civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

The newest gen 3 series are a completely different animal then previous models. Unless of course its the 328

But I was checking out a few 135s and 335s but the price is still a bit insane. 135s were still in the high $30s. I can get a used Elise for that and have a much more capable car and keep the CL for daily duties.

If you dont mind me asking, how much did you get it for?

pits200

I'll pm you.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Another thing is from my knowledge besides maybe the NSX not positive but the Legend was the best build quality car Acura/Honda has built. Build quality and materials have gone down since then imo. Most Acura's used to be made in Japan but that dsnt seem to be the case anymore. I know I would prefer my Acura/Honda be built in Japan than anywhere else.

On a side note I can see why build quality goes down so much ppl are more concerned about numbers and drag times than quality. One example would be the lexus LF-A. Ppl think that since at a track it has about the same numbers as a GT-R that it should cost the same. Ppl dont seem to understand research/developement and that Lexus used the best quality parts everywhere. The machine used to lathe the chassis there are only 2 in the world. Whole body is carbon fiber etc. Even the guy on Top Gear made fun of the price, even tho every model produced will sell and lexus isn't making profit. Everyone says who would buy a 400k Lexus when you can have a ferrari etc. I guess ppl also dont realize that anyone buying this Lexus has a car collection already with Ferraris etc. This is where the issue lies ppl see a car and know even in their dreams they cant fool themselves into thinking they will one day have it, so because they can never afford it they have to attack it to justify their thinking.

Sorry for my long off topic post pits, hope you enjoy the car.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

FYI every LF-A is spoken for. The pre-orders ran out awhile ago.

pits200

Those cars are amazing but to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Lexus. Yes they make a quality product but I don't see myself driving one of those cars until I hit at least 50.

Allout

Best of luck to you Pits.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the 335. A lot has to do with going in with a realistic expectation of the vehicle. There's give and take with anything you buy.

Appreciated your posts over the years so don't be a stranger.

pits200

Thanks allout your one of the originals. It's kind of funny because I started browsing the e90post for BMW forums and after a week of looking around I see a post by some guy named scalbert and I guess I was slow on the pickup but I think he is the same guy who was another one of the cl originals and he seems to still be at but with a 335. That guy is a fountain of engineering knowledge. I wish my mind wasn't filled with this useless accounting info and I knew half as much about forced induction

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Congrats on the Bimmer!

Blazin Si

The Bimmer will make a nice replacement for the Acura's. Seems like a lot of Honda guys go to BMW at some point. If I remember correctly, Spitzer is the only Acura dealer in the Pittsburgh area. You're stuck with them unless you want to travel.

pits200

You really know your Acura dealers being that you're from Charlotte, NC. haha..

But you're kind of right, I live in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh and Spitzer is only about 20 minutes away while the next one is about 45mins to an hour away.

But they seriously don't understand how much business they have lost from what they did to me. My sister was pretty much sold on a brand new loaded MDX from Spitzer but after my episode they said screw them and got a new Land Rover instead. Also, my brother in law was looking at a brand new RL from the same place and guess what, after all was said and done, he picked up an Audi A6 instead just 4 weeks ago.

So between those two cars, Spitzer Acura lost about $100,000 in car sales. But the sad thing is, they will never know how much negative publicity hurts them. These sales/service people have probably never took an economics class to realize the repercussions of bad service vs sales figures, they will just assume sales are down because of the economy.

StreetKA

iTrader: (8)

gratz on nice pickup! i really like the newer 3 series.

im pointing for something new i was thinking about '07-'08 TL-S or lexus IS350 and yes i want automatic. in the area i live im so tired of stop n go im just giving up.
is350 is pretty much what im looking for but its small maybe too small but the tranny and rwd is pretty much the thing i like of this car. 335i im worried about maintenance i like the car but idk.

after reading this all i dont think i will jump onto another acura either. even dodge or hyundai dealers are much nicer than acura's

i like ES as well but its Wrong Wheel Drive. no more WWD

and ill be getting my first bike soon for weekend fun

pits200

Good luck on the bike, I tried riding my buddies small dirt bike when I was 16 (I consider myself a somewhat coordinated dude) and I was on it for about 2 seconds but the bike ended up about 2 football fields away after I flew off. After that, I swore off any kind of two wheeler with an engine on it.

Since this is the first car I've purchased in about 3 years, I got to say that the used car market is amazing right now. There are so many good deals if you're not afraid to buy sight unseen.

As for the 335, Im afraid of all the issues too but that is why I only would have purchased this car if there was a long long warranty period remaining.

