hondamore

The best thing about LDW is that it forces drivers to signal BEFORE beginning their lane change. So often drivers begin to signal after they are 1/2 way through their lane change and do so with a token 1 second flick of the turn indicator. This often gives the person that they are turning into no time at all to react to avoid an accident. The intent of signal lights was to ANNOUNCE IN ADVANCE your intention to change lanes or turn so that the drivers around you are aware of your intentions BEFORE you begin to do so. Sorry for the rant, but stupid drivers who don't signal or signal late are one of my pet peeves.

w0nd3rb0y

The deal is for real. Just purchased the RL from Daryl at Downey Acura for $39,988 with splash guards and wheel locks.

vp911

Congrats on the new car! Color?

w0nd3rb0y

Got mine in carbon gray. Looking forward to spending more time on this forum.

Steve C

Well Hendjaz,
Give me your head doctor's phone #, I will make the appointment myself.
Does he accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield?

After weeks of very seriously negoitiating for an RL, I jumped ship & am getting an M35x. I can get an RL now for 5k under what I am paying for the M35x.

Why am I doing this?...well here is what I will be telling your shrink while I am on the couch.

"Doctor...it all started like this:"

1). Cooled seats & backup camera on M
2). Choice of XM/Sirius on M....Wow! (I like Sirius)
3). I can play DVD videos/Ipod's on M....It has RCA video/audio input jacks on armrest..!
4). Resale/Desireability is better for the M....look on E-Bay for an M35x vs Acura RL....!
5). Infiniti bulletins are no secret, they publish them for easy access to public..Wow! Acura, why can't you do this? What are you keeping so secret?
6). No nuisance problems with XM refresh. No dead battery issues. The guys on the infiniti M forum are posting on Nav screen hacks & other fun stuff...sigh why are they having so much fun with their M's doctor?
7). Real time RF transmitted tire pressure readings in PSI for all 4 wheels on M...

Now doctor, I love the RL also, it is no less of a car than the M, and has many fine points the M cannot even come close too!

I feel that the M is just tailored & marketed with equipment I desire over what the RL offers.....I know it is not a better car than the RL, and that the RL does indeed offer items more desireable to others than myself..and they are wise to choose the RL over the M for those reasons important to them! They are both such great cars....wish I could have 1 of each.

The M just has more things that I like about it, that are important to me, as numbered above. Purely subjective, I know that...!

Doctor, tell me I'm not crazy spending 5k more on the M vs a leftover 05 RL based on the above!

Doctor?
Doctor?
Where did he go?

hothonda

It is my understanding that Acura built something like 21,000 '05RLs
and in '06 they are scaling back to 13,000. The market will reshape itself when the supply is more in line with demand. I think it's one
heck of a car even at $50K! My neighbor has a new E class and it
doesn't compare in equipment levels or refinement-BTW he agrees
(and he paid 10K more!).

Steve
Seattle

WhitePearl_RL

I hope so! Or the depreciation will be just as bad as if I bought a 2005 Cadillac STS

hothonda

In my case I bought my RL to drive it not sell it.....anybody who
considers their new car an investment needs help. When it's time
to sell, the market will tell me what it's worth.

WhitePearl_RL

I do not consider it an investment.. trust me, you should see what I paid for my 1998 S600 back in 2000 and then what it is worth now. I never thought a new RL could have been bought for $10K below MSRP brand new 4 months after I bought mine. Luckily I am giving the RL to my oldest son when he heads to Miami for his residency, so it will be staying in the family for a long time.

msu79gt82

Ditto (although I am still not 100% decided). I began posting in the RL forum back in March when I was leaning toward the RL. I have posted and listed the exact same things Steve just did. I am astounded that Acura chose to leave a Back-up camera off the '06 RL My '04 MDX has it and the RLs competition has it!!

BTW Steve; check out www.infiniti-driver.com (a dedictaed M forum)

msu79gt82

I absolutely agree with you. A car is not an investment. Within your budget you MUST get what you want and enjoy it. In '01 I paid MSRP for an MDX and never regreted it. Liked the MDX so well I traded that '01 for an '04 last year.

I must confess that I just do not like the RL as much - I never could get comfortable paying even $45, much less MSRP. Current ~$40 certainly is tempting, however there is no denying the QC issues with the '05. I have decided to either get an M or wait on the '06 RL and see.

Nocturnal

My S4 was in fact a better 'investment' than the shares I sold to pay for it. This was in 2000 and we all know what happened to tech stocks around that time :-)

All joking aside, cars are not investments. They are depreciating assets.

