local lexus dealership just got an '05 RL in a trade in.

Car was immaculate except for two issues

1. a/c was blowing colder on passenger side vs driver side
2. 105k maintenace needs to be done (timing belt)

I negotiated a price of $10,800 which includes my 1998 Lexus gs 300 with 325k miles as a trade-in

The Acura has 114k miles

I'm assuming I would have to put in a minimum of 2k into the Acura right away.

Any feedback is really appreciated.

mike

 

Were the dual climate controls set to equal temperatures?

 

when I test drove I had both sides of the AC on the max setting that says "LO"

 

Was the passenger side closest to the sun when you noticed it?

 

I wouldn't...here is all the issues that you are probably going to have to replace

-AC Compressor/Stator if it hasn't been done already
-Driver/Rear Door Handles (Expensive)
-VSA Sensor in Wheel Well
-105k Maintenance like you mentioned (Timing Belt, Tensioner, Water Pump, Transmission Fluid, Differential Fluid,...Fluids...)

Its a great car if you can afford the repairs but there is little mods to be done and high repair costs because its such an uncommon car. Looking back I probably would have kept my 05 MDX with all the maintenance done if I knew then what I knew now. BTW I have an 05 Acura RL that had perfect maintence and extended warranty...when 100k+ hit I had to do all those things I listed above

Also after replacing the Condensor + Compressor I still don't feel like the AC system works good. Even with the blower motor on max the RL struggles to be worth a shit at moving a good amount out of the vents

 

After my A/C was repaired it worked great. Have you checked to see if the cabin filter is clogged/needs to be replaced?

 

Price seems high with your trade-in. I'd insist that the 105K major service be completed (timing belt, water pump etc.) Kelly BB says $11,500 to $13,500. Is your Lexus worth 2K?

 

The price is a little high. I would expect right at 10k with trade-in.

But even at 10k I would personally pass on it and get an 06 or later model. There are some curious maintenance issues specifically for the '05.

 

The cabin filter is clean. The air is cold, the blower motor just sucks.

 

My vehicle is worth about $1,000 I'd estimate

 

Perhaps this is a perception issue. The RLs HVAC system is designed to be a quiet as possible, primarily so it does not interfere with the VR microphones. That quieter air flow volume may be perceived as weak air flow? Further, if you have the fan speed over 3, the fans speed is momentarily reduced when the SPEAK button is pressed for VR input.

I rarely have my fan speed above 3, and when I do, it is usually due to the car being parked outside in the sun and I want to cool it down quickly. In other cars I have the vents blowing MAX (I must have been a dog in a former life).

Most cars I have owned, the HVAC made a racket when the fan speed was up, but that does not necessarily equate to more air flow, just more air turbulence from the vents. I do not notice less air flow with the RL, but I do notice exceptionally quieter air flow.

 

It's not the best deal ever, but you wouldn't be getting ripped off. May be worth having a mechanic check it out to see it the AC thing is a real or imagined issue. Make sure you check for other thinks like the differential whine/whir at freeway speeds. The door handles are gonna go; but that is going to depend on how often they were used, not how many miles are on the car. In the end, how big of a deal is that to you?

 

A few things on this.
1) The only thing you listed that is a given is the timing belt. The other things are more prone to '05 models, but they still only affect a minority of them.
2) At 45 years old, I am willing to bet mods are the least of his concerns.
3) The repair costs are high because the part costs are high. This is a flagship luxury sedan. If you can afford a $50k car, Acura assumes you can afford an $800 head light. You have to pay to play. I hope you are putting 91+ octane in your RL and not cutting costs there.


OP, te RL has a GPS controlled climate controller. It keeps track of where the sun is relative to the car and keeps the side closest to the sun cooler. That may explain your observation about the A/C. If you are serious about buying this car, which it is a great car and definitely should be considered, please do your homework on the '05 quirks b/c there are quite a few that can be found before you buy it and some that may be deal breakers for you.

 

How quickly does yours cool down? When mine is in the sun all day I have to have the fan on max to cool it down and it takes a good 5-7 minutes before Im comfortable, even then I have to have the vents blowing directly at me. Maybe my blower motor is just getting weak and needs to be replaced.

Also when I was waiting at a stop light today I set the AC to blow out of the top and floor vents, the air coming out of the floor vents was basically the car temperature while the air coming out of the top vents was cold. Is this normal? (Sorry to derail the thread)

 

I've been using 89 Octane as 91 is $0.30 cheaper. The dealer said this wouldn't hurt the car at all as it has sensors and other things that are able to adjust for it....this might explain my performance issues though. I calculated it out and its only $250 more a year to use premium so I will probably start using it, I will probably get a little better gas mileage maybe 1mpg or more so. I am already averaging about 21mpg for a tank though.

