Went in to my Acura dealer about what to do about my leased 2005 RL...buy it...trade it in for a new 2009 RL...but when they told me that the new RL will lease for about $700 or more...WOW...it made my decision simple. BUY THE RL or LOOK FOR ANOTHER CAR.
Went in to the local Infiniti dealer...saw an almost fully loaded 2008 EX35...test drove it and am about ready to make a deal...and I think they have a special 6 year 0% financing deal going on. For less than leasing the new RL...and for about the same payments of buying my 2005 RL....I can own/purchase an almost fully loaded EX35 for the same monthly payment. AND WHAT A GREAT CAR
Has anybody heard anything that would make me think about not doing this. I love my RL...but the EX35 is one hell of a great car, too.

 

The EX35 is just a nutored, watered down, feminine version of an FX35. Be a damn man and just get yourself a used FX45. Save a fist full of money and you'll be a lot happier with the superior performance.

 

Yeh...I've read that many of the Macho car enthusiasts think of the EX35 as a Chickmobile...but then again...the RL is not exactly what the Macho crowd would pick either. And yeh....the FX35 is bigger and more powerful...but a smaller car with almost 300 horses and better handling....the EX35 might actually be more fun to drive...and not that much different than the 300 horse RL. Right now they are offering 0% financing for 6 years...not a bad deal, either. I can get the EX35 for the same monthly payment as if I bought the RL off lease from Honda Finance.

 

About FX/ EX

Just FYI:
I have three friends that got into FX35 lease/bought (one was sport others non-sport).

Granted they came from sedans to SUV that drives "almost like sedan".
Within couple of month they grew if not hatred, but strong dislike of vehicle for various reasons.
All said - never again.

 

Macho man v.s. intelligent decision. Yeah. Right. How about the case is NEITHER. In my opinion, I wouldn't be dumb enough to get locked up in a 6 year deal just to say I made a 'smart' decision that really wasn't all that smart. First of all, with the quality of cars being drastically better than in previous years there's no need to make a mad rush to buy a brand new car when you can crank out at least 100,000 miles on the average late model car with no considerable problems.

Secondly, you can get a used 2003-05' fully loaded FX45 AWD for between $18,000 to $25,000 (leaning more towards the 23,000 dollar area for fully loaded and 21,000 dollars for base model), which is a hell of a lot more car for a hell of a lot less money than a brand new EX35. With the money you save from buying a used FX45 you can double up on payments and be done with it in 2 to 3 years and it's YOUR car instead of wasting a hell of a lot of money in 6 years worth of payments.

Even the base model FX45 cranks out 315HP in comparison to the EX35's 297HP. Face it. The EX35 is just a minivan trying to pass as an SUV. Plain and simple. And you can't make a comparison between an EX35 and an Acura RL of any year model as far as masculinity or anything of that nature is concerned. They're two totally different vehicles.

But let's be real here. The real issue isn't macho v.s. intelligence. The real issue is people like you being hung up on wasting money to drive something brand new so you can be with the "in" crowd. That, in my opinion, is childish and materialistic. With a mindset like that you'll always be chasing after the next 'smart' deal instead of just being happy making one good decision and moving on--spending your time and money on something more important than driving the newest, 'smartest' car.

So, yeah, that's why I said be a MAN instead of whinning about some newer efeminant minivan mascerading as an SUV. And any idiot that went from owning a car to owning an SUV of any class and complaining about the ride or performance needs to shut the fuck up. Here's a clue: No matter how much you pay for an SUV it's still not going to drive like a car.

Thirdly, I can't fucking STAND people that buy an SUV and complains about the damn vehicle being different from a car. Dumbasses like that only bought an SUV so they can brag about owning one and impress their pinheaded friends and neighbors. A person sounds like an idiot anyway to pay thousands more for an SUV that will NEVER go offroad and NEVER be fully used for what its namesake just to look for it to ride like a car. If you want a CAR ride, then buy a damn CAR and shut the fuck up.

 

Well
Someone here get's very excited very easily...sorry I pushed a button. I'm glad you've made the right decision for you and you are probably right about getting a used vehicle...BUT...I put on over 25,000 miles per year and when a warranty is over...even after you buy the extended warranty...the repairs can and will end up being lots of $$$$$$$ - Buying a new car while being the status symbol that you seem to think it is...can sometimes be as inexpensive as buying a used car if you get caught with a major problem after the warranty expires. I had a Volvo S80T6 that I bought off lease...and right after the extended warranty expired the timing belt went and I had to spend over $4000 to get a rebuilt engine put in.
Macho guys like you have to relax a little...life is too short...and there are really bad things happening out there that make getting a car seem silly. Enjoy!

 

Calm down, man! Had too much coffee this morning??



































J/K

 

Um, sideswipe, where did THAT come from? No need to be rude. Many here agree with your points, but you need to put the coffee down before you reply.

For the record, I agree with the FX vs. EX argument, but that really belongs in Car Talk.

 

From a purely practical standpoint, the EX35 is kind of cramped for anything but the driver and passenger. Like the RL, it is good-looking - and the interior is a cut above anything in its class.

The EX35 seems very "boutique" -- which is to say that its design is based more on form than funtion (and nothing to do with masculinity). The Mercedes CLS also falls into the boutique category in my mind -- awesomely high on style, not so much on function. Nothing wrong with that, by the way.