Hello,

I'm new to the board, but not Acuras. Though I never owned one, I've always liked the overall classic design. I remember being a kid in middle school wanting a Legend. I may still have the opportunity to get one, so to speak.


I'm in the market for a car and I've been looking at the RL. It's a understated car and don't see a lot of them on the road and I like that. I've found one that has caught my attention. As the title reads, it a 2007 RL with w/ Technology package. It has 12,400 miles and the owner wants $24,500. Is that fair price? It's a private owner and that makes me a little nervous. With all the technology the car has if something goes wrong, it's all on me. The owner says that his grandparents purchased the car and in 2007 and rarely drove it. That's a likely story, so I will do some research on the car to my cover myself. I planned on running the standard reports such as carfax and experian. I was also thinking of hiring an independent inspection for the car. Outside of that, is there anything additional I can do? I've included the link to the posting. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

Acura RL

 

Sounds like a decent price, like you said independent inspection would probably be a good idea, nothing should really be wrong though at those miles.

 

I definitely recommend an independent inspection. I recently purchased an '07 Tech. I took it to an independent mechanic who discovered two of the motor mounts were broken. The dealer initially denied it, but then determined, in fact, they were broken. So, the $80 I spend saved me many hundreds of dollars of repairs.

The bummer is that since our cars are now outside the 4 years limit (regardless the low mileage), so we can't get a factory extended warranty.

Good luck with the purchase. These are great vehicles!

 

GET IT!!! That is crazy low mileage. Motor mounts are usually only broken when stressed, and wasn't stressing those mounts. That back seat is likely immaculate, and even if service hasn't been done, the miles are low enough to not matter.

If you can afford that car, you almost have to do it!

The only concern I would have is that with that low of miles, it may have sat for an extended period. With the ethanol in today's gasoline, the ethanol and gas will separate if not stirred up, and the ethanol will congeal into a solid. That can cause issues in your fuel line from the tank to the cylinder.

HOWEVER, many old farts only drive their cars to the market and church. My aunt has a 1997 Jeep Cherokee with like 40k miles on it and it gets driven almost every day. The thing is, she lives less than 5 miles from a super market and all of her relatives. The car is perfectly fine. Ask the seller how often it was driven and if it ever sat for more than a month.

Other than that, did I mention you should jump on this car?


EDIT: One last thing. A 2007 RL should have come with come with a 6 year 70,000 mile power train warranty. A 2007 is still under warranty and a motor mount should count towards power train. The dealer wont tell you that, but if you do your homework, you can CYA. My reasoning behind my warranty assumption is that I bought my '07 Tech CPO which extends the warranty by a year. Mine expires in 2014. A non CPO should be good through the original purchase date, 2013.

 

I just purchased a 2007 acura RL/cmbs two weeks ago and am very pleased.

The car has 110k miles on it but if I covered up the first one on the dashboard with black tape no one would be the wiser the car looks and drives THAT well

mike

 

That's a good price if mileage is accurate, you can check brakes condition and the cabin filter to get an idea, though obviously they could have been changed. Ignore the discussion of motor mounts with that kind of mileage. You might be able to get an extended warranty on the car for 4 years/100k miles. 07s I believ have most of the bugs works out. I would buy it.

 

Thanks for the information. I will contact the owner and to set up an appointment to see the car. I have another question. I've read that I want to avoid PAX at all costs. How can I tell if this car has the CMBS package? Additionally, what does CMBS stand for?

 

I have 07 w/tech pkg with 85k miles.Totally pleased with the car after 9 months of ownership!!Looks and drives like new.These cars seem to age very well,very few signs of wear.My interior is almost immaculate(black),paint is 8.5 out of 10,considering its black.After very good check of history you should be fine and have yourself a real nice car for loooong time.Good luck!!

 

CMBS = Collision Mitigation Braking System. You can tell by two ways. There is a plastic "shield" over the Acura symbol on the grill, and the bottom right spoke of the steering wheel will have buttons on it.

 

Thanks 007.

From the pictures he has posted, the car doesn't appear to be equipped with CMBS. I will keep you all posted.

 

Based on my recent research before purchasing with CMBS it appears very few have this option. Probably because of the cost and the PAX tires. I would guess only 2-4% of all RL's have this option.

mike

 

I think it would be hard to justify an extra $3-4k for CMBS and ACC. Throw in the fact that PAX is more of a headache than helper and you get the idea.

 

For the record, my comment about motor mounts was less intended for this particular vehicle, rather an endorsement, from my experience, the value of having an independent look at the vehicle prior to purchasing. In my case, it saved me several hundred dollars.

