My last 4 cars have been Acuras, I have been very faithful over the year. (1991 Integra LS Special, 2000 TL, My favorite 2001 CL-S & 2008 TL)

My journey ends with my CL-S after a great 4 year run. This was my first car that I seriously modded and I loved the experience. This website was so much help in finding answers that would have taken me ages to figure out.

The car was pretty much worry free despite putting on an average of 40k miles per year. But due to allowing other people to do work on my car, things started to go south with the CL-S. And now with the tranny shot and not from the well known defective design, I figured it was time to lay the CL-S to rest.

Also, my 08 TL lease is up here at the end of the month and due to VERY POOR customer service on behalf of SPITZER ACURA in Pittsburgh, PA. And the fact that Acura corporate will not accept any responsibility of poor workmanship from their dealerships, this pushed me over the edge and forced me to move on from the Acura family.

I have replaced both the TL and CL-S with an 09 335xi, I should receive delivery in 2 weeks. I know they are not the most reliable but it only has 6,500 miles on the odometer and is certified up to 100K and I was itching for a more powerful vehicle.

In closing, I just want to thank all mods and members for their help over the years.

 

lol like BMW is going to be any better lol my friend has one and it has spent more time in the shop than her 1995 corolla ever did over it's entire life time.

your dealer sucked and you never thought of finding another one?

I have a 02 CL-S and the only problems have been lower ball joints and transmission but at least my dealer cares enough to try and help me as they know there are 6 more in the area that would love to have business.....if they don't do a good job.

 

You said xi but the emblem says its an i?? That car is gorgeous, didn't know they made the sedans in that color. Love the titanium? interior trim as well. there are so many different colors i've sen like the marble, woodgrain and they all look like ass compared to it. Awesome pickup, get a chip in that thing asap!

 

Hope you have much better luck with the BMW! I can honestly say if I had to go through all you've gone through with your CL I'd be pretty eager to dump Acura entirely, as well

 

nice pick up on the beamer. u sold the cl already?

 

Hey man, trust me, I do my research before I jump into the frying pan. I know all the issues with the BMW and that is why I never would have touched this car if it didn't have a very very long warranty.

My CL-S was an amazing car for its price and I am not comparing Honda reliability to BMW because that would be crazy.

I was burned by two different Acura dealerships and corporate does NOTHING. They literally don't do anything, they only get involved with the dealership if the problem is with warranty work paid for by Acura.

And honestly, Acura still hasn't found their way. Even if I didn't have any problems with Acura, they were still not in the running for my new car. It was between the G37x and the 335.

 

For the xi, trust me, i was confused too when it said it was listed as AWD and I saw the 335i. But BMW was just being stupid and starting in the 2009 model, their awd models are called X-Drive. So like a 2008 335 would be a 335xi while the 2009 I purchased is a 335i on the back label but on the side wheel wells it says X-Drive.. No more XI models, all bmw models are 328i, 335i, etc.. and if it is awd they add the X-Drive tag.

 

Na, haven't listed it anywhere but on the black market. But one of the mods (97BlackAckCL) and I have been talking and we may be coming to a deal where he is going to part the entire car for me.

Unfortunately, I live in a townhouse with a 1 car garage that can't even fit a power wheel inside so tearing a car apart isn't in the cards.

I mean for $2,500, if someone wanted to buy it whole, they could make their money back easy especially with all my mods.

 

I hate to say it but yes bmw is better than acura period and I am an Acura/Honda fan or used to be atleast. Bmw might not be as reliabe as the acura but atleast it has warranty and they dont hassle you as much over getting warranty work done as Acura does from my experience with Knauz. Not a fan of anything new from Acura/Honda thats for sure. Most Acura dealers suck and not everyone has the luxury to drive out of state to find a good one. I have used probably 4 or more Acura dealers in my area and they all suck and overcharge like mad. The only Acura dealer considered somewhat good would be atleast an hour or more drive to wisconsin and back. All the Illinois NSX owners drive out of state to this dealer cause none in chicago are trustworthy. (I dont use dealers anymore) I agree the Cl is a great car maintenance wise tho.

