I have an unmodded never beat on stock cls that I am probably going to sell due to the pos tranny...
I was wondering if anyone is having any issues with the CLS 6 speed that I should be aware of?
Also where might be the best place to sell/buy another cl ..
Beyond that here are my other choices at this time...

I am considering the 6spd CL but thats not my top choice..(new is preferable)

Here is what I am considering for cars due to price, etc..
The main things I want---a 5 or 6spd manual, some luxury, fun to drive
and solid reliability at high mileage of course...I am also trying to get a car that at least has 0-60 time of about
7 seconds or less...
I am looking to spend no more than 24k--
I have put prices next to the cars that I know I can get at that price

New
Saab 9-3 Linear--I love the looks of this car...love it...I am not sure exactly how fast/slow it is but I feel its within my range.
My main holdback here is reliability...I am kind of shaky on Saab-perhaps one of you can weigh in..

Acura TSX with Nav-- I like this car a lot, looks good, a tad underpowered but price is an issue here as well...If I could find a dealer that even had a demo like I wanted I would consider at 23-24000..

Mazda6(22k)---I have yet to drive this car but I read a lot of positive feedback..this may be a bit ricey for me but I am going to test drive Monday.. my main concern here is reliability as well..

Audi A4 1.8t--I like this car a lot..however..I have concerns about reliability and feel the car may be too slow...I know I can mod it but then that takes me out of my price range.

Nissan Altima 3.5 se(22k)--I like this car...I dont love it but I am not too happy with the manual on it...feels junky to me and there is a lot of torque steer...but I do love the engine and the looks. The manual may kill it for me..not sure if thats something that could be fixed...

and lastly...a CLS 6 speed --certainly not my first choice but I would consider...

If anyone has any feedback on any of these models feel free to respond. I feel many have cross shopped some of these as well...

Thanks

 

I saw sone of the new 9-3's on the road the other day. Definitely nice. Don't know anything about Saabs.

About the TSX... I'd forget about it. Save some more $ and go for the TL. The TSX is woefully underpowered and the interiors are cheap as hell compared to your CL.

As far as the 6, look at the 6s... Try going to a Mazda Rev It Up event to test-drive and autocross it.

I'm not sure why all the cars you mention are sedans, and the CL is the only coupe. What are you looking for? You're kind of all over the place in price and segments.
The CL-S6 seems out of place there. Definitely consider the TL & G35, or Accord and Max.

 

Idealy I want a sedan. That's why the cls6 is the last choice...
As far as price is concerned...The Saab can be had for wayyyy less than invoice. Theres currently a 3500 rebate plus I can also get the GM family plan. I only mention the CLS6 sort of as a last resort. (no offense to cls6 owners...I am sure the car is awesome..I wish I would have gotten one to begin with but it wasnt available then)

 

the mazda 6 will def blend in and looks like a cavalier. but decent power

 

what is your basis for evaluation??????????????

 

Ummmm, imo the TSX has a slightly nicer interior. The quality is definietly not less, thats for sure.

My opinion on the cars in your list:

Saab 9-3 Linear - Nice looking, nice interior, but what irks me is the use of the Ecotec in the 2.0t models. Still a solid car with decent looks.

TSX w/Navi - Nice looking, nice interior. Kinda slow though and not as much hp potential.

Mazda 6s 5 speed - Great looks, great shifter/clutch combo, good handling. It doesnt have a ton of low end power, but it is decently quick. Fastest times I have seen are low 15's. You can get one fully loaded with just about the same luxuries as your CL-S for low 20's, even less if you consider used. Forget what Ford haters say, the Duratec derived engine is very solid & reliability so far has been pretty decent.

Audi 1.8T - Audi has sort of lost some of my confidence lately. If you look up the stats VW/Audi isnt faring exactly great lately. I like the looks of the new bodystyle, but for the money I think there are better buys. Would you consider a used previous generation S4? Those are very quick, but kinda hard to find.

Altima SE 5 speed - The update for 2005 has adressed the interior quality issues & Navi is going to be an option. The shifter is kinda funky, but the clutch is nice. Dont expect too many rebates/discounts on the 05's for awhile though. A 2004 Altima SE would be a decent buy.

CL-S6 - To be honest, for what you want as long as you want a coupe, its hard to beat for the price, especially if you buy it used. I dont think I've heard of anyone on here having any tranny failures in the 6 speed, and you can always buy certified or buy the Acura Care warranty & its covered for 100k.

 

Like the Saab, I too thought about this, as I too could get the GM family discount.
Not sure on the Audi
Mazda 6s, I like very much, heard great things about it being fun to drive.
Don't like the altima, I figure if I'm going to buy, why not just get the Maxima, they're both "big" IMO.
CLS-6 <---I'm get one eventually , love it love it.
I think as far as best buy, you are going to get the best deal on the Saab. Rebate plus the GMS price, can't lose there buddy.