As for the automatic, I agree, I have enough annoyance from people on the road who don't know how to drive, I don't want to add in another aspect of driving to annoy me. Don't get me wrong, I love manuals but I'm just not feeling them at this point in my life. I use to love letting my friends drive my old 91 Integra when they thought they were awesome at driving sticks. That car had the smallest release point for the clutch, everyone either stalled it or laid tire, I loved watching the frustration on their faces!

YeuEmMaiMai

I am going to go out on a limb here and say finding a good quality that you can get a lot of trouble free miles out of is next to impossible. Acura used to be reliable but not anymore....just look at the 3rg gen forum where you got guys saying if you get 100K out of an auto it is a good thing.........lol wtf?

pimpin-tl

That's the 04 model. The 05+ don't have the same transmission issues the 2nd gen's do. Many have over 100k on their OEM transmissions.

Blazin Si

I worked at the car wash across the street during my last few years of college. I've bought some Acura parts from them and test drove an '02 CL but that's the extent of my Spitzer experience. That was when the dealership was only a couple years old and didn't have much of a reputation. It's a shame their customer service is so bad. Sounds a lot like what I've dealt with at Yenko Honda.

phee

iTrader: (5)

this whole acura VS BMW shit is null and void. a new Bimmer is going to be under warranty for 100k.

that means that it will cost less to maintain than a 10 yr old acura. lets face it, acura is no where near as "reliable" as people make them out to be.

My damn toyota corollas have gone a combined 980k miles on oild changes and timing belts

pits200

Lol, are you serious, 980k!! I hope you own like 8 corollas because thats amazing.

As for people who always bring up the expense of BMW ownership, that is people who take the car to the dealership for all service outside of warranty or maintenance period. And BMW dealerships just like others are notorious for jacking up costs.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

The only way Id get into a BMW is if its CPO or new, but Id run out of the warranty while Im still paying the car off

Id love to get a 135 though. Good luck with it. Alot of guys on here now have Bimmers.

And yea, Scalbert is the guy that had a supercharger and eventually a turbo. I think hes the same guy that used to work for Greddy. That or he worked with a guy on the turbo kit that worked at Greddy. Cant remember.

YeuEmMaiMai

yes they do......that 5at was not replaced until about mid 07... the redesigned ones just last a little longer.....

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

people still call it an xi, but the new ones only say i on the back, then they put where it says x-drive on the fender itself, so basically now a seperate badge

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

and as far as you pitts :shakehead, and if you are going to be driving like 40k a year, that warrenty will be up in no time, and then will the shocker be coming (as said , not cheap cars to repair)

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yea, pitts, how dare you get a better, newer car that has a warranty and more power!!!!

StreetKA

iTrader: (8)

Put dinan chip to this beast but you may lose warranty :P

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

If its Dinan installed (or certified installer) it will carry a Dinan warranty.

But alot of people seem to be using a JB3 with great success.

pits200

Eh, Dinan is overpriced for the tune you get and JB3 is popular but doesn't have as much control as the Vishnu Procede.

If I do chip, I would go the Procede V4 route because it has more control over boost and has a pretty cool autotune function depending on fuel and many other factors. Its a little more expensive than the JB3 but it seems to be a more refined product.

pits200

Im in the process of switching jobs and I won't be putting 40k a year on my cars anymore. And if I do travel I will be using the airlines instead. Obviously I wouldn't be touting having a long warranty if I was going to blow through it in 2 years, I would say math is a pretty strong suit of mine.

You're always trying to edukate me Fries, I'm not sure what the personal vendetta is against me. Did I try hitting on your sister or something?

Allout

Steve Calbert was the guy who pioneered the full potential of the SC on the J32. He's the one who made the batch of water to air aftercoolers that replaced the upper intake.

Allmotor was the guy that was SC and went turbo using a Garrett GT35R in conjunction with another member who worked at Garrett.

When it comes to automotive engineering, Steve Calbert's one of the brightest individuals to pass through these forums in my opinion.

DC3328

iTrader: (22)

congrats on becoming an official member of Ramblings

DaInFaMMuS1

Ahh so u went with the 335xi! Good choice, you'll love it. We have 3 of them here at the training facility, 2 lemans blue 335's like yours and a 335d. A few mods here and there will make it your own, even though you'll probably still love it stock lol.

What people don't realize about BMW vs Acura reliability is that you pay for the cost of almost ALL maintenance with the cost of the vehicle up front, so when you bring your car in for service there's no hassle unless you blatantly did something to void your warranty, and its up to 100k. You're not gonna get that at Acura.

And the cars are actually a lot more solid that people think, they're truly a level above, something I never realized till BMW gave me a scholarship and a great job to work for them. Also it's one of the most technologically advanced car companies on the market. Many people don't realize some things other car companies are just coming out with, BMW has been doing for years. I can't wait till another company claims "new" technology like valvetronic using your intake valves as your throttle body or putting reverse flow top mounted twin turbo engines in cars.