I think moving on from Acura is the right decision. I know i wont buy a new Acura/Honda vehicle again unless they change up their thinking. Acura was at its peak in the 90's and i dont see it ever going back. They dont plan on building any sporty cars anymore just sedans and suvs/crossovers made for taking coworkers out for lunch. They also refuse to make rwd vehicles. It seems to me like Acura is purposely trying to weed car enthusiasts out of its buyer circle. It seems like they want the non-car enthusiast crowd who dont really care about vehicles or doing any modding. Basically they want dumb uninformed buyers. Its sad Honda calls the crz a sports car when its 0-60 is over 10 seconds. I still love Honda/Acura but only the older stuff. I would rather buy a used NSX or a integra type R over anything else they offer. Other thing is I will only drive manuals and I think Acura will od away with these in the future. I believe the new tsx is already like this and cant be bought in manual. Honestly Acura might as well just sell the TL and MDX the other offerings are useless. Even better Honda should disband Acura entirely and put it to rest.

 

I think dealerships are just being worn thin even with $125/hour labor rates. With car companies having a lower profit margin on each car sold, the dealerships are pretty much washing their hands clean of offering any kind of additional help when it comes to customer service.

I am definitely an advocate of being as nice as possible and getting close with a dealership and service advisor but that can only do so much in the long run when pulling a profit is the bottom line.

 

exactly why i wont be buying anymore acuras. ill be moving on to lexus and infiniti for my next car. congrats on the BMW.

 

My wife just replaced her 04 g35x with an 07 G35x and I seriously love that car. The interior is upgraded from the old G and is close to on par with my 08TL interior except the TL seats are more refined in my opinion.

The new 7 speed Inifiniti transmission is what scared me away from the g37. Yes I'd love a manual but with a family coming in the future an automatic is more practical since my wife can't drive a stick. As for the 7 speed tranny, many people said it does a lot of gear hunting even after the ECU learns the driving habits and it is a strange ride on the highway when you have to downshift for speed or coming to a stop.

But it makes me sad when I think how Acura trumped infiniti in the early 2000s and now 10 years later it's not even a close comparison between the two.

Only thing Acura has on Infiniti now is gas mileage

 

I prefer Acura manual trannies and engines over the infiniti/nissan manuals and the vq. It looks like infinity and nissans will use mercedes engines in the future tho since they have teamed up now so will only get better.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. These 300hp cars they're coming out with now was ahead of the game 7-10 years ago but it's just plain frustrating now. I wont be getting a new Acura either.

Nice pickup Pits. Was thinking about a 335 or S4/5 for my next car. Nice choice.

 

BMW 335xi is fun to drive, I really like this car also. I do agree that its long term reliability compared to Honda/Toyota sucks in general. Its a proven fact via consumer reports and such.
Maintenance is expensive too. But if you don't plan to keep this car past warranty, its a safe bet. They drive really well, and fun to drive.... It all depends on your finances and priorities in life.

 

LOL, the only problem is transmission, yeah this is just a noise.....

 

Ha ya, the transmission isn't really a key component to the car.. If it breaks its just like changing your oil. Takes 10 minutes.

 

Good luck with your BMW and nice color choice. Bmw's are good cars and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

 

welcome to bimmerzine and believe me when I say the 335 is a solid car. it will be way more reliable than the Cl and it has tons ofpotential. it's my next vehicle and I've been doin my research. just have the hfp replaced under the recall and enjoy it.

 

Ya, I did about 3 months worth of research before pulling the trigger on the 335. Only problem with the HPFP is BWM isn't sure what the problem is, whether it's a software flash or if the actual pump is faulty by design.

As for the potential, you're right, the thing is a beast. With a chip, the awd 335 can do low 4 second 0-60 or even high 3's with race gas.

