I am curious if anyone with a 2nd gen CL has fender rot that isn't associated with cutting or rolling of the fenders. I know it is typical of hondas to have fender rot, i just didn't expect Acura's to have it within 5 years of being brand new.

My rear passenger fender is completely rottted thru it seems. The rear right is perfect no issues. I had the whole car painted in january and somehow me and the bodyshop missed it because it was behind the outer fender section/paint. I am wondering if the bodyshop that painted it knew it was rotted because they refused to roll my fenders making excuses about why.

I went to get my fenders rolled in June and that is when i noticed the fender was rusted and couldn't be rolled properly.

So now i have to take car back to body shop and pay thousands more, after just paying 3500 for paint. This is the worst news about my car i've had yet and almost makes me wonder why i am doing all this work and modding it if its just a defective rust bucket.

So basically is fender rot normal on Acuras like it is Hondas or am I just the one and only lucky Cl owner with a rotted fender when the rest of the bodywork is rust free? And the rust isn't from any work on the car, it is from how it was made at the factory cause i bought it brand new in 2002.

Honestly i am regretting doing any bodywork/modding to this car. Wish i would of just got rid of it before the paintwork. This is costing me so much.

 

Shit happens,don't fold up,take care of it,I know you don't want to give up yet.
Time to run around the car with a magnet.

 

yea but when I am about to spend 6 grand in one year on paint and bodywork alone I realize i could have just sold it and got such a better car even tho i love my cl.

This is all out of my pocket, not covered by insurance. I could have 2 cl's by now. I am alos worried if it can even be fixed right and if it will even look like the other side does.

 

So noone else has rotted fenders?, and to think i didnt even drive it that much in winters too.

Really debating whether to keep it now or not. Would need to do timing belt maintenance, new clutch, and fix this bodywork and paint. Maybe ditching it now and gettng something newer is my best option.

Would just part it back to stock and sell everything. My parts would be a nice chunk of change.

 

no rotted fenders here even that my tires rubbed it a bit in the past maybe small rust spots but thats all

 

I'd be ready to buy some parts if you decide to sell!

 

I dont have it yet. But I remember these cars having a rust warranty. Look into that before you do anything drastic.

 

hmm rust warranty? I know my dealer will refuse it even if they are supposed to help, but i will call and let them know how disappointed I am.

 

I called the dealer and talked to the guy i bought 2 new cars from and he doesn't believe me that the fender rusted like i said. He wants me to go in so he can look at it, but i know he will blame the fender rolling even tho the rust was from before that. He basically told me this doesn't happen to Acura vehicles and this would be the first case of it he ever saw.

Funny he said the same exact thing about the clutch pedal issue getting stiff.

So now I am really contemplating ditching this car and buying a used elise for around 25k. and never buying another honda/acura again.

 

When I got my fenders cut, he guy that cut them sprayed on some of that underbody rubber coating on it so that it doesnt rust. Havent poked my head under there to look for rust but the coating covered the exposed metal pretty well.

 

My TL is 11 years old and absolutely not rust whatsoever.
It's got a gazillion coats of Zaino on it though.

 

I am asuming it is a defect when my car was made they must not of used sealant or a coating or something on just that one fender.

I should have made this thread a poll on whether to keep the car or ditch it now. What do you guys think, will probably make this decision in the next week.

My car is covered in zaino also but that wont help. It didnt rust where the car is painted it rusted from the back of the fender thru to the paint edge and is making the paint on the angled fender section bubble.

 

Did you ever get that solved?

 

nope

 

If you sell I'd be glad to help you out with some of those parts

But seriously if the dealer doesn't do anything I'd probably sell now and cut your losses, with the timing belt and clutch to do as well there is a lot of money that needs to go into this car. Something RWD would be way more fun, and if you do get an elise that would be even better.

 

Yea, the 70s,80s, and early 90s Hondas had a big problem with rust. In the mid to late 90s they started adding a rust warranty. It was listed right there on the window sticker.