 

That's not the worst deal or the best. If you got them down another $1k to cover the 105k mile service, that'd be better, but if not you need to budget to get it done. This car will last with the proper service.

 

Using a low octane fuel is the fastest way to engine ping/knock which can quickly damage an engine. The RL is capable of sensing these knocks and will retard the timing accordingly. IIUC, this will cause you to lose stroke length and inherently power. You have to ask yourself, is it really worth running my car all the time in a state designed to actively prevent damage to save a few bucks? I believe any reasonable person would answer, "No".

If you are that concerned about $/mile, why don't you just drive like grandma, get 23 mpg and save your engine?

 

I'm just saying, the previous owner (who I kinda know) said he always used 89 octane and when I bought the car from him (through acura) I asked the dealer if it was okay to use 89 octane and they said it was.

I think though using 89 may be why the car doesn't perform as well as it should so I will be switching to 91 on my next fill up, Its only like 4 more dollars a tank anyway which isn't bad considering I will probably get better gas mileage using it.

EDIT: To be honest though I have been hearing this weird sound recently (hardly hear it unless air/radio is off) and maybe the dealership was just saying that because they know it does exactly what you said (deteriorate the engine) so they could have me in replacing an engine out of warranty...

 

My service advisor at the Acura dealership says to always use 93 octane then you will get the max gas mileage and you will not damage the engine. I am getting 18.5 in the city.

 

to the OP - there is a setting to adjust temp of driver/passenger vent higher or lower
That could explain temp of driver side being higher

 

I'd be curious exactly what the impact is to fuel economy (if there really is one) from running lower octane fuel. The 2005 I just bought with 160k miles gets ~25 mpg in careful mixed driving (30mph average: some traffic, some stop lights, mostly 45-50 mph driving, limited jackrabbit starts) and I recently got 28 mpg on a 90 mile round trip on the highway going 75 or 80. That was with 91 octane in Colorado (they don't sell 93 here). Not sure what the previous owner used, but I've been pretty darn impressed with the numbers I'm seeing. I was expecting worse based on the EPA estimates.

 

When I was driving in to work this morning, I turned south and there was an immediate and noticeable change in the airflow on the driver's side. This car is smart enough to know that in the morning the sun is in the east, so it had better blow a little extra air on me to counteract the sun's radiation heating. I had read about that, but this was the first time I noticed it. I was quite impressed. I could move my hand from passenger to driver and they were definitely different fan speeds, even being set to the same temp. My guess is that's what the OP noticed. (As I believe others had already mentioned in this thread, just thought I'd include my ).

 

GPS climate control. One of the more silly and over engineered features of our cars, but still very worthwhile in a one-upping contest.

 

i still haven't experience this gps climate control.

To OP, I recommend you to tell the dealer to do the 105k timing belt service and pay them like 500 dollars more. and then while its in the shop acura will do a 180 point inspection for free and ask for that.

 

I ended up purchasing the 2007 model with CMBS/pax with 110,000 miles on it for $14,500.

I did find the car online and have only seen pictures of it and spoke to the owner on the phone.

I had the local Acura dealership do the 150 point inspection and everything checked out okay.

The car just had the 105k mile checkup with the replacement of the timing belt.

I've informed the seller to replace the two front tires and I put on new brake pads and new rotors for a total of $900 and we split the cost as the price of the car was originally $15,000.

 

I forgot to add that the car had already been dePAXed a couple of years ago.

I am flying to pick up the car next week and will make a weekend of it driving back to my home state of New Jersey. I plan on taking in the Yankee tiger game on Friday night and then on the way back the Indian twins game on Saturday. Then a stop in Harrisburg where I have family before getting back to New Jersey.

The last time I purchased a car in 2002 I also bought it on online and flew one way to pick it up and drove it home about six hours. I had planned owning the car for about three years but ended up having it 10 years. I am now about to retire my Lexus GS 300 with 325,000 miles of which I put on 230,000 of them. I guess that worked out okay!

Mike

 

Congrats!

 

Congrats! You got a good deal. I guess we need to teach you the secret RL handshake now that you are a member of the cult.

 

Okay so you went with the 2007 option correct? Also I see in your other post you got new brake pads and rotors for $300? What did you order for the brake pads/rotors!?

 

I just went with what the seller recommended which was RAYBESTOS

They are already on the car now and the seller said they work great

Mike

 

And yes I went with a 2007

 

Eight months later and I still have no buyer's remorse on my purchase.

The vehicle has been a pleasure.

I even got $1,800 cash money for my '98 Lexus to boot.

Life is good in my RL

 

hells yea

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I got mine a month before u and still happy with my purchase! best car I've own to date!!

congrats