hey guys, I thought I would start a topic that only talks about how awesome honda/acura really is. Actually, I wanna see why most everyone here chooses acura over other luxery/performance car companies. Let's try to keep this topic civilized - and no acura haters please. I guessing some major arguments will concern the trust and quality of honda ( the opposite of ford - not kidding)

 

It is all about value for your dollars..

Now there is more nice competion from Nissan and Infinity...

G35 and Z350 are very nice!

 

i made my choice to go with the Acura CL-S because it was the only car that i really liked that fit my price range....30,000 was the ABSOLUTE most i could spend on a car, and i was sick and tired of american cars that gave me greif year after year so i did some research and then went for some test drives, i researched audi A4, Acura CL-S, pre-owned BMW 3 series, and Lexus IS300.

after doing my research, desided i wanted a brand new car, not a used car so i ruled out the BMW. then i looked at features, warranty, options, etc....after that i was down to the Acura CL-S and IS300

i test drove the IS300 first, was really impressed with the handling, liked the front end alot, liked the 2002 "smoke" taillights as opposed to the bling blingish chrome altezza, i wasnt too fond of the interior but the car was tight handling and was reasonable powerful.

then i test drove the CL-S and was BLOWN AWAY. i loved the HUGE power difference over the IS300, i still laugh my ass off when IS300 drivers try to say their car is as fast as a CL-S. i test drove that Acura CL-S for like a 1/2 hour and the salesman was just incredible....really cool guy, gave me attention in spite of my age (i was 21 at the time) was willing to work with me, let me drive the car alone for a half hour. i mean all of that made me really really excited and interested in the acura. i was dissapointed a bit with the stereo speakers, wanted more bass (that problem has since been rectified by the Basslink) the only other gripes i had with the CL-S was the fact that i couldnt afford NAVI (thats just my own limitations though) and the handling was not on the level of the IS300, but i understood it was a trade off due to the nature of the 2 cars.

So it came time to talk about the color i wanted and pricing....well i wanted black and guess what they had in stock, one Black, non-navi 2002 CL-S, he took me to the back of the lot where it was sitting with the plastic wrap all over it still, the interior still had the wrap as well...he opened the door, i say down and i was like "ok, THIS is my car!!!" so we went back up to the showroom and talked price. i was still nervous because the CL-S was a financial stretch for me, it is at my limit basically...i couldnt afford anything more expensive. at the time, (february) there was a 2000 dollar incentive on the CL so that brought the price down to a more comfortable level for me. (my final price was $27,700 including destination, and before tax, title, etc) they also got me 4.9% financing through Honda America Finance. so i was SOLD!! the payments were right where i needed them, they gave me an AWESOME deal for my trade in, and the intrest rate was low enough that it didnt matter much that i had a realitively small down payment.


within the first few months of ownership, i came across a few issues with rattles and squeaks, but either the dealer fixed them or i personally fixed them and my CL-S continues to be a great car for me, i am happy every time i go to get in it, and im even HAPPIER with the car now that its got OBX headers on it!!

Also, it makes me more comfortable now that Acura acknowledged the tranny issues and gave us all the free warranty.

 

I've loved the 1st gen CLs ever since they came out. Acuras just have nice design and they're more distinctive than a lot of other cars. I think BMWs and the like are more status symbols. Acuras are the cars that know they're good cars but dont brag about it, whereas BMWs are the cocky motherfuckers

 

how many cars can u find that has

nice interior, HID, navi, 260 hp, 21mpg, 17 inch wheels, sportshift, 4 year 50,000 mile warranty, side and frontal airbags, climate control, memory seats, home link system, six disk in dash cd changer, bose speakers, roomy trunk, power seats with lumbar support, power tinted rearview mirror, perforated leather, moonroof, VTEC, 4 cup holders, sunglass holder, emergency trunk release and much much more

for $32,000

sidemarker

 

Value/dollar and nothing more. I have no company/brand name bias what so ever (maybe a little...but not enough for me to admit to it consciously). If Hyundai or Subaru can come up with similar offers, and show better reliability then why not? Just like the CPU issue of Intel vs AMD...frankly I dont give a sh*t...show me which one I'll get more for my money and that's what I'm buying.

The cars I've considered within my price range.

