I am in the market for a new RL in the next couple of months.
I was going to get one last month but im in sales and the economy killed my income so i am just starting to look again cuz my 2001 CL-s is starting to give me probs again and want to unload it b4 tranny goes AGAIN.

My questions are do all 06 RL's have the reverse camera or do I have to get a tech package? If not is it easy to add a camera to a 06, I heard u cant add one to a 05 , Is that true?
I plan on getting a 05 or 06 RL (depending on the deal) that is still in warrenty so I can buy a acuracare extended warrenty. I payed about a $1000 for a extended on my CL is the price in the same range.

What are the differences between the 05 and 06 (i know the little bugs) but since i am getting a warrenty they will get resolved. Do you guys think going to a 06 is worth $5000 more, becuz from what im seeing i can get a 05 still under warrenty from 18k-20k and 06 for 24k-26k.

B4 i get flamed i did a search , but i did notice alot of new guys that just bough pre-owned Rl's so i want to hear from them, also if you did buy a pre-owned recently can you let me know how much u paid and in what area of the country you are from?

Thanks alot!! ACURA 4 LIFE!!!

 

2005 RLs do not have a factory camera option. You can add an aftermarket camera, and some here have done so. You'll need to search, though.

2006 RLs don't come with a camera, but it is a dealer-installed option. This is how I got mine--it had it installed a couple months after my purchase.

HTH.

 

The 05 RL does NOT have the wiring for rear camera, although if you know what you are doing, it probably could be done. There may even be a thread on it.

The 06 is prewired for the rear camera, which must be installed as a dealer option, or by yourself with the kit supplied instructions which involves drilling and cutting away existing parts.

The 07 and 08 base models do not have cameras, but have the same prewiring for cameras, and use the same kit as the 06s. I cannot speak for the 09 base model.

As for the RL model differences, if you cannot find it here, Wikipedia is fair resource. It is fairly close the last time I looked and contributed to the article.

 

I just got my RL in mid-December and it is an 05 with 38k miles on it. My out the door price from the Dealer, it is Certified, was $23,000, and then I traded in my Pontiac for $3,000, so I walked away at $20,000 even. I thought this was a pretty good deal. I am in South Carolina and ever since I moved down here from Detroit three years ago... I am loving the winters!

 

And how are you likeing your 05 RL thus far, any complaints?

 

06 bought last month..

It's got just under 40k mi. and is a CPO. I'll be in really good shape, as far as warranty is concerned, through the end of 2012 and into 2013 .. that is, if I still have it. But.. I prob will, hard to not love this thing!

My bumper-to-bumper, however, will take me up to 60k mi. I won't approach that for quite a while. Basically, got a great deal on a 50 thou luxury AWD sedan. Oh, I got back up cam and it was an option for the guy who leased it originally, which he opted to buy.

Paid $24,9.

 

I am absolutely LOVING it... I would sleep in it but wife is jealous enough right now! I drive a ton for work so I spend a lot of time on the road in my car and I researched thoroughly before making the purchase.

Also, my two cents on the back up camera, I just had a loaner 09 TSX and it had one standard on it. I noticed that because I am not used to the backup camera, it actually scared me half to death when I would go from one mirror across to the other mirror and then halfway across, some movement would catch my eye, the camera... bottom line, I did not like it, but see how it would be a good thing on a larger car.

 

The research I did compared the v6 versions of BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Acura, and the RL was the best of those, because their best usually involves a v8. I did not want a v8 due to gas mileage. No complaints at all right now... still getting used it.

 

The German cars are not even a thought for me...I keep me cars forever..
I got my 2001 CL in march of 2000 with 5 miles on it and I still have it with about 160K miles so i hald my cars forever and need something semi reliable so all German cars are out. The only other car I am even thinking of is a 06 M35X. Did anyone look into a M35X while shopping for the RL, and what made u choose the RL? The M35x is still fairly new so im not sure on reliabilty but i heard Nissons do hold up.

I know Acura service in my area is top notch and close (3 acura dlrs within 25 miles) where i KNOW 2 of them are great with me, I only know of one INfinity DLR in the area and dont know how they are with service aand loaners so thats why im leaning on the RL even though i think the M35X is up to par if not over par with the RL.

Comments, opinions?

 

I was also wanting to move from my CLS to an RL. but as the economy crashed and the industry I'm in is crashing even harder, it's not a great time for me, even tho I would not necessarily have to finance a used RL. My home is paid for too. so it could be worse. Am applying for jobs in other fields but nothing yet.
Would love an RL tho, maybe later in the year.
good luck on your new ride. what color do you prefer? I like the Lakeshore.
they look great in black but I don't want a black car.

 

StonedCL - I have a coworker who is a big Inifiniti fan and he convinced me to go look at the M35, not sure if it was an x or not. When I did, the cars are very similar... however, the interior seemed to be built for older people even more than my wife's Lexus... I hated the little clock in the dash even though that is their trademark. I even thought the dash was a little cluttered in the RL but since owning it and driving it, I have gotten very used to the many things that this car does and the console doesn't seem so bad to me any longer. I hope I am helping somehow, whether you buy an RL or not...

 

I bought a 2006 rl and added the camera at the dealer for ~ $500. installed before I took delivery. I am not sure if price is correct....I know they had to relocate the truck opener actuation button off to the side, the installer drilled through the trunk, dented it and had to repaint a brand new car!

 

StonedCL

I compared the M35X to the RL a ton when shopping for a car in this kind of range (AWD, good hp, gas mileage V6, technology).

In the end I ultimately went with the RL because of a few reasons...

1) Cost. The M35's round here were going for a little higher than the RL and sometimes not even certified. RL's were depreciating faster basically due to not being very popular. I see a lot, definitely more than RL, of the M35's and that's prob why they can keep the price higher. The RL has never sold well and if interested in the RL, a buyer really has all the leverage in negotiations. One RL I looked at before getting mine has been at the dealer sitting around close to a year now. I keep checking.

2) Main Console. I drove the M35 and then went and drove an RL. BIG difference, for me anyway, in being able to use the nav and other functions easily and without much hassle. I hate the position that the nav is angled on the M35 but do like their neat "birds' eye view" for viewing the nav.

3) Refinement. Everything about the RL just feels right to me. I don't know, I might have some kind of bias at this point to Acura, but I love the car for the price. There's all sorts of little things that most cars don't have which cost a lot more.

3) SH-AWD. I didn't get a chance to use the M35X in some type of snow but I do believe the Acura SH-AWD system is a lot better than an AWD Infiniti.

 

I had the dealer "throw in" the backup camera when I bought my '06. Wouldn't have bought it without the camera.

LL

 

i been thinking about the M35 too, but the interior pretty much kill it for me...

 

Ma, one dealer quoted me $400 just to install the backup camera (camera itself is about close to $400) and the other one quoted $650!!! Insane! Anyone in the SF/Bay area know of a good dealer that would charge less than $400? Appreciate it.

 

i just bought a 2005 RL with 104,000 KMs for 23,000+taxes
im in canada, so keep the exchange rate in mind
(toronto)

 

For those of us who dont know what do the kilometers and and exchange rate come to US?

 

1 USD = 1.25729 Canada dollars
1 kilometer = 0.621371192 miles

 

$650 is about what it costs generally for the part + install. I bought and had mine installed at the dealer two years ago for that price.