After a painstaking 7 week search, I have finally struck a deal to purchase a '03 CL-S 6 speed car. Will fly to Fla on thursday to pick up, and drive back to KS.

 

Mine is the same color! Yours has an engine and tranny though =p

 

Red is the best =D. How many miles and what kinda price did you pay?

 

6-speed or don't even bother, that's for sure. Nice job holding out for one. Just make sure it didn't get water damage down there.

 

Congrats

 

Here there, Weez....sure I can't really shift my gears like a manual, but it's still fast... that is, unless someone wants to put one in for me for free!!!

 

84 K miles For $8750. Flood damage shouldn't be an issue since Issac mostly missed Orlando. Car has only been in Fla since January. Spent the rest of its life in Tex. Thanks for the concern though. May have slightly overpaid, but was getting wore down by overpriced dealers and private persons that would not respond to calls or emails. One guy said he would sell me his car, then emailed me a few days later to tell me he was keeping it because his college bound son wanted it. The red looks good with the ebony interior, but I would have prefered to find a blue one with similiar miles and condition. Why are all the blue ones for sale high miles (except the one with 86K that needed a new tranny. (Red flag for a 6 speed car))? I hope it ends up being at least a fair deal. I'm sure I'll have a good idea by the time I get back to Kansas this weekend.
Thanks everyone for their comments.

 

I paid $8k for my 03 6spd last year with 99k miles. I'd say you did a fine job. Best automotive purchase I've ever made IMO.

Harv

 

Point was more about the crazy high failure rate of the autotragic transmission. Thats why I'd never consider an auto. In addition to the fact that you see much higher drivetrain loss, lower fuel economy, have VSA making things a pain, don't have a limited slip, worse cup holders, and other reasons.

 

Congrats on the purchase! Love to hear your about your drive back to KS.

Weez, we can turn off VSA completely and I believe they fixed the cupholders or there is a fix for them. My car never had the stupid cupholder inset and it was a late 2001 model

 

But you have to turn it off each time you want it off. That was more the point. And it's those damn doors that are cheap and seem to break on the autos that I don't care for. And the other stuff still stands.

 

"Autotragic transmission" I hope mine doesn't go out I'm hoping that maybe it already did before I got it....I wonder if there's a way to tell...

Yes, those muthaf'n cup holders are HORRIBLE! I've stopped kinda forcefully so many times, and whatever is in there spills ALL over the the shifter!!! I now just keep my arm on top of the drink to prevent more spills!

 

I've never had any troubles with the doors. I grab both sides with one hand to close them with equal force. I've also taken the cupholders off and out of the car so I know how they operate in case they break.

I need to take them off again for a cleaning, I spilled coffee and you can see it when the doors are closed. But that was from a loose lid and fast turns, no fault of the cupholders.

 

Nice car... You'll enjoy the road trip in this car as it'll return a firm yet supple ride. Also San Marino Red does not have a clearcoat. Same with Tafetta White so please keep her claybarred, polished, and waxed or the paint will begin to fade into a pinkish color? Do pics of the pick-up and road trip for us. Put good gas (91+ octane) and log your mpg's for the whole trip ;-). You're gonna love this car during your trip. I used to drive my CL-S6 from Wilmington to Atlanta (5hrs) and it was nice and quiet to enjoy the Bose stereo. I'd get 30-31mpg on those trips and had a 430mile range on one tank.

 

Autos have 2-stage heated seats

 

Hmm I didn' kow certain colors didn't have a clearcoat. Weird if this true.

Do the 6 speed guys have auto tilting passenger mirror too?

 

Thanks for all the interest. I plan to take a camera, but I may be doing a lot of driving through the remnants of Isaac (correct spelling this time). Good opotunity to see how well the wipers work (lol). I will have to look at pics of an auto interior to see the difference in the cupholders. (Figured they were the same). Anyway need to get some shuteye so I don't miss my flight in am.

 

Yup love that and its on the list of things my next car(if/when I ever decide to give up the CL) must have.

Pass mirror tilt in Reverse
Auto Dim Rear View Mirror
Fully Automatic climate control
Power/Memory seats/mirrors
Garage access control

 

Tell us all about it when you get the chance!!

 

That they do. Even when I had 3 stage in a previous car I never used more than high and off. Turn it on until the seat warms up then kill it or ya get swamp ass.

Suppose autos were also available in 01 and 02 which means you get crummy driving lights.

