Why does the CL have such a bad resale value??

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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:02 PM
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Why does the CL have such a bad resale value??

I currently own a RSX that I am planning on selling soon. The CL and TL Type S are definite considerations but after checking some used car mags, I noticed that the CL has a bad resale value.

For example, there is a black 2001 CL Type S that has only 32000 KMs and is being sold for only $33500?? I even had the opportunity to talk to one of the sales rep that was at the Acura dealership and there was even room for movement. The car for sale has not been damaged and was owned by an older gentleman that upgraded to an MDX. At other dealerships, I noticed the same drop in value for the CL.

Since I live in Canada, a brand new CL or TL Type S is priced at $40000 plus tax. Although the TL appears to be holding its resale value ( the dealership has one with similar KMs and it was being sold for 38000. When I asked him why such a difference, he could not give me an answer)

The CL is still one of the cars that I am considering but I was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up as to explain the resale value and if anyone of you find similar CL values in your area.

Cheers.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:06 PM
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GUESS #1 -- slushbox issues
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:09 PM
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but i think the resale on the sticks will be awesome
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:23 PM
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I am hoping for this too. Take the older Legened coupe with the 6-speed tranny for example... its a seller's market for those!

I am also hoping they don't offer the 6spd in future model years.... that will help as well.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:24 PM
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The reason TL's have better resale is because most people want 4 doors....unfortunately.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:45 PM
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Originally posted by tmk70
The reason TL's have better resale is because most people want 4 doors....unfortunately.
weeerd, that's basically the reason. It has veyr little to do with the trans problems, most people wouldn't even know about them. The resale is bad, because the car doesn't sell well in the first place.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:50 PM
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I'll second the four door versus two door theory. Add the fact the CL is an admittedly poor, err slow selling car for Acura ... so much so that it *might* be discontinued (I know, just rumors). It simply doesn't play to the majority of car buyers, which drives the price down IMHO. Just my $.02 worth.

For me, I love depreciation in this case ... I grabbed a great '01 CL-S for about the same price as a '99 TL that would've had higher mileage and no warranty! Might suck to sell next year, but my hopes are that it turns into the next generation Legend with respect to selling prices.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 06:53 PM
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Originally posted by Water-S
but i think the resale on the sticks will be awesome
Nice try! This ain't no Legend!!

In fact, compared to the Legend there is essentially no following or loyalty to the CL at all.

If anything the manuals are going to have even less value than the automatics, just like manuals always do.

Trust me when I say that nobody except the people here give a crap that the CL is now offered in a 6 speed. In fact, if I recall only one magazine has even bothered to test the manual. Last Road and Track actually had a side-note comparison of a 2001 automatic CLS versus a 6-speed Infinit G35 coupe.

Sad.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 10:06 PM
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Originally posted by JZ
Nice try! This ain't no Legend!!

Trust me when I say that nobody except the people here give a crap that the CL is now offered in a 6 speed. In fact, if I recall only one magazine has even bothered to test the manual. Last Road and Track actually had a side-note comparison of a 2001 automatic CLS versus a 6-speed Infinit G35 coupe.

Sad.
Nice try!

But yer wrong.

Car and Driver did a side-by-side of an 03 CL-S 6MT vs. a BMW 330 (I think), since they have a compulsion to compare EVERYTHING to a BMW. Anyhow, it wasn't just some little side-note blurb, it was an entire, multi-page article with photos and everything. The results of the comparison were actually pretty even, with only a narrow (1-point) win to BMW. Most of the deciding factors were subjective (styling, etc.).

Of course, my feeling is, I don't really care who gives a crap about the 6MT. I don't buy cars to get good reviews or for accolades from my peers. I spend a fair amount of time in my car, so I buy cars that can reliably get me where I'm going with a measure of comfort and fun.

If you're looking for resale value, buy a house.
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 10:20 PM
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Bad Resale Value?? as compared to what ?? a Ford ??

ALL cars are bad investments. Some cars are worst then others. Acuras/Hondas have a better resale value percentage wise then most cars in their class. One of the reason I bought a CLS is because the resale is better then all the other cars I've owed.