As for the HPFP issues, every 335 with an N54 engine that comes in for service automatically has the new parameters for coding and programming on the R.O. for the HPFP along with replacing them even if it hasn't failed. So there's really no need to fear the issue, its something that's been addressed very well.

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

LMFAO, the best is when they say you need new control arm bushings up front (which is a customer pay one btw), because the steering wheel vibrates (and they had done the brakes not too long ago either [dealer too, and under that maintence plan also], and never even bothered to put new rotors on it either (just pad slapped it)

but basically a simple machining of the rotors (to prove to the customer that it was indeed the rotors being warpped, not some bushings being bad) fixed the vibration issue

and for the dealer to put on new rotors, he had to fight them (and call corporate) like 2 or 3 months, for them to finally actually redo the brakes again (it was a 03 X5 btw)

DaInFaMMuS1

e53 x5's were trash, I can attest to that. I guess there's exceptions to everything right? That's not usually what I've seen from my experiences. . All I know is that I support their products, not only cuz they pay my bills either lol.

CH46ESeaKnight

ROFL!!! Yea, I don't know Pitts? Do you really think that BMW with a 100k warranty and a wopping 6K miles on it is an upgrade from your 10 year old Acura with 240K miles?


Very nice car you got. Wish the best to you with it! I'm sure it will serve you well.

Like most guys here I will never buy another Acura again. Or at least until they pull thier heads out of thier asses.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

But I dont see that happening any time soon.

BUT, give me the TSX Sport Wagon with the 3.5l and a 6MT and Ill be happy. A Type S model with SH-AWD would be nice too

friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

maybe they are trash, but as said the dealer did not live up to expectations


now, don't get me wrong those front bushings where still in need of replacement, but they where not the cause of the customer's complaint though, as the dealer was trying to tell him that he needed

another good one too, same X5, with another one that the customer would have to pay, they were saying the A/C compressor was needing replacement cause the front seal was leaking a little (and i mean a small amount too, like the charge would probably have last 2-3 years, then needed a top off again), but that was like to the tune of $2000, sorry but that sure as hell buys alot of refridgerent (and other then the slight leak, no other issues with the compressor at the time)

it got recharge, and then told the customer, it will probably have to be topped off in a couple of years (and maybe replaced at some point) but he was better with that, then the bill to replace it

so basically just saying that every brand has their share of shitty dealers, just some more then others though

pits200

Thanks everyone for the sarcastic words, those are my favorite, lol..

But it just kills me how Acura corporate fails to see how this is a vicious cycle of negativism. I mean, one person after another on here is just bashing Acura whether it be the service or the future designs of the company.

And then when an actual consumer with 2 current Acuras (myself) calls the consumer affairs hotline to explain his situation, they just brush me off because they don't get involved with dealership issues even though the dealership represents the Acura name.

Talk about horrible business management by Honda. This process may have worked when Honda/Acura was a step above the rest but now that there are 10 other cars I can pick from besides Honda/Acura, they need to start getting on the ball.

pits200

I sure hope so, I dont really like buying new cars every 3-4 years, I prefer to keep them for at least 5. I honestly would have been happy keeping the CL-S, that's pretty obvious all the money I put into it. I still loved the car, yes it looked dated on the outside and had its small issues, but I loved how they weren't a dime a dozen.

I'm also afraid of the power of the 335, Ive seen many verifications that with about 2k in mods the xi can do 0-60 in under 4 seconds, now thats crazy, the CL-S was the fastest car Ive ever owned.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

i dont think the CL looks dated at all. thats one of my favorites things about the CL. its a 10 year old car but really doesnt look it. most people who ask about my CL thinks its around '05 or '06.

you are right about the power mods. with just a little bit of money you can gain alot more power out of a BMW.

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

I agree I dont think the CL looks dated, but I do think it could have used a factory body kit. No body kit adds to the dated/plain look somewhat. To me modern cars look ugly compared to older cars like 30's to 60's. Cars back then looked like pieces of sculpted art and were very creative and made your eyes flow like paintings do. Cars nowadays are more like legos and seem to be pieced together and made by machines who lack emotion and an eye for style. Not to mention all cars are copied styles like headlights from this car, then take tail from that car and put them together. Still some nice looking cars, mainly supercars, but alot of ugly cars now.

p.diddy

iTrader: (3)

i agree having the lip kit does make it look newer than what it is. sometimes i look back at old pics of my car before the kit and its a night and day difference with the kit.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Its awd, it shouldnt get out of hand the way a RWD model would.

But you have to make videos for us.