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Hi experts. I'm finally giving up my 6-Speed CLS. I love this car but want newer. Not trying to sell it here, just needing input since I only see 2 or 3 online for sale to gauge pricing by.
172k miles, Anthracite w/ black leather and alum look trim. The Navi works and Honda fixed the clock problem many of these had.I bought it at one year old with 7500 miles.
Main flaws - it has clearcoat fail on roof, trunk and spoiler, dings, leather wear on driver seat bottom, and passenger window motor out. Everything else works, radio, DVD changer, AC, sunroof, lights, engine and clutch. Clutch is orig. and my mechanic says it is fine.
Many components have been replaced - steering rack, alternator, radiator, engine mounts. I had 2nd timing belt kit done this year. I added some custom alum CL-S doorsills, and Comptech springs. No other mods. Drives wonderfully, as always!
I see a black one asking $11,800 (100k). A red one asking for $8k (180k). The exterior looks really good on it but it has the ugly (imo) and worn Ivory leather and fake wood interior.
Gonna sell mine locally but I'm having a hard time finding the replacement car I want so could be a little while. Thanks.
Your car has a lot of good going for it. Long term ownership, Good miles and the expensive maintenance's done. Those are big positives but the clear coat issues will hold you back from getting top top dollar. Nice clean lower mile ones are getting harder to find these days The black one they are asking $11,800 for has been for sale for almost a year and no one is paying that money for one of these yet (I really hope in the future they do, these are such great cars) Its hard to say an exact number, but remember... its worth what one person is willing to pay for it.
I wish we could still get those AP Signworks door sills. That's true OG status right there!
Guess would be $3K list, $2500 sale if it's pristine. You'd have to sell to an CLS lover to get much more.
I paid $2500 for 03CLS MT 2 yrs ago with a project in mind. Had mismatched rims and minor paint damage. 210K.
For comparison I have an 07 TL-Type S MT as well (DD). The bone stock TLS is way more rigid, responsive and powerful.
The CLS just doesn't have the handling of something more modern. Even w/ TLS Wheels, 235/45 BFG rubber, whiteline sway bars, KYB AGX shocks, Tein springs and damping at max. I still like the CLS and plan to paint it anthracite soon. Its a nice color.
why would you want to sell that beauty!? keep it as a daily, and buy a new car that you can pamper; hopefully it will live as long as your CL has!
Those cars you mentioned appear to be repainted; so I would factor those into the selling price.
I also think that the price of those listings is quite high and only a "CLS lover" would go for that; and thank goodness for that as the manual CL-S was a very limited variant and as a result parts unique the 6speed portions will be a) expensive or b) no longer made.
If you do sell it; you may be better off doing it here; where it can be in the hands of someone familiar with where to go for help on keeping it going for year to come!
There's no way someone is paying $10k or even $8k for those cars. They'll sit for years hoping for a buyer.
These cars, even in the best of shape, aren't worth more than MAYBE $5k and that's in showroom new condition. The reality is they're a 18+ year old car that was never in high-demand.
Realistically, $3k is what you're likely looking at, if you're lucky.
Consider the CL a very long-term appreciation type. Give them more time & the collectors will discover their charm. Remember, this is the last coupe Acura's made. If I had an Anthracite 6 speed w/ Navi (which I do) I'd hold on to it for dear life & trust in its long term appreciation. If today's value is $3k, it can only go up.
it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it...Most will see it as a 18+ year car and will want it priced accordingly...meaning $5k or less.
its gotta sit and wait for that special (dummy) person to buy it at $5k+
it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it...Most will see it as a 18+ year car and will want it priced accordingly...meaning $5k or less.
its gotta sit and wait for that special (dummy) person to buy it at $5k+
Exactly. There are costs to not selling now (storage, etc). You also need to do things like replace seals, keep it insured, and invest other costs in keeping it in decent repair if you choose to keep it, hoping to sell it.
It may also continue to decline in value, which is much more realistic than it becoming more valuable.
The reality is that it's never going to be a collectors item. Remove the emotional component here and be realistic. There may be some that view it as something special, but they're a VERY small group of people. You're talking about odds as good as winning the lottery.
don't get me wrong, I have a special to me Acura, a six speed manual 2006 TL. However, I am not fooled into thinking that my high mileage 15 year old car can command a premium over $5k.
if the car was never driven with 30k miles on the clock with no daily driven battle scars, then yes...I can command a higher price.
but what fun is a car that you can't drive?
why hold onto the car at that point?