 

Brian, I am experiencing the same clutch stiffness after a hard high RPM run.
Can you provide some details?
did they change out the master and slave cylinder?
Have you looked at the condition of the clutch?

 

Acura didn't do anything, 2 different dealers said everything is fine and sent me on my way. The 2nd dealer ended up damaging my car in the test drive and refused responsibility for it and thats the last the dealer ever saw me. I havn't tried anything so i have no info for you. There is a thread specifically on this issue you should look into that.

 

The one thing that tips off the fender rust is that that lip on the rear fender that is angled in will begin to get wavy before you notice the rust. I also remember when I had the bodyshop do the bodywork/paint in January that they called me on the phone and mentioned they found some waviness on that same side rear panel up more by the pillar and they fixed that then supposedly. Now I am wondering if that whole panel is defective and rusted behind it. Why else would that side be wavy and not the other side? Man this is getting worse and worse. My car has cancer and its spreading.

 

I don't think rwd can be an option for me living in illinois, half the year here is winter. I dont have a 2nd car or anywhere to put a 2nd car.

Ill just buy the amazing honda cr-z lol. What would be good options something fwd or awd in the 20-25k price range new or used.

 

Used WRX. 2009-up has 265hp and are basically an STi-lite. Gas mileage isnt the greatest though. But its a wagon with tons of space and it'll hit 60 in under 5 seconds. You'll be able to get one that still has a warranty too.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

It wont feel like the Acura though and past 100 they tend to lose steam.

 

Hmm why are used 09's with 10k miles still 24-25k when a new 2011 is 25.5-27.9 new?

 

.

 

I know that there are a couple of threads on this issue, but no one has ever solved it. I'm changing my clutch soon. I'll let you know if that solves it.

 

Thats a good question

For some reason I thought they were more like $30-32k new. But seeing as the Limited model with leather, sunroof, HIDs is $29k and you generally get better finance deals on new cars it seems like its a no brainer to buy new.

 

Yea a new 2011 would be basically 26k because I would get it with no options. Only options I would really want is the HID's and the short shifter anyway. I really am considering the 2011 in 5 door form.

This one is exactly what I would want color wise with no options and it is close to me, might go test drive it tomorrow.
http://www.napletonsschaumburgsubaru...1c48f715d2.htm

 

Yea its a nice looking car, and the wagon is much nicer looking then the sedan.

Im sticking with the CL for a bit longer though.

 

So i went to Subaru dealer hoping to look at the new wrx and test drive it. This is the worst experience I've had at any dealer yet from trying to look at new car purchases.

First, the guy was a complete ass, arrogant, cocky etc. I am looking at the showroom model hatch and ask the guy if i can test drive it. He says sorry we dont allow any test drives, you have to buy the car before you can ever drive it. Then we are talking about price. The guy refused to give me the price of the car and said he would only reveal the price after i commit to buying the car. So basically he said i cant drive the car or know the price until after I commit to buying. Have you guys ever heard anything like this before i know i havn't.

Then we started talking about trading my cl in. He asked me what i was expecting fro ma trade-in. I said 6k and he literally started laughing and said "your car isn't worth anything".

Basically it ended with us yelling at each other somewhat and me walking out of the dealer. I really thought going to the dealer would make me want the car and sell my cl, but it did the exact opposite. Now I am thinking screw this and will probably keep my cl and fix it.

Anyone else have a similar experience with Subaru, i am wondering why no other dealers i went to had issues with letting me test drive or going over prices before buying a car. Seems like this subaru dealer has everything backwards. Guy is trying to tell me the wrx is so limited and hard to get when its a new car lol and I can order it at any time from factory. Maybe its just salesmen have no skills anymore and assume every human being has an IQ of 40.

