. Overall, I found the Audi to be of a higher quality feel and certainyl would outhandle my car anyday in either AWD or FWD form, but it was slow as hell and they wanted $30.5k...
I got my TL-S for $28.5k and it was much, much quicker and had the import quality that is the industry standard. Tranny issues are what warranties are for, and mine blew and was replaced in 7 days (from order to install). I had a loaner, so I didn;t care and my service department does not care about my mods other than having a turbo or s/c installed...
I believe your prices are pretty accurate--at least for the CL-S. My dealer was selling them with their "sale" tag yesterday for $28,999 w/o Navi yesterday...

 

It all depends what you're looking for in a car. I'd recommend the CL-S, in 5AT or 6MT form, over the base CL, but I'm looking for that sportier ride with a zippy engine. A base CL is going to be a bit slower and cushier, but still a very nice ride. I'm pretty sure the CL-S is much faster than the Audi 1.8T, and the base CL might be as well.

Audis are pretty sweet, but I'm not sold yet on the CVT. It is in theory a very efficient system, but not as satisfying when you step on the gas - rather than hearing the engine revs kick up, the engine stays at the same spot and the gearing continuously changes. I'd worry about being able to get repairs anywhere other than an Audi dealer if anything goes wrong, since the transmission is so unique, and that means you pay more for repairs.

For service, I've only had mine 6 months, but I've been treated very well. No complaints.

Good luck with your choice

 

CL is a dead dog, and the Auto tranny is a time bomb waiting to go off.

why not look at the TSX??? its got a MUCH better navigation system than the CL/TL and its got a really slick interior. not to mention, the TSX is MUCH more comperable to the A4 as far as size, style, etc. at this point, id rather have a brand new loaded TSX than a CL any day of the week.

if you are big into the navi thing, dont waste your money on the CL, its got the discontinued, abandoned navi of LAST generations acuras. the TSX and MDX both have the new, updated navigation thats leaps and bounds beyond the old style navi of the CL/TL. check it out, youll be much more impressed with it than the CL navi

 

No, that price looks to be correct for a A4 1.8T CVT.

Where Audi gets real expensive fast is when you add on all of the optional packages, he only keyed in prem package.

 

Wait for the new TL if you can. CLS is still a nice ride no matter what!

In addition, we are not hearing of failed tranny after they got replaced with the latest tranny with the new ECU!