True cost to own comparison
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Old Oct 21, 2002 | 11:43 PM
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The resale value is definently a problem, for my '01 type s I've been offed like 18k in trade...that terrible with 40k. It's a shame
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 12:16 AM
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Originally posted by greenmonster
Bad Resale Value?? as compared to what ?? a Ford ??

My guess is, he's comparing to TLS...then yes, the CLS has a shitty resale. It's not the car per say, cuz nothing wrong with the car, you can thank your local Acura dealer for selling CLS auto or stick at invoice...hell, they are giving those away in Washington DC area. Sales guy tried to sell me a CLS when I went in looking at RL...not that I would ever buy the RL, but it was amuzing seeing the Sales guy pitch to me, "CLS at invoice, Navi or non, throw in mud guards, wheel lock, free oil change for as long as I owned it, spoiler for $360..." They are practically giving the CLS and RL away, but the TLS is tough to discount more than $1500 on them I learned.
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 12:48 AM
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ARGH. I hate these stupid resale and depreciation discussions. Market values can even vary from region to region, it may be tougher to sell a 2 door sporty car in North Dakota in the winter than in California -do you wonder why?
And a new car dealership would try to say a one-year old Bentley is only worth $25K to them. Is their any mystery here, either?
Go look up the actual depreciation charts at Edmunds.com or the National Leasing Association and you will see that Ford and Chevy still rule the crappy resale value war.
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 01:10 AM
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to respond to the 18k hit figure. dealerships will always hit you way back of book, cuz the next buyer will want it for less than book. the dealership is a business, and they have to put food on the table. go to edmunds.com for accurate trade in values for your local region. let the dealerships know whats up, they know what they can make and so do you, but dont ever ever ever expect to get full book value on your trade in, ever.
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 01:13 AM
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if your in toronto, and looking for a CL-S..mine is for sale

pics@ http://public.fotki.com/yashar/cl-s/

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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 07:48 AM
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Originally posted by Stock03CLS
Nice try!

But yer wrong.

Thank you for making your point so elegantly--yeah right. As I said, there was only one true comparison of the MANUAL and that happened to be the 6-speed vs the 330. I think everbody on this site knows about that comparison--but, since you are a newbie you might not have been around for the 30 pages that article generated.

The last comparison of any sort was, as I stated, a side blurb of the automatic vs. the G35 coupe.
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 07:58 AM
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Fair enough. I re-read your original post, and I see how I may have misinterpreted what you said. For whatever reason, I thought you were saying that the side blurb was the only test you knew of. Please accept my humble apologies for my (ahem) "elegance."

Of course, I stand by my other statements.

As for only one good test of the manual, I suppose it could be in part that it's perceived as just an option, not a whole new car. Take the Accord, for example. There's, what, 3 levels of Accord option packages, and an option for AT or MT in all or most of those, right? Why bother testing every iteration?

It pains me to say this, but the 6MT doesn't really make the CL a new/different car.

I may be new, but I've been lurking about these parts, on and off, for the last year or so, and I've been following the 3.2CL since the early '01s were released. I didn't see much point in joining until I actually got the car. I don't, however, take the time to read every single thread, especially the 30 page ones. Again, please excuse my newbie-ness.
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 07:48 PM
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Hey guys, relax I don't want to cause any flaming here. With regards to JZ's post, there is no doubt about it the CL ain't no legend. I had the opportunity to come across a 95 white legend coupe that was being driven around by an older gentleman in Calgary, Alberta. The car had only 40000kms on it ( I think that is only 25000 miles) that was in mint condition. I offered to buy it from him but he said that it was his baby and was not going to part with it. Even though I offered up to $25000, he was not going to part and even though it was not a collector's piece. the car was sweet to look at even though it was 7 years old.


Anyways, I will still consider a CL as I could save a lot of money from buying new. Even though I have not driven one yet, overall, how would you current CL owners rate the car in terms of performance, reliability ( excluding the tranny issue), and utility of the car.