Also, I would to hear about factory extended warranty for a car that is 4+ years old. I understood this not an option given the age of the car.

Cheers.

 

Honda mounts do suck in general, so it was not poor advice, just unlikely on this car.

 

I second the suggestion that an independent inspection is always a great idea.

Given that, this sounds like an outstanding deal. The '07 and '08 are THE best years for this car, and those are reeeeally low miles. This car can run over 200,000 miles without major trauma, which is very rare in the luxury class. If it passes inspection, I'd jump all over it.

 

I have an update, but it's not a positive one. My wife is leary about me purchasing a 5 year old car from a private seller with no type of warranty. She would like me to purchase a newer model car with a warranty. Honestly, that was one of my main concerns. With all the technology in the car, if something goes awry then I have to pay for it. I wanted something with low miles similar to the RL. The only car that is comparable in price is a Buick Regal. Yes, I said a Buick Regal. The newly redesigned Regal is a nice looking car; but even the 2011 -2012 doesn't hold a candle to the 07 RL. I will be sure to bring her with me when we check out the RL. I need her to understand the greatness of this automobile.

 

I've test driven the Regal. It's a nice car with a quality interior and a nice ride/handling mix. In those ways, it's just a bit similar to the RL. But it also has lumpy seats, a mediocre engine, and doesn't compare in overall build quality or the safety of SH-AWD.

The best way to impress her with the RL is to let her drive it. If at all possible, not just drive it, but flog it. The RL comes to life more the harder you press it. It's a car that truly inspires driver confidence.

 

Wait, wait, wait. I know the value of listening to your wife and that she is almost always right , but that only applies in domains that women have equal or better knowledge of than men. My wife would never try to convince me one way or another about a car because she knows I can run circles around her on the topic. Do you bother telling her how hot or long to cook the casserole? No, so why is she telling you how to buy a car? Show her the reliability reports of the RL.

Also, why are we assuming this car is not under warranty, can't get an extended warranty, or at the very least a 3rd party warranty?

 

Uh-oh. I was just reading a thread like this one on VW Vortex. Nothing good can come of this. :>)

Although the suggestion about the reliability reports is an excellent one. Look in particular for the recent Consumer Reports list of "most dependable used cars." RL was featured prominently as the most reliable choice in the luxury class.

 

You are right 007. She doesn't know the first thing about automobiles. She is merely looking at the fact that the RL is 5 years old and the Regal would only be 1 year old. I will win this battle.

 

Speaking as an ex-married man, be careful here. I love RL's, but even if the RL proves durable, your marriage should prove moreso. Make sure it doesn't become a battle, and if it does, be sure you lose.

 

I will ensure it doesn't get to that point.

 

I wasn't suggesting to shove it in her face or belittle her. I was being blunt to make a point. The point is that people can make assesments that may seem completely reasonable but are not based on any factual evidence.

Does a car that is one year old and under warranty cost less to maintain than a 5 year old car (that is still under warranty, but we'll ignore that) that isn't under warranty? Maybe. Maybe not. It completely depends on the make, model, build quality and design. More importantly, it COMPLETELY depends on the exact car. What if the one year old car is a lemon? That's all my point was. Broad generalizations are have no place in major financial decisions.

I too am married. 90% of the time my wife is right. And when she's wrong she's probably right. The OP will find the right words.

 

LMAO at trying to to compare GM quality to the Japanese automakers. My great aunt was looking for a new vehicle for months and I was trying to get her to go for a Avalon, her side of the family has the fucked up thinking that anything with GM, Dodge, Chrysler etc is superior to all else. Fact of the matter is they are shit. She ended up going with a 2010 used regal and has already ran into major problems and it only has 20,000 miles!

 

To be fair, US makes have improved drastically in the reliability department. That said, I would only consider a Ford and would only consider it after exhausting all Japanese and Korean makers including Kia.

Toyota is just about hands down the most reliable brand out there though. Too bad they are so boring.

 

Agreed, 007, on all counts. With the added note that Honda reliability is just a half-beat shy of Toyota's.

 

I think Honda could be better than Toyota if their Oddessy didn't go through the crap years that it did (I don't know which years it was but have heard multiple accounts of issues with the model) and they didn't put glass transmissions in the Accord, TL, and CL.

It seems like when they build a car right, like the RL, it practically can't be beat in the reliability field.

 

The RL also inspires pasenger confidence as well. I'll give you a for instance... In previously owned cars, when I come up on a curve, my wife would always throw her arm up like I am going to take it on 2 wheels. It's irritating but I never said anything. But in the RL she threw her arm up maybe twice then she quit doing it without me ever saying anything. I realized then she was developing confidence in the car. The RL is just hard to beat. period...