TL-P w/NAV
IS300 (auto)
Audi A4 1.8 quattro
MB C-230
Cadillac Caterra
Lincoln LS V6
Mazda Millenia S
Volvo S40
Infinity I30

The TLP was by far the best value but the only thing lacking was in the fun factor. It wasn't until the TLS came out did I finally make up my mind. Although the other cars might handle a little better (I love the IS300 in this category), in my mind, you just simply couldn't beat the fact that I have a NAV and they don't. In addition I have 3 other friends that owned an IS300 and frankly I didn't want a car that was similar to "everyone" else.

My main reason for my purchase. Need a safe car to commute long distances (at the time I drove a little bit more than 100 miles a day), need comfort for long drives, and although maneuverability was important, freeway passing power was priority #1. And finally...the killer of them all...the NAV. I've had so many adventures with it I couldn't keep count of them any longer. Like I said before...if $$$ was the issue and I couldnt afford a TLS w/ NAV...I would of gotten a TLP with NAV. I can live without it...but at this point, I wouldnt want to.

P.S.
How could I have forgotten the Maxima. If only it had 5 gears and a DVD nav I would of bought it. (more aftermarket support too)

 

I pretty much chose it for the same reasons everyone else did. Very impressive value/power/acceleration. I've overcome some of my gripes, including the lack of rwd, lack of super tight handling, and poor sales personnel. And I love the ABP color!

 

I've driven my last car (94 ford tbird) for about 8 years (135,000 miles). Although the car has required very little $$$-wise for repairs over that time, the resale value sucks (it's forsale BTW).

If I had a 8 yrs old honda/acura w/ 135k it would still be worth several thousand dollars.

The fact that Honda/Acura models are known for their durability (200k miles on engines, etc) and have an excellent resale value (compared to the domestic automakers), had me looking at honda/acura coupes.

I don't like 4 doors, so the maxima was out. I wanted a back seat, so the S2000 and 350Z were out. BMW was a liitle more pricey then I wanted to spend, and I don't like the looks of the G35coupe.

After looking around, I found that the only cars I liked (and could afford) were the Acura CL and Honda Accord EXV6. The CLS won out 'cause it had more power then the leftover 2002 Accords and was better looking then the 2003 Accords. Plus it has a 6spd

The fact that I see about 20 accord coupes everyday, and only a handful of CL's each week makes it even more enjoyable to own a Acura CL. It's a unique car that is the "best bang for the buck".

 

these were my prereq's:
- available by end of April '00
- new
- leather
- automatic
- 2 door preferred (but checked 4drs too)
- navi preferred
- $50k or under

these are the cars I checked and some pros/cojns:

Accord cpe - value, but eveyrone had an accord (cp and sdn)

solara - cushy ride, but everyone had a camry (cpe or sdn)

328ci - looks nice, handling, but not very fast in automatic (no 330 at the time). Dealer downright treated me like shit (i was 22 at time of shopping) and could not test drive.

I30 - value, but too maxima like and slow.

Maxima - value, but too many people had and too slow (auto).

C70 - nice ext. and not too common, but int. wasn't my taste and no reliability standout.

es300 - value, but too cushy and not fast.

tl - was going to be my final choice, but then then the cl came out.

clk430 - 2nd choice, fast, but was one of cars that brought mb initial quality ratings down. at limit of my price range, not available until 4-5 months, and dealer treated me like shit (until he found out my family bought an s500 and sl500 from them...but too little, too late). no test drive, navi sucks.

cl-s - got the brochure a month after it came out. value, power, etc. the cons came after i bought the car: dealer treated me like shit over a matter of $100, dealer lied to me about navi updates, paid pretty close to sticker at the time.

in the end, it came down to the value. I actually did have $20k extra in my bank account after buying this car over the clk430.

 

For me, having the 6 speed tranny along w/ a 260hp engine was the big selling point...add the fact it had nicely bolstered and perforated leather seats, Xenon headlights, 17 inch wheels and dual chrome exhaust tips...it was just aggressive looking! Yeah, the sound of the stereo could be better and some of the interior trim could be updated, but for the price, you can't beat it. I really wanted a 4 door car w/ similar horsepower, but the only other ones that were worth considering were the TLS and Maxima. The TLS didn't have a manual tranny, and the Maxima, although not a bad drive, exterior looks were a bit limiting. I would have considered the G35 sedan if it had a manual, but since I needed wheels ASAP, I decided on the CLS. Almost got an '02 Accord EX-V6 since the price was really cheap, but glad the dealer called me back and was willing to negotiate for a better deal.

 

VALUE FOR THE DOLLAR.