P.S: Do the back seats in the CL or TL fold down??
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Old Oct 22, 2002 | 11:56 PM
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It's obvious, i bought one Previously owned resale failures:

Audi 5000
Renault Alliance
Peugeot 505
Merkur XR4Ti 2 of these
Taurus SHO

Actually, when i buy a car, it is usually discontinued, or the company stops selling cars in the U.S. entirely.
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 08:44 AM
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Depreciation-after 4 years most cars are worth 50% approximately of their sticker price unless a luxo-american car (more depreciation) or some sports car (less depreciation.) Cl's appear to be average according to Edmunds. 4 door Accords appear to be the best buy in terms of depreciation; I can see myself driving CL-s for 6-7 years so like most cars in this price range it won't be worth much anyway.
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 12:04 PM
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I will never buy a new car again...I realize how bad of a beating you take on any new cars...unless it's a Civic or a Corolla.
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 02:17 PM
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The resale value will be less on a 6spd compared to a auto. The autos are more in demand. Also just like the Maxima, autos are sold more than the 5spd, that is why the autos had better resale.
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 02:29 PM
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According to Acura, the CL and Cl type-s should retain around 55% of their original value after 3 years which is fairly consistent with most Hondas. The CL and Cl- type-s auto are more "refined" and appeal to more families and are therefore more likely to get more money for them for a trade-in. The Cl-S 6 speed on the other hand, I believe, is a car you sell outright and do not trade-in. Especially with the money you put into it on mods. You want someone like a person on this forum to own it that appreciates the time and effort you put into your car, not some dealer who could give 2 cents for any work done to it. They basically look at it as bone stock. I want to know the person buying my car and know that it is appreciated and will be taken care of, not some guy who looks like he's been using his car at a demolition derby!

In any case, you'll always fare better selling your car outright to an individual. There's no mark up needed. That's my 2 cents worth.
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 02:34 PM
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I agree with the masses on page one... one of the biggest reasons is b/c the car is a 2-door. The TL-S will have a slightly better resale b/c it's a sedan. But also like everyone said... a car is a losing investment and the Acura's are right on par with the average so to speak.

As for the seats folding down... they do not... they only have a ski pass-through to the trunk.....
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 07:47 PM
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Thanks for the heads up people. Like I said the CL is one of my options when I sell my RSX. I simply need something with more room and torque. Since the rear seats do not fold down, how to you guys find the truck space??
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Old Oct 23, 2002 | 07:55 PM
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Originally posted by taeoug
Thanks for the heads up people. Like I said the CL is one of my options when I sell my RSX. I simply need something with more room and torque. Since the rear seats do not fold down, how to you guys find the truck space??

Room: adequate for my needs.

If you were "into" transferring or transporting large cardboard boxes, consumer gear, etc. you might want to check it out first hand. An extra set of doors (4dr) can come in handy if you lug a lot of stuff around...
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 12:25 PM
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I just bought a "used" CL Type S, modified w a S/C etc and paid what blue book calls the price for an excellent condition car. Didn't pay a dime for the up-grades but that's just true for all aftermarket stuff. The seller got close to his original purchase price, minus up-grades of course. So I guess it depends on how well you care for the car. With new car depreciation what it is I choose not to buy anything that I won't keep for 5 years or more. As the years roll on the car gets cheaper and cheaper to drive; even the insurance costs go down. So buy what you like, buy it used if you can and keep it for a long while.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 12:29 PM
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For me, the lower the resale value the better it is for me when I buy my car at the end of the lease. I can only hope that after I buy it the value goes through the roof.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 12:54 PM
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holy old thread, but thats ok. i know the opposite is tru for my g/f's accord. its a 95 coupe 5 speed. it is worth more than the 4 door with auto why
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by taeoug
Thanks for the heads up people. Like I said the CL is one of my options when I sell my RSX.
you may want to hold off a bit - the dealer here in NB has just discounted the CL's around $4k or so. A 2003 CL w/ zero kms are $38.5 Cdn. IIRC, they were type-S. A steal when you consider a TSX with a few options (body kit, wheels, etc) will push $38k.