This is called speculation. There is a reason these cars are almost worthless, and there is very little reason to believe this car will appreciate over time. Very very few cars appreciate, and the CL is no Supra. The reality is this is a heavy FWD car without any niche to fill, and it is unlikely people will suddenly fall in love with a car that has been long forgotten.
Someday when I sell mine I'll just claim Jon Voight owned it (Seinfeld reference). Maybe it'll raise that $3k price to $3,005. All kidding aside, who knows if/when Acura will ever build another coupe? That's got to equate to something long term. I may sound like an idiot optimist now but in 2053 who knows? It's really tough to evaluate now w/ so few examples on the market.
^
OP should just try and sell it outright. Post the price here to reflect CMV. Move on to the next. It's a high probability that his car will be harvested by the 'Frankenstein' peeps for a swap anyway.
Remember that a form of bias called the endowment effect comes into play here. Basically, we value things we have more than they really are, just because we have them.
In one study, researchers gave people a coffee mug. They then asked them how much they'd pay for that mug. They required more than twice as much for the mug as those who weren't given the mug. Just by owning it, they found the same thing, which shouldn't have been any more valuable, to be worth much more. The same experiment has been repeated numerous times with other items and in other ways and in all cases, people overvalue what they have.
Thanks guys. This car was great, but basically it was my daily driver for 15 years. I enjoyed it, hated to see it go but I want a newer, safer more reliable drive. I'm not a car collector. I had many great Honda Acura coupes including 2 Legends. This just happened to be the last one.
I traded for a 2018 Accord Hybrid Touring priced at $19,999 and got additional $2k for the CLS, about half price of a new Touring. I try not to compare it to the CLS. The Accord IMO beats any sedan Acura has made since 2004, except maybe the RLs. I decided not to hassle with private sale. Was so happy with the Accord price, just did it. My first sedan and first Hybrid.
Last edited by 123456SPEED; 04-11-2021 at 07:18 PM.
Awesome deal. Glad you were able to part with it. Have to consider the other costs to you if you'd waited and tried to sell it yourself (your time is money). Enjoy the new ride.
it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it...Most will see it as a 18+ year car and will want it priced accordingly...meaning $5k or less.
its gotta sit and wait for that special (dummy) person to buy it at $5k+
At 18 years the CL-S is at that point where everyone has forgotten it. At 24+ years somehow people come out of the woodwork and want one for silly prices. The manuals are all but gone. People will one day want to Drive a car instead of Riding one.
Last edited by Acura TL Builder; 04-11-2021 at 10:15 PM.
Just about a year ago I purchased my "low mileage" (95k) 03CLS6 for $5,000. While it needed a lot of work that wasn't cheap, I purchased the car not for what the car would become in value one day, but rather for the memories and experience it offers. When I was in high school the 03 CL Type-S was a dream car for me as an Acura nerd (NSX too, obviously). As cars become more and more detached; in a driving sense, this car embodies not only my personal memories but the memories of analog driving and performance. Manual, N/A cars with zero digital influences or driver nannies are all gone and now we have cars that can almost drive themselves. The value of these cars and other cars that are analog may in fact become more valuable from a monetary sense, but they have already gained in value just from the pure fact that you can't really go to a showroom today and buy the experience a car like these offer. My CL may be worth (at most) $10,000 to the right person, but selling it isn't even in my mind. I would be giving up much more. Find them, save them and cherish them.
Hi experts. I'm finally giving up my 6-Speed CLS. I love this car but want newer. Not trying to sell it here, just needing input since I only see 2 or 3 online for sale to gauge pricing by.
172k miles, Anthracite w/ black leather and alum look trim. The Navi works and Honda fixed the clock problem many of these had.I bought it at one year old with 7500 miles.
Main flaws - it has clearcoat fail on roof, trunk and spoiler, dings, leather wear on driver seat bottom, and passenger window motor out. Everything else works, radio, DVD changer, AC, sunroof, lights, engine and clutch. Clutch is orig. and my mechanic says it is fine.
Many components have been replaced - steering rack, alternator, radiator, engine mounts. I had 2nd timing belt kit done this year. I added some custom alum CL-S doorsills, and Comptech springs. No other mods. Drives wonderfully, as always!
I see a black one asking $11,800 (100k). A red one asking for $8k (180k). The exterior looks really good on it but it has the ugly (imo) and worn Ivory leather and fake wood interior.
Gonna sell mine locally but I'm having a hard time finding the replacement car I want so could be a little while. Thanks.
04-01-2021, 06:37 PM
It's a high probability that his car will be harvested by the 'Frankenstein' peeps for a swap anyway.