 

Made it to Orlando, got the car, and drove to Tallahasee. Very happy with all the mechanicals (runs good, drives good, a/c is cold, tracks straight,clutch is solid, no vibrations when braking and everything seems to work as it should). A little disapointed in the amount of door dings, and a big scratch the previous owner failed to mention. The half dozen sopts on the hood damaged by tree sap (which he did tell me about) turned out to be 15-20. I may be out of line since it is a 10 year old car thats been driven regularly. The interior,engine bay and trunk are very nice and the car looks really good until you start looking closely at the paint. Also a wierd big spot in the glass of the rear veiw mirror. Its my baby now and a few cosmetic issues are probably a lot better than mechanical issues. Man, its humid down here! I dont know how these people put up with it. Based on the spots on the hood, I would say that my car does have a base coat/ clearcoat paint. Also does anyone know if they had 2 shades of San Moreno Red? It may just be the dark interior, but this red seems darker than some of the cars I've seen pics of. It also seems that the ones that had the really bright looking red all have parchment interiors. Probably just my tired eyes or variations in camera exposures. Gonna try to make Memphis tommorrow. Pay my respects to the King.

 

Look on the door label for the paint code: R-94 is San Marino Red.

I have the infamous bubble thing in my rear view also; it's a common problem caused by the leaking of "electro-chromic gel" used for the auto-dimming feature; it has the potential to leak out so consider buying a new one...I think you can get them without the gel. (I should take my own damn advise! LOL)

 

My local Acura dealer said they could get the auto dimming mirror for $60 CAD (including our 12% tax), no idea how they are selling it so cheap.

Mine had the same problem so I went to walmart, dropped $14, bought a normal mirror and spent another $3 on the windshield epoxy for the mirror. $17 later and I'm able to see.

 

Got home about 3:00 pm on Saturday. Final Tally: 1421 miles. 24.5 hours road time including breaks. 55.24 gallons of premium. 25.7 MPG (Tried to run about 8 to 9 mph over posted speed limit). Oil consumption - None (it still reads full on dipstick). Car is rock solid. Need to see what kind of price I can get replacement rear view for at my dealership. Does anyone know if the clock in the dash is suposed to light up at night when your lights sre on? Also , I'm suprised my car didn't come equiped with fog lights. Not even mention of them in lighting section of owners manual. And yes the paint code sticker says R 94.

 

Dash Clock Light Replacement DIY
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621510



This guide should help you for the clock light, its for the tl but ours in nearly identical . I did it using a radio shack bulb and it lights up now, but doesnt match the climate control bulb, its more dim .I suggest oem bulb if you're picky like I am. Nice purchase!

 

I bought the same car a few years ago. I flew from Nashville to Houston and drove it back.

 

Yep, try giving the dash a good whack around the clock before replacing the bulb (as mentioned in the link provided). That method "fixed" my issue several months ago.

 

^Lucky you , that would have been awesome instead of pulling my dash .

 

Well, I gave the dash a few good whacks and light did not come on. Looks like I'll be taking the dash apart this fall and replacing this bulb as well as the cruise master swith light. Thanks for all the help. ML03CLS: You are so lucky to have a blue one, how many miles does it have?

 

I've never actually used automatic climate control other than putting it on there by accident. It just doesn't seem to have any point to me

 

It was worth a shot. I'm sure my "fix" was just temporary, so I may be undertaking that in the near future as well.

My car is at 249k right now, bought it with around 45k in 2005 and it has been great since. I actually wasn't a fan of the blue at first, but it has grown on me.

 

Acura Dropped the Fog Lights from the 03 CL.

Its nice always having the same climate in my car year around. In the summer it cools me down and keeps me at a comfortable temp, in the Winter I just toss my jacket on the pass seat when I get in and it keeps me perfect. Beats the heck out of setting the temp to max cool in the summer then jacking it up and down to stay comfortable.

 

Werd. Good thing too. The factory ones are totally worthless. Looks better without them.

 

Really? Our local dealer quoted me $111. plus sales tax. Found one on ebay for $90 including shipping. I know canadian $ are slightly more or less than US $ but that price seems awesome. At that price I'd probably buy 2 since my wifes '08 TL will eventually need one too.

 

If you're up for doing it while you're behind the dash, upgrade all the bulbs to LED. They'll be brighter while lasting past the life you'll have the car. Just think about how old those incandescent bulbs already are back there. The clock lamp wont be the last bulb behind that dash to go.

So you let your house's a/c or heat just run w/o letting it control the temperature? Auto allows for the car to stay at the temp you choose. It'll control the fan speed based on the temperature of the cabin.