I picked up my CL-S at Northwest Acura in Calgary - got them to under bid the other Acura dealer a bit farther south. Don't be afraid to negotiate with them, esp on CL's.

You want to see bad resale value, go look at a 2001 Jaguar XJR... $105k to $36k!!

edit - never notcied how old this thread was!
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:10 PM
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Does anyone know how much a 95 Legend Coupe stickered for? I think it was close to 40K. So, I'm not sure comparisons to the CL are fair.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:13 PM
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i think the legend was on its own platform where the cl and tl are on the accord one where it was less expensive to make
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by paulff3
Does anyone know how much a 95 Legend Coupe stickered for? I think it was close to 40K. So, I'm not sure comparisons to the CL are fair.
This is true. Also, correct me if I am wrong, but 40,000 in 1995 was worth more than 40,000 today with inflation. That is almost 10 years ago.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by cls6sp03
For me, the lower the resale value the better it is for me when I buy my car at the end of the lease. I can only hope that after I buy it the value goes through the roof.
What are you talking about?

Resale is not taken into account when you have a lease end value. You will be glad to turn in the car at that point tho.
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by paulff3
Does anyone know how much a 95 Legend Coupe stickered for? I think it was close to 40K. So, I'm not sure comparisons to the CL are fair.
http://www.carsdirect.com/research/g...C&modelid=2002
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:42 PM
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Originally Posted by 2003type-s6
This is true. Also, correct me if I am wrong, but 40,000 in 1995 was worth more than 40,000 today with inflation. That is almost 10 years ago.
Exactly. So, all of these CL-S vs Legend are misdirected. The Legend was in a different class.

It was after all "A Legend".
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 01:44 PM
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Originally Posted by 2003type-s6
This is true. Also, correct me if I am wrong, but 40,000 in 1995 was worth more than 40,000 today with inflation. That is almost 10 years ago.
That is correct seņor. Maybe around 45Kish nowadays
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Old Jun 10, 2004 | 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by zamo
What are you talking about?

Resale is not taken into account when you have a lease end value. You will be glad to turn in the car at that point tho.
Actually, you're completely wrong in my case. This might be true for most leases. However, the lease I have does have a clause in it that states that if the current market value is a certain % less than the residual at the end of the lease, that the buyout would be adjusted downward by a certain %.

As far as wanting to turn the car in, absolutely not!!! IT'S A KEEPER
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Old Oct 9, 2007 | 05:18 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by taeoug
I currently own a RSX that I am planning on selling soon. The CL and TL Type S are definite considerations but after checking some used car mags, I noticed that the CL has a bad resale value.

For example, there is a black 2001 CL Type S that has only 32000 KMs and is being sold for only $33500?? I even had the opportunity to talk to one of the sales rep that was at the Acura dealership and there was even room for movement. The car for sale has not been damaged and was owned by an older gentleman that upgraded to an MDX. At other dealerships, I noticed the same drop in value for the CL.

Since I live in Canada, a brand new CL or TL Type S is priced at $40000 plus tax. Although the TL appears to be holding its resale value ( the dealership has one with similar KMs and it was being sold for 38000. When I asked him why such a difference, he could not give me an answer)

The CL is still one of the cars that I am considering but I was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up as to explain the resale value and if anyone of you find similar CL values in your area.

Cheers.
I bought a CL in 2001 new with everything that was available, including a nav. Silver with black leather interior. I paid 32K. Last Thursday night I totaled it on I-10 in Alabama. I have been looking for another one since and have not found ond with the same features (nav). I found that most (without nav)were being offerred for around 15K. Since I have not bought a used car for more that 30 years I am not aware of the used car prices. Os 50 per-cent of new price on a six year old car with 80 to 100K miles bad? I am still looking for a CL with nav so if anyone knows of one please let me know.
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Old Oct 9, 2007 | 08:55 AM
  #40  
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on snap!! the post came back to life after 3 years YAY
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