 

i'd go with the cl-s over all those cars

 

I had a loaner TSX for a day, and the quality definitely seemed cheaper. Everything did. The doors felt so thin and fragile, the trunk was so light it felt like it would break if I closed it too hard. Maybe there are TSXs with higher quality that aren't given out as loaners.

I had a Volvo S40 for a week once... pretty nice, how about that one? I think that's competition for the TSX and the 9-3.

 

cls or a new tsx maybe

 

Surprised that no one has mentioned the Accord V6. The TSX power issue is solved for the same price. If you have to have a manual, get the V6 coupe. My wife has an 03 EX V6 sedan and I actually feel a that it is a bit more refined than my 02 CL-S.

 

figure out whether you want FWD, AWD, or RWD..... you've got a vast array of cars

 

For the deal you would probably be able to get, the Saab isn't a bad deal at all. It's got decent power, pretty good build quality, it's good looking IMO, and overall it's pretty unique.

I test drove it when it first came out. Overall, it's very nice, except the shifter, which seemed very vague and had pretty long throws.

Otherwise, the CLS 6-speed is probably one of the best choices, due to standard performance and lux, but again, it's not a sedan.

In regards to the TSX, I like the outside and inside design. The only thing that would bother me for an everyday driver is the lack of power.

All are pretty good choices. I don't think you'd be wrong to pick any of them

 

the doors seemed weird on my loaner too. like they wouldnt stay open where you set it. my cl you open the door 1/4 of the way it stays, on the tsx it closed. real annoying

 

Thanks for the replies guys. CLS 6 is a beautiful car...but my first priorities are--a manual and preferably a sedan. Plus getting a cls6 would be a used car...not my first choice either.
As far as RWD, FWD, AWD--it really doesnt matter. I have no problem with FWD as long as theres not a ton of torque steer. Which is prevalent in the Altima from what I hear.
I would say my two top choices(this is without driving) would be the Saab and Mazda. I absolutely love the Saabs looks--see here for a good shot.....
http://www.fast-autos.net/saab/932.jpg
To me...thats one of the best looking autos around. So classy..
The mazda---I like but not as much as the saab.
My main concerns with both these brands is the reliability and maintenance costs. I hope to have these cars for well over 100,000 miles so long term reliability is an issue.
If anyone has any experience with Saabs/Mazdas and can attest to their reliabilty or lack thereof it would be appreciated.
By the way...
I think the TSX interior is a few notches above the CLS--not sure how someone can deny that..I love my cl..(minus the POS tranny) but the interior looks dated next to the Classy TSX.

 

I'll be buying a car in the next few months and have been considering a few of the same cars. I'll also be moving to a new state within a year, so I'll most likely get a car with navi. I've narrowed it down to:

'04 TSX MT
'04 Accord Coupe V6 MT
'05 Altima 3.5 SE MT

The TSX and the Accord are about the same cost. I'll have to chose between power and looks. I very much like the looks of the TSX, but I'm just not sure if I can go back to a 4-banger. I'm also wary of getting another first year model.

I test drove the '04 Accord Coupe V6 MT w/ navi yesterday and was somewhat impressed as long as I didn't get out of the car. I'm not too thrilled with the exterior looks -- it looks like the younger brother of the CL-S that is going through the "goofy" stage of growth. I guess I can get over it eventually. At least it doesn't make me want to hurl like it did last year.

I'll have to wait a bit for the '05 Altima to show up on the lots to see if the interior holds up to the pictures. One plus is that Xenon headlights are an option.

As for the navigation element of the equation -- from what I can tell, Honda/Acura navi units are among the best out there. I liked the navi in the Accord from the limited time I could play with it. Nice screen, good content, and good features including the trip computer, address book, etc. I can live without touch screen and would probably use the joystick most of the time anyway. fingerprints drive me nuts! I know Alpine makes the unit, but does anyone know who makes the content? Is the data from Navtech? (The same company that supplies the data to some portable car navi's like the Garmin Streetpilot models)

I went to the local nissan dealer to play with the navi units on one of their cars. I ended up playing with the navi on a 350Z. I felt a little rushed and probably missed a few things, but Nissan's navi unit just doesn't seem all that good. Content seemed poor for the areas that I checked out, and the coverage map on Zenrin's webpage isn't all that impressive. (I am assuming that the Altima would get the same navi unit with the latest 6.2 DVD from Zenrin)

Has anyone played with Nissan's navi and the latest Honda/Acura navi's on the TSX, Accord, and '04 TL? Care to give any details on how they stack up? I would appreciate it.

 

I thought about the Accord coupe but I cant stand the outside of the car. It looks like our CL but missing a large number of chromosomes.
The Sedan is decent but I really want a manual. I will have to see what the Saab and the Mazda6 drive like.
BTW--Does anyone have a website link that has Auto manufacturer reliabiity history and cost to own statistics...
Just wondering....
I also thought about an IS300--but that may go well over my 24k price range. (I may go 25k for a lexus though as I view toyota as the best auto manufacturer and the is300 is the only car they make that doesnt bore me to tears.)