Nocturnal

That's great news as these guys are down the street from me! Now I don't have to fly to LA to buy a car

Now I just need to convince my wife that she really doesn't want that Sienna.

lsbuffs

I love the price and have rec'd that e-mail from Downey Acura. Just curious as to where the dealer is making money on the deal. I find it hard to believe that even with a glut of 05s on the lot, and the 06s just a couple of weeks away, they'd be letting them go without some profit.

Here's what I know about the pricing..MSRP $49,670, invoice $44,284.25,holdback $1473, factory incentive $2,500. Figure a couple hundred for detailing and the wheel locks, splash guards, etc. and you're still around $40.5K.

When they sell for $39.8K, where's the profit? Perhaps they're adding some BS dealer handling fees or other bogus charges?

When I get a dealer in Colorado to do this deal for $40K o.t.d. I'll buy

Nocturnal

There may well be additional incentives being handed out by Acura that are not publicly known. They really don't want their big dealers with 30 05 RLs on the lot when the 06s come in. There are quite a few dealers within a 2 hour drive from me. Some of the smaller ones have only a few RLs available, others have dozens.

static808

I have a conditional sale pending (didn't sign anything), in Northern NJ. They wouldn't budge from $42.9K. They threw in the protection package and the wood shift knob...I have till Monday to decide or wait for an '06. Another dealer countered with $42.7K but didn't have the color I wanted (black/parchment). I think this might be the best deal for NYC Metro area......Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

lsbuffs

Based on some limited research, it appears pricing in the Denver area is around $42.5K..about in synch with what you're seeing. I'm exploring options to purchase out of state (likely CA), understanding I'll have some additional transportation costs I wouldn't have with a local purchase. I've done this previously with my 04 TL and 03MDX (MacChurchill Ft Worth). Gets a little sticky when it comes down to sales tax, especially when the tax rate in the state of purchase is much higher than your home state. (Such as Calif being 7.75% or more, my county in Colorado total of 4.7%)

static808

Thanks for the info lsbuffs. Looks like "wintery" weather states might not be getting the bare bones prices. Oh well. I'll sit on the thought for a day and decide on Monday.

One thing is for sure, the RL is much quieter than the TL. The attention to detail is there also. You can really see what you are paying for.

vicpai

.....is quoting a price of $41,129, then 39.8k from the dealer is definitely possible!!!....see link below

http://www.carsdirect.com/build/opti...&restore=false

Steve C

Static is correct......deals can be had on the Infiniti & Lexus as well!

I'm picking up an M35x, paid $1,240 above invoice, and the infiniti Elite 7yr/100k/0 deductible warranty at cost ($1864).

I'm happy with this, because other dealers wanted $2100 to $2800 for the warranty in the Metro NY area!

I do not know how they split the profits/margins. The finance manager gets a cut of the profit from warranty sales. Maybe I paid $1k over invoice for the car &
$240.00 over invoice for the warranty...

andrewgg2

Make sure you enter your location zip code, for my location (CT) the price:

Target Price: $42,929 using this website.

I paid $43,100 (not a lease) for my RL a 45 days ago. It took the dealer 1 week to find the color. In CT the availability of 05 RL's is low. Lat week, I have visited 3 dealers and most of them had only 2 RL's available. One was in the showroom and one on the lot.
When you are buying a left over 05’s make sure you target at least VIN > 18900. My is greater than 20900, and I do not have any issues with XM or trunk button etc.

static808

Thanks Andrewgg2. I am going to the dealer in the morning. They have 2 RL's one VIN 12k range and another in the 20k range. I better get the 20k. In NY/NJ the RL's are scare also at the lots...must be year end...

shingles

As a Nissan owner, I suggest you check up on the QC side of things on the M. We dislike our Nissan so much we've sworn off of nissan for life.

Classic_martini

LaserCruise? - "Slow me down"
SH - AWD - Speed me up, AND keep me safe.

Prefer taking corners 30k faster?

Minarets

really? as a fellow Nissan owner as well, i love what i have seen. i would like to stay in the family longer, but of course i have to match up that with the "what car i want" too.

of course, all it takes is one negative or even positive experience to sway a person forever. if you have a Maxima that was nothing but problems, many will never buy another Nissan. i have 200,000 miles on my 1996 Maxima and all i have replaced is brakes, tires, wipers and oil. its been a fanatstic vehicle. my cd player died at 120,000 miles, but that defintely wont sway my thoughts. if money was no object i would buy a M35/45 with no hesitation....

however, with all the toys i want and what i can actually afford--im looking at the G35 and TL.