Only problem is with the XI, I have heard that the suspension leaves something to be desired and there aren't many aftermarket options to fix that. Oh well, that's probably better anyways so I don't spend all my money on mods.

 

Good luck with every thing and nice pick up on the new ride.

 

i ejoyed the suspension. its a nice tie between comfort and the raw-ness of an M/// car. get a FSB and RSB

 

Good Luck Bro, Nice car and color.
And I agree with most, any car u buy/pick is all about function, satisfaction and finances.
What matters is If the CAR :
does what u want it to do and at a reasonable cost.. no more no less.
If money was not an issue I am sure many of us will opt for other cars even if ACURA had the best customer service.
it was great having you , again good luck on ur new Bimmer

 

Nice pickup. Any reason you went with the awd model though?

 

I went awd just for safety reasons. I live in Pittsburgh which gets enough snow from time to time that I like the idea of awd. But on the other hand, getting dedicated snows with the rwd would be tough because we don't get that much snow so the dedicated snows would almost be a waste most of the time. So I figured awd with good all seasons should do the job for the kind of winters I'm use to.

I know the added weight of the awd model is like 200lbs but after installing the Procede tune, the car will hook up much better vs the rwd model. Im more of a redlight racer, I only go to about 50mph when I want to get in front of someone from a standstill at a light.

 

Was the model you drove an XI??

And unfortunately, no one makes a fsb for the xi model yet.

 

X2.... Everyone that has a BMW I know has had it in the shop so much it is unreal. So if you wanted a reliable car BMW is the complete opposite of Acura in that department. Acura is very very reliable. BMW is not.

 

Acura was at it's peak in the mid 2000s not 90s. In the 90s they had some pretty boring cars other than the Type-R and NSX.

 

I would have saved $ & got a decent Ford & banked the savings. But good luck with the new car.

 

A "Ford"? LOL! That is too far.... At least get a KIA or Hyundai over a Ford. hehe.

 

Congrats. my CL is probably my last acura too...unless they change their direction

 

Congrats on the pickup man, I'll give you a call later today to talk about the CL

 

Great lookin ride man!

Enjoy the bimmer!

I kept the CL b/c it was paid for and gives my son something to drive around town.... no way I would buy another Acura... I went German too and bought a SLK... couldn't be happier!

 

Uhhhhh, Legend/Vigor...

They killed the Integra in 2001 and the RSX was a shitty replacement. They killed the NSX in 2005 and havent had a replacement. They killed the CL in 99 and again in 2003 and havent had a replacement. The TL went downhill in 09. The RL was dead in the water about a year after the refresh in 2005.

So yea, the mid-2000s were Acuras peak.

 

+1

 

Like I said, mid 2000's. Thank you for proving it. PS, the refresh was in 07 or 08 for the RL.

 

 

Sorry, FMC, which was for model year 2004.

And what did I prove aside from the fact that all of the good cars Acura had were cancelled in the mid-2000s?

Pits - You should get the black kidney grills to match the Shadowline trim. And sorry for taking your thread off topic.

 

In my opinion, Acura killed off their best car in 2001 which is of course the Integra Type R... I'm confused with the rest of you on where the hell Acura is going with their stuff... new TL is hideous anyways thats a nice BMW man

 

It's going to be strange with the 335 that I'm actually going to have so many mod options where as with the cl there was such a small aftermarket in comparison.

Acura needs to come out with a 350hp coupe. Look at the old g35 coupe and what it did for infiniti's image. It set a nice benchmark for mid priced coupes and then the people who needed something more practical than the coupe would then get the g35 sedan instead but the reason they thought infiniti
was because of the great coupe design even if they didn't sell a ton of coupes in comparison to sedans.

Even though I feel I'm moving onto a car that's a different animal I'm still going to really miss my cl. Honestly, the idea of driving around in a BMW doesn't appeal to me at all because I'm the last person who'd drive a car just for status and I hate to portray that image. Before the 335 I thought every other 3 series was underpowered and overpriced for what you got and I always thought acura was the cats meow giving you the best bang for your buck.