 

Fuck it maybe this is good news, ill fix up my Cl and make it the best street legal CL ever . I can see myself buying a new car, just not giving up my precious CL. I assume subaru would have offered me 3k for it those jackasses. Guy told me outright he is gonna lowball me like crazy and i should sell privately.

THE CL SHALL LIVE ON

 

I have similar expierience with subaru dealer but when i went to dealer for possible trade for 06 GTO they offered me 7.5k

 

Does that mean all Subaru dealers don't allow test drives? How can you expect someone to buy a car without a test drive. That is a requirement for me to buy a new car. I wanted to see how it felt, steering, gearbox, clutch, awd, etc. If I have to buy the car just to see that then i will never buy.

Atleast the honda/acura dealers know how to treat ppl buying cars, they atleast wait till after you buy to treat you like shit.

 

Wow. I would have lost it.

Theres a Honda dealer in Richmond that pissed me off. This was before I picked up the CL. I was looking at the new (at the time) Accord 6MT coupe. Took it for a test drive, I liked it. Decent power. I was also interested in the S2k. They wouldnt let me test drive it without signing the papers. Did not make any sense since they are both just as fast and equally expensive. Ive never gone back to that dealer.

About two months after I got the CL I ended up stopping by a dealer in NY that my family/friends have purchased from and they tossed me the keys to a silver/black 08 and let me take an extended test drive.

It was a nice car, and they were going to give me a crazy deal on it, but I refused to get a silver S2k. We worked out a price on an 09 white/red and I signed the papers and put a deposit down. They were going to give me $7k for the CL (I turned that down) and I actually had my car listed for sale on here. I got one person interested but no actual offers. So I couldn't get the S2k

Me and my brother have been banned from another dealership though, but thats another story

 

I called another dealer by me on the phone and that guy said he would be willing to give me a test drive but they dont have any in stock atm for me to drive. So I guess a test drive is possible, wish i knew that before I spent over 2 hours roundtrip driving to and back from the other dealer.

After seeing it in person it would be hard to decide sedan vs hatch, but i would lean a little more toward hatch.

 

Honestly if they would have offered me 7k or more for my CL, treated me ok, and let me test drive it, I would have bought it today most likely. They lost a sale but won't even realize it.

 

Yea, today Id probably jump at $7k, but this was back in 2008 when I still owed $12k on the car and it only had ~75k miles on it.

 

I have the rust issue on my 03 CL-S. My pass side is getting realy bad. And i can tell you first hand from working in a honda dealer for 5 years, Its pretty tough to get help with rust.... And mine has 146K on it, so its gonna be even harder.

 

Sorry to thread jack but... we are all gathered around the camp fire here with the ready...

On topic, my CL (01) does not have rust anywhere, but 3/4 of the body panels have probably been replaced at one point or another. The front fenders, hood and bumper have been replaced at least once for sure.

 

Theres not much to the story.

Years ago back when I was driving my Civic and my brother was still in his (and later mine) Prelude, we went to a local Honda dealer to test drive the Si. My brother was really interested in it, so when he got in he asked the saleswoman if he could drive it that way he drives. She said yea.

That was a bad move We got on the highway and hit 110mph, got off, took some turns at nearly double the speed limit, and came back to the dealer. We got out, she asked if I wanted to drive, I said sure. Handed her the license and she walked inside to photocopy it. She came back out with the GM and he said "We're more the happy to sell you a car, but we wont let you test drive it." I laughed and took my license back and never went back there. I did get pissed at my brother for driving the way he did though.


My driver door has rust on it, I need to address it but Im lazy as hell.

 

Ah, sounds like the 99 test drives I did before I got the CL, the one with the CL involved street racing 3 or so cars. Most test drives were for Honda's and some managers came along...they experienced VTEC for the first time too...

Quick Q about the door, is there any way to adjust how far towards or away from the fender the door sits? My doors ever so slightly rub on the body panels when you open them, my guess is either they were put too far forward or the car is slightly shorter than most CL's due to a small accident or two